Chapter Seventeen – Paper Trails and Poisoned Trust
The air in the penthouse was thick with silence, that kind of silence that was defening. Tammy knew something was off the moment she stepped in. Jeremy had been avoiding her gaze since morning, saying only the bare minimum with an unsettling politeness that made her chest tighten. Now, he was seated in the living room, dressed like he hadn't planned to stay long—black T-shirt, joggers, phone in hand, but his eyes weren't on it. They were waiting.
Zion stood up when she walked in. His laptop was open on the center table, a digital map of transactions glowing on the screen.
"Tammy," he said, voice clipped. "We need to talk."
Tammy's heart shook. If it were any other time for a talk, the boys would at least be smiling. But they both looked dead serious.
She blinked, dropping her bag carefully on the couch. "About what?"
Jeremy said nothing. Just looked at her for about three seconds and looked away. She couldn't deny that it hurt her when he looked away.
Zion turned the laptop toward her. "This."
Tammy walked closer, eyes scanning the screen. There was an account—offshore, hidden, routed through two ghost subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands. The name listed? Tamiloré Coker. The same birthdate. The same NIN. The same face.
She frowned. "What… what is this?" She was genuinely confused. When did she have an account like this?
Zion watched her reaction carefully. "You tell us." He could decipher from her facial reactions that she was genuinely confused.
"I don't know what this is," she said, blinking faster. "Why is my name on it?"
Jeremy stood now, arms folded. "That's what we're wondering too."
Tammy shook her head, backing a step. "Wait, you think I opened this? Jeremy, I've never even heard of—how would I know how to open something like this?"
"Then explain why your name is attached to an account that's been funneling money in tiny, strategic payments to Tony Balogun for the past six months," Zion said coldly. "Why your NIN and your old student email address are linked to it. We ran it through three data verifications. It's clean. The link to you is direct. And it started about a week after our "accident". Did you plan all this with them? Did you-.."
Tammy blinked rapidly. "No, no, no. I never—I haven't used that email since SS2. I lost that account! It got hacked. I don't even know the password anymore. I would never use myself like that. Besides I didn't even know you. I can't believe you actually think I'll do something like that. Jeremy...."
Jeremy sighed and looked away. Continuing to look at the laptop in Zions hands.
Zion clicked, and another screen came up. "The first deposit was made three days before your hotel night with Jeremy. The last one was two weeks ago. From a Lagos IP. Someone's been maintaining this. Someone with access to your old data. Someone that has a surprising amount of info on you."
"Or someone pretending to be me," she snapped, eyes watering. "You think I paid Tony? For what? To ruin myself? To ruin you? How does that even make sense?!"
Jeremy still hadn't raised his voice. That's what scared her most. So he really believed all this.
He stepped forward, eyes unreadable. "Did you have anything to do with that night? Just tell me the truth Tams."
"What?" She asked voice shaky.
"Anything," he said again, slower this time. Looking her straight in the eye. "Any foreknowledge, anything at all."
"No," she said, her voice breaking. "Jeremy, I swear—"
"Because I can handle betrayal," he cut in quietly, "but not lies. And not from you."
She stepped back, like she'd been slapped.
"I'm not lying."
But Jeremy had already turned away. "I need air."
He grabbed his keys and left.
The door clicked behind him. The silence he left felt like a betrayal in itself.
Zion sat down again and kept clicking on the laptop, his expression grim. "I'm going to keep digging."
Tammy wrapped her arms around herself, trembling. "Why would someone use my name for this? Who would even do that?"(It has to be my sister). She thought.
"That's what we're going to find out," Zion murmured. "But Tammy…"
She looked at him.
"If I find more like this—more things that point back to you—I won't be able to protect you. Jeremy is angry, but right now he still wants to believe you. Don't lie to him. Don't lie to me."
"I'm not," she whispered.
But her voice sounded small, even to her own ears.
Later that night, she knocked on Jeremy's door. Once. Twice. No answer.
She cracked it open to see—empty bed. Unwrinkled sheets.
He wasn't in there. And he hadn't been all night.
He didn't come back until dawn. And when he did, he didn't speak to her at all.
He didn't even eat breakfast at the dining table. Hell he acted like she was air. And it hurts. She knows she's starting to like him a lot. And all he's doing is hurting her.
She grabbed her car keys too and headed to the bar. On the way, during traffic she fell into deep thought. Honestly she could see that it was Tayo but why was her sister going this far to ruin her. She just needs to first prove to Jeremiah that she's innocent.
And then she'll find conclusive evidence and face Tayo. She was exhausted. She pulled out her phone and played assurance by davido.
She begun singing along to it along with other davido songs.
She finally smiled. It was all going to be okay, she whispered to herself and continued singing. It had always been like this since she was little. Immediately music was on all her worries would evaporate.
That is until she's distracted. She finally reached the bar. She put on a nose mask and glasses. So she won't be recognized and the next headlines will read...
"Jeremiah Adebayo's wife arrives at bar."
She got in and ordered for drinks first. She stayed at the bar till evening. When she was tired of drinking, dancing and singing. She didn't drink alcohol though. Only a glass. But immediately sha had it she threw up.
She got back home, showered and went straight to bed.
Jeremiah returned home late and went to her room to check on her. He saw she was sleeping, walked in, tucked her in well and stared at her.
He say on the bed till it was close to sunrise. "I really hope you're telling the truth Tam."
He then kissed her forehead and left.