Episode 4: Nowhere to be found I went to the police station that evening. The officer listened carefully, then asked one question. “Do you have evidence?” I didn’t. Just a frightened child. A locked room. And a neighbour’s story. He told me to come back with proof. The next morning, I returned to the shop. It was not open. I was locked with a huge padlock. I asked a nearby mechanic what happened. “They travelled.” “With the boy?” “I think so.” I was about to leave when I noticed a torn school report card lying beside the shop. I picked it up. The name on it wasn’t Chinedu. It was Emeka Nwafor. Primary 4. Excellent in Mathematics. Excellent in English. The report card was only six months old. Why would a child with those results suddenly be working full-time in a shop? I turned it over. A phone number was written on the back. I called it immediately. A woman answered. The moment I mentioned Emeka’s name, she began crying. “That’s my son.” I froze. “What do you mean?” She whispered, “My cousin’s wife took him to Enugu. She promised to train him in school.” “Who is your cousin’s wife?” She mentioned the woman who owned the shop. Then she said the sentence that changed everything. “I haven’t spoken to my son in eight months.”