Chapter 4: The Diary

The archive room fell silent again.

Books lay scattered across the floor where the shelf had crashed.

Adaeze looked around nervously.

"Did you see anyone?" she whispered.

Michael shook his head.

"No... but whoever was here knew exactly when to leave."

The elderly librarian hurried over, breathing heavily.

"Please," he said, "both of you should leave this place."

"Sir," Adaeze pleaded, "someone is clearly trying to stop us. Please tell us what you know."

The old man sighed deeply.

"I've already said too much."

Without another word, he walked away, disappearing into his office.

Michael bent down to help arrange the fallen books.

As he lifted a thick, dusty volume, something caught his attention.

"There’s something here."

Hidden beneath the shelf was a small, leather-bound notebook.

Its cover was cracked with age, and the pages had turned yellow.

Adaeze gently dusted it off.

"There’s no name on it."

Michael carefully opened the first page.

Written neatly in blue ink were the words:

Property of Professor Emmanuel Adebayo.

Michael's eyes widened.

"My grandfather..."

Adaeze looked at him in surprise.

"This belonged to your grandfather?"

He nodded slowly.

"I've never seen this diary before."

They quickly left the archive and found a quiet bench behind the Faculty of Arts.

Michael opened the diary.

The first few pages contained ordinary notes about lectures and campus activities.

Then, one page caught Adaeze's attention.

The date read:

March 18, 2008

"Today, I saw Grace crying outside my office. She insisted she was in danger, but refused to tell me who was threatening her. She only kept saying, 'If anything happens to me, Daniel must never know the truth.' I fear something terrible is coming."

Neither of them spoke.

Adaeze slowly looked up.

"She knew something was going to happen."

Michael nodded.

"And she was protecting Daniel."

They continued reading.

Another entry.

April 2, 2008

"Grace has stopped attending classes. Daniel comes to my office every day asking if I've seen her. Watching that young man search for her breaks my heart. I wish I could help him."

Adaeze swallowed hard.

"So Daniel never knew where she went."

"It looks that way."

As Michael turned another page...

He frowned.

"Wait..."

Several pages had been torn out.

Someone had deliberately removed them.

The missing pages were right after the entry about Grace disappearing.

Adaeze sighed.

"Those missing pages probably contained the truth."

Michael closed the diary.

"Someone didn't want anyone reading them."

Just then, Michael's phone rang.

It was his grandfather.

He answered immediately.

"Grandpa?"

The old man's voice sounded weak.

"Michael... where are you?"

"On campus."

There was a long pause.

"I heard you've been asking questions about Grace."

Michael froze.

"How did you know?"

"Come home."

Another pause.

"And don't tell anyone you're coming."

The call ended.

Michael stared at his phone.

Adaeze could tell something was wrong.

"What happened?"

"My grandfather wants to see us."

"Us?"

"He said not to tell anyone."

Adaeze's curiosity grew stronger.

"Do you think he'll finally tell us the truth?"

Michael looked toward the setting sun.

"I don't know."

"But I have a feeling..."

"...this story is much bigger than we imagined."

Far across the campus parking lot...

A man wearing a black face cap watched them from inside a parked car.

He lowered his phone after taking a photograph of Adaeze and Michael together.

Then he smiled.

"So..."

"They've found the diary."

He started the engine and drove away.