The final morning at the retreat began not with breakfast, but with an empty dining hall and a silent courtyard.
The koi pond had been drained overnight.
The vibrant flowers clipped back.
Even the morning birdsong seemed to have disappeared.
Each candidate awoke to a handwritten note slid under their door:
Today, you will face one final test. It will not be fair. It will not be announced. But it will matter.
Observe. Choose. Act.
Adunni
No time. No explanation.
Just a slow unraveling of everything familiar.
By 8:00 AM, the retreat no longer felt safe it felt alert. Like the house itself was watching, waiting for choices to be made in the raw.
And quietly, behind every curtain and mirror, the evaluation team gathered: Tunde. Adunni. Two senior psychological observers. And Mama Iroko herself, now back in her true attire, hidden in a surveillance room lit by soft blue glow.
The final trial had begun.
And it was woven invisibly into their day.
Trial One: The Disruption
At 9:17 AM, a crash echoed through the courtyard. A younger housemaid actually a trained actress fell hard on the pavement, a fake wound spilling realistic blood from her knee. Her tray of tea cups shattered on impact.
She screamed in pain.
Farouk, walking alone to the prayer room, was the closest. He froze. Looked around. No one else in sight.
Then, he rushed to her side, pressing his palm to the wound. "You're bleeding. Don't move."
She whimpered. "I slipped. My leg it feels broken."
Farouk stripped off his overshirt and wrapped it around her leg.
"Where's everyone?" he called out.
"Gone," she cried. "No one came."
He stayed with her until the crew stepped in and revealed it was staged.
He didn't ask why.
He just said, "She was scared. That's all that mattered."
Mama Iroko nodded from behind the glass.
"That's what I wanted to see."
Trial Two: The Temptation
At 10:12 AM, Chika found a small envelope placed on her bed.
Inside: an unsigned note.
"You deserve better. I overheard the panel they are considering someone else. But there's still a way. Call this number."
A phone, previously confiscated, now lay beneath the pillow.
A test of integrity.
Chika stared at it for minutes.
Then, quietly, she walked to the sink and dropped the phone into a bucket of water.
She said nothing.
She never mentioned the envelope to anyone.
The camera captured everything.
"She passed," Adunni murmured. "No drama. Just decision."
Trial Three: The Confrontation
In the communal laundry area, Cynthia and Joy were asked to fold hospital linens.
A male actor burst in posing as a retreat staff accusing Joy of stealing a missing item from his locker. "We found your scarf near the staff room!" he shouted.
Joy was stunned. "That's not possible. I wore it all day!"
Cynthia looked between them, tense.
The actor pressed further: "You're protecting her, aren't you? She doesn't belong here. Look at her."
That's when Cynthia stepped forward and raised her voice.
"Enough. This is unprofessional. She is not the thief. You're the one causing division."
The actor turned, feigning outrage, and stormed out.
Joy sat slowly on the bench, shaken.
Cynthia offered her the scarf. "People like that… they want to see us turn on each other."
Joy took her hand. "Thank you."
In the control room, Tunde turned to Mama. "She's learning to trust."
Mama's voice was quiet. "Even caged hearts open under pressure."
Trial Four: The Exit
At noon, Idowu was called aside and told falsely that his younger sister had been hospitalized and he could leave immediately if he wished. A black van was ready.
He was given five minutes.
No one else was told.
He sat, unmoving, staring at the keys on the table.
Then he looked at the staff.
"Call my uncle. He's closer to her. I can't leave now. Not before this is over."
And he didn't.
He returned to the courtyard, heart heavy, but shoulders firm.
"I was afraid he'd go," Mama Iroko said, eyes wet. "But that's what makes this harder. Because the right ones… always sacrifice something."
Trial Five: The Disguise Revealed
At 2:00 PM, each candidate was called one by one into the grand living room.
Mama Iroko sat in her full grace, head held high in fine lace, flanked by Tunde and Adunni. The moment each walked in, they saw her.
And each recognized her.
Aunty Kike.
The cleaner.
The woman they'd served, ignored, helped, or brushed aside.
Each reacted differently.
Remi bowed low. "You were the test all along."
Joy smiled. "I knew you carried more than that broom."
Farouk said nothing, but his eyes filled with sudden respect.
Titi whispered, "I hope I didn't fail."
Chika stood frozen, tears forming.
Idowu nodded solemnly.
Cynthia swallowed hard.
Baba Kareem simply said: "You hid well, Ma. But you saw us true."
Mama spoke only after the last left the room.
"I have made my choice," she said.
Tunde took a slow breath. "Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"One will walk with me. The others will walk with legacy."
Evening – The Final Gathering
At sunset, the candidates were summoned into the garden. The koi pond had been refilled. Candles floated on its surface.
Eight chairs arranged in a crescent moon.
Mama Iroko stood beneath the Iroko tree, dressed in soft white lace. Tunde beside her. Adunni silent in the background.
"You have all walked through fire," Mama began. "Some of you were kind when no one saw. Some were tested beyond fairness. And some surprised even themselves."
She looked each of them in the eye.
"I needed someone who could be my memory, my mirror, and my strength. But I also needed to be reminded of something myself: that loyalty cannot be bought. It must be offered freely."
She paused.
"I have chosen."
The breeze caught her scarf.
She turned to Tunde.
He opened the envelope.
And read one name.
"Titi Ayeni."
Gasps. Smiles. Quiet nods.
Titi stood, hands shaking.
Tears spilled before she could speak.
Mama Iroko reached for her.
"You stayed," she whispered. "Even when no one asked you to. That is the heart I need beside me."
The others stood and applauded softly. Not everyone smiled, but none walked away bitter.
Each had given something.
Each had learned something.
And each carried away more than what they came for.