THE ILLUSIONIST’S TRAP- Episode 3 – The Great Unveiling

 

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🎭 THE ILLUSIONIST’S TRAP

A Tragicomedy in Five Episodes

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Episode 3 – The Great Unveiling

• The honeymoon lasted exactly one week. Kazeem, still drunk on his supposed luck, followed Vanessa around like a prince in waiting. He was ready for Banana Island. He even bought a new pair of fake designer sunglasses to wear on his “arrival.” He pictured himself waving to neighbors from a balcony overlooking the Atlantic.

• One bright afternoon, he said, “My queen, when are we moving into your mansion? I want to see where I will build my private theatre for magic.” Vanessa smiled dreamily, still under the hypnosis. “Soon, my king. I will show you everything. You deserve it.”

• Finally, the day came. Vanessa took him to “the house.” They boarded danfo from Ojuelegba, switched to okada, then trekked into a dusty street in Ajegunle. “Banana Island dey inside this place?” Kazeem muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.

• She stopped in front of a painted backdrop studio—the kind photographers used for wedding shoots. There on the wall was a giant poster of a Banana Island mansion. Vanessa spread her arms wide. “Behold, my kingdom!”

• Kazeem’s jaw dropped. He blinked once, twice. “This one… is photo background?” he stammered. “Yes, my king!” she said proudly. “This is where I take my pictures. People must believe I live here. The house is in my heart.”

• Kazeem nearly collapsed. He held his head, pacing up and down. “Ehn? Banana Island of your heart? Madam, I don’t want heart estate! I want real land, real gate, real security men!” But Vanessa only smiled at him with hypnotized devotion.

• The truth continued to peel itself like rotten onions. The “Dubai trips” he bragged about to his friends? Fake. Just Vanessa posing with downloaded pictures of camels and deserts from Google, cropped with her face on them. The “jewelry”? Cheap brass, shining only because of over-polish.

• Kazeem screamed into the night: “I don marry poverty! I hypnotize myself into suffering!” Neighbors gathered to laugh. “See our magician! He use jazz to catch problem!” “Na jazz of hunger tie am down o!”

• But Vanessa, still under the spell, kept clinging to him. “Don’t worry, my king. You are richer than Banana Island. You are the treasure.” Each time she said that, Kazeem felt as if a thousand ants were crawling over his skin.

• In that moment, he realized the horror: he was chained not to wealth, but to an illusion. He thought he had pulled the greatest trick of his life—but instead, he had trapped himself inside the cruelest magic of all.

• 👉 To be continued in Episode 4 – The Lifetime Regret