Part 2: The Antiquarian Who Restored Forbidden Books

Marlowe arrived within fifteen minutes, badge already out, expression tight with the particular urgency of someone revisiting a case he'd never fully let go of.

"Show me everything," he said, and Cressida walked him through each restored page, the damning entries about the 1847 land transfer, the growing paranoia, the abruptly torn-out final pages.

"He was building a case against the Ashfords," Marlowe said, jaw tight. "Systematically. This is exactly the kind of methodical documentation Voss was known for. If he genuinely found proof the family's original land claim was forged, that undermines the legal foundation of nearly everything they've built since the estate, the trust funds, generations of inherited wealth."

"That's a significant motive for murder," Cressida said quietly.

"It is," Marlowe agreed. "Though motive alone never got us anywhere eighteen months ago. We need to find those missing pages, or the physical evidence Voss referenced the actual forged survey document."

"He said he was hiding it somewhere 'they'll never" Cressida read again from her photographs, frustrated by the abrupt cutoff. "I need to find out where he meant."

They spent the following days retracing Voss's final weeks his university office, his rented apartment, his regular haunts at the local archive where he'd apparently discovered the original evidence. Most leads produced nothing; eighteen months of dust and disinterest had erased whatever trail once existed.

It was Cressida, examining Voss's university office records more carefully, who noticed something odd — a single library withdrawal slip, dated the day before his disappearance, for a rare book completely unrelated to his usual historical research: an obscure work on cryptography and hidden ciphers.

"Why would a land-fraud historian suddenly need a book on codes?" she asked Marlowe.

His eyes widened with sudden understanding. "Because he was hiding something in plain sight. Somewhere he assumed only someone who truly understood his work could properly decode."

They returned to the journal immediately, examining every remaining entry with fresh, deliberate attention not simply for content, but for pattern. Cressida, trained by a decade of restoration work to notice details others missed, found it eventually: certain letters throughout the journal subtly underlined, so faint they'd been entirely invisible without proper magnification.

Strung together carefully, the underlined letters spelled a location.

University archive, sub-basement, restricted collection, box 47.

"That's my own building," Cressida breathed, stunned. "He hid it in my own archive, in a restricted section I have access to but rarely visit."

Marlowe was already moving toward the door. "Then let's find out exactly what Professor Voss was so desperate to protect."

to be continued... 📖🚨

Supporters of the March and March movement gathered outside the Cape Town Regional Court today, Wednesday, August 19, to insist that beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina leave the country.

The march held as the court prepared to deliver judgment in Chidimma Adetshina’s legal battle over her immigration status in South Africa.

The protesters sang and chanted outside the court, with some calling for Adetshina to leave South Africa.

As Chidimma arrived at the court venue and was immediately swarmed by reporters and protesters. She had to run into the court to evade them.

Videos and reports from the scene showed March and March supporters protesting as the case was being heard.

Chidimma was a beauty queen in South Africa and would have represented the country in the Miss Universe contest but South Africans rejected her, claiming her father is Nigerian, therefore she is Nigerian.

The former Miss South Africa finalist was then chosen by Nigeria to contest in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant and she won.

As South Africans protested today, they carried banners that read: "She claimed Nigeria and was crowned Ms Nigeria."

"Illegal immigrants are a burden in our country," another banner read.

Chidimma was arrested in June 2026 after South African authorities alleged that she had entered the country through the Lebombo border from Mozambique despite having previously been declared a prohibited person.

Adetshina is challenging the government’s attempt to detain her pending possible deportation.

Her legal team has disputed the authorities’ position, while the Cape Town Regional Court is expected to rule on the matter today.

The case has attracted significant public attention in South Africa and Nigeria, following the controversy surrounding Adetshina’s citizenship and her withdrawal from the 2024 Miss South Africa competition before later representing Nigeria at Miss Universe.

A TikTok user has shared how he allegedly lost ₦1 million after making a withdrawal from a roadside POS operator, warning others to be cautious.

According to him, he made a cash withdrawal with his FCMB card while travelling and everything appeared normal at the time. However, later that night, he received an alert showing that ₦1 million had been withdrawn from his account.

He said he immediately visited his bank, where he was informed that the unauthorized transaction was linked to the last POS terminal he had used. He further claimed the money was transferred into a ******* account.

The man believes his card details may have been compromised during the transaction and advised Nigerians to avoid using roadside POS operators without a physical shop, urging people to be extra careful when making withdrawals.

Credit: @travelwithscottspears,

A young lady has shared how a man she was in the talking stage with allegedly swindled her and her sister by secretly using her ATM card details to make unauthorized transactions.

According to her, the incident happened in 2023 after the man repeatedly asked to use her card to pay for meals, promising to refund her once his manager paid him. She said he never repaid the money and later allegedly removed her ATM card from her bag without her knowledge.

She explained that she first became suspicious after receiving debit alerts from places she had never visited. Although he admitted to using the card on one occasion and promised to refund her, the withdrawals allegedly continued.

The lady revealed that things got worse after her sister's allowance was paid into the same account while her sister's ATM card had been retained by an ATM. She said thousands of naira disappeared through multiple unauthorized transactions until only a small amount remained.

According to her, she later realized the man had memorized the details on her ATM card and used them for online purchases without her consent.

She ended her video by warning people to be careful with their bank cards, advising them to conceal or scratch off the CVV number at the back to reduce the risk of unauthorized online transactions.

Credit: @dmw_kiki

The Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) has refunded N10.8m nomination fee to former presidential aspirant Abisayo Busari-Akinnadeju after her withdrawal...

#news