Recognition flickered.
So did calculation.
His lawyer spoke smoothly about misunderstandings and “long-settled matters.” He suggested compassion for an elderly woman confused by time.
Kadiatu listened without interruption.
Then Musa spoke.
He didn’t accuse. He presented.
Documents. Testimony. Patterns.
Shell companies that changed names without changing hands.
Signatures that appeared across decades like fingerprints.
“This isn’t a mistake,” Musa said evenly. “It’s a method.”
Objections rose. The chair overruled them once, then twice.
Sissoko stood.
“Madame Koulibali,” he said, voice warm like poison stirred into tea, “I sympathize with your hardship, but these accusations—”
“They are not accusations,” Kadiatu interrupted calmly. “They are memories with receipts.”
A murmur rippled.
Sissoko smiled thinly. “You accepted money.”
Kadiatu nodded. “Yes.”
The room froze.
“You see,” Sissoko said, turning slightly toward the chair, “she admits it.”
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