Under pressure, Ada’s integrity was tested and she passed

Ada works with a company that sells precious stones. She had access to almost all of them and this was based on the trust the management had in her. Ada is a staff that an organisation will have, and they would not need to worry about the security of any item especially if you have more than one of her type.

There was never a moment she felt tempted to take even the ones that were not yet documented, not because cameras are everywhere but simply because of the principle she has always lived by “Never covet what is not yours”.

Over the years, because she had consistently proven herself worthy, her loyalty and trustworthiness had earned her promotions and salary raise.

Early in the year, her mother was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. She believed her mum had the chance to survive. At the initial stage of her treatment, her funds could carry the bills but as treatment progressed, the bills were escalating. She did not want to talk to the management about it because she did not want them to think she was taking advantage of access to certain information about the organisation.

A senior colleague, who took an interest in her because of her diligence, had been observing her and worried about her behaviour in recent times. One day, he called her into his office to ask if she was okay and she said she was fine.

When she left his office, she went to her own office, locked the door and cried woefully. “God where are you in all this? Please help me, I don’t want to lose my mum, she is all I have”.

She heard a knock on her door; she got up swiftly and tried to clean her eyes. She got to the door and asked without opening it “Who is there?” and the voice that responded was that of her colleague, Chinwe “Hi Ada, I heard a sound, so I thought to check up on you”. Ada responded, trying her best to ensure her voice didn’t give her away that she had been crying “I am fine, I hit my leg on the chair and the sound you heard was just me expressing the pain” “Okay then, take care” Chinwe said and left.

Though her boss wasn’t convinced she was ok, he decided to keep watch on her to try to find out what she was trying her best to cover up. He wasn’t convinced she was okay as she claimed.

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At about 7 pm, she got out of her office and checked around to be sure no one was around. She walked calmly into one of the rooms where the precious stones were kept. She began to cry intensely, “God, I am not a thief, and you know. I have access to this, yet I have chosen not to take anything, even the littlest, please make a way for me.” Her boss tiptoed to where she was. She had no idea anyone was in the office. She continued sharing her heart and crying. She walked up to the stones, kept looking at them and having conflicting ideas…she suddenly spoke out “No I can’t, I just can’t, I never have …” she said, and a voice interjected saying “…and you never will”. She turned in shock to find her boss; she ran to him and began to cry. He held her and said “I knew something was wrong Ada, I knew it…what is going on? Why are you here? What is making you even entertain the thought of theft? This is not you. Speak to me Ada” he requested.

He took her out of the room, gave her a seat and extended his handkerchief to her “Now you know you have to tell me the truth, Ada.” She sobbed for a while and then she began to share with him how she discovered her mum had stage 3 cancer, how she had tried to keep up with paying the bills and she could not handle it anymore.

“What!” he exclaimed and continued “You kept such a thing from us? Come on Ada, you should have at least asked and let us be the ones to decide whether we can give you or not.” And she responded, “I’m sorry sir, I just never wanted to be a burden to the organisation, neither did I want to abuse access.”

He then said “Listen, what I saw here never happened. I am glad you kept telling yourself you could never do such a thing like stealing. I will speak to the MD about this, and I will get back to you. Let’s remain positive and keep praying, God will surely make a way.” “Thank you, sir, I am so grateful,” she said.

The next day, he spoke to the MD about it. He was also shocked she kept it away from everyone “It shows the state of her heart, I am sure she did not want to feel like a bother to us. He immediately sent for her and informed her that her mum would be taken to a private hospital and if not sorted, she would be flown out. Ada went on her knees, crying and saying thank you “Get up Ada, you have been a blessing to us here and you deserve our assistance”. The MD said.

Her mum was taken to a private hospital and the care continued from where the previous hospital she visited stopped.

Though cancer had extended beyond the immediate region of the tumour and invaded nearby lymph nodes and muscles, however, it had not spread to distant organs.

After surgery and radiation therapy, along with chemo and other drug therapies, Ada’s mum made it. It’s been two years since the surgery, and she is doing just fine.