Episode 31
{Flashback â Twenty years ago}
The darkness enveloped them drawing them in until they had the sights of vampires, seeing clearly in the thick dark they were plunged into. Cold seeped into their bodies, going past their flesh to freeze up the frail skeletal bones within as they walked on, on tired feet. Jack snuggled closer to his mother as they walked into the unknown with no destination in mind. Every sound became magnified to their sensitive ears, every movement caused them to jump in fright, yet, the more they looked, the less they saw.
No one was about. It had just rained and the ground was wet and slippery. They walked farther and farther away from the place they had known as their place of abode, growing wearier with each step they took. Jack turned his head every now and then, his small frame feeling too frightened of the darkness, but still, having the comforting presence of his mother. He had never been out in the dark so late at night; it felt like one of his nightmares made real. His mother was limping painfully beside him, suffering with each painful step she took. The beating from Pascal had left her battered and in need of serious medical attention. Blood oozed from the sides of her face and she was becoming weaker by the second.
âMum?â Jack called in concern as he turned his small face up to his mother. âAre you okay mum? Maybe you should restâ
Margaret looked at the concerned look in the upturned face of her son and pulled him closer. Jack drew closer, offering whatever support his small frame could afford.
There was no one passing by, the atmosphere was scarily quiet. The tall houses hovered like mountains before Jackâs eyes, the gates seemed too high, like they were hanging a large invisible âdo not disturbâ tag on it.
Margaret swallowed, taking in the blood from several cuts in her mouth. Her eyes grew blurry and she staggered.
âMummyâ Jack called hurriedly as he held Margaret with small boyish hands. âDo you want to sit, mummy?â he did not care if they sat there on the road till daybreak, all he knew was that he did not want to see his mother in pain. His innocent face was wrinkled with worry as he stared at his motherâs pale face. Margaret managed a weak smile and shook her head.
âI am⊠ok sweetheart.â She murmured weakly.
âYou look tired mumâ Jack whined, growing increasingly worried.
Margaret drew herself to her full height, ignoring her pains for her sonâs sake. âI am fine Jackâ she swallowed the lump in her throat. âAre your legs hurting honey?â
Jack shook his head; mouthing a ânoâ even though his legs were growing increasingly tired from walking so much. His childish mind was beginning to miss his soft little bed and his eyes ached to fall into a long dreamless sleep, but, thinking like an adult, he knew it was his duty to protect his mother. That is what a good son who loves the mother does, right? And there was no doubt in that regards, he loved his mother dearly.
Margaret saw beyond his negative response, like the intuitive mother that she was and held him affectionately, squeezing his shoulder. âCome son, we would rest soon, let us walk faster now; this place is dangerous at nightâ she muttered, glancing around. Jack nodded, staying glued to his mother as they walked wordlessly, their feet making the only sounds in the night. After walking a small distance, Margaret raised her head, sighting a large house, fully decorated with flowers encamping it. Judging by the volume of the flowers, she knew it could provide them the shade to cover them from whoever might be passing by. She sighed slightly in relief.
âLook Jack, we would just rest there for a whileâ she pointed to the flowers ahead and relief washed over Jackâs little face. Margaret glanced around and summoned the last bit of strength to walk the distance, holding Jack close. On getting there, she realized with gleeful happiness that the ground there was also covered in carpet grass. She slipped in there, and pulled Jack in with her when she was sure that the place was a bit better than passing the night on the road. The grass was very wet from the rain, but they had no other choice now, right? With excruciating pain, she pushed herself to a sitting position and Jack quickly dropped onto the grassy floor beside her. It didnât take a second for their clothes to get soaked. Margaret wondered how they would get through the night with their wet clothes without catching cold. âCome and sit on my laps Jackâ Margaret murmured, it would be better if she was the only person with wet clothes.
Jack shook his head vigorously. âYou are tired, I would stay on the floorâ he murmured as he got comfortable on the floor.
She watched his determined face and swallowed. âAre you okay Jack?â Margaret asked as she ran her hands gently over Jackâs head.
Jack nodded his head, looking worried. âYour face is very red and swollenâ
Margaret swallowed. âIt would goâ she reassured him. âWhen it is bright, we would go to your auntâs place; would you like that?â
Jack smiled, his adventurous face showing his interest. âAnd I would see Francis?â
Margaret nodded with a smile. âYes, you would.â She answered. The talk was draining her but she needed to reduce Jackâs worry. The poor boy had never been in this fix before â having to sleep out in the cold â and even though she also had never been in this position before, she knew that it would be harder for Jack. But then, bless his soul, Jack was not complaining like other children might have done. God had indeed rewarded her with the best child any woman could pray for. âSleep okay?â she whispered as she gathered him to herself until he was resting against her.
Jack put his arms around his mother, holding tightly as he put his head on his motherâs chest. It was his job to protect his mother like every strong boy should and he would definitely do that with all he had. Silence stretched with no one altering it by making the slightest sound. Their individual breathing was the thing that reechoed their ears. They were all alone in the world, or so they thought. Occasionally, Jack would lift his head to look at his motherâs face to gain reassurance that she was still okay.
Seconds changed into minutes and minutes into hours, or were they just imagining it? It just seemed like an awfully long time to each of them as they stared into space, both not finding sleep.
âYou want me to tell you a story?â Margaret asked gently, hoping that the story would not only get her son to relax but also to lull him to sleep.
âYesâ
Margaretâs fingers found their way to Jackâs hair, brushing against them repeatedly in the soothing manner she knew often propelled him to sleep. âOnce upon a timeâŠâ Margaret began; but it was the beginning and the end of the story.
The faint light of car headlamps altered the dark serenity causing Sewa to grow still. Who was driving in the night? She hoped to God that whoever it was, passed without noticing them, then, it occurred to her⊠maybe that was their saving grace. If they could only get someone who would house them for the night, saving them from the harsh weather and dangers of the night, she would be eternally grateful to God. Whoever it was must be kind enough to take pity on them especially when he saw her little son. Besides, how long would she last in her current condition? As the car drew nearer, she realized it was a jeep. Maybe it would not be dangerous to pop out and seek help.
Thieves and assassins wouldnât own a jeep, right? âStay here Jackâ Margaret told Jack as she made to stand.
âNo!â Jack refused sharply, standing along with his mum.
Margaret looked at him gently. âMummy wants to get help for us, wait here Jackâ
âI would come with youâ Jack insisted stubbornly. He couldnât bear to be separated from his mother for even a second; his little heart thumped with the fear that something bad would happen to her or to him.
Margaret looked at the fear and sheer determination in her sonâs eyes and held him to herself. She shouldnât leave him; she should have known that he would be more frightened when she wasnât with him. âOkay honey, stay behind me, okay?â she looked him straight in the eyes and he nodded firmly.
The lights drew closer and brighter as they made out of the flowers to stand by the road side, their behinds dripping water.
They carried hopes in their hearts, praying that the vehicle would indeed be their salvation, but Jack was about to realize that the dark night could still get darker.
They never should have left their place of hiding. If they had been given the gift of foresight, they would have stayed hidden and pray that the vehicle pass without seeing them; pray that the car rolled by because along with it came evil and misfortune.
They would have chosen to endure the cold till daybreak⊠but things done cannot be undone! The car came to a halt and the back window at the ownerâs side of the car lowered to reveal the face of the devil himself â Tunji BanksâŠ
PRESENT
Jack wiped the lone tear which rolled down his cheek, surprised at the emotions which overtook him. He had thought of that painful day over and over but he had never relived it in such excruciating details. He walked away from the window and dropped the picture on the table. He felt like going for another long walk. How would he forget the torment of that night? How would he purge his mind to forget the trauma, pain and bitterness he felt that night? How would he forgive the world, forgive himself and most of all, forgive the man who had caused him so much pain and bitterness? Could he do it for Laraâs sake? Could he do it for Felixâs sake? Could he throw his quest for vengeance to the wind because of the good people in his life?
His phone rang and he took it out of his pocket, grateful for the distraction. He cleared his throat to wipe out the lump within before answering the call. âSwordâ he called stiffly.
âYes sir, we have located Mrs. Banksâ familyâ
Everything Jack had thought of before wiped out as he heard that. âVery good Sword. Send them the letter I asked you to draftâ
âYes sirâ
Jack hung up with a smile. Well, maybe he would remove Lara from his revenge plans but who says Tunji Banks had to go scot-free? And he didnât have to do anything bad, did he? All he had to do was give Sewaâs family the right to be at their own daughterâs funeral!
The door of the office bursted open and Tunji Banks marched in, brimming with undiluted anger as he slammed the door shut behind him. Lara who was sitting in her fatherâs wheeled office chair, turned her own smoking eyes to her father to her father as he stormed in, looking like a man on the verge of going crazy. âWhat the hell is the meaning of the nonsense you just displayed there?â he roared, his voice bouncing off the walls.
Lara stared coldly at him with unblinking eyes. âIt didnât look like I was the one displaying the nonsenseâ she retorted coldly.
âYou⊠you shut upâ he yelled crazily as his forehead shone with sweat where he stood, shaking with rage. âNow, you go out there and rectify the havoc you just created.â He pointed to the door with his hand showing tense veins.
âI would do no such thingâ
âYou would do whatever I want damn you!â he roared. Now Lara was beginning to think he had truly gone insane. He started pacing the length of the office in anger, his eyes roaming everywhere and nowhere, searching the floor for what Lara could not name. âDo you have any idea, how much I worked to get this far? Do you?â he yelled. âNow, you would not spoil it for me with your useless insinuating sharp tongueâ
Lara jumped to her feet as anger took over her spine. âIt is always about you, isnât it? Arenât you ashamed? How can you try to use my motherâs death to win yourself peopleâs sympathy for election votes? She was your wife!â
âShut up! Donât you dare mention your mother before me; you should be glad that I am using her for something. She seems to be more useful to me dead than she was when she was living, breathing and eating my god dammed foodâ
Lara stared numbly at her father. There was no doubt in her mind; the man before her was nothing more than a filthy beast! She shook her head to discard the painful thoughts. âWhere is Nora?â better to stay focused on her reason for coming.
Tunji was pacing, not listening to her. âDo you know the rumours that would fly about when that interview goes live?â he ranted on. âThey could begin to dig the real cause of her death, and if they got wind of the fact that your shameless coward of a mother actually committed suicide, my reelection is as good as deadâ he looked at the floor with panic stricken face like he could literarily see the ruins of his ambitions la!d plain on the tiled floor of the office.
âIs that what you want? You want the whole world to mock your motherâs memory?â
âYou sound like you careâ she muttered with her mouth twisted in irritation.
âI doâŠâ he yelled. âI do care, so now, go out there and smile at the journalists⊠no, donât smile⊠cry. Show them how much your motherâs death means to you⊠apologize for your behavior and blame it on the nerves. I can even pay them to cut out that partâŠâ
âStop!â Lara yelled.
She stared unbelievably at her father for some seconds, and then shook her head. âI canât believe mum wasted 26 years with you. How could she cope with a man like you?â
âYou think your mother was a saint? No! Your mother was nothing but a complete Sluut!â he yelled. âYes! Your mother was a big high-class Lovepeddler⊠thatâs what she isâ
Lara grew still as death. âDo you talk about my mother like thatâ she warned quietly.
Tunji hooted out in mock laughter. âYou think I am lying? Why do you think she killed herself uhn?â he asked with his eyes glowing with mockery. âShe was too much of a jellyfish; she couldnât face the shame of her disgraceful act when I threatened to expose her. She slept with two of my friends! Two! At the same time!â
Lara shook her head. No! Her father was just saying it to torment her, right? Her mother was too upstanding; she wouldnât do such a thing⊠right? But the more she looked at it, the more things became clearer. Her mother had spoken of something like this, right?
âYou should see the videoâŠâ he laughed crazily. âIt would rival most of the Adult movie videos on netâ
âYou taped it?â Okay, she was becoming confused! What is going on here?
Tunji laughed. âThe stupid woman. I was testing her and asked her to get into bed with my two friends, the Sluut jumped at the offer without batting an eyeâ
âAnd you taped it to use against her in futureâ Lara finished, staring at her father in bewilderment. How could she have emerged from a man like this? What her mother had said on her deathbed became understandable now. What mother would want her child seeing something as gory as that? Lara felt the distinct urge to kill her father with her bare hands. He seemed crazier to her by the minute. Too bad Bola and Teresa were not there to stop her!
âI still have the mind-blowing SÂŁx tape with me. You either dance to my tunes and go out there to rectify the damage you created or watch the views of your motherâs atrocities rise every second on YouTube. It would seem your mother died in vain, wouldnât it?â
âYou wouldnât.â
âOh, donât dare me Lara. Your mother knew me well, Iâll give her that. She knows I donât play with my words. Before you know it, your mother would become more popular in her death.â
âMaybe they would think her husband is too weak, he couldnât satisfy the woman he marriedâ Lara muttered before she could stop herself. Lara watched her father grow pale and rigid before her and paused. Wait a minute⊠her mouth dropped open as the unspoken truth slammed into her.
All along, the truth had been there for her to see, she was just too dumb to see it. Her parents had separate bedrooms for as long as she could remember! There has been no quarrel whatsoever suggesting that her father had a mistress somewhere.
Her mother only spent the night in her fatherâs room on exceedingly rare occasions which Lara was beginning to think was just a charade to cover up the truth.
Oh myâŠ
âWhat did you do to Nora?â Lara diverted her thoughts; she didnât want to think about the horrifying thing she just discovered.
He became less rigid, covering up thing with a fierce look as if nothing had just happened. âYou sent that obnoxious little snail in here, didnât you? To do what? Retrieve the CD?â he laughed out. âWell, the snail you sent was definitely too slow, she is paying for her sluggishness as we speakâ
Lara swallowed; not knowing what he was talking about, but went ahead anyways. âI could report you to the authorities; you could go to jailâ
âOn what charges?â he laughed. âNo charged levied against me is valid as long as I am still on seatâ
âNot with the present administrationâ she said with a twisted smile.
âAnd what would I be accused of, dearest daughter?â
Lara smiled as she left the place she was standing for the first time, moving towards her father slowly. âHow about false assets declaration? You forget that I am your daughter and know your every secret.
The assets you declared before your election were all fake, properties owned by different people. How would you explain the properties you currently own now? There is no way you could have acquired them with the money you receive. You could be charged with fraud and redirection of public funds for personal uses.
I am your daughter! I would be a strong witness against you in the law court.â
Tunji had gone pale, staring rigidly at Lara. âSo what if I did? No one would believe youâ he smiled tightly. âYou have no proofâ
Lara laughed as she walked slowly towards the door. âOh dad! Again, you forget that I am your daughter; you taught me wellâ she sighed dramatically and turned back to face her stone-faced father. She dipped her hand into her pocket and produced her phone, waving it in the air like a hand fan. âThis is all the evidence I need.â She smiled merrily as Tunji stared at the phone like he would expire. âEverything we just discussed has been recordedâ the governor blanched. âYou wanna hear your voice, daddy?â she drawled as she stared at her phone for a second and tapped the screen. The voices of their heated arguments floated through the room.
Lara had never seen anyone whiter!
She stopped it and looked coldly at her father. âDonât try to snatch the phone from me! I have forwarded it to another phone so that I can have a duplicate; I know you dadâ she said, then, a merry smile dropped on her face.
âI think the journalists are still there⊠how interesting would it be to play this to their earing? You would gain more grounds in the election, right?â
âDonât you dareâ he gritted out through clenched teeth.
âYou wouldnât be issuing the threats dad, I amâ she said viciously, her eyes burning like coal. âNow, I want Nora released and brought back to the vicinity in one minute or the entire world would be listening to this recording before the sun setsâ
Tunji Banks swallowed. Now, he was sweating for real in the air-conditioned office. Lara should feel remorse for putting her father in this position, but she couldnât even manage the slightest feeling of sympathy. âDonât think I wouldnât do itâ she pressed. She had made sure she kept a safe distance between herself and her father. âJust like you, I donât go back on my word. One minute is tickingâŠâ she looked dramatically at her watch. âWhat is it going to be daddy?â she raised her brow.
Tunji looked like a defeated lion as he pulled out his phone and placed it against his ear. âLet her goâ he murmured and lowered his phone, looking angrily at her.
âIf I donât receive a call from either Teresa or Bola, confirming that they have seen her, I would assume that you are daring me dad, and we both know the consequencesâ she murmured, waving her phone.
They both stood there, glaring at each other until, Laraâs phone rang and she picked, keeping a close eye on her father. âBabe⊠we have seen her! Oh God, I have never seen anyone worseâŠâ
âGoodâ Lara murmured and hung up. She breathed. One hurdle crossed! She crossed over to a chair and dropped into it. âIn the light of recent events, since Nora failed in taking what you claimed she came in here to get, why donât I take it on her behalf, uhn?â she murmured as she grinned up to the mistake of a father she had, still waving her phone in the air. âGive me the CD!â
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