The Landlady

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 2

The Landlady Episode Two

The plan to fly Uche abroad for treatment has started in earnest. He was to be flown to India where doctors in Lagos had referred him to. Eze, his father had applied for visas for himself and Uche and they were told to wait for two weeks for it to be ready. But they had one more interview to attend to finalize the visa process. But Ada had her own plans to further ruin things for her husband. The truth is that she doesn’t even want Uche to be treated abroad at all. She wants him to die. She decided to take steps to scuttle the journey. One afternoon, she picked up her phone and called a gang leader introduced to her by one of her friends in the city of Lagos.

“I have job for you.” Ada said over the phone. She had left her work place and gone to her real estate company where she also had an office.

“Where can I meet you? I’m fully ready to do the job. Just mention your location and I will meet you there.” Akiki, the gang leader said in reply. “Come to Ikoyi. Give me a call once you get here. I will direct you on where exactly to meet me. I will be in my car waiting.” Ada said. She picked up her handbag and stepped out of the office. Her driver was already waiting in the car. She opened the car and stepped in, took the back seat and told the driver to move. Once outside the gate, she told the driver to park by the roadside so she could wait for someone. It was not long before the gang leader called her again.

“I’m here in Ikoyi. Where can I find you?” The gang leader asked in a husky voice.

“Just look by your left, I can see you. Just turn, you will see a black jeep parked by the roadside. “Ada said. Not long after, Akiki, the gang leader knocked at the tinted windscreen of the car and Ada opened the door for him to come in.

“I want you to kidnap someone and I want the job to be perfectly done. No mistakes please. I want it done tomorrow morning.” Ada said to Akiki as soon as he took a seat in the car.

“Don’t worry, just give me the details I need. Give me the person’s address, a picture of the person and the N3 million and the job will be done with Immediate effect.” Akiki said with a mischievous smile.

“I have N2 million cash here. When the job is done, I will give you the remaining N1 million. The person I want to kidnap is a family member and his name is Uche. He will be going for a visa interview tomorrow. He is presently at the hospital receiving treatment. However, you will have to stand outside the hospital so you can pick him as soon as my husband drives him out from the facility. Here’s the name of the hospital. My son will be leaving the place tomorrow by 8am. Please, no mistakes. Kidnap only him and not my husband. Once the job is done, give me a phone call, then I will give you further directives.” Ada said. She was chewing gum and blowing bubbles as she talked.

“Alright! Consider it done.” The kidnap gang leader said as he leaves the car with a smile after picking the money dropped for him on the car seat. Ada was driven home by her driver. When she got home, she saw her husband, Eze gathering his documents and Uche’s own in preparation for the visa interview the next day. “Have you seen all the documents?” Ada asked her husband while serving him food that night.

“Yes my dear. I just pray we will get the visa after the interview. The boy has spent a long time in the hospital and he has suffered a lot. I can’t wait to get him the help he needs in India. His health condition makes me worried.” Eze said. Ada had served him okra soup and pounded yam. He loved it as he swallowed lump after lump. He took one chunk of meat and put it in Ada’s mouth. She chewed happily. “I pray he gets the visa as well. The boy has suffered so much and I pity him every day. I don’t want him to die. He is such a lovely boy.” Ada said as she sat beside her husband with her hand on his shoulder to sooth his nerves. Eze has been through a lot since Uche fell sick and he looked stressed.

As they went to bed that night, Ada sent a message to Akiki, the kidnap leader to make sure there are no mistakes in the kidnap operations.

“I don’t want this operation to fail. It is very important to me and a lot of money will be made from it. Make sure not to mess it up for me. Remember the hospital I told you about and remember to be at the gate at the exact time and remember, don’t kidnap my husband. Only my son should be kidnapped. No mistakes please!” Ada said in a WhatsApp message she quickly sent to Akiki before falling asleep.

The next day, things happened exactly as Ada had planned them. The kidnappers who were heavily armed picked Uche when he was being driven out of the hospital by his father. As soon as he was kidnapped, Ada forwarded her husband’s phone number to the kidnappers with a clear instruction for them to demand for a ransom of N60 million.

“Tell him to send N60 million cash and his son will be released or else, he will never see his son again. Tell him he must not involve the police.” Ada said in message he sent to Akiki. Eze was frustrated when the kidnappers called him. He rushed home and sat tearfully in one of the sofas in the living room. One of his hands was used to wedge his chin mournfully. He was a shadow of himself. When he thought he had sold his house to raise money to treat his son, kidnapers are now asking for the money. His spirit was crushed.

“How can I give them the same money I’m supposed to use and take my child abroad for medical treatment? This is so painful. And the boy is sick, he can’t spend many days in the kidnappers den. He is going to die if I leave him there.” Eze said to his wife that evening.

“I’m so sad about the situation. My enemies have finally succeeded. I suggest we should give them the money. I don’t want my son to die. He is so precious to me. Please, send them the N60 million. It is better to have Uche alive here with us than for him to die in the kidnappers’ den. Send them the money, we will find another way to raise funds for his treatment.” Ada said to her husband with tears in her eyes.

“Please stop crying my wife. Uche will not die in the kidnappers’ den. But I need to think about this carefully tonight. I will take a decision tomorrow morning.” Eze said. They did not sleep that night.

Watch out for episode 3