SAKADINIA - Episode 11

The night had been empty and longer without a man to
warm her bed, her father was badly wounded and was in
the hospital, she had not set her eyes on her mother’s
driver since the accident, and she felt really h---y.
‘Brand new day’ she crawled out of bed and stared
outside the window, she had to see Nelson, she needed
to feel him inside of her, she needed to quench her
burning desires.
Rose showered and dressed up and left for the kitchen,
she decided to have breakfast first, before sneaking into
Nelson’s room, she’d thought she’d been the only one
awake but was surprised to walk in on the maid, she was
crying.
She’d grown up with maids and didn’t like the lot of them
especially Grace who’d walked in on her and her dad, but
the sight of this new maid crying had an effect on her and
she was tempted to comfort her, but she couldn’t, she
wouldn’t stoop that low.
‘What are you doing? I need my breakfast and be real
quick about it’ Rose hissed loudly trying to mask her
concern.
‘Oh, Goodmorning Ma,please what would you like to eat’?
Ajunwa rose to her feet and wiped her face hurriedly.
‘Food’ Rose hissed loudly and left the kitchen, she
decided to check Nelson first, she couldn’t stand a crying
maid.
As she neared his room, she noticed something strange
in the garden, a bottle of scotch and two glasses,
someone had been drinking the night before. That was
when she remembered her mother’s late night visitor, Mr
Oliver, that was how she’d addressed him.
‘Wow, mum you’re so smart, your husband is almost
dying and you couldn’t wait to bring your lover home’
Rose clicked her tongue as she caressed the bottle. She
had always known her mother was sneaking around, but
now, she’d found out who her lover was.
She scoffed and continued walking, she couldn’t wait for
her dad to get well so they’d resume their affair, she had
proof that her mother was equally cheating, so why
should he stay faithful to her?
‘Nelson’? she knocked twice, but there was no response,
she pushed the door with all her strength, but realized it
was locked.
‘Motherfucker’ she cursed and picked up the note close
to his door.
‘What’s really happening’? Rose wondered as she
scanned it.
DEAR MADAM,
I AM REALLY SORRY FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED, IT’S
ALL MY FAULT, I COULDN’T FACE THE PASTOR, SEEING
HIM ON THAT HOSPITAL BED BEAT MY CONSCIENCE
AND I HAD TO RESIGN. PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
‘Are you kidding me?’ Rose scoffed, she felt stupid for
even having s-x with him earlier, he didn’t have the
courtesy to let her in on his eloping plans.
‘B-----d’ she spat angrily.
‘Mum’! she rushed back to show her mother the letter.
***
It was like a dream to me, I still couldn’t believe Mark
had raped me, I trusted him completely and he treated
me like an object.
My hands shook as I washed the dishes, I couldn’t tell
anyone what had happened to me, if only I’d listened to
my mother, now I’d lost my virginity in the most appalling
manner and I had so many fears, what if I got pregnant?
what if I got raped?
So many things ran through my mind, I was so scared, I
paused and inhaled deeply, everything in me screamed I
should leave the house and return to my village, but the
quest for revenge swallowed the inner voices.
I couldn’t let Mark go scot free, I had to hurt him as much
as he hurt me, even his whole family, they had to pay for
what Mark did.
What if he’d raped Grace too? Was that why she wanted
to run? I had so many questions yet no answer.
I peeped out of the window into the garden as I heard
Rose screaming for her mother, what had happened? Had
she discovered her mother’s affair with Nelson?
I shook my head in disappointment, these men of God
had a lot of skeletons in their cupboard.
I prayed to be strong, I couldn’t cry now, I couldn’t show
Mark I was weak, I needed to fight for myself, I wouldn’t
be used and discarded like an old doll, I had my plans.
‘Ajunwa’ the all too familiar alto called my name.
Normally, I would’ve been scared of her, scared of her
presence, but I felt nothing as I swirled and faced the
woman who was married to a pastor and was equally
sleeping with her driver. Suddenly, all my fears
disappeared and I felt more courageous than before.
‘Goodmorning Ma’ I replied coolly.
‘Morning, prepare some food, something spicy, you’ll tend
to my husband today, I have a very busy schedule’ Helen
gave out the orders and was about to leave when her
daughter rushed into the kitchen.
Before that, she noticed something different about
Ajunwa, the girl hardly ever looked her straight in the eye
but she did right then and that made her uncomfortable,
that wasn’t a good sign, she waved it aside and decided
she’d deal with the rat later. She had more important
things to deal with, she needed to meet with the church
elders and she needed to pay Oliver off for his services.
She had slept like a baby throughout the night, she had
never felt that much peace, knowing the only person
capable of leaking her secret and tearing her family apart
was dead, she couldn’t have wished for more.
‘What is it Honey’? Helen replied coolly.
‘Mum, I found this, it seems Nelson has gone’ Rose
handed her the note.
My ears were erect as mother and daughter conversed,
why would Nelson run? Afterall he had access to his
boss’ body and she must have taken good care of him.
‘What? What’s the meaning of this? How could he just
leave without telling me’? Helen complained.
‘Mum, I think we should call in the police to find him, he
was responsible for dad’s accident and now he has gone,
I think he took our kindness for granted, Mum please you
need to arrest him’ Rose suggested. What hurt her most
was sleeping with him, and he just bailed out on her like
nothing happened.
‘No dear, we need to think this through, we don’t need
the police, since he’s already gone, there’s no point’
Helen replied. How could Rose say something like that?
Bringing in the police would destroy her plans.
‘Mum? Why are you defending him? he hurt father, your
husband, he confessed in this note that the accident was
his fault, then what are waiting for’? Rose asked, her
mother was acting weird, she noticed Helen’s eyeballs
were dicey, she was hiding something.
‘I am not defending Nelson, this isn’t the time to call in
the police, let’s support your father, once he is on his feet,
we call in the police and deal with him’ Helen replied.
This was getting interesting, first, Grace wrote a note and
vanished and now Nelson? I scoffed as mother and
daughter argued till Helen’s idea overshadowed Rose’s.
‘Good morning all, what’s the noise about’? Mark
swaggered into the kitchen and my heart raced as I
recalled what he did to me.
It took willpower to control my shaky hands and the urge
to strike his face with a ceramic, I needed to hurt him so
badly.
‘I was just telling mother about this and I feel we should
bring in the police, what do you think’? Rose showed Mark
the note.
‘Uhmmm, not a bad idea, Mum he just confessed, we
should report him for running, what if dad never
recovers’? Mark asked.
‘You know what Rose? I need to see you in my room’
Helen ordered and strode out of the kitchen with her
daughter, leaving I and Mark.
‘Baby….’ He neared me and encircled his hands around
me.
‘Get your dirty hands off of me’ I screamed as tears
welled up in my eyes, but I controlled them, he couldn’t
see me as weak.
‘Why the anger? We shared something special last night’
he tried to kiss me but I slapped him. how dare he?
‘You are a devil Mark, you forced your dirty self on me
and now you’re telling me we shared something, are you
okay? Did I offend you in anyway? Why did you rape me?
Is that how you raped Grace? Tell me, was that why she
left you for Romeo?’ a tear slipped from my eyes.
I noticed the surprise in his eyes as I mentioned Grace.
‘Romeo? How did you know about him? what do you
know’? he dragged me closer to him, his eyes brimmed
with tears.
‘Let go of me you psycho, I knew that’s what you did to
her, but I am not Grace, get that into your thick skull, I
would pay you back, go and write it down’ I pushed him
backwards and ran out of the kitchen.
‘Wait Ajunwa! I am sorry, please don’t leave me’ he cried
but I was gone.
His heart raced as he cried, what had he done? She was
right, his problems started with Grace when she fell in
love with another man, how could she have chosen
another over him?
He had noticed a certain young man whom she hung out
with after church service, she had told him his name was
Romeo,he had fought hard to win her love before she
escaped and brought pain to his world.
***
‘I saved you from the police, I buried your secret in my
garden and you dare question my authority in this house,
how dare you Rose’? Helen poured out her anger at her
daughter’s irritable behavior. Who was she to give her
orders?
‘Mum, why do you always have to bring that matter up?
why can’t you ever let it go? Why do you make me feel
like I can’t correct you when you’re wrong simply because
you helped me that day. Remember I didn’t ask you to
cover it up, I was scared and broken, cutting her into
pieces and burying her in the garden was your idea, you
had a choice to call the police but you dragged I and
father into it’ Rose screamed angrily at her mother.
‘How dare you? You little ingrate, should I had reported
to the police, you wouldn’t have had the guts to stand
before me, because you would’ve been dead in jail, your
father’s reputation would’ve been tarnished, I helped
everyone, I cleansed us all and you’re so ungrateful’
Helen scowled.
‘Cleansed us? You’re the one who needs cleansing’ Rose
scoffed and turned to walk away but Helen dragged her
and offered her a slap which sent her reeling on the floor.
‘Excuse me? I’m the one who needs cleansing? When you
murdered Grace in cold blood for a reason I’d never
know’ Helen chuckled.
‘I know your secret mum, I saw it in the garden, you think
you’re a saint? Wait till dad gets well and I tell him about
you and your lover, I would tell him how you sneak him
into the house and f--k him, just wait on me’ Rose
staggered.
‘How could you’? Helen smirked. How could her own
daughter whom she saved speak to her that way?
‘So it’s the truth afterall’? Rose arched a brow.
‘I only slept with Nelson because your father lost interest
in me and had no time for me, he buried himself in
church work, why should you judge me, you’re no better’
Helen exhaled.
Things were falling out of place, if only she knew she
would’ve reported Grace’s murder to the police, now the
daughter she spared was now challenging her authority.
‘You slept with Nelson’? Rose was shocked, so her
mother was having an affair with Nelson, no wonder she
was reluctant to report him to the police, that did it for
her, she would work straight into a police station and
report Nelson’s elopement.
‘Just get out of my room, I buried your secret in the
garden and I regret every bit of it’ Helen dismissed her.
‘Whatever’ Rose hissed and walked away.
‘God, I’m dead’ Helen sank into her bed, truly, there was
no peace for the wicked, if only she knew, she wouldn’t
have spared Rose, now everything would fall back on her.
She hadn’t closed her eyes for a five minutes just to take
a short nap, when her phone beeped and she checked it,
it was a message, one whose words left her terrified and
she wished the earth could crack open and swallow her
up.
‘I KNOW WHAT YOU DID, IT MAKES ME SICK, I AM
GOING TO TELL. A SECRET IS BURIED IN THE GARDEN’.
‘Lord save me’ she cried and buried her face in the
pillow, Oliver had shown her the text before, someone
was after her, she could feel it strongly.
***
He had tried a number of businesses but none worked
out well than that of blackmailing people and getting
them to pay heavily for it. He had blackmailed lots of
Nigerian politicians, most of them made the mistake of
being mean to their domestic staff, and that was the
easiest means to get to them.
‘Why didn’t you take pictures, how could you be so
stupid? Now we have no evidence, she could easily deny
it and claim nothing happened’ Kachi Romeo yelled
angrily at one of his agents.
He not only owned a blog, he had numerous connections
with different secret cults as well as assassin groups, so
anytime a big fish ordered for the death of someone, he
knew, except for very top officials. Helen was not close to
the top, she played into his hands very easily.
‘Take a picture after shooting him? she was right there
and if I tried that she would’ve killed me too and buried
me in her sweet little garden’ Oliver scoffed.
Working with Kachi Romeo was good business, most
times they both connived and blackmailed those that had
hired him to kill.
‘Bury you? You were the one with the gun’ Kachi poured
himself a drink.
‘So what? There are many ways to kill a man, trust me,
Helen Ita is a very dangerous woman. Nelson was foolish
to have s-x with her even after you’d revealed to him the
woman that had sent men after his life’ Oliver replied.
‘Well Delilah killed Samson, how much more a smaller
fool like Nelson?’ Kachi scoffed.
‘You call him a fool, but what about you who is in love
with Rose, a woman that fucks her own dad, who does
that’? Oliver grimaced.
‘In love? I used to love her once, but now, I see her as a
means to a very rich end,this would be our biggest job, a
family with secrets, each would pay to keep their
abnormalities from the world’ Kachi laughed heartily.
‘What about Helen’s son? Mark, he seems to be clean,
you have not said a thing about him’ Oliver asked.
He’d worked together on the Ita family case with Kachi
for a long time.
‘Mark is no angel, in fact, he is the reason Grace really
opened up to me, we’ll talk about some other time, now I
need all the information to find Grace, I need to know she
is okay, she helped me very much’ Kachi sighed, Grace
had really suffered, she had gone through hell in that
cursed house, he was glad she had opened up to him.
‘Nothing much, the pastor is still in the hospital bed, and
I think Grace has returned, I saw her last night serving the
Ita’s’ Oliver replied. He was sure of it, the girl that served
dinner was Grace, he’d seen her many times when she
met in secret with Romeo.
‘Are you sure about this? Then why didn’t she contact
me? Why are her numbers not going through, this would
be the greatest news ever’ Kachi dialed her numbers but
they weren’t reachable.
‘I swear it, maybe I could go back to the house, and
instruct her to meet you’ Olive suggested.
‘No, that would be dangerous, stay away from the Itas,
now, we have to get evidence that the pastor is sleeping
with his own daughter, we already have a voice note of
Grace telling me how Mark raped her a lot of times, after
which I convinced her to fix this a tiny video camera in
the house to catch Helen and Nelson in action, which she
did, now all what remains is our biggest fish, Pastor Ita
and Rose’ Kachi clapped his hands excitedly.
‘You’re very smart, but I think we should take on just one
person, too much of everything is bad’ Oliver advised, he
wasn’t too comfortable with Romeo’s idea.
‘No, one person wouldn’t make me as rich as I want, so
we take them all down’ Romeo replied not too pleased
with Oliver countering him.
‘I still don’t support it, I say we take the pastor down, he
was what to lose most, he has a ministry,we have to
think very clearly’ Oliver insisted.
‘Since when did you start giving me advice on how to run
my business’? Romeo snapped angrily at him.
‘Well, mind the way you speak to me, we’re still in this
business’ Oliver warned.
‘Partners’? Romeo scoffed, he knew how just to deal with
Oliver, with the snap of his fingers, the fool would obey
him.
‘Of course, I do your dirty work’ Oliver replied.
‘Well that’s because you’re dirty, you’re a pig and I am
the clean one, next time you challenge me, I shall leak
your secrets and trust me, the Nigerian police would treat
you just find and all the clients you blackmailed’ Romeo
hissed loudly and walked out of the room.
Romeo’s words stilled Oliver and scared him too, he
suddenly discovered he was a slave to Romeo like
everyone else whom he blackmailed.
‘No way, I wouldn’t be your pawn’ Oliver rose to his feet,
he needed to get out of Romeo’s clip, and he knew just
how to get out.
Tbc