episode 14
*
THE DINNER…..
The night had come, the night he would get his pay for keeping their dirty and dark secret, he was a fulfilled man, Kachi Romeo, one of the wealthiest bloggers in the country, after Linda Ikeji, he was next and there was no stopping him.
‘How do I look’? Romeo smiled mischievously. He was confident the business with the Itas would work out just fine, with Oliver and the boys to protect him, nothing could go wrong.
‘You look okay, but we’re running out of time, it’s almost 9’ Oliver reminded him.
‘Let them wait, they need me more than I need them’ Romeo replied and he was right, the Pastor was a man of repute and he would do anything to keep that identity and that of his family.
‘My boys have taken strategic position round the Itas house, so you have nothing to worry about’ Oliver said.
‘I trust you Oliver, when I am with you, I feel safe, one day, I would reward you for your kind services’ he patted him on the shoulder and walked away.
‘Good riddance to bad rubbish’ Oliver offered him a sly smile, he couldn’t wait to strangle him later that night.
He had other plans too, once Romeo was out, others would follow, no one could ever blackmail him again.
***
I had tried to escape during the night but I dissuaded myself against such action, it could get me killed, besides, I didn’t know Helen’s plans with the rifle, what if it was meant for me? What if she was spying me?
‘Dinner is served, darling, come and eat’ I heard her call to the husband from the kitchen.
I had prepared food for everyone, Romeo was included but he wasn’t yet here.
‘What makes you think I’ll eat your food?’ the pastor scoffed.
‘She wants to poison us, sorry mum, I just gave dad something to eat’ Rose chipped in.
‘I bet you did’ Helen grinned, she couldn’t wait to put a bullet into her.
‘I’ll need you two to be nice, Mark is coming home, so let’s not ruin the family dinner with all these’ she gestured with her hand. She had to lie for them to comply, she still had not gotten any information on Mark.
‘Fine, but we’re only having this dinner cause of Mark’ Rose replied and led her father to the dining table.
‘Thank you’ Helen replied and joined me in the kitchen.
‘Ajunwa? Be a dear and check the doorbell, it seems our guest is here, one more thing, I need that obscene video of my husband f-----g his daughter’ she said.
‘In my room’ I replied and left for the door. Helen was up to something, there was this macabre gleam in her eyes and I prayed no one would be buried in that garden that night.
‘Romeo? What are you doing here’? Rose was surprised to see him as I opened the door.
‘I came to pay your family a visit’ Romeo smiled and took a seat.
‘Hello there Romeo, lock the door Ajunwa’ Helen smiled mischievously as she surfaced from my room with the video camera and a rifle.
‘Yes Madam’ I swallowed hard, it would take a miracle for me to stay alive.
‘What is this? Are you crazy’? Romeo was terrified.
‘Mum? What are you doing? You think you can kill us all and bury us in the garden’? Rose went wild with curses.
‘Shut up you little b---h, I am not your mother, I couldn’t have birthed you, you’re sick, your father too’ Helen dropped the Camera on the table and pointed the gun at Romeo.
‘Play it, and I want pin drop silence, come this way Ajunwa’ she ordered me and left for the door.
‘Helen you don’t have to do this…’ the pastor wondered what had come over his wife.
She didn’t say a word, Romeo obeyed and played the video.
‘Mum…I can explain’ Rose was shocked, I could see it on her face.
‘Helen, please, it was the devil’ the pastor fell on his knees.
‘the devil? Funny’ she laughed.
‘So you were f-----g your own daughter, how nice is that? You connived with her to destroy me, you told Romeo I was the one who’d killed Grace and I should be shamed, after everything I did for you Rose, why?’ Helen’s voice cracked.
‘Mum, I’m so sorry, please forgive me’ she cried.
‘When did it start’? Helen wiped her face.
‘I am sorry Helen, this is all my fault, I forced myself on her’ The pastor crawled near her.
‘No dad, let’s tell her the truth, that we love each other, no one would fathom this but it is real. Mum, I know you wouldn’t kill me, I’m your daughter, all I ask is for forgiveness’ Rose begged.
‘My daughter? Sorry Rose,I would put a bullet through you, and I wouldn’t feel a thing’ Helen replied and pulled the trigger, without hesitation, Rose lay dead.
‘Jesus!’ we all screamed, this woman was crazy.
‘Shut up you all, now let the dinner begin’ Helen wiped her face and pulled a chair.
‘So you set me up”? Romeo laughed.
‘Call it whatever you want, but you’re dying tonight and I am burying you underneath my roses’ Helen smiled.
I watched as the pastor wept aside his daughter.
‘Helen, I would never forgive you for this, you killed our only daughter’ he cried.
‘Oh shut up and stop acting the saint, and by the way, you killed her, I wore gloves remember? So it’s your fingerprints the police would see when they come’ Helen laughed.
‘What are you talking about’? Pastor Ita wondered.
‘Well, let’s say, you touched the gun while you were asleep, I kind of pressed your palms to it, so start weeping for yourself, because I would ensure you end up behind bars for the murder of our daughter’ Helen exhaled and faced Romeo whose face was a cloud of fear, shock and disgust.
‘So Romeo, how much shall I pay you? You are the cause of everything, why didn’t you keep your nosy self out of my family business? You threatened me with those lame messages, now it’s time to end you, any last words’? he asked.
‘If you kill me, you’ll die too’ he sounded confident.
‘Why is that’? Helen raised a brow.
‘Oliver and his boys have surrounded the building,they would kill you if I don’t come out alive’ he said.
‘How stupid, now Ajunwa, tell him about our little plan’ she pointed the gun at me.
‘Grace? What is going on here? and why does she call you that’ Romeo asked.
‘I’m sorry Romeo, I am not Grace, just a look alike and Oliver is working with us’ I explained.
‘Oh my God, Helen, please don’t kill me, I promise to stay off your family, please’ he begged, so Oliver had betrayed him?
‘No, too late, next time you come into this world, just choose a better occupation, don’t be a snitch or a blogger, you could be like me, a rose gardener’ Helen smiled and pulled the trigger.
‘No’ her husband screamed. I couldn’t, it was so easy for this woman to shoot people, I knew I could die any minute, so I started reciting prayers.
‘Shut your mouth you dirty b-----d, else you’ll join them’ anger flashed her eyes.
‘Just kill me, I accept, take this pain away,, you monster’ the man cried.
‘No, death is too easy for you’ Helen smirked, he deserved to live without his precious daughter.
‘Please don’t kill me’ it was my turn to beg her.
‘No, I’m not killing you, your job is to bury these bodies in the garden, now get to work, let me deal with Oliver’ she gave her orders carefully and I obliged, I had no option, clearly, Helen Ita was a psycho.
Coincidentally, Oliver stepped into the house as I moved over Romeo’s body.
‘Oliver’ she drawled his name, but he ignored her, he scanned the bodies on the ground in disgust and before one could say Jack Robinson he pulled out a gun at Helen.
‘Oliver’? I fixed my eyes on him, what was he doing?
‘I’m sorry I have to do this Helen, but it’s the only way to have my freedom, If I let you live, you may blackmail me in future, so goodbye’ He was about to pull the trigger when we heard gunshots outside.
‘You’re surrounded by the Police, everyone step out with your hands on your head’ the police radio echoed and we all froze.
It seemed like the world had stopped. Oliver pointed the gun at Helen and Helen Pointed hers at him, while the Pastor widened his mouth in shock.
‘Did you snitch on me’? Helen asked weakly, she hadn’t expected the police.
‘Let’s go outside’ Oliver lowered his gun and placed his hands on his head and we all followed suit.
‘There she is, please don’t hurt her, she is innocent’ Mark pointed at me.
‘Mark? What is going on here? what are the police doing here’? Helen was stunned to see him with them.
‘All of you must remain silent, anything you say or do may be used against you in the court of law’ a police man barked and I watched in sheer horror as they were handcuffed, one by one.
‘Mark what did you do’? Helen asked.
‘Something that was necessary, you, dad and Rose killed Grace and buried her in the garden, you killed Nelson too, even when I raped all those girls, you did nothing to correct me, I left to think about my life and I realized I have a mental disorder, and I had to see my therapist who encouraged me to report you all to the police, luckily I found dad here too, a pastor who is a murderer. I am not sorry Mum, I don’t regret this, as I would be joining you guys too for assaulting women’ Mark sneered at them. He had decided to report himself at the police station, maybe that could absolve the guilt he felt for hurting Ajunwa.
‘Where’s Rose’? Mark asked me.
‘Two dead bodies’ a police man shouted from the house.
‘Who killed her’? he asked.
‘Your mother, Helen’ I replied.
……………………..
EPILOGUE
I was stunned that Mark could offer himself to be arrested just to show he was remorseful about what he’d done. I had forgiven him and told him his actions were unnecessary but he was hell bent on being punished so I left him.
There had never been such a scandal in Nigeria such as the Ita family scandal, not even Miss Anambra’s cucumber saga could beat it, theirs was on a higher level. How could a Pastor sleep with his own daughter?
‘How could my Uncle sleep with his own daughter’? Joy dropped the newspaper in disgust.
‘If you ask me, na who I go ask’? I replied.
.
‘I’m just glad you came out of all these alive, Grace wasn’t that lucky, Nelson too’ Joy sighed.
She was as shocked as many Nigerians to discover the dark side of a man they all looked up to, his wife was an icon to many but they both were sentenced to life imprisonment.
‘It was really a house of secrets’ I was glad I had made it home. Grace had died, Nelson followed, then Rose and Romeo, I was just lucky.
‘No, it is a house of monsters’ Joy said and we burst out laughing.
This got me thinking, do you know your house? Is it a house of secrets? Or monsters? Are there just roses in your garden? Or something dark waiting to escape? Show me your house….

episode 13
***
He’d woken up on a hospital bed, slowly the memories of his accident replayed in his brain and he thanked God he was still alive.
He had been surprised to see Joy, his niece, how had she known about his condition? Had the news gone viral that the great pastor Ita was lying on a hospital bed? He didn’t like the sound of that, but he trusted Helen, she was going to handle everything well.
He had enough time to reflect on his life as he’d come face to face with death, what if he had died? He would’ve gone straight to hell, that was why he would shun everything evil and focus on God, and live a righteous life in truth, but could God forgive him and cure him of the unnatural attraction to his daughter?
‘Uncle, I’m sorry for taking so long, I left to receive a call from a friend’ Joy pushed the door open.
‘It’s okay, how’s the family? I hope they aren’t afraid for me, I’ll be fine’ Pastor Ita replied his niece.
‘We are not worried, you’ll pull through, I can see it all over you, you’re so strong, you’ll come out of this’ Joy rubbed his legs.
Her uncle was a good man, she couldn’t say much about his wife and his evil seeds of children.
She hated Helen so much, that was one of the reasons she rarely visited, and her kids? Well, they were just like their mother, especially Rose, she was a snub and a very arrogant one.
‘Are you okay’? the pastor could see worry in her features.
‘I.. I am fine’ Joy replied. She remembered the incident vividly, though her uncle never got to hear about it.
She had trusted Mark like her own brother, one day they’d been together in a room and he’d raped her, they were teenagers, she’d been so scared and hurt, so the only person she’d run to was Helen, but Helen acted like nothing had happened, instead offered her some money to keep mute about it.
‘So, why didn’t you come along with the new maid, you left her to herself and she almost lost the job without your presence’ the pastor said.
‘I had to see a friend’ she lied. In truth, she never wanted to face Mark or his witch of a mother, now she regretted it all. Ajunwa was a very pretty girl, what if Mark tried to force himself on her? They had a lot to discuss. She wished she was financially buoyant, Ajunwa would never have had the option of working as a maid, she only prayed her best friend was safe.
‘You know the funny thing? She actually resembles our last maid, Grace’ the pastor paused as he remembered what had transpired between Grace and Rose.
She had found out about their affair and had taunted Rose about it, a fight ensued and Rose killed her, Helen helped them cover the issue without asking for the real reason behind the fight, if Helen ever found out, she would be heartbroken.
‘I never met Grace…’Joy replied.
‘You stopped visiting me Joy, what happened’? Pastor Ita suddenly asked.
‘Goodmorning sir’ the door burst open and the maid stepped in with two plastic bags.
‘Ajunwa!’ Joy rushed and hugged her.
The pastor just lay smiling as he watched the friendly exchange between the girls, he felt more guilty, these girls were like his daughter, but he’d defiled Rose.
‘I brought your food sir’ Ajunwa set the table as she placed steaming plates of pepper soup and rice before him.
‘Thank you my dear, where is my wife’? the pastor wondered why Helen nor his kids weren’t present to see him.
‘She would be coming later sir’ Ajunwa replied.
‘Okay then, thank you’ he straightened up and worked on the food, that was when the two girls left for outside.
Minutes later, Rose stepped into his room and he was surprised to see her.
‘Hello dad? Miss me’? she walked seductively towards him, for the first time, he felt repulsed by her actions.
‘Rose, welcome’ the pastor replied quietly.
‘Welcome? Is that all you have to say’? Rose wondered why this man acted differently.
‘I am sorry honey, where is your mother’? he asked coolly.
‘Gosh dad, you’re getting me all riled up, I come here to see you and you’re asking about Helen, you’re supposed to ask about me, I’m the one who cares and not that b---h’ Rose poked her finger against her chest.
‘Hold on, don’t ever call your mother a b---h before me, how dare you? She bore you for heaven’s sake’ anger coursed through him.
‘Really dad? Why are you doing this? Helen doesn’t love you, in fact, I have evidence that this accident of yours was her plan to get rid of you for good and to take everything you own with her lover whom I just discovered’ Rose quickly fetched the note she’d found in Nelson’s room.
‘What are you talking about’? he got the note from her and ran his eyes over it.
‘Mum has been sleeping with Nelson, I found them on top each other in the garden, then I found this note in his room when she sent me to call him, they had a plan, to kill you and run off with your money, but it failed.’ Rose explained carefully, she had to do anything to gain her dad’s favor.
‘How did you know this’ his hands shivered, how could Helen plot his death, Rose had never lied to him before, so Helen was equally cheating on him, what hurt him most was her plotting to kill him.
‘After I had found this note, I begged mum to report Nelson to the police, I cried for justice, but she said we should forget him, can you imagine that’? she scoffed.
‘I would kill Helen for this betrayal’ he pushed his food aside as he lost appetite.
‘Dad, mother does not love you more than I do, I even advised her not to tell people about your condition, so your members wouldn’t lose faith in you, but do you know she refused it? She told the press everything, it’s all over the news, the papers carry it, that Pastor Ita is almost dead.’ Rose added.
‘Oh my God, switch on the television’ he needed to be sure, if Helen had really done all what his daughter accused her of, then he would forget his title and deal with her.
‘I told you, it’s all over the news’ Rose switched on the television. Coincidentally, the headlines ran across the screen as ‘breaking news’.
‘Why would she do something like this’? the man was deeply hurt.
‘That’s because she wants you dead in reality, so she could run off with Nelson, but dad, we need to fight back, I’m with you on this, let’s make her life miserable’Rose said.
‘How do we do that’? he was ready to play by Helen’s rules, the game was a dirty one and he’d get his fingers greasy.
‘I have been working on this plan, thankfully, I have a blogger friend who may help us, we’ll tell the whole world mum killed her maid and buried her in the garden’ Rose paused.
The idea had come to her while Romeo had visited.
‘What? That’s really dangerous and it could put us all in trouble’ the pastor objected.
‘No, I am not finished, I would testify in court against mum, saying that I knew about the affair and she tried to kill me too, Grace had found out about the affair and mum had killed her, it’s very easy, we’re totally absolved from this matter, all eyes would now be focused on mum and trust me, even if she comes out of this alive, the stigma that would follow her would be forever’ Rose smiled mischievously.
‘What about Mark’? her father asked, knowing how close the boy was to his mother.
‘He’ll get used to her absence’ Rose replied and pulled at her clothes as she had the urge to make love to her father.
‘Then let’s do it, Helen wouldn’t kill me first’ Pastor Ita relaxed, he needed to hurt her back.
‘I miss you so much daddy’ she spread her legs apart and sat on him.
‘I miss you too angel’ he smiled and kissed her.
***
‘It’s been so long my friend, I miss you so much,you hardly call or text’ Joy was so excited to see her friend.
‘I’m sorry Joy, but I’m here now, how’s the village and how’s my mum’? I asked. I wish I could share in her joy but my mind was occupied with so many things.
‘She’s fine, I told her about my journey and she sends her greetings’ Joy replied coolly as she realized I wasn’t in a good mood.
‘What’s wrong Aju? You don’t look too happy, are you angry that I left you that day? I’m so sorry, I wish you could understand’ Joy sighed, she wished her friend could know the reason she stayed back from her uncle’s house.
‘I don’t know Joy, I wish I could talk about it’ I replied, I could feel it, the pain of what Mark did to me, the shame and the heart ache that rode along broken trust.
‘Ajunwa? Talk to me’ Joy neared me.
I turned back and stared deeply into her eyes, not knowing how to start, how to explain it to her.
‘Mark raped me’ I blurted out.
I expected her to shout, to scream and call fire, that was how she expressed her anger, to my surprise, she remained very still, instead she started sobbing and her body vibrated with each sob.
‘Joy? Please don’t cry, I’ve gotten over it, though it still hurts, I am fine, just that I would do about anything to make your cousin miserable in this life’ I rushed to her comfort.
‘How could he do such a wicked thing to you, I hate him so much, I would kill him with my bare hands’ she grunted. I glanced around nervously and thanked God we were alone at the car park, nobody could see us like this.
‘I am fine Joy, just get up, I have other things to tell you’ I replied, I needed to show her the video clip I’d found in Grace’s room and about Helen’s affair too.
‘No you’re not, that b-----d raped me when I was fifteen, I hate him so much, this is all my fault, I should never have let you come here’ she said and I understood why she’d cried so hard.
‘Calm down Joy, we’ll talk about this later, right now we have a bigger issue on our hands and I don’t know how to handle it’I reached for the video camera and showed it to her.
‘what’s this’? she eyed me suspiciously.
‘Just watch’ I replied.
‘No, god forbid, what is this? It can’t be real, it’s photoshopped’ she gasped with shock.
‘No it’s not and you know that, Helen is equally cheating on her husband, that house is filled with dirty secrets and I don’t know how to handle that, if I run, I fear I may lose my life, just like Grace’ I paused, I was quite sure Grace was dead, no innocent person could survive in that house, even if they did, the darkness in each person would overshadow them and swallow them up. Grace must have discovered something, Helen’s affair or this and she tried to escape and they killed her and probably faked her death.
‘This is dirty, how could they be sleeping together’? Joy spat.
‘What should we do with it’? I asked.
‘I understand everything now, when we were younger, Rose was too close to her dad, even as young girls, she chased all the guys away, I thought she was a lesbian at some point’ Joy said.
‘Well, it appears she was preoccupied with her father, now back to my question, what do we do’? I asked.
‘Honestly, I don’t know, if my Uncle finds out you have this video, then he would do almost anything to have it, and that means killing could be one of the options’ Joy sounded scared.
‘Well, I’ll hold unto it, something could up and I just may use it as leverage’ I replied.
‘Ajunwa, I think you should follow me back to the village, let’s disappear before they kill you like they did this Grace, please, I already blame myself for the rape, don’t allow me to cry when they kill you’ Joy fell on her knees.
I was about saying something in return, when my phone rang.
‘Good afternoon Ajunwa, I need to see you urgently, return home’ Helen ended the call before I could reply.
‘Who was that’? Joy asked.
‘Who else than your aunt? See, I am not running, I need to hurt Mark like he did me, I need to stand up to him’ I replied more determined than ever.
‘I can’t, the pain is too much to bear’ Joy replied weakly.
‘Then you rise up and fight the pain, Mark is our pain’.
‘I can’t Aju, since you wouldn’t listen, I would leave you, call me if anything weird happens, I’m outta here’Joy walked away.
‘I can’t walk away’ I whispered, I had to stay and fight back.

Story continues

episode 12
I had prepared breakfast for everyone and now I was preparing myself to go see the pastor at the hospital. I had already made something hot for him to drink, I hoped he was okay.
I decided to go through Grace’s things once more, I had never met her in person but I felt I had known her my entire life.
I fetched her album and stared at her pictures again especially the one she stood with Romeo, they looked so great together, I was sure Mark started raping her when she fell in love with someone else.
‘B-----d’ I cast the album aside and wept on my bed.
I cried for about fifteen minutes, my eyes were all foggy and swollen, I stopped the minute I heard a strange sound. You know when your battery is about to be exhausted and it makes a sound, exactly what I heard, but I was quite sure it wasn’t from my phone.
I rose up immediately, what if Grace had left her phone behind, I heard the sound again, it came from the cupboard where I’d found the photo album and the note, how come I’d never seen or heard it?
As I pulled out the last drawer, a huge rat climbed out and I screamed for my dear life.
‘Jeez, that wasn’t funny’ I laughed for the first time that day.
‘Here you are darling…’ I wondered what it was, it wasn’t a phone, I realized it was a mini sized video camera.
‘What’s this’? I pressed a button and waited for the device to show me something, but it didn’t, so I tossed it aside.
I slipped on my shoes ready to move when I heard sounds that resembled moans from a woman in pain, this time, pain wasn’t the case, what I saw was going to haunt me for eternity.
My phone rang and I picked it up hurriedly.
‘Hello’ my voice was shaky from what I’d just seen, how could that happen?
‘Ajunwa? Have you forgotten me so fast? This is your friend Joy’?
‘Joy, I’m sorry, I’m just not feeling too well’ I lied, how could I have forgotten Joy, my best friend whose uncle I worked for.
‘I’m sorry sweetheart, guess what’? she sounded excited.
‘Wow you sound happy, what’s that’? I asked.
‘I know my uncle just had an accident, the news is everywhere so I am at the hospital with him, later I’d be at the house and we would gist throughout the night’ she replied.
‘Wow, I’m coming there soon’ I replied and dropped the phone in my bag.
Joy was in town, I wondered if I could let her in on what I had encountered in the house. I turned the video camera off and hid it safely, I had watched enough. Pastor Ita was making love with his daughter Rose, truly, this was a house of secrets.
***
She smiled mischievously, her mother’s plans was for them to keep their dad’s accident secret but she’d tweeted it and the media had carried it, she would have Helen begging for forgiveness for slapping her like that.
‘Rose, open the door’ Mark pounded her door.
‘Come in bro’ she answered sweetly.
She had dressed up, things had changed, she needed to see her father, they needed to save themselves from what was to come.
‘How could tweet about dad’s accident? Have you forgotten about mum’s orders? Why did you disobey her’ Mark was annoyed with his sister.
‘Well, I did the right thing, your mother is a very selfish woman and she doesn’t care much about either of us, how could she defend Nelson like that’? Rose hissed angrily.
‘Oh, this is still about Nelson? I’m sure you were f-----g him, how could you disobey mum? Though she seemed off, but I saw the good in her suggestions, now, dad’s members may lose faith in him, I hope you’re happy now’ Mark hissed and turned to walk away.
This was her chance and she seized it.
‘Why do you think so highly of your mother? Let me tell you something sweet bro, mother was having an affair with Nelson, what if they connived to kill dad to afford them more time to be with each other, have you thought about that’? Rose asked.
‘Is that all? Mum is sleeping with Nelson, is that a bad thing? What of dad, what if he’s sleeping with other people? How is that your business, see Rose, this is their marriage, we’re the children, we’re not supposed to take sides, we’re to let them work things out on their own not to judge, I’m not perfect, I just did something that’s eating me up which I may pay for later, I don’t think you’re perfect too, let’s just be united now more than ever’ Mark hoped she’d see reasons with him, he wasn’t surprised to hear about his mum’s infidelity, Grace had mentioned it before they had a fall out and Ajunwa had told him the night before.
‘Bravo, nice speech, I see, Helen has gotten her claws on you, but before you go, I had this feeling you and Grace had something you guys shared and I’ll love to tell you something about your sweet dear mother’ Rose rubbed her hands together.
‘What about Grace’? Mark sighed.
‘Grace isn’t missing, she is dead, she walked in on mum and Nelson and mum killed her and buried her in the garden, I could show you where, if you promise not to flare up’ Rose said.
‘You’re bluffing’ Mark swallowed hard. How could Rose cook up such a lie? His mother was many things but not a murderer.
‘Go find out, beneath the roses, midnight, check it out’ Rose patted his shoulder.
‘Beneath the roses’he whispered the words, Ajunwa had found Grace’s necklace beneath the Roses, he swallowed hard and prayed it wasn’t true, he needed to confront his mother.
‘Yes bro, you’ll have to excuse me now, I have a call to answer’ Romeo was the caller and she couldn’t wait to answer it.
‘Hello my darling…’ she pawed sweetly. She had set her plans in motion, she couldn’t wait to see her mother go down.
‘Hello red rose, guess what’? Romeo answered in the same manner.
‘What is it my love’? she asked.
‘I’m at your gate, please let me in’.
***
‘Mum, open the door’! Mark was infuriated, different emotions ran through him, how could his mother betray him like that? Why did she have to kill Grace and lie to him about it?
‘Mark, what happened?’ Helen had just woken up from her sleep.
‘Mum, please tell me this isn’t true, please deny it’ Mark stared deeply into her eyes.
‘What is it dear’? she wondered why her kids wouldn’t let her be in peace.
‘Did you kill Grace because she found out you were having an affair with Nelson? Did you cut her into pieces and bury her beneath your roses’? Mark asked.
‘I see, Rose is twisting this story, trying to paint me black, was she the one who told everyone about your dad’s accident’? Helen felt deeply hurt, calls from her church members had awoken her, somehow they got to know the pastor was in the hospital. How could Rose betray her like that?
‘Mum?’ Mark called her.
‘Thank you for coming to speak with me first before doing anything stupid, come in and have a seat, let me tell you everything but first swear you’ll forgive me and trust me again’ Helen invited him in.
‘Just tell me the truth’ Mark sat at the edge of her bed.
‘I kept this secret from you because I didn’t want you to get involved in something so dirty, I felt you saw me like a saint and I had to keep it that way, I’m sorry darling, I should’ve told you everything, but know this, I love you from the bottom of my heart, I protected your sister who had turned against me now for some reason, just like I protected you’she paused.
‘Just go straight to the point mum’ Mark was getting impatient.
‘No, I’ll take this step by step so you’ll judge for yourself who’s guilty or innocent. Your sister came into my room one day just like you’re doing now and begged me to save her, she was so scared, I followed her and found Grace on the floor bleeding from her head, she was dead. Rose claimed they had a fight and she hit Grace too hard, I knew reporting to the police would destroy your father’s reputation, so I cut the body into pieces and buried it in a place where no one would ever know, under my roses, and now she accuses me of being the one that murdered that girl’ Helen scoffed, she would destroy Rose with her hands.
‘Mum, how could you do something so gruesome? What’s the difference between you and Rose, you helped her cover her sin’? Mark was still confused on who to believe.
‘I had to protect her, she is my child, even you, I have protected you before, when I had the chance to turn you over to the juvenile court, I saved you, don’t you remember Mark? What happened when you were sixteen’? she rose to her feet.
‘I don’t want to talk about it mum’ Mark was evasive.
‘No, let’s face it, judge me, I’m the bad one here, but in my badness, I protected you, Joy, your cousin had come visiting and you raped her in this house and I covered for you. I should’ve reported you to the police, but I sheltered you, look into my eyes and tell me you believe Rose’ Helen pressed his head to her face.
‘I’m sorry mum, I judged you wrongly’ Mark cried.
‘That’s my boy, now, your sister has drawn the battle line and we must fight her, if she leaks that secret, I would go down for nothing, so I need you on my side, I need you to support me, we have to be clear with each other, no secrets’ Helen instructed him.
‘I raped Grace many times and Ajunwa last night, please forgive me, I don’t know what came over me’ Mark sobbed like a baby.
‘You raped them?’ Helen was scared and disappointed.
‘Yes, I’m so sorry’ he nodded.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll fix this’ Helen replied. Mark could be trusted, she had bought him over, now she had to draw him into her own darkness.
‘I killed Nelson and buried him in the garden, somehow he knew about Grace as I asked him to bury her decaying hand so I felt he was a threat to that secret, so I killed him last night’ Helen sighed as she let her son in.
‘Mum? How could you’? he was about to judge her when he recalled his own sins were equally if not more grievous.
‘Good. Now we understand each other, we have to fight for ourselves first’ Helen fetched her phon
e, someone knew her secret and she had to protect herself from going down.
‘What’s this’? Mark asked as she handed him the phone.
‘I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. IT MAKES ME SICK. I AM GOING TO TELL. A SECRET IS BURIED IN THE GARDEN’.
‘Mum’? he called quietly.
‘Yes’? Helen wondered why he seemed shocked, did he know anything about it?
‘I received this text last night, what’s happening’? Mark was terrified.
‘Really’? Helen chuckled, not even the situation she found herself could kill her sense of humor. Someone was blackmailing them, mind games was this person’s style.
‘Mum, this isn’t funny, what if they know all our secrets? We are all dirty except Rose and dad, we have to find a way out of this’ Mark sighed.
‘No, we can’t be the dirty ones, maybe your father is clean but I’m sure your sister isn’t, she killed Grace for a reason and that’s your job to find out. I need to speak with the maid you raped, I need to bring her closer to me, so she wouldn’t be used against us, most times, blackmailers could get information out of domestic staff, one of the reasons i took out Nelson’ Helen paced nervously, there was a lot of work to do.
***
She had not set her eyes on one of her admirers for a long time, Kachi Romeo was as hot he’d been three years back.
‘Hello Cherie’ he presented her with some flowers.
‘Hmm, they smile nice, thanks Romeo and do come in’ she smiled and offered him in.
‘It’s been so long Romeo, thanks for paying me a visit, sit here, let me fetch you something to drink’ Rose dived into the house and left her guest in her mother’s garden.
‘Roses everywhere, garden of Roses’ Romeo looked around the garden, it was really beautiful and smelt very nice but held a dark secret.
Oliver had done a good job by telling him about Grace, now all he had to do was find her and get her to give him evidence of the pastor’s affair with his biological daughter.
‘I am back’ she returned with a bottle of red wine and glasses.
‘Your mother’s garden is beautiful’ Romeo smiled.
‘Thank you’ Rose wondered how he knew the garden belonged to her mother.
‘So how’s everything? How is Grace? It’s been long I haven’t seen her or your brother Mark’ he poured himself some wine.
‘They’re fine’ Rose replied hurriedly, why did he ask about Grace? Her heart raced, no one could know she was dead.
‘Good. I was just in the neighborhood and I just wanted to visit, I’d see you some other time’ Romeo rose to his feet.
‘Thanks so much Romeo’ she replied.
‘Can I see Grace before I go? And Mark too’ he quickly chipped in.
‘Uhmmm, they’re not around, Grace isn’t here, she’s at the market’ Rose stuttered, why was he so keen on Grace?
Rose knew Romeo from church and he’d met their maid too, but it made her uncomfortable to recall what happened that fateful day.
‘Really? How nice, see you later then’ Romeo smiled and walked away, deep down he felt it, something wasn’t right. He’d observed the evasiveness that lay prominent in her eyes whenever he mentioned Grace, had Oliver lied to him?
‘Bye….’ Rose waved at him. Fear engulfed her, soon, more people would ask questions about Grace, questions she wouldn’t be able to answer and she knew how dangerous her mother had become, what if her mother turned her in to the police?
‘No, she has to go down for it, for everything’ she hissed loudly, she had her plans, Helen would go down, she needed to see her father.
***

Story continues...

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 sex 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 sex 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.


stoRy continues