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Thank you all for your votes. I really do appreciate.

Thank you all for your reads, comments, likes, shares, encouragement, complement, .............. In short, thank you for everything.

Time to go back, rest, and come back with more beautiful and captivating stories from Bellan Books.

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EPILOGUE

They sat at the bank of the ocean, looking at the vast body of water which stretched endlessly to meet the sky by the horizon. The waves splashed water droplets on Damon , the wind and water felt so nice. The world was beautiful.

“ My teacher said water is colourless.” Damon Jnr. who came beside him said, looking at the water.

“ That is correct.” Damon replied.

“ Then why is it blue?” He asked.

Damn! Damon did not know why and he never bothered to find out. He was not a science person though. Fahad chuckled, knowing he was in a fix.

“ Tell us, dad.” Simon Jnr. joined. They were now six years old but looked like they were eight.

“ When white light from the sun enters the ocean, it is mostly the blue that gets returned. “ Halima said, and Damon remembered that she was a science student in her final year in the college. She was a medical doctor in the making. “The ocean looks blue because red, orange and yellow which are long wavelength are absorbed more strongly by the water than is blue which is short wavelength light. And that is the same reason the sky is blue. The key reason is, it is the blue that is returned while others are absorbed.”

Damon kept nodding his head like it was what he was about to say.

“ But you said, white light comes from the sun, then where does the blue, red and the rest colour come from?” Damon Jnr. fired again.

Phew! Thanks Halima was here.

“ You may not understand the details at this stage but the white light we see from the sun is not actually white. When you grow up and do physics, optics to be precised, you shall be taught this. The white light from the sun is a mixture of different colours which when separated, we see as rainbow. A prism can also help separate this colours. They are separated because each colour has a different wavelength.”

“ Sure.” Damon said with a nod, “ the wavelength varies.

“ Dad let her speak. I don’t think you know this.” Simon Jnr. said.

Alicia and Fahad burst into laughter.

“ Dad did not do sciences.” Alicia said.

“ Please go on” Damon Jnr. said with all seriousness.

“ The colours of the sun are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet…”

“ The colours of rainbow!” Simon Jnr. said excitedly.

“ Yes.” Damon said then quickly kept quiet before they shut him up.

“ Is it true that the sun is bigger than the earth?” Ummy asked. She was now five years old.

Damon knew that because he did some geography so he could not let the chance pass him by.

“ Good question Ummy.” He said before Halima could take the shine. “ The sun is bigger than the earth. It is about three hundred and sixty thousand times bigger.”

“ Wao! Tabdi jam!” She exclaimed and they laughed. That was an exclamation she heard from her mother who made sure she taught her fulfude.

“ You mean you need like three hundred and sixty American accent.

“ Yes Ummy.”

“ I love sciences.” She said

“ I want to do sciences when I grow up.” Simon Jnr. said.

“ Why didn’t you do sciences?” Damon Jnr. asked Damon.

“ We all can’t do sciences. The world needs to be balanced. We need bankers, lawyers, accountants, linguists, historians, mass communicators, economists, political scientists, etcetera. If everyone does science, then who would do the rest?”

“ I did not do science because I hated mathematics.” Alicia confessed. “ always looking for x and y. What the heck did those two do that they are always wanted?”

They all laughed.

“ Like I once heard a stand-up comedian say back in Nigeria,” Fahad began, “he said he was given a question like 2x plus y is equal to 20, find x and he looked at the teacher astonishingly and said what a question. He pointed at the x and said that is x”

They laughed hysterically.

“ Hey, get back here.” Halima said and got up to go after Yasir, their three year old son and Rene, Alicia’s two year old daughter. They playing with the sand but moving closer to the beach alone seemed dangerous.

This was them, about five years after the saga. Simon served one year and was given a presidential pardon for his gallantry and saving of lives. Though the president never openly admitted it, he knew Damon was instrumental to his ascension to power because he caused the fall of the most successful candidate then.

Simon and Veronica now lived in Philadelphia.

Maria survived the gunshot but later died in prison two years later. Alex committed suicide while in detention. Richard is still serving a life sentence.

Pliers passed away three years later after completing his dream project. Kim served her three years only to meet her mother bankrupt. Her backbones in the fraudulent bank business were the Grants and since they were no more, she could not handle it. Kim works in a departmental store as a sales representative.

Matt was honoured and that incidence made them heroes. Detective Jack was reproached for his actions but later forgiven and promoted. He and Damon remain as friends.

Damon is not a billionaire but he could be said to be rich. He could afford a mansion, and a few millions in his account. He got Alicia a small cosmetics factory while he also went into fashion business in collaboration with her. They are not Fahad-rich , but what more could we ask for?

They had peace.

Damn!

It was one hell of a ride. They went through a lot and at a point, he believed they were not destined to be happy but they pulled through. That is the their little story. It all started from that tent while it rained and the journey to find the root of a cynosure began. Now the cynosure is his wife.





















THE END

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THIRTY-ONE

Pliers was Simon’s uncle? They used him to steal from him? Just when Damon thought he knew everything, the mysteries kept unveiling. It was also shocking to find out Dr Max and his wife were murdered by Alex and it was his father that was sent to do it.

“ Thank you. What happened next?” Said Lockhart.

“ I was trailing the young couple because me was see their pictures in Nigeria. Then I have realized it was a hoax, it was no National assignment and they want me dead coz I got to know and I got them thumbprints. I narrowly escaped them hit men. Me was a sniper in the military so I took ‘em killers down. So when me see ‘em with the gas boy, I knew it was bad. I follow him and he goes to my uncle.

Them drink and I follow them home. Me was go in and attack him. I talked to him and he was squeal. He tell me he was sent to kill ma uncle so I kill him. And ma uncle say they would come after him. Then I know I have been helping them devils. They got things to destroy the world.

So he tell me to cut the dead motherfuck**’s thumb and I get him buried. My uncle tell me to cut his thumb and it was hard but he say if I don’t, he was gonna die. So, I cut ‘em. And he remain dead since then, living in the basement. Only me, and my cousin sisters knew.

But I never knew the fuckin* Professor Alex was that shitty woman who was doing me hocus-pocus. Then me was hear of money stolen by Richard and his dame. Damn! That was a lot of dough, dudes.”

Dudes? In court?

Shocking! Pliers had told Damon all of these but never he mentioned Simon. He told him that he killed the man himself and cut off his thumb.

“ So, I go to General Rudolph and try to explain but it was a big gang. Them try to kill me so I scam. And me was leave my family and go. Don’t want to get ‘em in my mess. I was messed up and my wife was too good for me. I leave so she could move on but…she waited. So, sometimes, I pop up secretly and leave again.

Then me was hear that Richard and Maria was dead. I never knew my boy was gonna be the man to unravel the mystery. I am shocked when I hear that old bitch was Alex and the fucking Grants is Richard and Maria. Them are bad!”

Jerry wiped his face with a hanky.

He got on his feet, wearing a smile.

“ Interesting Story.” He said, “ You just told us you were doing drugs, and stealing. So. lies won’t be a big deal because your tale do not add up. Do you have any evidence that a woman contracted you to steal for her?”

“No.”

“ Do you have any evidence that that woman is Professor Alex?”

“ No.”

“ Professor Alex died in 1972 or thereabout. I am not very sure. And Professor Pliers died in 1997, am I right. What prove do you have to substantiate your claims?”

“ I still gah the documents with me. I got their thumbprints.”

“ Documents that show that they asked you to go kill who? Dr Maxwell?”

“ Yes. It was a document ordering me to go and kill them?”

“ When did the military start signing contract forms to issue orders?”

“ That can only be judged when the document is put under microscope.”

Laughter.

Damon became jittery afraid. He hoped this case was not going to be compromised. These men were powerful, it was like a cabal, a clique that ruled the world.

The issue of lack of evidence began to bother him.

“ If you don’t have evidence to substantiate these claim, then there is trouble. Damages could be claimed.”

“ What the fuc* is wrong with ya? Get these these murderfuc**s into a room and see if Mrs Grant aint got a ……..”

“ Mr Simon.” The judge cut in. “ You mean to say she has a male sex organ and he has a female sex organ?”

“ Yes, Mr Lord .”

“It’s My lord.”

Laughter.

Lockhart came up.

“ Thank you for the revelations. It takes someone with guts to say these things, some which are incriminating but he did it for justice, and family values. He is not as irresponsible as you claim. He left his family for their own good, he left the military because he was a target, and now that his family needs him, he came on his own.

The documents and devices he stole from his uncle were used to make some of the most virulent weapons used by terrorists, and cause of man-made disasters. The chip that was the most important device used in causing earthquakes, was stolen from Professor pliers and used by Professor Alex and his son.”

“ This is a ridiculous allegation and we may take decisive legal action if you don’t prove this.” Jerry argued.

“ My lord, may I invite the next witness?”

Granted.

And the next witness that came up got everyone shocked. Damon could hardly believe his eyes as he saw him walk groggily to the witness box. The shock on Richard’s face was palpable. The court was filled with surprised this day.

“ May we know your name, sir?”

“ My name is Professor Pliers…”

He was not allowed to finish when the court became filled with reactions, exclamations and shock. This was the man behind the great heist story that made headlines years ago. The man believed to have been dead, and even when Damon and Simon talked about him been alive, not everyone took it serious.

The judge tried to make his face expressionless but that was difficult. Here was professor Pliers, live.

“ I must confess, Professor, I am personally elated and intrigued to meet you.” Lockhart said, “ and thank you for coming. Do you feel comfortable standing? You look tired.”

“ I cannot stand for long but I will seek for succour when pertinent.”

“ Okay, Professor. The world believed you were murdered so many years ago, and today we find you with us, that is quite interesting. How did it happen?”

“ I completely concur with Simon’s account of the events even though sometimes I find it difficult to comprehend some of his words.”

Laughter.

“ Professor Alex was the first head of the research team and later thought to have died. It was a long time sinister plan, a clandestine calisthenics to create a pernicious, gargantuan beast to devour our fragile peace and resort to barbaric and immoral means of acquiring wealth and power. I think my account may be a repetition of the details provided by Damon.
They discovered that I was alive about a year and some months ago. This is because Damon, a sagacious and intelligent young man, whom I never knew was my crazy nephew’s son, discovered me after over twenty years in the basement.
And from what we discussed, it was obvious that the recent earthquakes were man-made and a means of making billions dollars every year by one family. It was my project for the government but used wrongly. I knew only one person could bring it to live and that was my former colleague, Professor Alex. When he told me about his discoveries, I knew Alex was alive and he was hiding as Mrs Something.
I taught Damon how to find and dismantle the chip, so the world could be safe. The young man and his friends risked their lives and dismantled the chip and destroyed it. That is why we don’t hear of the eathquakes anymore.”

Richard had not expected this. Damon never mentioned this part. He gave Damon a sharp glance, and Damon saw hatred, surprise and pain in those vicious eyes.

“ They saved the world. Alex knew I was the only one who could dismantle this. So, if I did not do it personally, then I must be alive and sent someone. Alex has always been very smart and thought way beyond us. He had an incredible foresight. So, they came for me. I had been expecting them for more than twenty years.

He wanted me alive to make another chip and then get the formula then probably kill me so I used my escape route which my nephew, a trained military boy had helped me built. And the plan was if I could not escape, then it was better I died than make them get me alive. I
put the house on fire and used my escape route. My nephew took me away and now, we are here to fight it .”

“ Thank you, Professor.”

When Jerry came up, Damon saw a mean expression on him.

“ Why are you so confident that only one person can put your chip to live? No monopoly of knowledge. There could be thousands of scientists out there that can do it, have you thought of that?” Jerry said, standing before the old fragile man.

“ Name one person you know that can do it.” Pliers reposted.

“ What?”

The question took jerry by surprise and the audience laughed.

“ I may not point at one but we want you to give evidence to back up your claims.”

“ The evidence that Professor Alex is Mr Grant’s mother lies with him. Check him, his DNA, his thumbprint and compare. I do not have to be a law expert to know how to do that. “

“ Why did you not report this? You knew a huge amount of money was been stolen from the government, under your auspices, and you aided and abated them by sacrificing your thumb ,your nephew put the law into his hands, killed a man, buried him then covered up by claiming you were the dead person, misleading the cops and everyone.”

“ Objection my lord.” Lockhart remonstrated but the judge let Jerry continued.

“ I did not report because my life was in danger.”

“ The law could have protected you.”

“ How many people have died under the nose of the law? How was Oswald killed? The man who was alleged to have killed JFK. How was JFK himself killed? Under the nose of the law, an American President was killed in broad daylight in the streets with thousands of people watching. I was not sure the law could protect me from these dangerous people. So, I never left my basement for over twenty years.”

“ So, you gave them your thumb willingly so they could steal the money?”

“ I did. I was scared of my life.”

“ Are you aware that by law, you are part of the heist, If your claims are true?”

“ I am not aware of that. I was protecting my life.”

“ You sacrificed your thumb to help them steal the fund under your custody, according to you, killed and buried a man to cover up, then decided to remain in your basement until now. And you come out to lay serious allegations on a family that have been helping the nation, citizens and the globe at large while you were in your basement without any prove.”

Jerry was a good lawyer, he knew how to make a way out of tight corners. He was trying to twist the situation and he seemed to be making progress.

“ I said he was sent to kill me and my nephew killed him in defense.”

“ You put the law into your hands if your claim of being tried to be murdered is true. How do we believe you were not in cahoots with the late Richard and his wife, stole the money by giving your thumb which was the key to getting the money?”

He was putting Pliers in a tight corner.

“ Richard and His wife are still alive and right now, they are in this courtroom listening to every word we speak.”

Jerry chuckled.

“ I understand that you have been secluded from the conventional world for a long time and you have aged.”

“ I am not senile.”

“ I am not saying you are senile. I am just making factual statements. The last time I checked, the Richard Cliff and Maria Hudson case was shut because the alleged couple were found dead in a hotel room in Vegas.”

“ What does it cost to check our claims?”

“ Because you don’t just point at someone and say he is a man when people think he is a woman and it becomes an offence. They have the right to cross-dress, or change their gender. You don’t have to commit a crime to change your gender, so dwelling on their sex is irrelevant. We know Mrs Grant is a woman and it does not matter if she was born a man.”

Lockhart was allowed to talk.

“ Transgender is not a crime. I concur with my learned colleague. No one is after Caitlyn Jenner, but we are talking about change of identity after committing a big crime. We are not concerned about the sex alone, we want to know if they are the couple said to be dead and found in Vegas.”

“ How do we do that?” Jerry went on, “ There was no record of the couple. Nothing was known about them. If you get Mrs Grant’s DNA, how do you compare when we don’t know Richard’s DNA?”

Richard seemed to getting more relaxed.

“ We know where we can find their records. We know why there was a vacuum. They were taken to Nigeria to grow. We have evidence that they grew there and Maria or Mr Grant is Doctor Maxwell’s daughter. They had travelled in and out of Nigeria many times and the records are there. They never died in Vegas. They invited a young African couple, his childhood friend, and got them killed, made sure they were burnt beyond recognition making everyone believe it was them. And this was done in cahoots with the hotel manager who was later killed to obliterate evidence.”

“ My learned colleague, you are an advocate who has won my respect over the years but I am astonished that you could buy the cheap lies sold to you. Richard and Maria were murdered and the killer, Peppe confessed to the crime. They were booked into that room, and stayed there with evidence to substantiate this. They died.”

“ They never died just like Professor Alex never died. Professor Alex’s claimed bones can be exhumed and his DNA tested. We have a record of him.” Lockhart said,

“ Then we get Mrs Grant’s DNA. I am very sure we would discover that he is his father. Then we get the so-called Mrs Dorothy Grant’s DNA, we would also find out that she is Professor Alex.”

Bingo! I loved that punch by Lockhart.

“ I don’t think that is pertinent. We are here because of an appeal over the sentence of the convicted criminal who murdered Mr Steve Barcovy in cold blood.”

“ And it was established that it was a set-up. The witnesses are allegedly guilty of perjury.”

“ It does not change the fact that the convict confessed to killing Mr Steve.”

“ He shot him in self-defence and they know this so they tried to distort justice by bribery and perjury.”

“ Then we should dwell on that rather than derail from the reason of being here.”

“ Everything revolves around what we are talking about. Mr Damon and his wife were forced to live there because of the earthquake they narrowly escaped, the earthquake caused by the Grants, so their company can make billions while the caboodle are expendable, subjecting nations to slavery, extorting money at the cost of people’s lives.

They tried to impose Steve on a married woman, claiming Steve was her boyfriend even when they knew she was married, because Damon is perceived as not having the requisite factors to carry on with the family wealth and secrets. Steve was a better candidate, one trained to collect the baton, so the pedigree continues.”

“ We will have to sue if such allegations go on without claims. Though that decision is not mine but I may recommend it to the victims. This is a court of law, where facts and figures are used to back up claims.”



“ I need you both to calm down.” The judge said,

“ Barrister,” he referred to Lockhart, “ I am afraid you are making serious allegations not backed up by facts. and I believe the main point’s have been made.”

“ My lord, I want to back my claim that the Grants are behind the earthquakes, sent some thugs to get Professor Pliers, know Mr Simon who is also known as Stone, and a lot more. This will enable the law to sweep into action and investigate the allegations. The case may have been a mystery, believed to have been solved and shut but it will be to the nation a blessing that the real story is unveiled, courtesy of this young man, and his friends, and the diligent detective.”

“ Let us have it then.” Said the judge.

Hello all. You can now read the complete version of Married To A Fink and all other books for free.

To do so, follow marmoodarlee on Wattpad by clicking on the link below.

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After that, scroll to the ABOUT section, there is a link that takes you to Inkitt where you will find our books.

We have a new book titled MY TRUST IS FOR SALE. You will find it there. If you want to read the full version of BENEATH MY HEART, THE LAST INSURGENT and MARRIED TO A FINK for free, then follow us there. If you can download the Inkitt App, then you will read our books for free and we have so many books for your delight. We will be posting the following books soon: LAST BREATH, LETTER TO MY FATHER, YOU WON’T LIVE TO TELL AND THE LAST CHILD OF THE DEVIL. It’s free but you need the APP.

THANK YOU.

For detailed instructions on how to find our stories on Inkitt, go to Chapter 6 of MY TRUST IS FOR SALE on wattpad and see how easy it is done.

Hello all. You can now read the complete version of The Last Insurgent and all other books for free.

To do so, follow marmoodarlee on Wattpad by clicking on the link below.

https://www.wattpad.com/user/marmoodarlee

After that, scroll to the ABOUT section, there is a link that takes you to Inkitt where you will find our books.

We have a new book titled MY TRUST IS FOR SALE. You will find it there. If you want to read the full version of BENEATH MY HEART, THE LAST INSURGENT and MARRIED TO A FINK for free, then follow us there. If you can download the Inkitt App, then you will read our books for free and we have so many books for your delight. We will be posting the following books soon: LAST BREATH, LETTER TO MY FATHER, YOU WON’T LIVE TO TELL AND THE LAST CHILD OF THE DEVIL. It’s free but you need the APP.

THANK YOU.

For detailed instructions on how to find our stories on Inkitt, go to Chapter 6 of MY TRUST IS FOR SALE on wattpad and see how easy it is done.

Hello all. You can now read the complete version of Beneath My Heart and all other books for free.

To do so, follow marmoodarlee on Wattpad by clicking on the link below.

https://www.wattpad.com/user/marmoodarlee

After that, scroll to the ABOUT section, there is a link that takes you to Inkitt where you will find our books.

We have a new book titled MY TRUST IS FOR SALE. You will find it there. If you want to read the full version of BENEATH MY HEART, THE LAST INSURGENT and MARRIED TO A FINK for free, then follow us there. If you can download the Inkitt App, then you will read our books for free and we have so many books for your delight. We will be posting the following books soon: LAST BREATH, LETTER TO MY FATHER, YOU WON’T LIVE TO TELL AND THE LAST CHILD OF THE DEVIL. It’s free but you need the APP.

THANK YOU.

For detailed instructions on how to find our stories on Inkitt, go to Chapter 6 of MY TRUST IS FOR SALE on wattpad and see how easy it is done.

.

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Princesstee:
Please @Sokodobo, will you finish this story?

Sure. The story is coming to an end

Niwdog:
God pls bless me with a friend like Fahad of this story

Lol. And a wife like Alicia?

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.

.

To order any of our books, please send mail to info.bellanbooks@gmail.com


The anti-spam bot have been banning my account for pasting emails repeatedly.

Eyimama:
Nice write up Please how do I get the remaining Story adeola003@yahoo.com

send a mail to info.bellanbooks@gmail.com to order

TWENTY-EIGHT

Kim was summoned to the dock. She introduced herself and the cross examination began.

“ Both Steve and Alicia were my childhood friends but she left him on their engagement night for Damon. So, when Steve called me to tell me of her invitation, I was sceptical. I advised him to have a camera fixed on him because I did not trust Damon and Alicia. Yes, he told me she invited him.”

“ Why don’t you trust Damon and Alicia?” Jerry asked her.

“ Damon changed her. She used to be very nice, but he instigated her. He was a sales boy, part time, for a fashion house and very avaricious. So, he saw his relationship with Alicia as a means to get rich. It did not work out because her parents did not accept him. They were broke, and had two kids to take care of. I believe it explains why they were so desperate to make money out of Steve. Steve told me that she demanded for two million dollars.”

“ Thank you, Miss Kim.”



It was Lockhart’s turn for cross examination.

“ Can you be more specific about your relationship with Damon, Alicia and Steve?”

“ Alicia and Steve are my childhood friends. Damon, I met through Alicia.”

“ What is your relationship with Damon?”

“ What has that got to do with this?”

“ I am the one doing the questioning Ma’am. I hope the court will give you the chance to question me ….so, tell us what is the relationship with Damon?”

“ He was my friend.”

“ Boyfriend?”

“ He is a boy and a friend, so yes, boyfriend.”

“ I must remind you that according to Oxford dictionary, the word boyfriend does not mean a male friend as assumed by many people. It means a man or boy that somebody has a romantic or sexual relationship with. It is different from having a male friend with a platonic relationship. Do you still say Damon is or was your boyfriend.”

She did not seem to like this.

“ No. He was a friend and a male. Platonic.”

“ Can you tell the court what you meant by Damon being avaricious? I mean tell us what action of his that substantiates this allegation. Has he record of financial crime? Is there any bank statement that shows that he has received money from her or any girl? Or is your suspicion based on intuition?”

“ I have no substantial prove now.” She said.

“ Thank you for that. Do you have any reason to be angry at Damon and Alicia, I mean something to make you despise them and ..get vindictive?”

“ No.”

“ Are you sure, Miss Kim?”

“ I said no?”

“ Objection my lord. He is intimidating her.” Jerry said.

Objection overruled.

“ I have the believe that you feel very offended by Damon and Alicia’s relationship because you were in love with Damon. You have been to his house, when he was a bachelor and a neighbour testified to seeing you kissing him.”

There was a short burst of voices in the court.

Jerry made another futile attempt to object.

“ And you also had him in your quarters on two occasions. He spent two nights with you.”

“ I was only helping him. I found him drunk and helpless.”

“ You must be very kind, Miss Kim.”

Laughter in the courtroom.


“ My Lord, Miss Kim had hoped for a relationship with Damon who happen to fall in love with Alicia. They get married and Miss Kim is left in a fit of pique. She tries to lure him, win him back but fails so she gets vindictive. “

The case was adjourned. Damon gave Kim a smile as she passed by.

“ You are going down.” She whispered as she passed. “ I swear.”

“ My love.” He said sarcastically.

He glanced at Alicia, the twins, his mother and Fahad as he was led away by heavily armed security officials. He was denied bail which did not come as a surprise. But the gazillion reporters and photographer he saw outside as he was been let to the van astonished him. After OJ Simpson and Oscar Pistorius’s case, he thought his was next in terms of popularity .

He had always wanted to be famous, but not in such a negative way. He hoped to be exonerated and his name purified, and don’t go down history lane as a murderer.

The security officials did not let the pressmen talk to him but he tried to smile at the camera. He could hear some hate screams, come calling him murderer, saying he would rot in hell.

Even though it hurt, his conscience ruled.

He came out dressed in orange coloured uniform, with hands in cuff. He still looked handsome and had grown beard. The sight broke Alicia’s heart. He sat down, smiling at her as he picked the mouthpiece as they were separated by the thick glass.

She saw something in his eyes, something she had never seen. It was mean, still and vicious. He bit his lip lightly, his jaw bone shifted and she knew her husband was determined. No scintilla of fear in him, no sign of regret, but the fire in his eyes raged, yet, he was still trying to smile.

“ Hey.” His deep voice came through the earpiece and stopped at nowhere except at the deepest part of her heart.

“ Hey.” She forced a smile and did not want to cry. She wanted to stay strong, and make him strong, but it was not easy. That was her Damon behind bars, a victim of circumstances, now in news, as the killer of a worthless fellow who could not keep his paws off a married woman. Was this why they said the law was a bitch?

“ How are my boys kicking?” She saw a genuine smile, and glitter in his eyes as he asked after the boys.

“ They are good.”

“ Fahad said they are curious over the new born, ”he chuckled.

“ Yeah.” She said, aware that her heart was aching. “ I miss you, Damon.”

“ I miss you but come on, if I’m not here, where else would I be? It’s not bad. At least, I am a guest of the United State of America, they clothe me, feed me, house me, and make sure I am around. You don’t have that liberty, do you? So, don’t envy .”He giggled.

Damon. Just trying to ameliorate the situation, make her feel at ease. Where would she ever find a man like this? He could not bring himself to sleep with Kim, or live with her. She remembered once in a beach, he never knew she was coming because she had an appointment with a doctor. She went to the beach and stayed at a distance watching him.
He lay alone, an earpiece in his ear and he shunned everything around him. Twice some girls tried to seduce him , seeing that he was cute and alone but he never gave them a second look. When she asked him why he did it even when she was not there, he swore that wherever he was, he always felt her presence. Where would she find such a man?

“ What are you up to?”

“ I talked to the lawyer. I don’t trust this medium. Snowden got all of us paranoid. Who knows, they may be listening. Just stick to the guns and it will be alright. You need not to fear. Kim was going to send the video. They had extra. So, I got there before her. It’s not just about Steve. If I had let Kim get there before me, it was going to be just about Steve and other problems will linger. Protocols. I am sorry but we may hurt our ….loved ones.”

“ Justice should prevail.”

“ Kim is more dangerous than you ever knew.” He smiled, “ but I guarded my virginity.”

She chuckled at the joke.

“ It’s on news.”She said. “ They even have it on papers. Much publicity.”

“ Do you need an autograph? I am now famous.”

She forced a smile.

“ Fahad is a friend.” She said.

“ He is not a friend. He is a brother.” He said. “ I wish the world could learn from us. He is black, I am white, he is a Muslim, I am a Christian, but we understand our differences, respect each other’s religion and race and live as best of friends.”

She concurred.

“ Halima knows.”

“ I was told. Good that she does.”

“ I hope we would be together again, Damon. I love you.”

“ I love you more.”

She felt her eyes going wet.

Time up.

God! This is painful. That is my Damon being led away. He turned, gave her that swaggering smile then disappeared.
She now let the tears flow.










“ You claim you shot Mr Steve Barcovy twice when you came back to find him attempting to rape your wife?”

The man introduced as Jerry Martins was the advocate representing the Barcovys. He had intimidating eyes, a voice that was tricky and persuasive.

“ Yes, my lord.” Damon said assertively, aware that the jury, judge and everyone watched him intensely.
Fahad, Alicia and his mother were inside the courtroom. He also saw Kim and her mother seated. They wanted to see Damon humiliated.

“ Can you relate to the court, Mr Damon what happened on that day.”

“ I came back home around 10:00 PM to find Mr Steve forcefully trying to rape my wife, so I removed my gun and shot at him.”

“ Was that the only attempt you made to stop him? Did you tell him to stop, did you try to shove him off, or you just shot him?”

“ Objection my lord…” Damon’s advocate, Lockhart objected but the objection was overruled.

“ I was jittery, and did not know if he was armed or not. I could not risk going too close to him, so I asked him to stop, when he did not, I shot him.”

“Twice.” Jerry emphasized, “ even when you knew a single shot could have saved your wife, and allow the law to sweep in.” He paced to and fro, his intimidating eyes on Damon.

“ Did your wife take part in the shooting?”

“ No. I am the only one who shot him.”

“ Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, my lord.”

He now begged the court to allow him present an evidence. The video clip was shown and he noticed that the part where Steve was trying to rape Alicia was removed. It also dropped on Damon that he went into the station with the flash memories and they may have tampered with it.

These people were everywhere.

“ My lord, according to an eye witness, Mrs Damon, had invited Steve to her home and got him drunk. Mr Steve never attempted to rape her. He was drunk and when she started caressing him, he responded then she tried to stop him, demanding for money because she jilted him, walked out on him on their engagement night, and eloped to marry this man. She was out of cash and her parents were people of integrity. They were not happy over the brush-off but Mr Steve had a big heart. He forgave her. The video did not show who shot him but from the sound, it came from the bedside and we could see the door to the bedroom.
If really Mr Damon had shot Steve, then we should have seen him by the door. And who was by the bedside?” He smiled, “ Alicia Damon. She shot him and they burnt the house to conceal evidence. This is a case of murder, the murder of a young entrepreneur, who had been diligently contributing to the wealth of our great nation, killed in cold blood , just at the age of twenty two. Thank you my lord.”

It was time for Lockhart’s cross examination. Damon still remained in the dock.

“ My Lord, the video shown by my learned colleague shows that the shot came from the bedside. Mr Damon had come in, rushed to the bedside and shot him when he did not stop. I would not hold a man I find in my room trying to rape my wife. He never said he stood by the door.
And what is the motive of killing Mr Steve as alleged by my colleague? Why should she invite him to her house to kill him? What evidence do they have to substantiate this? And I wonder how this video was gotten. If the house was burnt immediately after the incidence, then how was the video gotten? By who? And why did it take this long to present it? Why after my client turned himself in? I will beg to have the witness for cross examination.”

A middle aged man was ushered in and he took his place in the dock. Kim looked at Damon and smirked.

These people were serious and the last time he checked, they were serious too. Now, the legal battle had begun.

Lockhart moved to the fake witness. Damon looked at Kim and smirked back.

“ What is your name, sir?”Lockhart asked.

“ Ricardo Sanchez.”

“ Profession?”

“ I am a singer. I sing in a Latino nite club “

“ Are you aware that perjury is a crime?”

“ I am, my lord.”

“ Thank you. Can you tell the court what you witnessed on that fateful evening?”

“ I was walking pass when I saw a young man standing by a car. He called me and asked for a favour. He wanted me to buy wine for him, a lot of wine. He said he does not know why she needs a lot of wine. When I asked who, he said I should not bother. He offered to pay me two hundred dollars for my service, So, I got him the wine. He asked me to help him so we took the bottles into a lonely cabin where a young woman was waiting along with two little kids I guessed were twins. I thought she was his wife.

He paid me the money he promised and asked me to have a drink with them. After two bottles, I thanked them and left. Then I realised that I had forgotten my club pass card there. I had to go back. Getting closer, I heard a strange sound. She was asking him not to be scared, her husband was not coming home. I got confused. Was he not her husband? So, I kept peeping. I am guilty of gossip though. The man was hesitating, but he seemed drunk. So, they started romancing, cuddling and the man got excited but she tried to stop him.

He insisted that he wanted her. She said she needed money, I did not hear clearly the amount but it involved millions. He told her not to worry but he wanted her first. She asked if he had money in his car. He said yes so she opened a bedside drawer, removed a gun and shot him twice.
I was shocked. She now ran out to the car.

While they struggled, something dropped from his shirt. I ran in and picked it, afraid of her coming to meet me but I was lucky to avoid her. She came back and was pissed off. It seemed she found no money. Then this man.... ”He pointed at Damon,” she told him how it went. I guessed he was the husband. He reproached her for not waiting for him. He called her a schmuck. Now they had killed him and found no money.
They started planning on how to get rid of the body and destroy evidence. I heard something about fire. So, I ran away.”


There was a little murmurings, exclamations in the courtroom until order was brought.
Damon wondered how much this man was paid to lie with all the confidence in the world. He sounded so convincing, so real Damon guessed a lot of people believed him.

Kim smirked at Damon, a smile of schadenfreude on her pretty face.

Damon saw shock on Alicia’s face. The lies were so disturbing.

“ Interesting.” Said Lockhart. “ Mr Sanchez, I find it strange that Mr Steve would just see you passing by and ask you to get him expensive wines when he had never met you. Well, that is by the way. I also find it bizarre that you were invited to have a drink with them, a total stranger. We are talking about a billionaire here.
I am sure we all feel it makes no sense that the Damons will plan to kill a personality like Mr Steve by inviting him to their residence, and shoot him, for what? Money.” Lockhart smirked, “ the money they were not even sure existed. Just by asking, do you have money in your car, and she shoots him. Who would expect Mr Steve to move about with millions of Dollars in his car? This is the twenty first century. He was no drug pusher, so he did most of his major transactions using the bank and credit cards.
And you think Mrs Alicia did not know this? She was a billionaire herself and knew the rules. The theory of the motive of the alleged murder is a cockamamie and that makes your claim of the conversation you heard dubitable. Did you report what you saw to the police?”

“ No, my lord.”

“ Why? You witnessed a crime, a major crime and you did not report it, is that not tantamount to concealing a crime? Do you know the word for that in law?”

“ Objection my lord!” Jerry said.

The judge said something and Lockhart went on.

“ Tell us why it took so long?”

“ I was scared of what I witnessed. It traumatized me.”

A short moment of murmurs emerged.

“ Where are you from, Sir?”

“Mexico.”

“ How long have you been in the States?”

“ Ten years.”

“ How old were you when you left Mexico?”

“Twenty-three.”

“ And you want us to believe that you have never witnessed such a crime, a crime that is so prevalent in Mexico, that you could conceal this, hide such an important information which the Police need for eight months. That is ridiculous.”

“ My lord, I object to this.”

Jerry made another attempt.

“ Why did you decide to release the tape to the police now? “

“ I was compelled to help the law and at the time of the incidence, I did not know Mr Steve. It was later on, I discovered he was the missing person that was been looked for.”

“ Interesting.” Lockhart said and grinned, “ Did Mr Steve tell you he was invited by Mrs Alicia?”

“ No.”

“ Thank you.”


When Sanchez left the dock, Damon was asked to go and sit down. Jerry came up again and said, “ Mr Steve confided in someone when he was invited by Mrs Alicia, and she was in touch with him. May I be allowed to call in my next witness?”

Fijumokesayo:
You're amazing sokodobo, please tell me how I can get the books... Akintundekaffy@gmail.com

Thanks a lot for the compliment,

Born2Breed:
Just done with this story. I wish it has no end.

@OP, The sky is your springboard,your writing skills is top notch!

Guys don't waste time,get this book ASAP and you won't regret it.

Thank you very much

It was a full house and Fahad never expected this. His father did not come, he only said the picture and video clip of the child should be sent to him and said his blessings will get to them by the grace of God.

That is a man. Hajiya was a woman and she would not hear of that. She chattered a whole plane and brought in one hundred and seven people.
The plane had a capacity of five hundred passengers and she paid for all, so the only reason she did not bring five hundred people was overcrowding.

It was her first grandchild.

She came along with the wife of Taraba State Governor who was acting as Halima's mother. He was perplexed when he saw the amount of gifts and boxes brought for her by the Taraba State first lady.
Some of the women included his mother's friends, mostly very influential women, wives of top government officials and his crazy sister Zarah was there, and two other sisters.

Seven of Halima's childhood friends were around including the lady who said Halima would never have a husband like hers because she was not educated. Now, she was in America, courtesy of Halima.

Women!

Halima and Hajiya had been in contact and she knew of all these plans. Halima gave the list of those she wanted to come along so their papers could be processed. Halima insisted on having her aunty, Gogo Jummare around.

Gogo Jummare handled Halima’s traditional bath, while Gogo Hadiza handled the infant’s bath.

Something happened on the third day of their visit. Gogo Hadiza was bathing the infant in presence of two of the white maids. First, they saw the temperature of the water to be used and eyed each other. Were they going to use this boiled water?

Then after the birth, Gogo Hadiza held the child by the leg, upended with the head down, and shook the child vigorously.

They screamed.

If it had been in the public, that would have made news, and attracted investigation. Fahad was the type of man who feared handling an infant, feeling it was too fragile and may break but this old women knew better.

When he entered the room where some of the old village women sat, and carried the baby and played with her, one of them said, " modern children had no sense of shame, " she wondered how Fahad had the guts to even carry the child and play with her in their presence.

Then he called her ' Ummy', one of them asked why, he then said her real name was Fateema, named after Halima's mother (though locals used to call her Kwaine), one of the women put her hands on her head while the others were speechless.

How dare he mention the name before the seventh day? It was meant to be kept a secret, even from the mother, until the seventh day, when men and children will gather, and the Mallam would be told the name, and there would be donations here and there, collected and placed before the Mallam, and then the name will be ceremoniously mentioned, with another man amplifying, then food, then someone would run to the mother and tell her the name of her child.

Now the bastions of Sunnah had spoilt business for those mallams who enjoyed such morning gifts. Give birth to a child, adhzan, khutba, prayers and it was done. Wait for seven days, let women come together, slaughter ram or rams which belonged to the mother, eat, drink and off they go.

No ceremonial naming of the child. When Fahad explained this, they chased him out. " Get out of here, dan Izalah!"

He laughed and left them there.

The mansion could accommodate all of them with comfort because there were duplexes built at the back like hotel rooms, but some of Hajiya's friends decided to stay in their houses or hotels.

On the seventh day, five big rams were slaughtered, for Halima then enough meat of different varieties were provided. He organized a dinner where his friends and associates came to celebrate with him.

He also made sure those who were coming to America for the first time were shown round the town. He was told about one of Halima's cousins who saw The Statue of Liberty and broke into tears. She had the picture placed on her bowl which she used in hawking fura da nono. Now, she saw it live.
She took over one hundred photographs there and it was going to Facebook. That was the latest trend in their village now. If you were not on Facebook, then you are obsolete. When a guy went to meet a girl, he asked her if she was on Facebook.

So, to Hande, who was seen to be one of the oldest users of Facebook among youths, a business was born. Hande thought because his post usually went viral, he was a star. Unknown to him, it went viral because of the bizarre, and humorous nature. It was more of comedy.

Every market day, Hande had a post where youths lined up to open an account. A fee of three hundred naira was paid to open an account and every market day, a fee of twenty naira was paid to Hande for maintenance. Whatever that meant.

New members had to pay five hundred naira for tutorials. Hande had to teach how to use it. He said this was a way of helping his community and youths.

Alicia was dressed in a blue atamfa which was well sawn in African style. It looked beautiful on her, while the twins wore green caftan and qube cap. Fahad wished Damon was around. He had hoped he would wear a caftan on his wedding day, but fate took him far away. Now, it was naming ceremony, yet, fate still took him away.

Why was he not answering his calls? The calls were not even going through! Was Kim so domineering she would not even let him communicate? He had not seen much of Alicia since she returned because the house was full of women, African women who never played with tradition so he avoided them .

While the women were playing shantu, dancing and having fun, Fahad realised why Hajiya had taken the trouble to bring all these people. It felt like home and with their Nigerian friends and relatives here in New-york, it seemed like home.

The delicacies were traditional: Fate, dambu, gurasa, waina, danwake, fura da nono, tuwo, and lots more. Their white friends joined in the fun and it was a humdinger of a ceremony.

Welcome to the world, Nana Fateema Fahad Yar'adua.

The next morning, Fahad was accompanied to Alicia's quarters by Halima. She was already awake, glued to the TV while the twins were still asleep. She had been trying to act normal, show no sign of pain but how could she be happy when her husband was forced to be with another woman?

After salutations and a few talk about the ceremony, he got down to business.

" I am here with Halima because she knows everything now. I told you about it.'

She nodded.

" I have been trying to reach Damon but he can't be reached. The last time we talked was the day Ummy was born. I don't know if you know something. Do you think Kim could be so domineering to cut him off from us?"

She heaved a sigh.

" I did not want to talk because of the ceremony and all that." She began. " I don't know where he is, or what is going on, but...he is not with her."

" What!" He exclaimed.

" I knew it would be difficult for him. Damon is stubborn. I begged him to stay with her, if that would bring peace, but it seemed he could not stay put. So, he called me that night you talked. I was asleep so and could not pick the call. When I woke up, I saw a message. He asked me to delete it immediately I read it. I did."

" So?"

" He said no matter what happens, no matter, I must never admit to shooting Steve. I have never heard him sound more serious. He is taking responsibility. I don't know what he did or wants to do but he sounded as if it was a panacea. A move that would bring us peace. Like he was sacrificing himself." She was now in tears. Halima moved in and held her.

Fahad thought carefully about it. It did not sound like a suicide message. He was willing to live and take responsibility.
What happened between him and Kim? Damon kept this from him, probably feeling he wanted to keep his good mood. Fahad felt something the day they talked but was too excited to think about it.

" Look!" Alicia said suddenly and they all focused their attentions on the TV. It was CMM News.

" There is a new turn in the billionaire business mogul and the heir to the Barcovy dynasty, Steve Barcovy's disappearance. A man identified as Damon Simon,..." Damon was shown in handcuffs being led into a van by heavily armed men, " has turned himself in, claiming to have shot and killed Steve Barcovy. It can be recalled that Mr Steve has been missing for eight months and a massive search was placed for him but no trace of him was found. Mr Damon has refused to speak about the motive, claiming he needed to see his lawyer. He has since been reprimanded and has been charged to court. When asked where the body of the allegedly murdered Mr Steve was, he said he would only talk in court. Betty Omphery will tell us more about Mr Damon...."

" He has a plan!" Fahad said at once, "this is a message to us. He has no lawyer. He needs one pronto!"

He dialled a number, aware that he was shivering. They had to face this at once, fight it to the last . " Sean, get me Fish. Tell him to get Lockheart on board. He is the right guy for such a high profile case."

He looked at Alicia.

" I am going to see him right away."

" I am coming with you."

Now is the time. Damon, you are a man. I see in your eyes that fire, that zeal to face whatever it is. I will be with you. It is time to open a can of worms!

Omoobanla18:
How do I get the soft copy
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ofeoritsem@gmail.com and the amount pls...

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TWENTY-SEVEN

Damon had been calling Alicia but she did not pick any of the calls. The doctor said she was recuperating, and due for discharge. He was running out of time and had to do this fast. Then he sent a text message:

Hey, my love.
I tried reaching you on your cell but no one picked.
I was about coming down to LA to join you but something popped up.
The arrangement with Kim cannot work out. I am sorry but I could not.
I can’t go into details now and please, delete this text after you read it.
I have reached a decision and I trust you can take care of the kids. Fahad will guide you on how to run the company.
Whatever happens, my love, you did not shoot Steve. I repeat, no matter what happens, you did not.
He was struggling with you when I came back and I shot him, period.
Delete this message. If you love me, and the children, then stick to this, stick to the guns my love.
You are the best thing that ever happened to me. If I am giving the chance again, it’s you I will still fall in love with.
I hope this will keep you and the kids safe. I love you, Alicia. Bye.

He pressed send, got a delivery report, deleted the message, checked all messages, and then walked into the station.

“ What may we do for you, sir?” a fleshy faced cop demanded.

Before Damon talked, his phone chimed.

“ Excuse me,” He said, then picked the call.

“ Hey, Dude, where the hell are you?” He could hear Fahad in exhilaration, excitement and synergy.

“ Chilling, Dude.”

“ Crab! Don’t tell me you are enjoying fornication with Kim!”

“ She can hear you.”

“ Like seriously? But do I care? Okay, topic for another day. This is daddy talking.”

“What?”

“ I am a father, dude. Halima just put to bed. It’s a girl. Remember when we decided not to check the sex, I told Halima it was a girl but she kept saying it was a boy. I won, dude.”

“ Oh my God! I wish I was there, dude. Congratulations. Are they both good?”

“ Yeah! Damon and Simon are curious. They have never seen babies before.” He laughed. He was in high spirits. “ I talked to the doctor in LA. I am sending a jet to pick Alicia tomorrow. And guess what? Halima knows and we got over it.”

“ Knows about her Parents?”

The cop eyed him, reminding him of where he was.

“ I got to go, dude. I will give you a call. I think if Kim would let me, I will be in New-York ASAP.”

“ Thanks man. Please come over.”

“ I will. See ya.”

He knew he would not. He could not spoil his mood.

“You are in a police station, Sir.” The cop said.

“ I am sorry about that. If you have a wife who has ever put to bed, you would understand.”

“ And why do you think I let you do that? I was all-in-hell when Suzzy was in labour. I have been there,. Now, what may we do for you, sir?”

“ My name is Damon Simon. I know what happened to Steven Barcovy…….. I shot him.”

The look the cop gave Damon was one which he would never forget.

Fahad met her leaning on the wall, her face squeezing in pains, her breathing laboured, and she held on to him.

“ Tessy!” He called the maid, a Latino woman. She rushed down “stay with her, I will be back.”

Thirty minutes later, she was in labour room. He kept pacing up and down, and praying. It was then he realized that when a man had a wife in labour, he became one of the most jittery and agitated man on earth.

It was a matter of life and death. Looking expectantly at any nurse or doctor who came out of the theatre , hoping it was good news and fearing it was bad news.
He was on call throughout, called Hajiya ( his mother), Taraba state governor’s wife, Gogo Jummare, ( Halima’s aunty), and on and on.
He was shocked when Hajiya said they were in Washington. How? They had been speaking with Halima and from the questions they asked her, they knew her EDD.

“ Mr Fahad.” Doctor Anthony Aguilera called and the expression he wore scared Fahad. Oh no! My Halima! What happened? Why are the nurses looking sad? Why is the doctor looking hesitant? What is wrong? Please talk to me.

He was shivering but tried to calm down.

“ Congratulations! Your wife just gave birth to a baby girl.” He said, “ both baby and mama are fine.”

Fahad did not know when he hugged the doctor.

MAcSEEKER:
pls am thrilled with your books @ sokobodo. I dont knw how to get the soft copy of . Beneath my heart, married to a fink etc. Pls show me how to pay for the book. Smithnsikak@gmail.com

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TWENTY-SIX

“ I don’t get it.” Fahad said with a crinkled face.

“ I must know what is going on right now.” Halima said firmly.

“ What do you want to know?”

“ Everything.” Halima said. He had never seen her this angry even though she tried to suppress it.

“ I need you to calm down. What happened?”

“ Alicia’s parents, they kept staring at me. Both of them and they smiled at me while they whispered something to themselves. I kept looking at them until they walked to me.”

“ Where was I then?”

“Lost in business. They said hello and asked who I was. I told them I was your wife. The mother said I reminded her of someone they used to know. I know I and Salim are replicas of our father. Instinct and fact came into play. I said my name is Halima Ardo. I emphasised the Ardo and I got what I wanted. The name shook them. They knew my parents.”

He was now jittery, racking his brain to see if there could be a way out of this. He should have told her before she started getting suspicious.

“ Are you sure about this?”

“ They pretended not to know them. Just a normal nice to meet you and they are gone, but it did not stop there. Something was locked somewhere in my head and I started struggling to unlock it but could not find it. There was a small crest on his suit, the image of a red eagle. I see that crest in the factory and cars of the company I told you about in the hummocks. The one I told you I don’t trust.”

“ It could be coincidence.”

She looked straight into his eyes, the way she had never done and he felt nervous, almost trying to avoid her eyes and he felt the guilt in him was palpable.

“ My father and mother left me when I was one to this country but never came back. I was deprived of parental care and love. Whatever happened to them is destiny. If they died, then it was their time and they would have died even in their sleep at home but it is tormenting not to know what happened. I know they are dead but I want to know what happened and I have lived with this all my life. The only thing that brought me happiness was you but it’s been wrenching me lately. I look into Alicia’s eyes and see something familiar. Someone in one of those pictures. Someone who use to play with my father as a child. Another coincidence. Her parents may not look anything like the people who took my parents away but she does.”

“ It happens.”

“ Fahad,” She had never called him by his name since they met. Her large beautiful eyes pierced into him, “that man, her father was the man who came to our village sick with a protruding belly and left with a baby!”






Kim danced coquettishly to the rhythm of Nicki Minaj’s Pills N Potions, clad only in G-string, holding a big bottle of wine, swaying her hips slowly, then twerked when Nicki Started rapping, and when it came to chorus, she wiggled, turned her fannies at Damon and shook.
She only cared about her feelings. She was enjoying it, having him there and that was all. How he felt? Fuc* it!
He was sitting on the sofa, holding a big bottle of rum, while three empty bottles which he had lay on the floor.

“ I told you not get drunk.” she said, drunk herself, moved to him and started unbuckling his belt.

“ Now we are high, boy and we are fucki*ng high.”

“ No, we are just drunk,” he said.

“ What is the difference? High, drunk, inebriated,…whatever.” She unbuttoned his jeans, pulled off his trousers and he was left in boxers.

“ Trump won the election against Obama right?” Damon asked.

She burst into laughter, now pulling off his T-shirt.

“ Trump did not contest against Obama. He contested against Madonna.”

“ How could I forget.” He said and laughed.

“ Because you are drunk.” She sat on him, “ but I will take care of you.”

He gulped a large quantity from the wine.

“ Come on, baby, drink. We are celebrating.”

She gulped.“ Haven’t drank like this in a while, ”she belched, “ but it won’t stop lolly-popping.”

“ Alicia never drinks much. Boring.” He said.

“ She has always been a boring bitch! She only started drinking when she was eighteen. You are like a bird outta captivity, use your wings boy, fly, fly, fly….” She bent forward and kissed him. “ I set you free in the name of love. She thought she could win this, I always have the last laugh.”

Was she aware she was talking about his Alicia?
She was running her hands through his chest, down, down until she began to cross the red line. He knew where she was going, and what she wanted to do. He gently shoved her off, got on his feet and flexed his moderately brawny body.

She gaped at him, her eyes running through his broad chest, then she licked her lips, her drunken eyes wide opened.

“ Ohh, Damon, nothing will stop me from having you.”

“ How can you have me when you don’t trust me?”

“Trust?”

“Yep. You got a video that shows Alicia struggling with Steve.”

“Oh,” she wove a hand. “ Steve was just another racoon skin on the wall, he would never stop talking about her. So, I asked him to look for her. I have a gift, Damon. I always find the things I am looking for. Even as a child when mum would hide things from me, I would always find them plus I have lot of friends. Oh…come let me touch you as I talk.”

“ Keep talking, we have a long night ahead.”

“I helped him find her. I have a lot of friends, and when I want something done, they make sure it’s done…..I take good care of them. So, I lay it on Steve. And…..I wanted to see how it was going to play out so I put a chip on him, sat here, popping champagne while I watched. Did not know it was going to turn out that way.”

“ So, you knew he was dead when you called.”

“ I knew he was dead and a text message was sent. Can’t one have fun?”

This girl was worse than he thought and smarter.

“ You knew your mother was blackmailing me.”

“ Don’t use such a word. It is criminal. Let’s say admonishing you. I know them better than you do….”She belched. “ You will be glad this is happening.”

“Has it ever crossed your mind that I and Alicia are in love?”

“ Yes, but you know Kanye West and Kim Kardawest had tea in the morning and candy in the noon and lollypop in the evening…”She belched. She was drunk.

“ But basically, I prefer candies in the morn, then banana in the noon, and beer in the evening. Arianna Grande loves banana too. Ladies love banana, it’s good for the health, so I know you and Alicia love to eat in the morning,” She added and chuckled.

She stood up, staggered and belched. “ Why did you make me drink so much? You took over four bottles of gin and you still stand…..you are a drunk! Now come let’s get down to business.”

“Excuse me.” He said and went into the restroom. He washed his face, looked at the mirror and saw nothing but stress. He was thinking about Alicia. She was alone in Los Angeles. He called the doctor and he said she was doing fine.

He had taken the first step. He did it when he asked kim to use her car to get gin. Now, his mind was made up. He moved to the mirror, pulled it then removed the gun he hid there earlier on.
He walked back into the room to find her naked, completely unclad, lying on her stomach, and using her index finger to gesticulate to him.

“ Come for supper, “ she said coquettishly, sticking out her tongue, “ hope you can feel the aroma .”

“ Not until I see the video clip.” He said, hiding the gun behind him and sat down. “ I want to be sure.”

“ Why?”

“ Just do it and let’s start. I don’t believe you.”

She chuckled, got off the bed, staggered, then got her flash drive and fixed it in her computer. All this was done with an effort and he felt that she may not have obliged if she was sober.

“ Go on, see for yourself…go and come for supper.”

He saw the video clip. He could see Alicia, looking scared as Steve came in. He could not see Steve because the transmitter was in front of him, probably on his shirt. She heard their conversations and the struggle but did not see Alicia shoot him. He saw Alicia run inside, then her voice emerged, warning him then sounds of gunshots.

The transmitter must have fallen off while they struggled, but it was obvious that she shot him. It was just him and her there. He registered that.
He removed the flash and put it his pocket, moved and wore his jeans, and shirt.

“ What do you think you are doing?” She asked.

“ Get up!” He said and showed her a gun, “ Pronto!”

“ Are you serious? I am lying naked waiting for you and you point a gun at me?”

“ I said get up!” He said and moved to her, pulled her up forcefully. He hoped she understood that goad beyond endurance.

“ You are hurting me.”

“ How many people have you hurt, bitch!”

“ Do you know I just gave you a last chance? You are crossing the line.”

“ I did that long ago. Take me to your mother.”

“ What?”

“ Take me to your mother.”

“ Who the hell do you think you are? Nobody orders me around!”

“ Let’s see.” He grabbed her by the neck and choked her, her eyes bulged out, then quickly tied her mouth and hands. Carried her to the restroom, then immersed her head into the sink, she wiggled, moaning then he raised her head up. She tried to cough but she could not, panting and gasping, he immersed her head again and this time, for a longer period.

“ Take me to your mother or I swear, I will kill you.” She nodded, her bare bosom heaving, and he guessed her tears was swallowed up by water.
He put the gun on her head while he pushed her naked body out of the room.










“ You have been crying for hours, Leema. You have a condition.” Fahad said, trying to hold her. She pushed his hands off.

“ I am sorry.”

“ So, I was just a route, a means to an end. You came to me for information .”

“ How could you say that, Leema? Have you forgotten that I only discovered that you were his daughter after we started talking, and that means after the long trip to get you talking.”

She seemed to think about it and it made sense to her.

“ I don’t blame you, but the fact that you had the most elusive answer to the greatest question in my life and kept it from me hurts.”

“I know but I was scared you might not understand. We wondered how you feel if you found that you were together with the daughter of the people who killed your parents. And we wanted a united family. Alicia has been feeling guilty.”

“ It is not her fault. She is also a victim. And I have seen things to substantiate your story. I saw the drama that went on there. I have nothing against her. I cried this much because I had held it for so long. I had imagined so many things. But it was all based on speculations. Now, that I am sure, I had to cry it out and I fill relieved knowing what happened. I pray Ya Allah should make Al-janna Firdaus their final abode.”

“ Ameen.”

“ Alicia is alone in Los Angeles.” She said softly, “ I think we should go be with her.”

“ I have been thinking about that. I think we should go on the private jet.”

“ Okay. I am sorry, I was hard on you…”

“ I know that feeling, sweetheart.” He held her, and she relaxed, pressed her head on his chest and sobbed.

“ We leave first thing in the morning.” He added.

“ Okay.”

“ I need to check on the boys. I can’t completely rely on nannies.”

“ Let me come with you, then.”

“ What makes you feel you are stronger? If Alicia had not fallen sick, we could have settled it on court.”

He laughed.

She struggled to her feet, not letting him give her support. She moved slowly out of the room, and he was glad it was done. She now knew everything and she handled it with maturity, kindness and understanding.

Fahad lay back on the bed, pondering over Damon’s dilemma. Divorce? What was wrong with Kim and her mother? She maybe probably be raping him now. He had been there. Tested am.

God! We had been through a lot and I pray it comes to an end sooner than expected.

“ Cutie!”

Halima’s hysterical call brought him out of his thoughts.

“ Cutie! Hurry please!”

He sprang up, confused and ran out of the room.








Damon kicked the door open, then barged into one of the most sophisticated bedrooms he had ever seen.
The bed was double king-sized and it looked like it was made of gold and platinum. He was still grabbing Kim, and pointing the gun at her.

Mrs Abraham was shocked, flummoxed and confused. She was in bed with a young man, as young as Damon. They were committing adultery. They were naked, and he remembered Kim say her father was on a trip to Germany.

“ How dare you barge into my room ?” She barked, startled while they disengaged abruptly “and what the hell is going on? What have you done to my daughter?”

“Shut up and listen!” Damon barked, “ if you had left me alone, all these would not have happened. I know you have a copy of the video, let me have it.”

“ You are insane! You will regret this!"

She shamefully covered her body with a fluffy sheet while the young man had his eyes fixed on Kim’s body, like a hungry lion staring at a deer.

“ The only thing I will regret is not trying to bring an end to this madness.” He said, “ get that video pronto!”

Twai!

Damon had never seen anyone get slapped with that intensity for a while. Damn! He nearly thought it was a gunshot from an old modelled gun.
The young dude covered his cheek with his palm, then began to caress it and while he felt his cells seriously vibrating. Mrs Abraham galred at him after the slap she gave him.

“ How dare you keep looking at my daughter like that! There is a man like you holding us hostage and all you do is look at her bumps!”

“ I am sorry,” He said apologetically.

“ Do you think I have time for your drama? Let me have what I need then you can keep on with your stuff.” Damon said.

“ What will you do? Shoot? And the earlier you let my daughter go the better.”

“ I am going to count up to three…..” Damon began but the young man sprang up, nude and gave out a grimace.

“ Hey, Dude, I am Peter. I could be bad. Let that girl go and you will not get hurt. I have gone through a lot, seen things,……” He was coming towards Damon. His sight was disgusting and Damon felt he was smugly showing his big body to Kim. Unrepentant adulterer.

“ Step back.” Damon said, “ I know you have seen things. I just witnessed one like just getting slapped by your sugar mama, and now you see things in front of me, so step back.”

He was coming too close for comfort.

“ Step back!” Damon barked not sure if it was Kim’s sexy body putting him on trance or he was bent on impressing his woman.
Whatever it was, it earned him a slug in his leg. Damon shot him straight in the leg and aimed at his chest for the next shot if he misbehaved but he came to his senses.

He screamed, fell down and moaned in pains, cursing. The last time, Fahad tried to impress a lady with a bull, he ended up passing out.
This move made Mrs Abraham jittery. She now saw that Damon meant business. What was she thinking? That he was a joke?

“ Now, I am going to count up to three, if you don’t get that video, you will all be found dead here and that will be news! Billionaire banker, daughter and child lover found dead in her room. What about that? One…..two……”

She got the flash. He made her play it, confirmed it and then asked her to drop it close to him. The lover boy was still wriggling in pain. Damon knew he had made a mistake but he just could not figure out what it was. He picked up the flash, then tied Mrs Abraham like he did to her daughter.

“ Now, listen to me you hogwash, I got a recording of your confessions. How you instigated Steve, and all that. I also got you, Mrs Abraham, blackmailing me. So, I think this brings us to the end of this blackmail session.”

He walked to the door.

“ Be careful with this guy, I think he got serious eyes on your young daughter. See ya.”

He ran out and thirty minutes later, he was riding at the back of a cab. He had to be in Los Angeles first thing in the morning then the call came.

It came earlier than expected.

“ What?” He said curtly.

“ I warned you not to cross the line Damon.” Kim said in a cool manner, but there was that deadly note that brooked no nonsense. “ But you did.”

“ Now, I am scared, heeeelp.”

She chuckled.

“ Do you think it is over?”

“ Well, if I go down, you go with me. I got you too.”

“ Damon, you are a gut-wrenching son-of-a-bitch! I hate you and I swear I will prove it.”

“There is a thin line between love and hate, is that not an old adage?”

“ If you think you are going to be with that witch, then have another think and listen, you are all going down and alone. Do you think I reason with my a*shole like you do? You think you got something on us? You had a chance and you messed up. When you saw my mum naked on bed with a man, you could have put your blocked brain into action and record. That would have shut us up. But you lost the chance.”

Yes! He knew he had made a mistake but could not figure it out. She just pointed it out to him. Damn! But, he still had the recordings.

“ I got other stuff.” He boasted.

“ Jerk! You got nothing. You thought I was a fool, planned to get me drunk, huh? You got yourself big bottles of gaseous juice and tried to make me think it’s all gin. You fill your tommy with juice and little gin and pretend you are high. Yes, I was drunk but not outta my senses. When you went into the restroom, I got into your phone and deleted. You got nothing. The only thing you could have gotten was the scandalous scene which you were not smart enough to capture.”

He quickly checked his phone, the gallery and found out. Damn! She deleted everything. Why did he underestimate her?

“ You and your slot will rot in jail!”

She ended the call, and then he took a decision. His mind was made up. It had to end.

“ Are you blackmailing me?” He asked, aware that his heart was racing, and his body seemed too heavy for the legs.

“ I am a panacea. I am doing a lot of people a favour here. “ She proselytized, “ separating you from Alicia is best for her and her parents. What good have you brought to her? A rift with her parents, poverty, and she is has not even gotten her final result. I will be helping the Grants get back their only daughter who ought to be the heir to their empire…they are one of the richest couples on earth. Forbes don’t know this. And my Kim will be happy, and justice is done. This is also better for you. You won’t come here next time, with a two hundred dollar suit, puffing your chest and thinking you are with us with your ten million dollar firm, planting an arriviste smile on your haggard face. I will make my son-in-law run a firm worth hundreds of millions.”

She paused, sipped champagne, nodded at someone then smiled.

“ Kim and Alicia have been friends since kindergarten but my daughter has always been smarter. Alicia was not social, and I am sure she cannot handle you the way Kim will do. And if Kim took after me which I guess she did, then you are in for a ride. I am doing you a favour and you should be grateful. After your first time in bed with my daughter, I will ask you about Alicia,” she chuckled, like a five year old, “ you will say, what is Alicia?”

Sick, filthy , rich boofhead!

“ She did not kill Steve. ”He said, suddenly attempting to know the weight of her so-called prove.

She laughed shortly.

“ Do I look like a ninny? I see how you ogle at me. Kim is a smart girl. She worked on Steve. She knew he was obsessed with Alicia. He was losing his mind just like you are doing to my daughter. So, she encouraged him to look for her and he found her. She told him what to do and it made sense to him. His greatest ambition was to have sex with her. Kim fixed a video transmitting chip on him. She saw what transpired between them. Then you guys took him away, burnt the house to obliterate evidence, and bingo! “

“ She used him.” He said.

“ Everyone is expendable, Damon. She did not force him. He was foolish. But Steve was already dead before he died because of his obsession. His life was miserable and insalubrious. It was better for him. He had messed up himself. This is my card and make sure you call me before noon tomorrow. We need to start working on the divorce papers. Ohhh, Such things take time but we will try to speed it up. But that does not mean you will not separate with her. You will move in with my daughter, then we can see how to raise your status. I can’t have a lowlife hang with my princess. You got shopping to do, and business to start.”

She handed a card to him, touched Damon on his cheek then said, “congratulations, Damon.”

She walked into the crowd, exchanging pleasantries, like she was not the devil who just said crazy things to him.
The only sound that made sense to him was his heartbeat, the drumming inside his head and chattering of his teeth.
When will these travails be over? Will it ever end? He have always been dogged, optimistic but this was scaring him now. They had gone through a lot, things that would have made a thrilling story for a movie but the end seemed to be mirage.
It was only when Damon Jnr. began struggling to get him down he came back to his senses.

“ Come lil Damon, what?”

“ Tata tu” he blabbered.

“ What?”

“ Ta.”

“ Whatever that means,” He put him down and held his hand and they began to walk.

“ I need to have a word with you.” He heard and turned to see Richard behind. He was holding a champagne flute, with face beaming with make-up. Crazy!

Damon stopped walking, aware of his fictitious grin, knowing there was a pressman, or pressmen watching every move he made, capturing everything and photographers hunting for a master shot.

“ Yes, Mrs Grant.” He said sarcastically. “ I am proud to have a presidential aspirant scrutinizing my life, watching every move I make.”

“ It’s my pleasure boy. That is what happens when you jump into things beyond you. How is my daughter and grandchildren?”

“ You know better.”

“ You are making it look or sound like you are picking a quarrel with me.”

“ We just need peace.”

“ Then earn it.”

“ What do you want from me?”

“ Did you invade my house and made them rob me?”

“ I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“ How then did you meet Alicia? She was taken away from my house, after being robbed and some of my men killed. Then a ransom was demanded. I told them to go to hell. But I wanted the boys, my grandchildren. So I played along. I paid fifty million dollars then realized it was a bamboozle. It was later, someone discovered that there was an inside job.”

He did not know that Damon was there when his father was saying that.

“ And the person who was the mastermind was none other than Stone, who is your father and we never knew! Stone has always been an enigma. As slippery as ice, a fox and unpredictable madman. So he helped you get your so-called family and stole from me. I am nice man, oops! Woman and I never made a report. I could have killed you when we found you in New-York. But we have our reason. Now, we need to talk. You are going to get Stone. He should not bother about the money he stole from me. Tell him, we know he is alive and he may be hiding now but we will get him if he does not do the right thing.”

“ I don’t know where he is.”

“ I know. But you must find out. If you don’t get to him within two weeks from now, then I will pick on you…..I am told your mother is alive. And if you die along with Alicia, who would take care of the twins other than their grandparents? Tell Stone we need him to do the right thing before November 23. That is exactly three weeks from now. He knows what to do.”

He sipped his drink, wearing a placid expression all this while.

Double trouble!

“ What truck has he got with you? I spent years without seeing him.”

“ That is none of your business. You spent years without seeing him because he is always on the run and I think he feels he is protecting his family. He did because if we had known all these while……”

“ Let my mother out of these!”

“ Shhhh, I told you to behave , don’t cause a scene. The world is watching. This is Mrs Grant you are talking with. It is very interesting that you seem to love your mother so much. I am hopeful that you will find your father. I never knew who my mother was….”

“ Who does Alicia call granny?”

He was taken aback.

“ A slip of tongue. I never knew my father but my mother is very much alive.”

“ Has it crossed your mind that your mother could also be a target?”

“Yes. Now, you are playing gangster. If you want to kill my mother, I can help serve as the inside man.” He chuckled.

“ Can you kill your daughter?”

“ If it becomes a necessity yes. I allow nothing or anything to cross my path. I did all I could for her, showed her all the love she needed but of what use is she to me? Who knows if you guys have something to do with Steve’s disappearance?”

Damon sighed.

Damon got back to Alicia who was standing with her mother who everyone thought was Mr Grant. He excused them and took his wife and child away until they found a pew and sat down. He had come here with the hope of meeting the business world, learning and meeting new people but it just drummed into his head that he had a mountain to break to clear his way.

He was getting more scared.

“ What is wrong?”

“ We will talk about it later.”

“ Please talk to me. I know Mrs Abraham did not call you for business. Kim was acting all weird, looking so happy and victorious. She was over friendly with me and hyper.”

Damon told her what the mother said. She listened without showing any reaction, or asking any question. She just sat still, holding Simon and looked straight ahead of her.
When he was through, She was still in the same position, not moving.

“Alicia”

He called her softly but there was no response.

“ Alicia.”

What was wrong? He sprang up, almost pushing Damon off but he quickly held the poor child. She was sitting like a zombie, her eyes were glassy, not moving, blinking or showing any sign of life.

“ Alicia.”

But she was not with him!

“ Somebody help! I need the medics!” He screamed as his love sat like a robot.






“ We don’t have an option, Damon.” Alicia said weakly, lying on the hospital bed. “ I can’t see a way out.”

“ There has to be a way. Something has to be done.” Damon said, holding her hand. It was her sixth day in hospital after spending three days unconscious.

“ How? This fight is way bigger than us. We can’t win. They are everywhere, they are everything.”

She paused, “ just when we were beginning to move forward. I am not strong enough for this. I don’t think I can go on.”
He squeezed her hand, “stop saying this. We have been through thick and thin. We can’t give up now.”

“ I don’t want to give up,” tears now escaped through her eyes, “ I want to fight on, but I don’t think I can. We don’t have an option, you….have to let go me. Maybe we are not destined to be together. From the day we met, to this very moment, it’s been trouble, vicissitudes beyond comprehension.”

He could not hold back the tears in his eyes, finding it hard to believe Alicia was asking him to let her go. She was giving up, losing hope. What did she mean giving up? Dying? No!

“ You know I can’t let you go. You know it and we can’t even talk about it”

“You can’t let me go…” She forced a smile, her voice was low and she was still weak, “ but we can’t be together. Kim and her mother give no empty threat. If I am arrested I will get at least life if I am lucky to escape deathrow. I would have had more peace if you will be there for our children but you will go down with me and then what happens? We are not together, and our children are left to grow into a world of evil. Is that not the worst scenario? You know I would do anything to be with you. I cannot love another man like I love you. I trust you but we have to protect our children. That is why I said we have no option. You must divorce me and marry her,” she sobbed, holding him tight with the little strength in her, “ if that will keep us safe. I will be here to take care of the kids, you keep her happy and we live. I know how you feel, maybe happiness is not ours, we have to give these innocent kids a better life. They can’t stop you from seeing them.”

She was making a lot of sense but he was not thinking straight. He just could not imagine this happening. He was now crying.

“ Please don’t be stubborn,” she said .

“ I will work something out.”

“When? I know them. They work with time. She gave you time, didn’t she?”

“ She did.”

“ So you better oblige and don’t be stubborn.”

She was sobbing profusely.

“ What is going on here?” The doctor came in, grimaced then said, “ I’m afraid you must leave, Sir. She needs a lot of rest and can’t not be emotionally disturbed.”

Damon tried to stand up but she held him firmly, crying, begging him to leave but her hand refused to let go.

The doctor could not understand this.

Damon also did not release her hand. The warm, fragile hand.

“ If you truly love me and the kids, “she cried, “do it for us. My love, heart and soul will always be by you.”

“ Please leave, Mr Damon.” The doctor said and they reluctantly released the hold. He walked out with a heavy heart. He turned, she was looking at him, eyes full of tears and when she forced a smile amid such tears, and wove at him, he allowed tears flow and quickly left before he made a scene.



When he had shouted for medics, she was checked and found to be unconscious even though her eyes were wide open. She was rushed to hospital and he insisted Fahad took the kids home. The Grants had suggested taking them home but the kids would not even go near them. At least, they were used to Fahad and Halima so he did not need to protest.

They also suggested flying her to Miami but the doctor refused, saying she was not fit for flying. The Grants left after three days of pretence and promised to check back. Damon asked Fahad and his wife to go back home. Halima had a condition and needed to be home. But there was a little drama when the twins kept asking after their mother.

Now as Damon stood outside the hospital waiting for a cab to take him back to his hotel, he felt his hands clenching.
What could be the panacea, their coup de grace, something to bring all of this to an end? What did his father know? How could he find him? Wouldn’t it be a nice idea to get a gun and become a serial killer, killing from Kim to her mom, then the Grants?

But that was not going to be easy. He was losing his family. But Alicia was right. They could not be together with these psychopaths on their trail.

“ Tadaa!” Kim popped her head out of a Ford SUV,

“ jump in.”

Damon felt like strangling her. He hated this girl but she did not seem to give a damn.

He opened the door and got in.

“ You know I will not leave you here in LA.” She said, “how is she doing?”

“ Fine.” He said, remembering the words of her mother, threatening him not to show her that he was not interested. Then an idea fell into his head. He did not know when he smiled.

“ What?” She asked.

“ Nothing. How is your mum?”

“ Gone back to Miami. When are we leaving?”

He turned at her.

“ Anytime you want.”

“ We leave this afternoon.”

She bent over and kissed him on his cheek.

“ I missed you and I am happy we are together.”

“ I am happy too.” He said, feeling the pain in his throat as he forced those words.

“ I can’t wait to get home. We are going to have a romantic time, the night will be sizzling.”

“ Yeah.”

“ Are we going all marathon, or pause, drink, sex, pause, drink, sex?”

“ We are getting married, huh?”

“ Sure.”

“ After my divorce.”

“Yep.”

“ Then sex has to wait until we are married.”

“ Why? This is no Methuselah age. Marriage is all paper, church, food, drinks and that’s it.”

“ Look up.” He pointed a finger up. She glanced up and then put her concentration back on the road.

“ What?”

“ I see the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy spirit is flowing deep inside me. I breath the word of the lord, I drink the gospel, ….”

“ Hehehe, I love your sense of humour, ”she said, “ do you know I thought you were serious at a point? I love you Damon and tonight is going to be hot.”


Damn!