If I heard nothing else, at least I heard the taxi driver fart in fear upon seeing four armed, masked men prance towards us with vengeance hanging over them.“Oh my God! What is happening, ma’am? Who are they?” the taxi driver mumbled to me as we struggled for our lives in the taxi.At the time he was lost and confused; not certain about what decision to take, whether to reverse or speed away. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make a move. My body trembled as the strings of a guitar and I willingly lay on the back seat of the cab even before they got us. I couldn’t find any saliva in my mouth to swallow down my gut. Over a million times I died within myself.“Please, don’t hurt us! Please don’t hurt us!”Trembling, the taxi driver and I wailed indistinctly with our hands raised above our heads without knowing what these hoodlums had come to do to innocent souls like us.Next was a powerful punch on the head of the taxi driver.“Run!” the ring leader of the hoodlums commanded the taxi driver
Fanny’s face was swallowed in gloom as he watched Eva and Salsa try my phone line without any positive response.“Is it ringing now?” he couldn’t stop asking as he stared at them keenly.“Not yet father,” Eva replied and paced up and down the sitting room as she brought her phone to her ear once again. “What could be happening? Oh Lord, Melissa!” Eva whispered within herself as she kept trying my phone line.“It is still switched off, sir,” Salsa replied and dimed her eyes suspiciously at Opula and Kate who were chattering excitedly while cat-walking out of their chamber.Fanny’s jaw clenched as he raised his gaze and thought about my destination. “Try it a little more. We could reach her now. This is the fifth day and she is nowhere to be found.Eva interrupted, “Father, it is still switched off, yes literally switched off. I wonder where she could be now and what must have happened to her phone.”“Could she have probably turned off her phone line just to avoid our calls?” Fanny aske
Fanny Luis picked up the phone call from the family doctor, who had been told about my disappearance for five days now. Eva, Salsa and a few of the Fanny’s servants waited keenly for Fanny to finish answering the phone call.Everyone waited for news of my whereabouts: actually everyone at the villa, including Opula and Kate. They were quite sure the hoodlums’ dealt with me drastically and installed fear in me, so I wouldn’t summon the courage to return to the villa.I had made up my mind to flee to my maternal home for safety until I could decide what to do about the marriage annulment.As soon as Fanny was done with the phone call, he snorted and said, “She is nowhere to be found. The doctor only heard information of a woman and a taxi driver that were attacked some days ago; but couldn’t tell of their whereabouts now. This is getting out of hand. I am short of words.”Eva raised her gaze in exhaustion and hummed in total loss. “I just pray she is not the one.” Warm tears trickled do
“Come on dress up before my wife sees us.” Ken whispered to Salsa, who was squeezing into her dress.Salsa nagged, “I am glad you know we shouldn’t be doing this. You are married to Opula. The time has come for you to focus on your marriage. I am beginning to feel guilty of this iniquity.”Ken, who was at the door, looking out for Opula said, “Am I the first man who cheats on his wife? When are we going to see again?” he asked Salsa, who hastened up with her dress.“We may not be seeing again,” Salsa whispered and glanced around for any onlooker, “We are at a critical time. Melissa is nowhere to be found. Right now the tension is high. We shouldn’t be seeing for now.”Ken scowled and sucked his teeth. “What has Melissa got to do with us? If she is missing, it is for our good. The Fanny Group demands attention. That poor brute is distracting us.”Salsa exploded in a malicious sighing, “What nonsense are you talking about, Ken? You know Melissa is my very good friend; I haven’t had any
“Melissa!” Fanny called for the second time and was left gaping when Eva quickly ran to me and caught me in a powerful embrace.Upon my shoulders Eva let out tears of joy. Unable to fight back my tears, I wept and shut my eyes in pain. At the time, Opula and Kate had lowered their gaze in shame and rolled their eyes at me before murmuring and walking out on us.“Where the hell have you been, Melissa?” Fanny asked and surged closer to me upon seeing the plaster on my skull, , “And what the hell happened to your head?”Eva raised a knitted brow upon seeing the plaster, “What happened to you Melissa? You got everyone scared and worried. What really happened to you?I shook my head, sobbed greatly, and when heavy stuttering took over my lips, Fanny commanded the servants to attend to me and get me ready for a warm dinner with him, just to get my heart settled and ready to converse with him.“You don’t have to bother father,” Eva said, and added, “I will take care of her myself,” she took
Opula had never disguised like she just did. With headgear wound round her hair, one could take her for a Muslim and the black shades on her eyes intensified her disguise. She didn’t drive out in the family Ferrari.If she had, she could easily be trailed and noticeable, because it was only the Fanny’s that owned such an exotic car in Rio Hondo. In order to perfect her disguise, she came in a taxi and parked out of sight.She was visiting an abandoned garage on the East Coast of Rio. She shouldn’t be found there and had no business there. Anyone who found her there could snitch on her and use it against her.She thought she was perfect in her disguise, so confidently that no finger could point at her and say it was Opula.Once the garage opened, and she stepped in, the hoodlums bowed before they gave room for her to discuss with their boss.“She is not supposed to be alive,” Opula said through uneasy smiles which housed fury and scorn, “That bitch is still breathing somewhere in our c
Opula had so much pride hanging over her as the security had already opened the door for her. Once she alighted from the Ferrari, she breathed uneasily and gazed upon the skyscraper with the stylish lettering on the signboard: Fanny Group.Fanny Group was an ICT conglomerate and the richest ICT franchise in Rio Hondo. All the while, Brian was away doing music and eventually became mentally deranged; it was Opula who managed the company with the expectation of becoming the heiress, since Brian would never recover.When the idea to get Brian a contract wife came onboard, never did Opula put into consideration that the love and obsession of a poor girl like me for her mentally deranged brother would mend Brian and restore his sanity.“I regret it all,” Opula whispered within herself as she gazed upon the beautiful edifice of Fanny Group. “I wish I never brought the idea of getting Brian a contract wife. I wish I had allowed him to continue as a violent mad man. Today, father is hopeful t
Barrister Coleman, Fanny and Opula gathered at the police station. Opula was handcuffed and made to sit for interrogation. It was no longer business as usual and Opula could see the seriousness in the eyes of Fanny.She had already prepared for this battle, knowing it wasn’t going to be an easy one since Fanny was still alive. She needed to prove her guts to me, and she would stop at nothing until she was made the heiress whether my husband survived the coma or not.“Sir,” the chief police officer called Fanny, “Please state your wish for your company this moment so that every party can listen and ensure it is being carried out to the latter…”“What a nonsense wish!” Opula fumed, the veins on her brow and neck pumping out, “I built Fanny Group! I made it what it is today. I was busy fixing up Fanny Group for the future while your so-called son was whiling away his time in music.”“And it wasn’t for free!” Fanny interrupted her, “Yes, I was paying for the services you rendered. Was it
When I got to the villa, I dared to enter my chamber but it was locked. This had never happened before and I wondered what could be happening. Whatever was happening had got to be a joke but it wasn’t. I pushed on the door and it was locked. I wonder who could have locked my chamber. I had never locked my chamber for once, so who could have done this?As I dared to open the door, my patience fizzled out and I boiled within me. What could be happening? Just then my mind went back to what Eva told me about the struggle I would face s now Rod started getting closer to me. Could Opula and Kate be responsible for this?Eva joined me shortly afterwards and was shocked by the latest development. When she checked on Opula and Kate, they were not around the villa let alone in their chambers. They had gone out with their husbands and Fanny Luis.I brought Eva’s attention to the garage and showed her their cars weren’t in place so it was obvious they had gone out. Soon Salsa came out to meet us
“Perhaps you may want to give me better explanations. What do you have with rod Benson that makes him flinch into action when he hears you are in trouble? Are you dating him or something is going on between the two of you?”I dared to open my mouth to speak up and defend myself but I felt a styrene force shut my lips. This had not happened to me before. I wondered why I was finding it uneasy to deny having anything to do with Rod Benson. Rod had only demanded that we become best of friends and that was all and would definitely not exceed friendship.I shook my head in denial, “I have nothing with Rod Benson. He … he,” I stuttered and said in a breath, “Rod is just my friend and that is all . I can’t date or marry him. Brian is more than…”I was interrupted when Eva who had been on the steering wheel matched the break and the car came to a screeching halt. “Excuse me, Melissa. You are not serious, are you?” she shot her furious eyes at me and I forced myself to meet her gaze, “Once up
I wonder what would inspire Doctor Bill’s cheeks to be dragged in smile while my husband was in dire need of oxygen. Ever since we got into his office he had been all smile like a suckling eagle that just learned how to fly.After he was done attending to the nurse who had been in his office, he corked a heavier smile at us as he opened Brian’s file.“You seem to be in your best mood today, doctor. There has not been anything short of excitement on your face since we got in here. What is the secret?” Eva said cheerfully, her voice coming up alive after a heartbreaking wailing.Eva had her car key firmly held in her arms and to an extent she had bubbles in her guts seeing the doctor’s excitement because of what she had come to demand form the doctor. When she told me about giving up her car in place of a sequel large unit of oxygen for Brian I doubted if the doctor was going to allow it.We didn’t want to hesitate about purchasing oxygen for Brian’s survival. Going to sell the car cou
When Eva walked into my chamber and met me wailing she was astounded and she scuttled to my side to know what must have rattled my cage. As she lowered her gaze on my hands and saw a small leaflet, she took it.“What? Is this from Doctor Bill?” she said, gaping at me and wondering if she could afford thirty thousand dollars for fresh oxygen supply for Brian. “Oh my God not now we don’t have the trust funds.”I sniffed heavily and shut my eyes to gain virtue. “Things are getting tougher, Eva. I am getting weary by the day. The bag of money we hid under my bed suddenly got missing without any clue of who stole it. Isn’t it better for the police to have found the money in my chamber than losing the money to a thief?”“There is no thief in this villa,” Eva said with conviction and breathed uneasily, “Never had it been recorded that a cent went missing in this villa let alone a bag of money and besides it is only you and I that know there is money in our chamber or did you tell anyone abou
I was discussing with Melissa the other day and she mentioned her love for Turkish gown. Although she is from a poor family, her sense of fashion is laudable. She was nagging about the incentive Fanny stopped paying her and how it has affected her number of dresses,” Salsa said to Rod who was smiling cheek to cheek.Today she wasn’t meeting Rod in his private jet but at a cocktail café. It was obvious Salsa had accepted her fate as regards her love for Rod and what she was out to achieve. Things would get more intriguing and shocking as she looked forward to making Rod marry me.Rod smiled cheerfully as he shook his head, “Are you sure she is going to accept it? My heart gets broken each time Melissa rejects my gift. I wish she would accept it if I should buy her the whole world,” Rod said with an iota of doubt.Salsa sucked a brief grin; and it was as if she had taken a personal decision to work out things between Rod and I; even if it would be the only feat she would achieve in her
Fanny Luis was having a board meeting with his staff when the knocking of oxford sounded noisily close by. Although Fanny expected all his staff to be present at the meeting, he only thought the noisy shuffling could be coming from a guest.But the oxford knocked louder as the person walked closer and closer, Fanny threw caution to the wind with his speech. His instinct informed him that the person was as furious as he thought but he took solace in the fact that it could be a guest.With the boldness to continue the meeting, Fanny shrugged off any form of distraction especially the knocking of the oxford.In a short while, when the meeting got heated Rod barged into the conference hall and shot a disgusting frown at fanny.“Rod Benson?” Fanny called, uncertainty clouding his voice with scare hanging in his eyes. “Can’t you see that I am in the middle of a crucial meeting with my staff?” Fanny queried and rebuked his guts through his enraged staff which stood behind a pair of glass.R
The chairman tossed his head in disapproval, “Have you forgotten you took an oath of honesty for this contract? You assured us that all your information and data are correct to your best of knowledge. R and D limited is a company founded on honesty. We abhor dishonesty, Rod Benson. You can’t be married and you claim to be single. This is not even a case of divorce.”“No, please , listen to me, chairman,” Rod interposed him, “Opula is only an admirer who claimed to be pregnant for me. She is just desperate to be my wife and because I am not giving her the attention she decided to go public about it. I have never been married. You can ask my father.”Once again the chairman shook his head in disapproval, “I have no business with your father but you Rod Benson. You have breached the contract agreement on honest and code of trust. We can’t go into joint partnership with a tycoon whose marital status is questionable to the receptionist. Let’s call it a day, Rod Benson.Rod’s eyes flinted
Rod Benson was full of smiles as he drove into the complex of R and D Limited. Today was the D-day , the CEO of R and D sent for him to come over for official finalization of the fifty billion dollars joint partnership with Benson Group.His eyes sparkled with impatience when he alighted and gazed upon the towering sky scraper of R and D limited. His father, James had told him, the joint partnership was going to be stepping stone to their acquisition Of R and D limited. If he could lose anything in the world, definitely not the contract, because in few years time, the Benson Group would be the highest shareholders of R and D.Today was more than a feeling of Halloween to Rod as he curved his cheeks with contagious smile.“You are welcome to R and D limited,” the securities chatted indistinctly to Rod , with a gentle bow and a gorgeous smile, which ushered him into the elevator .The fact was that Rod had attracted the joint partnership deal and James Benson’s joy knew no bound the day
With the way Eva gaped at me, one could think I was responsible for the confusion brought upon the police men. Eva, just like every other onlooker thought the police men were under some sort of voodoo from me.Eva had to peer to me and ask, “Why didn’t they see the bag of money in your chamber? What is happening? Where is the money? Did you displace the money?” she asked anxiously.My brow ridge in utter bewilderment, “I am as shocked as you. I wouldn’t have touched the bag of money. I was waiting for the police men to come out with the bag of money but nothing of such happened,” I replied, shot an investigative gaze at my chamber and then whispered to Eva, “Hold on let me see for myself,”Quickly, I stepped into my chamber and met all my properties scattered all over the place. I wondered if emphasis was placed on my chamber or was this how they were going to search all the chambers.“That is my bed,” I mumbled and pointed Eva’s attention to it, “They actually searched it. Everything