Roses and Thorns – Episode 43

CHAPTER FORTY THREE

Okenwa got home tired. he parked his car and came down, he looked at the black Highlander that used to be his brother’s but later became his. He entered the sitting room and stood for a while looking around. He couldn’t still comprehend the fact that he had been released from the asylum. He shook his head and walked to a large portrait of his father hung on the wall. He carressed it with a smile, held it with both hands firmly and carefully brought it down. There was a hole in the wall as small the small hole in cars referred to as the “Pigeon hole”. A big brown envelope was in the hole, it was squeezed because the hole was small for it. He brought it out, dusted it and went to sit on the sofa.

“Stupid Ezenwa, the documents have been right under his nose all these while but he never noticed, he must really be a dunce” Okenwa chuckled shaking his head. He brought out the contents of the envelope, the company documents, followed by the landed properties documents and then the hotel documents, he looked into the envelope and saw a small black object, he brought it out and stared at it for a while “Recorder” he spoke out loud. He pressed the button and 40:6 came up on the tiny screen.

“What could have been said in 40 minutes and 6 seconds time” he wondered and pressed the play button, it was his father’s voice, he relaxed fully on the sofa placing the recorder close to his right ear.

“Okenwa my son,” the old man’s voice began “How are you doing? and how is life as a corper treating you? I hope you are feeding well?, don’t forget to always call to my attention if you need any help financially, although I know that by the time you would be listening to this recording, you must have passed out from NYSC, but nonetheless, i have very important informations to share with you.” Okenwa sighed, he didn’t even pass out before he was taken to the asylum.

“Okenwa am sorry am breaking this news to you like this, but with the way things are going in this house, i might die before you come back so i think i should tell you now. You are not my biological son and i don’t know who your biological father is either,i picked you up from the roadside and then planned with my late wife to adopt you and that has been the best decision so far because you turned out to be a blessing to me. You are my son and nothing can change that, i have already willed everything i have to you.” Okenwa sniffed, the tears were already gathering.

“Ambler, our family lawyer, is not a good person, i have dropped him though but i still need to tell someone about his evil doings. Ambler is a murderer, yes, a murderer and a rapist, he is the one teaching your brother how to rebel against me. He has never won a case without killing either a witness or the opposing counsel’s client. He has killed three people and do you remember Aisha? his secretary then that was found dead in the bush? yes, he killed her after raping her brutally. How did i find out right?” he chuckled briefly and then continued “I had gone to his house then to hand him my property documents as my lawyer, Ezenwa your brother was there already and Ambler was bragging and recounting his escapades to your brother, telling him how fun it was to be a rapist, especially the part where the ladies would beg for their lives. I was shocked, i ran home and decided to hide the documents in the hole covered by my large portrait in the living room, i will tell you about the hole and the documents on Whatsapp” Okenwa paused the recorder and

Sighed, remembering the morning he woke up to his father’s Whatsapp message, he was shocked at first because his father never bothered about social media, but when he read the contents “My documents are in a hole on the wall covered by my large portrait in the living room. Do not tell your brother or anyone, not even Ambler, our family lawyer” he had called his father immediately but his number was switched off and then the next minute, he got a call from home saying his father had died in a car accident. He pressed play on the recorder.

“A week after your brother received the lectures from Ambler, he killed Ego after raping her, you remember Ego okwaya? (Right?) yes, he has killed her” the old man’s voice came up again.

“What? he killed Ego? I never knew about that” He said to no one and paused the recorder. “i only know about Ini Archibong and Adesua Jones, which was because we were all in the same department then and they never got along with Ezenwa, nobody did infact” Okenwa spoke out loud “seriously? Ego was his victim too? damn it Ambler, you spoiled my brother and you won’t go free from it” he added but when he remembered the recorder, he calmed down and pressed play again.

“But i have had enough of their madness, i will report them tomorrow to the authorities, let them face the consequences” the recorder stopped at that minute.

“Oh my God, Ambler, no, you must be punished alongside Ezenwa, the detective must hear this” Okenwa said, scurrying off the living room with the recorder in his hand.

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