BELLA'S MEMOIRS (ENTRY #26)

ENDEARING PLOTS

It was about 3am. I had just fallen into an uncomfortable sleep when my phone rang, it was an unknown number and for some reason I just knew it was about Okechukwu.

Me: Hello?

I heard Okechukwu’s voice at the other end.

Okechukwu: Hi Bella.

Me: Oh my God! Are you ok? Where are you? What are they doing to you? Are you eating? Do you need anything?

He laughed. Only Okechukwu would laugh in a situation like this.

Okechukwu: Babe calm down. You know I can take care of myself…I’m fine.

Me: I know you’re not fine. I can hear it in your voice. I hope they are not hurting you.

Okechukwu: That’s not the point Bella. My brother bribed one of the guards here to give me his phone to call him but I called you instead because you are the only one that can sort this mess out.

Me: What’s going on Okechukwu? What were you doing at the hotel? You told me you were travelling.

Okechukwu: I was going to travel but I couldn’t. I stayed because I had every intention of stopping your wedding. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you but I stayed away because I also didn’t want to ruin your father’s chances during the elections. On the day of your pre-wedding dinner, I was in that Guest House in Ikoyi when some men burst into my room. They covered my nose with some sort of substance that made me pass out. I woke up a few hours later and found myself in one of the storage rooms at the hotel. I didn’t even know that was the venue of your pre-wedding dinner. I just noticed there was an event going on there. I was trying to find my way out of the place when I was suddenly arrested and accused of murder. It was when I got to Abuja that I discovered your fiancé was the victim.

Me: Oh my God! Someone planned the whole thing! And you said you were accused of murder when you were arrested, but Yinka isn’t even dead. He is currently in the UK receiving treatment.

Okechukwu: Obviously, whoever poisoned him meant to kill him and frame me up for the murder.

Me: They have camera footages of you in the building. Progressing

Okechukwu: Obviously they knew I would be captured on camera when I was trying to come out of the building.

Me: It means there must also be a camera footage of you being carried into the room. I mean if we can find evidence that you were brought into the hotel unconscious then we can change the story.

Okechukwu: I am very sure they would have gotten rid of the evidence by now. We don’t have much time Bella. I know the only reason I haven’t been tried or convicted is because the Vice President’s political party doesn’t want this to be a distraction from the elections. As soon as the elections are over there would be no time to waste.

Me: I know. What do you want me to do?0

Okechukwu: Buy me some time Bella.

Me: How? All our plans keep backfiring. I am scared any bright idea now may worsen your situation.

Okechukwu: You have to come up with something Bella. My life is in your hands. This is probably the only phone call I can make and I am calling you because I trust you. Don’t let me down.

With that he hung up and I know I had to do something. Someone had set up Okechukwu to take the fall but I knew I couldn’t find the culprit by myself. Not only didn’t I have the financial resources to do the job, I didn’t have the kind of twisted mind that it would require to sniff out the culprit. The only person who I knew could help was The Duchess and she had made her position on the situation quite clear.

The other person was Yinka and of course that was out of the question…or was it? I bet Yinka was desperate to find out who had tried to kill him and I bet he was exceptionally frustrated that he couldn’t find out who it was from the confines of his hospital bed all the way in the UK. I had to get to him, to make him see reasons why he should work with me to take down whoever wanted him dead. It would be a revenge for him while for Okechukwu and I, it was a matter of life and death. I had a plan and later that day the perfect opportunity to set it in motion came.

As I had anticipated, my dad finally succumbed to The Duchess’ wishes and had gone with her to see the Vice President in Abuja to make ‘peace’. They had returned immediately after the meeting as the elections were looming.

My Daddy: I wish we had made arrangements to have the kids out of sight for the elections just in case anything goes wrong.

The Duchess: Nonsense! You need your family beside you throughout the elections. It is very important they are all there showing their support. It’ll be good for TV, will make you look good and have a positive effect on the voting masses.

Me: Including the daughter who almost lost her fiancé and had to postpone her wedding? Today some people on twitter accused me of abandoning Yinka abroad now that he is a vegetable.

The Duchess: Yinka is not a vegetable! His father confirmed to us when we went to see him that he is recovering nicely.

Mrs A: But Bella does have a point. She should at least look a little distraught about the whole thing. She cannot be smiling at the cameras right now.

My Daddy: Exactly why she has remained indoors since the whole charade started.

Mrs A: If you ask me, as long as she is not by his bedside she is a bad wife or wife-to-be in this case.

The Duchess: Are you suggesting Bella travels to the UK to see Yinka? That’s just ridiculous!

My Daddy: Actually, Mother it is not a bad idea. The Vice President confirmed Yinka would be back in the country in a week or so. It would be very good for Bella to accompany him back you know, just for appearances of course. In a couple of months we can stage a break up and they can both move on with their lives. I don’t think it is a good time to make people think she has abandoned him.

Me: It’s not a bad idea at all. I mean Yinka is still recovering I am sure I would be fine. There’s not much harm he can do from a hospital bed.

My Daddy: Ok you can leave tomorrow Bella but I would get a member of my protocol team to accompany you. I still don’t trust Yinka and if you feel at risk at any point you call me and head straight to the airport ok?

And it was all set…I left for the UK the next day. As agreed, I took a few pictures at the airport and posted them on Instagram, within minutes the pictures had gone viral.

When I got to Yinka’s family house in London, I suddenly became remorseful. Yinka was fighting for his life and there I was trying to exploit his vulnerability for my own personal gain. However, on the other hand he brought it upon himself, if he had not managed to amass so many enemies at such a young age no one would have tried to kill him.

The housekeeper had asked me to wait in the living room while she went to announce my presence to Yinka. She came back shortly after and asked me to go up to his room. I asked my ‘bodyguard’ to wait downstairs in the living room while I went up to meet Yinka.

I expected to meet him on his sick bed surrounded by nurses but instead I got the shock of my life. Yinka was listening to loud music clad in nothing but a luxurious looking robe with a Cuban cigar in one hand and a glass of brandy in the other.

Yinka: Well…well Lady Bella. Nice to see you eventually came looking for your dying fiancé.

Me: Yinka! I thought you were supposed to be bed ridden!

Yinka: You’d have liked that wouldn’t you? Sorry to burst your bubble baby, nobody is taking out this young man so easily.

Me: So you weren’t poisoned?

Yinka: Of course I was! And as soon as I find out who tried to kill me I’m going to have so much fun watching them pay.

Me: You don’t think I did it…do you?

Yinka: Of course not! If I thought you were capable of murder I never would have asked you to marry me. A lifetime with me would give any woman at least a hundred and ten motives to kill me. I am not that stupid.

Me: You know Okechukwu was arrested for the attempt on your life right?

Yinka: I found that very hilarious. That arrogant fool behind bars, I hope he is being given the special treatment.

Me: Yet you say when you find out who tried to poison you, you’d make them pay. So you know it wasn’t Okechukwu.

Yinka: Of course it wasn’t Okechukwu. I wonder how he wound up being a suspect, he was supposed to be in a secure location till after the wedding.

Me: I don’t understand. What do you mean by secure location?

Yinka: I discovered he was back in town and sniffing around you and figured it was only a matter of time before you guys did something stupid like try to run away together or stupid enough to disrupt the wedding ceremony. So I had some of my guys pick him up and move him to a secure location till after the wedding. But then during the pre-wedding dinner I got a message from them saying they had been intercepted by some guys and Okechukwu had been taken from their custody.

Me: That was obviously arranged by the person who framed him. Do you have any idea who could be trying to frame Okechukwu? If you do please tell me so I can help him.

Yinka: Why would I want to help your arrogant lover?

Me: Because helping him is the only way you can find the person that tried to murder you and if you don’t find that person you can never truly be safe. The person is obviously someone very close to you. Close enough to know all your plans, close enough to poison your champagne in a room full of people.

Yinka: Hmmmm you are becoming quite the schemer aren’t you?

Me: I learnt from the best.

Yinka: I am flattered by your compliment.

Me: I wasn’t referring to you. I was referring to my grandmother who somehow has managed to beat you at your own game. All her dreams are coming true; I am not married to you, my dad is going to win the elections holding in a couple of hours and Okechukwu is out of the picture and you…well you are here in London. Hiding!

Yinka: That’s a blatant lie! Your grandmother has nothing on me.

Me: Prove it. Show me you have more guts than The Duchess.

Yinka’s chest was heaving, I was pressing his buttons and I had to keep doing so until he agreed to help me.

Me: Can you imagine how much fun the person who poisoned you is having right now? Mocking you, laughing at you behind your back and probably plotting to strike again. You know I’m right, that’s the only reason you are here…hiding because you are so scared of whoever is behind all this and helpless because you don’t know who it Is yet.

Yinka was now very angry. He threw the glass in his hand against the wall. I was so startled by his reaction, I jumped.

Yinka: I am not afraid of anyone! I am going to find the person and I am going to make his/her life a living hell. Pack your things we are going home!

Me: Now?

Yinka: NOW!!!!!!!! No one messes with me and gets away with it. I will make the world stop turning until I find whoever tried to kill me.

He started throwing his things into a suitcase and I tried to hide my smile. My plan had worked. I now had Yinka on my side and I was confident with him, it was only a matter of time before the real culprit was caught.

Life is funny…who knew your worst enemy could ever become your best friend.