BELLA'S MEMOIRS (ENTRY #28)

DRAMATIC EXPOSE

Yinka: So how does it feel to be the daughter of the next Governor of Lagos State?

My father had been announced the winner of the election.

Me: Really Yinka? Is that your priority right now?

Yinka: This is depressing! We should be out celebrating your father’s victory instead of sitting here plotting conspiracy theories on the attempt on my life.

Me: What is depressing to me is the fact that Okechukwu is still in detention! The real culprit is still out there! I am stuck in this house with you! And you have been of no help to me!

I was getting really frustrated. I had told my family I would be away for a week and had been back for five days so I had to go home in two days. And we had made no headway in solving the case which also meant I was failing in delivering my promise to Okechukwu. Now that the elections are done and dusted, I feared Okechukwu’s trial would commence anyday.

Yinka: Maybe I am prolonging this because I am enjoying your company.

Me: Please don’t patronize me Yinka and stop trying to flirt with me!

Yinka: Ok so what do we have?

Me: Nothing! If it’s not Toni or Chris your PA I can’t think of anyone else.

Yinka: What if it’s a member of your family?

Me: Like who? It certainly wasn’t my dad.

Yinka: The Duchess?

Me: If it was The Duchess you’d be dead; she never misses a target and you know.

Yinka: True.

Me: We have to stop looking at the obvious culprits. How about the most unlikely people, that’s what always happens in the movies.

Yinka: The most unlikely people like who? My family?

Me: Well you never know. What are we going to do Yinka? Until we catch this person, your life is in danger and so is Okechukwu’s. Maybe you can give your dad’s evidence of Okechukwu’s innocence so he can hold off the trial until we catch the culprit.

Yinka: Never! I am not asking that man for help.

Me: Please this is not the time to let your ego stand in the way of our pursuit for justice.

Yinka: Bella if you know what’s good for you, you will stay out of the issue between my dad and I.

Me: It’s too late for me to stay out of anything. I am the only one you can trust right now so you better start talking.

Yinka: My father is a fraud.

Me: I don’t understand. What kind of fraud?

Yinka: He’s done things Bella…terrible things to get to where he is. He was always my hero, I always looked up to him and wanted to be like him. He has been grooming me to take over the family business and also have an active political career for a while now. A few weeks ago, he decided it was time for me to start; he told me several things…likewise people I would have to keep on the family’s payroll. Things I would have to do to keep family secrets and stay in business, people I’d have to answer to. It was like he was preparing me to take over some form of syndicate. I told him I wanted none of it. I mean I am not exactly a saint but even I have my limits. I told him to find another successor. He got angry, threatened to cut me off if I don’t become courageous as his only son. I told him that if he did that I would reveal all he had told me. We had a fight and haven’t really spoken since then, we have just been keeping up appearances.

Me: How important do you think your father’s secrets are to him?

Yinka: Very important! If any of it gets out, not only would he be impeached, he would also go to jail for a very long time or he becomes a social leper.

Me: So would you regard keeping his secrets more important to him than his own flesh and blood?

Yinka: Are you trying to ask me if I think my father could have had me poisoned to keep me quiet?

Me: Yinka whoever did this obviously has resources and access to you.

Yinka: He was sitting beside me at the dinner, how could he have slipped the poison into my champagne? But would my own father do that to me?

Me: Yinka if there is anything I have learnt from my family, it is, anything is possible.

Yinka: We need more evidence, this is just a conspiracy theory. We have to get evidence. The first question is where would he have gotten the poison from? He must have used somebody he trusts that he uses for his dirty business.

Me: Somebody like who?

Yinka opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

Yinka: The security detail that has been with me for a while now is my father’s most trusted one. He never goes anywhere without him. When he was assigned to me I was surprised but my father told me that he wanted to make sure I was well protected because of the upcoming wedding and the elections. Now I know better.

Me: You think he is a snitch?

Yinka: Of course! It all adds up. He helped me with Okechukwu’s abduction from the guest house in Ikoyi, he must have told my father about it and then they plotted to move him to the scene of the crime and set him up. He must have followed me to the UK so he could report my every move.

Me: And now we brought him back here with us so you are not even safe.

Yinka: There is only one way to find out?

Yinka went up to his room, I followed him. He locked the door behind us.

Yinka took a piece of paper and scribbled down a note to me it read:

Just play along…I know he can hear us. He has probably been listening to all our conversations.

I nodded.

Yinka picked up his phone and moved close to the door. He pretended he was on the phone and raised his voice loud enough for the guard who we knew was eavesdropping to hear him.

Yinka: Mum, I have found out who tried to kill me but I can’t tell you on the phone. I will send you an address, leave the Villa and wait for me there. I cannot be seen at the Villa mum please. Bella and I are headed for the airport now, we are coming to you. Please don’t tell anyone who you are coming to meet, not even Dad.

He took out a duffel bag and started throwing things into it.

Yinka: Are you ready Bella?

Me: Yes I am.

Yinka: I know you are scared but don’t worry. He will pay for what he tried to do to all of us.

He scribbled another note that read:

Just follow my lead ok?

Yinka opened the door and we found the guard standing there, blocking our path.

Guard: Are we going somewhere sir?

Yinka: Yes Bella and I are going on a little trip.

Guard: Where are we going sir?

Yinka: Like I said Bella and I are going on a little trip.

Guard: I am afraid I can’t let you leave sir.

Yinka: Please step aside.

Guard: I am afraid I can’t do that sir.

Yinka: That is a direct order, step aside.

Guard: I do not receive orders from you sir.

Yinka: Who do you receive orders from?

Guard: Only the Vice President.

Yinka: Like the order you received to abduct and frame an innocent man and to poison me.

Guard: I am afraid I don’t understand what you are talking about.

Yinka reached for his mobile phone and flashed the screen at the guard.

Yinka: If anything happens to Bella or me, this would be leaked on the internet. I have made arrangements for that.  Your face, your full name and details of how you framed someone for a crime you helped my father commit, everything would be out in the open. You would become an official suspect in the investigation.

The guard promptly snatched the phone from Yinka and smashed it against the wall.

Guard: Your father won’t let it happen. If I go down for this, he goes down too because I acted on his orders. He will protect me, I know too much. The kind of information I have will get me international immunity because it would expose a lot of powerful people. Your stupid internet stories would never be published and you are very naïve for assuming that your silly plan would work. You are not going anywhere until I receive orders on what to do with you…both of you!

The guard was ignorant that Yinka had given me a prior instruction, so I had been recording the entire conversation on my phone. As soon as I got all I needed on my phone, I ducked into the room and locked the door behind me. I sent the voice note to my father, my stepmom, The Duchess and Aunt Linda.

I was trying to erase the voice note from my phone when the guard started pounding on the door furiously. I prayed my family would understand the message and also not respond to it as I had instructed. I erased the message from my phone and then opened the door.

The guard barged into the room and took away all our gadgets. Our laptops, iPads and every other thing he knew we could use to contact people. He tried to move me to another room but Yinka vehemently refused saying he needed to make sure I was ok. I was glad he did because I felt a little bit safer knowing I wasn’t alone. He locked us in the room and took away the key. We were trapped!

I wondered what was happening in my house. How would my family and Okechukwu’s family have reacted to the guard’s confession in my message? Had they gone to the police? Would the Vice President have a knee jerk reaction now that the cat was out of the bag and promptly try to convict Okechukwu and bury the case. My mind was running wild but I didn’t want to bother Yinka. I couldn’t imagine how he felt knowing his own father had tried to get rid of him.

We were both lost in thought for hours until we heard someone trying to open the door from outside.

Yinka and I jumped to our feet.

The door swung open and the Vice President walked in.