BELLA'S MEMOIRS (ENTRY #29)

SCANDALOUS CONFESSIONS

The Vice President’s presence always terrified me and today was no different. Even though I wasn’t sure of my fate I was very concerned about my family’s safety and Okechukwu’s as well. Before I could stop myself, I sprang to my feet and said:

Me: Do whatever you want to me but don’t hurt Okechukwu and my family please.

The Vice President stopped in his tracks and Yinka looked at me as though I had sprouted another head.

Yinka: Nobody is doing anything to you or your family Bella. Keep quiet!

I did as I was told. Yinka moved closer to his father and they came face to face. Both men were breathing heavily and I wondered what would happen next.

Yinka: You would kill your own son! Your only son…for what? Money, power…fame?

Vice President: What rubbish! You accuse me of trying to kill you?

Yinka: Please don’t even deny it. Your bodyguard has confessed.

Vice President: It’s your word against his and mine. No such thing happened.

Yinka: We recorded his confession and we have leaked it to people. So if anything happens to us, people know who to ask.

Vice President: I always wished I had another son. You were always too weak to take over what I have worked so hard to build. It is rather unfortunate.

Yinka: Is that why you would have me killed? Just because I didn’t want to take over your empire.

Vice President: That was not the plan son! The poison was just enough to knock you out and make you go away for a while not to kill you and it worked until little Miss Smarty Pants here devised a means to whisk you back here all in the name of saving her lover!

Yinka: Why did you need me to go away?

Vice President: I am under pressure to name a successor. The people who have stake in my business interests need to make sure they can trust my successor like they trust me. I have assured them over the years that I have been grooming you to take over and when I discovered I was hitting a brick wall with you, I decided to create a little incident that would leave you incapacitated for a while so I could use that as an excuse to start grooming my back up.

Yinka: I would not allow you to involve either of my sisters in your dirty dealings!

Vice President: I wasn’t going to choose either of your sisters. I was going to choose someone else. Someone who would become family after your wedding.

Me: My father?

Vice President: Yes Bella. Your father. He’s already agreed to it.

Me: Does he know what he is getting into?

Vice President: He knows all he needs to know. I have made him a very powerful man. He owes me.

Me: No he doesn’t! If that is the price he has to pay for being governor then I am very sure he would happily step down.

Vice President: It doesn’t work that way! It is no longer about him, there are many people involved in this. Many powerful people.

Yinka: You cannot get away with this. You tried to lure me into your den of lions now you are doing the same with Bella’s father. Too bad your well thought out plan will not work. First of all there is to be no wedding. Bella and I are not getting married!

Vice President: Since when did that become your decision to make? You will marry the woman I choose for you to marry and this is her!

Me: Has it occurred to you sir that I may not be willing to marry your son?

Vice President: Oh I see because of that young man rotting away in detention. Ok let me make a deal with you, marry my son and I bury the case and free your lover or refuse to marry my son and spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for the death of your lover.

I looked at Yinka as tears began to roll from my eyes. I couldn’t believe I was back at this point.

Yinka: You have everything you want. Why do you have to ruin our lives to be satisfied?

Vice President: Have I not taught you anything son? To control any human being, you need leverage. You have already proven to be an unworthy heir and if I want Adetokunboh to succeed me in the business I have to have control over something he loves and would do anything for. Something like his first daughter.

Me: You are pathetic!

Vice President: Yes but I always get my way…if that is what it means to be pathetic, I am happy to be.

One of the Vice President’s aides knocked on the door.

Vice President: What is it?

Security: There is someone here to see you sir.

Vice President: Who? No one knows I am here!

Security: Its Mr Ayo-Kessington sir. He wants to see his daughter.

Vice President: Is he alone?

Security: No sir he is with a woman.

Vice President: Well well….this is getting more interesting. I bet he is with The Duchess. Your father is a bit of a mummy’s boy isn’t he Bella.

I ignored his comment.

Vice President: Send him up.

He responded to the guard.

I was very nervous. How did my father find me?

Immediately my dad walked into the room, he rushed towards me but the Vice President’s aide blocked his path. That was I noticed he had indeed come in with a woman but not The Duchess. He was with Toni…Yinka’s lover.  Yinka also spotted her at the same time.

Yinka: Toni! What are you doing here?

Toni: I was worried about you, I thought maybe one of Bella’s family members tried to kill you because of your threats to their family and I felt guilty because it was all my idea. I went to the house to confront them and that was when Bella’s dad played the recording of the guard confessing to prove to me that their family wasn’t responsible. He was worried and I told him where I had last seen you both and so I brought him here. We didn’t think your father would get here so quickly.

My Daddy: With all due respect Your Excellency, this can go two ways. One: you let us all leave this room peacefully and you give your men orders to release the innocent boy you framed or my wife goes straight to the Inspector General of Police with the recorded confession and you not only get impeached but end up behind bars.

Vice President: I find it very admirable when I meet young Nigerians who have so much faith in justice and fairness. It shows me that the future is bright. Unfortunately, I have a different proposal. When we all leave this room, Bella and Yinka will return to the UK and we will continue to give people the impression that Yinka is still recuperating. You will assume your role as the governor of Lagos state in a few months and you would also oversee the affairs of my businesses. Bella and Yinka would be married in an intimate ceremony. Bella’s lover will not be executed as he should be, instead he would serve a few years in prison after which I will generously pardon him for good behavior, win the hearts of the people for my kind gesture and forgiving nature and we all live happily ever after.

Toni: So what happens to me?

Toni was looking directly at Yinka when she asked the question.

Yinka: Toni don’t listen to a word this man is saying he is clearly deranged.

Me: Why do you think anyone in this room, would allow you get away with any of this?

I asked the Vice President.

Vice President: Because I am the Vice President and I know things I should not know.

Once again our secrets had come back to haunt us. My dad bust into a very suspicious laughter.

My Daddy: Things like what? My embezzlement issue, my father’s history of fraud, Bella’s involvement in a kidnapping case? It’s all out there. On our way here Toni helped send the story to LagosVille the biggest gossip blog in the country. In a couple of hours it would all be out there. I might lose my governorship seat, I might even go to jail but you will have nothing to hold against my family and we would not become your puppets!

Vice President: Are you sure it’s all out there?

My Daddy: Yes all of it! You have no leverage on anyone of us.

Vice President: Is your mother’s secret out there as well?

My Daddy: My mother has no secrets to hide. She is a thorough woman.

Vice President: I agree because she has managed to keep her secret from you all for so long. This is not your battle Adetokunboh this is your mother’s battle.

Me: What is he talking about Dad?

My Daddy: Don’t listen to him Bella. He is playing mind games.

Vice President: Infact I am very happy to have a little reunion.

He turned to his aide.

Vice President: Get The Duchess and her husband here. Infact bring Adetokunboh’s wife too, she deserves to know the family she is married into. The Duchess needs to explain how she has managed to evade justice for almost four decades now.

My Daddy: Justice for what?

Vice President: Relax Adetokunboh, the story is just beginning and fortunately we have all the time in the world to hear it because no one is leaving this room until I get everything I want!

This was it. I always knew The Duchess had a big skeleton in her wardrobe and we were about to find out what it was. Unfortunately experience had taught me that whatever was coming was ugly…very ugly.

It got me asking myself who the real villain in the drama was…Yinka’s family or mine?