ITS BEEN SIX MONTHS Imade's Chronicles- Part 15

Everyone looked from one person to the other. These revelations made by Chief Coker were shocking.

“I’d like to ask you a question” Charles said breaking the silence

“ermmm,” he cleared his throat. “How did ralph become a part of this?” he asked painstakingly

“Ralph was greedy. He wanted everything your dad had; wanted to prove to him that he could do it better. While he did all that, your dad saw you as the better son and this angered ralph. He never planned for him to die. He only wanted us to make him incapable of running the business. A shot to his spine would have incapacitated him but Cindy insisted that he be killed. Because your brother killed Dr. Akande-cindy’s lover”.

“eish! My father had no lover, he had no one besides my mum, they were happy together!” Tony spat

“You see, marriages don’t always look like they are. You should speak with your mum. I’m sure she knew your dad had one or two extra marital affairs” chief laughed

Charles rubbed his head and walked out. His brother had masterminded their own father's death..... This was absurd, really absurd. He had thought Ralph ramped into Stephanie, and women being the unfaithful lot, ran off to marry him without explaining to him that she was engaged to someone else - no, Ralph had never seen Steph with him. He and Steph had been together back in the UK. One only reason he never held that against him.

“I would like to leave this place” he said dragging Stephanie along.

“Cindy!” Stephanie cried out upon seeing her twin sister led to a cell.

“Yes, twinnie... are you happy now?” she gave her a wicked grin

“You know I’m not happy, you are my sister! My twin sister!”

“Freaking Hell!!!” Charles and Tony swore simultaneously. They were so identical one could be mistaken for the other

“I have shielded you all my life!” Stephanie cried

“You, shielded me? Bloody liar! I have been the one who shielded you... it’s been me all along” Cindy hissed

“How?”

“Remember when we were kids? How you pushed our childhood friend into the pool? I took the blame for it!”

“You did?” Charles was shocked

“I didn’t mean to. We were kids and I just did it... I apologized”

“Yes but didn’t she die? And when the time came for juvie, I did juvie for you...I agreed that I was the one who committed the crime...”

“It was my fault and I’m sorry....” Stephanie cried

“Sorry? Nah…you ruined my life. Juvie changed me... everything I know, I learned there”

“I’m sorry Cindy... I have tried to pay you back by being really nice to you”

“Oh you mean by being the perfect daughter in our parents eyes?”

“How?”

“You were the one who had an abortion, yet I was blamed for it. Everyone didn’t ask they just assumed it was me the moment they found the blood in our room”

“I am sorry Cindy!” Stephanie cried harder and moved closer to her sister. She had indeed been a part of her downfall”

Cindy laughed wickedly, “oh well... I guess I have to forgive you. A hug before I eventually go into jail the sixth time?”

Stephanie rushed into her sister's arms crying, then she screamed, gasping and holding her stomach, muttered “Cindy” and slumped.

Cindy quickly dug the knife back in her stomach and joined her sister in death. Charles rushed towards Stephanie and started CPR. “No, no, no, wake up Steph, please wake up!” he said with tears blinding his eyes.

 “Don’t Charles, don’t... she’s gone” a police man touched his shoulder

“How did she get the knife you careless beings how?” He screamed at the sergeant beside him

“She must have snuck it in her underwear. She was thoroughly searched” he replied him

Charles hissed and walked away… “Lousy beings!!” he said kicking everything in his way

Ese walked back to her car. She thought she had had too much drama in her life... these ones, these people, they had drama - Imade’s chronicle was a revelation, an eye opener

“Hey sis.” Imade walked up close to her. “I love you” Imade said leaning on her, crying... “I love you so much... I love you” Imade kept muttering

“And I love you forever and a day more. The silence that ensued afterwards said more. These were sisters twinned by the special love they shared. Not like the others - in trying to save her sister, she had become a monster.

“Let’s get out of here” Tony said holding Imade. Charles had joined the ambulance that came for Stephanie and Cindy’s bodies.

************

Tania’s mum paced about the living room. She had heard the worst of it all, that the two young boys living in her house were her husband's sons and not nephews and their mother had been his killing machine.

“Mum, we need to leave here right now. The police would be on the lookout for us”

“Why? I don’t know about his crimes”

“I do.... dad expunged me from prison in South Africa. It was by illegal means and once all his crimes resurface, they would remember me”

“Tania, how come I never knew this?”

“Because he said not to tell you”

“What were you jailed for?”

Tania went silent

“Murder?” her mother cried

“No... No... God forbid. Drugs”

“Jesus, I’m finished!” her mother resumed another round of tears

“Mum pack your things we need to leave here right now”

“Just give me a few minutes” her mother cried.

“Mum... please hurry up”

Tania and her mother left the house stealthily. If she had to stay out of prison, she needed to hide from all these happenings.

**************

“She’s dead sir,” the paramedic told Charles who was hanging onto Stephanie’s body. “We need to take her to the morgue”

“Her twin?”

“Same.... sir”

Charles heaved a sigh

He waved the paramedic off... “Can I have a minute with her please?”

“Okay...” the man said as he walked away.

“Hey Stephanie,” he said holding her now cold hand. “I never got the chance to tell you how much I have missed you all these years. I lost my mum, then my dad... and I never thought I’d lose you. You were my light in the tunnel. The one thing that seemed right in the midst of every wrong. He paused to wipe his tears “I thought we had found ourselves yet again... I love you Steph I never stopped. I never did stop. I don’t know what to tell your son when he gets older. How do I tell him he lost his dad and mum around the same circumstances? But I promise you, I’ll take care of him like my own. I’ll miss you Steph. I really will.”

Charles covered what was remaining of her and walked away for the paramedics to take her into the morgue. He felt a hollow in his chest. The kind he couldn’t quite explain. Stephanie was gone. He never had the chance to forgive her. Turning towards the car park, he took out his ringing phone from his pocket “hello...” he said with a shaky voice

“Hi it’s me Ember”

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m better... I just heard the news that they have all been apprehended”

“Yes, yes...” he said holding back his tears

“Are you okay?” Ember asked

“Stephanie is dead!”

“Holy Christ!”

“How?”

“Cindy killed her, then killed herself also”

“Oh my god!! I’m so sorry Charles”

“It’s okay” he replied crying

“I will be discharged soonest.”

“errrm so quick?”

“Yes, they didn’t find any injury to my brain and I’m recovering well, I just asked that they allow me to recover fully at home”

“Oh that’s nice”

“See you soon”

***********

“Mama did dad ever cheat on you?”

“Why this question Tony?”

“Mum I just sat and listened to a man bad-mouth father… I watched a sister stab her twin to death… I just experienced the goriest details of my life all I need is for you to talk to me sincerely” he said holding back tears

“Tony your father….”

“I’ll excuse you guys.” Imade rose from the seat to go out. She had accompanied Tony home. Haven noticed he wasn’t himself after that conversation with Chief Coker, she felt Tony would need all the company he could get. “Excuse me ma” she said genuflecting

“Imade, I beg for you to stay. My son doesn’t bring strangers home. As a matter of fact you are the first girl he’ll be bringing home. So if he brought you home and asked this in front of you, he might want you to stay. Right son?”

Tony looked at Imade, she could see the plea for her to stay back in his eyes

“Okay ma,” she said sitting by him

“Tony, your dad and I had all the issues in the world. But the constant thing was love. I loved him and he in turn would lay down his life for me if he could. At some point, his family wanted more kids from him because he was an only son. His uncles and sisters insisted I have other kids or he would remarry. I couldn’t. Matter of fact, I had done a hysterectomy when you were born because we were involved in a fatal accident that led to me bleeding. You only survived by God’s grace. He knew this and insisted he wouldn’t remarry. When the pressure became much, he started seeing a young lady. This girl dug deep and clenched her fist into our home till our once peaceful home became a den of war. He never came back home early, he would shout at and fight with me on the slightest provocation and eventually late nights turned sleep outs. To cut the story short, he later realized he had been wrong, came back home one day and apologized but not without telling me about the girl called Cindy. She had met him at a party hosted by Chief Coker and they started dating. Being the charmer he was, Cindy fell for him, told him their plans to execute him and demanded more. But your father realized there could never be another, it was me or nobody. She tried a few times to kill me and Akande gave a warning to her that if anything happened to me, she would regret it. One year after we reconciled, he was assassinated, here … right here. He was having lunch when the bullet shattered the glass window and found him. He died instantly” she sniffed as her tears poured uninhibited.

“Gosh I’m so sorry mum.”  Imade went closer to her. This woman was strong, so strong

“And mum, you never thought I should know?”

“She was trying to protect you Tony! How can you be so blinded by anger that you can’t see pain?” Imade replied

Tony went mute.

“Come here Oluwademilade Anthony …come here,” his mother opened her arms. He drew closer, hugged her and broke down in tears

“I’m sure Akande would be pleased. Sabrina here, helped unfold everything, she’s a great girl... every time I look at her, I see me. She will make you happy” she kissed his forehead

“I love you ma….” Tony wept

“I love you Demilade”

Imade looked on as mother and son shared hugs and kisses….what a chronicle she had. She had only prayed for a miracle, but she got so much magic in her miracle.

“Sabrina,” his mother called out

“Yes mum”

“Take care of him”

“I will...” she murmured