THE SKELETON IN THE DOMINIC-OKOYES' CLOSET- PART 2

   The tension in the air was as thick as the iceberg sunk the Titanic. No one spoke a word for fear of what will be done to them. “How did this happen? Wasn't she supposed to be locked up in her room? Who let her out and why haven't you found her? She's a cripple for God’s sake. She couldn't have gone far.

    At this point, one of the servants spoke, “ we got a call from someone saying they had your daughter but we dismissed it as a prank”

    “Why am I just hearing this? Put me across to the people before that brat opens her mouth”

 Nonso watched the cold glint that flashed through her eyes. “Don't you think it's a bit rude to keep your business partner bound?” she said

    “Partners?”

    “I did promise you the ransom money, didn't i?”

    “And how are you going to do it? The last I checked no one seemed to care that you were missing”

    “About that, that’s not a problem. My father will call back. He values his social position and prestige more than anything and I am his biggest flaw. He would do anything to keep my existence a secret. When he does call back, it would be in your best interest to pretend that you have my sister and not me. That way he doesn’t know you have found out the secret. Also increase the ransom to twenty million as a punishment for not taking you seriously the first time”

     “Are you sure he will pay up?” asked a skeptical Nonso

    “Trust me he will.”

    At that moment, the phone rang. Nonso looked at her and she urged him to pick it up. Deepening his voice to sound more intimidating he answered the phone “Hello, I see you have come to your senses”

    “Who are you and why do you have my daughter?” came the voice from the phone. “Please don’t hurt. I will do anything you say. Just don’t hurt her.” He said so concerned that anyone who didn't know any better would have believed he was a father genuinely worried about his daughter’s safety. “ Did she say anything strange to you” the voice asked

    “Was she supposed to say anything besides she refused to speak. Well the ransom has gone up to twenty million naira.”

    “That wasn’t the original amount”

    “Do you want your daughter or not”

    “Okay. We will deliver”

    “Await my call in the next 2 hours for information on how to get me the money”. The call ended with a loud click. He turned back to her and asked “What next”

     “First you are going to get me a phone. Anyone with internet connection will do. Then we will divide the money fifty fifty. I believe that’s fair enough.” She asked for a pen and wrote down the account details where she wanted her own share. “After I confirm payment, our deal is as good as done”.

    She didn’t feel guilty for taking the money. She deserved it. After all it wasn’t even enough to make up for all she went through in that house. She was going to make them pay.

    “ I am Nonso. What’s your name?”

    Smiling bitterly she said “I wasn’t given one but you can call me Eris because while she brought strife on the Greeks, I will be bringing strife on the Dominic-Okoyes.

    The exchange had gone well and she had returned to the family house. After ascertaining that no one found out her identity, she had been once more locked up. The maid who had been helping her sneak out had been fired after the incident but not to worry, her preparations were complete. Together with the maid she had been gathering information against her family waiting for her chance to use them and a perfect opportunity had presented itself. The gubernatorial election was to be held today. A week earlier, using her new phone she had gotten contacts of top media outlets and presented them with all the materials with herself of course. How could she forget? She was tastiest dish of them all. Now all she had to do was wait till it hit the headlines.

   Today was the most important day of his life. He was getting the Gubernatorial seat and nothing was going to stand in his way. His polls and public review were good and was seen as the people’s candidate. The voting was set to begin in an hour and he made his way to the party office. He arrived at his destination and got down from the car to meet hushed whispers. From the gate to his office all he got were stares. Something was wrong

    His campaign manager hurried towards him in a rush looking really worried “Sir, we have a big problem.” He handed him a newspaper and splattered across the front page in bold letters was the caption “THE DOMINIC-OKOYES, OUR LOVING FIRST FAMILY OR A FAMILY OF MONSTERS.”

    “Where did you get this” he felt his feet giving out under him.

    “Sir, it’s on the front page of every page of every major newspaper”

    He felt his head spin and didn’t know when his body hit the floor.

    Hours later, votes counted and the emergence of a new Governor. Obviously it wasn’t the beloved people’s candidate. He had gotten the lowest votes in the election. It was even surprising that anyone was willing to vote after the big reveal.

    Eris sat in a chair with a copy of the day’s paper. It contained an exclusive interview with her as she told her story as a victim under the mercy of a horrible family who had abandoned her for reasons which were beyond her control . It didn’t take long for the family stocks to plummet together with the family loosing their social standing. No one was willing to be involved with them and her parents had been arrested for maltreatment and will be facing trial soon.

    Satisfied with its content, she closed the newspaper. With a smile, she lifted a glass of champagne to her lips. Cheers to a new life

AUTHOR’S NOTE

 A big thanks to all who have been with me on this story. I tried to make the sequel as brief as possible and at the same time give you the maximum satisfaction.