Selfish Ambition

A Story by Bra.Kofi

this is a story of a young man blinded by selfishness for wealth and power defied all the norms of society by turning into a monster...

In the eastern region of the southern district was a small town called Neville. It is the second biggest town besides the capital, Bromstick.

Neville was popularly inhabited by the middle class with a few elites dominating the middle and lower class sector.

It was a town of opportunities for the young, boisterous and energetic youth who wanted to succeed by any fair or foul means.

Every inhabitant of Neville knew the very few rich class and they either worked for, or associated themselves with them. Most of the town’s population worked as farmers, peddlers, fishermen or shoemakers although there were others who were teachers, doctors, lawyers and the other white-collar jobs but were mostly from the good homes.

The rich ones were businessmen who bought produce from the farmers, owned the lands and machinery with which they worked or hired their services whenever the need arose. The rich bullied the poor by quoting unreasonable and unacceptable prices for goods and services they sought from the people, they were selfish and never took plea from the poor men.

There wasn't any system that defined how laborers were paid or how much is paid for goods or services. The rules were set by the affluent and elites, the poor just followed orders.

However, one rich man was different, he was just and lived uprightly. He sponsored many kids education right from crèche to their tertiary institutions of choice. He paid exactly what he should and helped the poor people whenever he was contacted. His name was Otto.

Otto was in his early 80’s and lived in a big mansion on the hill facing Bromstick.

He was a retired politician, a cabinet minister and a lawyer.

He had a big house, a compound, farmyard, lawn, garden and pond that stretched over a 5 hectare square feet of a leveled fertile land with a stream flowing across the rocky hills. The whole atmosphere was peaceful and serene, an idle spa one would want to be at. He loved animals and kept a lot of peafowls, pelicans and other variety species of birds on his compound. He had a pond which was also filled with fishes of various breeds and a well mowed lawn with strong hedges and flowers were planted almost everywhere on the field.

Otto loved sculpture and other magnificent paintings and bought the finest pieces from the country and around the world which he spread all over the vast land at vantage points. Otto had the most expensive taste with art and fashion in Neville and his compound is that aesthetic to prove.

Otto had one beautiful daughter, her name was Emily.

Emily’s mother, Saran had died last year from natural causes, she was a good woman too just like Otto.

Otto was the richest man in Neville, he employed the services of many people who cooked, cleaned and kept his grand mansion looking beautiful every time.

Otto had two servants; Rani and Jeff. They have worked and served him from a very early age and have therefore grown to know him as their father. He loved them equally as he would his sons, he gave them full rights over most of his property and they knew they were going to inherit him someday.

Emily likes the company of Jeffery, who to her is more fun to be with. They would talk for hours and laugh ceaselessly about a lot of things, they shared gossips and made fun of people in the town. Jeffery was there for Emily whenever she needed him to, he comforted her when her mother passed, whenever she’s in any difficult situation he did whatever it took to get her through it.

Rani on the other hand liked Emily but did not always show it and whenever he tried to, failed. He was seen to be introvert who would not even be seen laughing or sharing jokes. He took everything serious and was sometimes regarded as being too diplomatic and uptight.

He wished he was as good as Jeffery was with people, his top priorities had always been to serve Otto and his family and that had made him more of a soldier than an average person.

But Otto liked him for that and would entrust all his orders into his care and be rest assured of results.

Emily had met her first love when she was 18, his name was Evans. Evans father was also one of the elites of the town, they were affluent, powerful and highly respected. She admired Evans height, his voice, hairline and his big brown eyes; she was so smitten.

Evans showed her so much emotions that made her believe he was the one. They were constantly seen together everywhere, holding hands and enjoying their little peaceful moments.

Their parents also supported their relationship and saw nothing wrong with two wealthy families coming together with another generation of their kind.

Although Evan’s family forms the wicked wealthy ones who took advantage of the poor people, abused and ripped them off their little, Otto just wanted his daughter to be happy and hoped that if even they got married his daughter would influence Evans positively.

Emily could visit Evans whenever she wanted and stayed how long she cared, he also was always invited to her place whenever he chose. This even created a bond between the two families who occasionally organized parties and other small get-together functions to deepen their relationships. Everything was going on well and smoothly when after about 2 years of their relationship Evans decided to jilt the relationship because according to him was tired of Emily and wanted some space.

Emily was left broken, weak and devastated. She felt terrible and could not get over Evans until after over a year. From her wounded heart she thought of never falling in love again. She never saw that kind of disappointment coming because they were doing great and even barely had any serious fights.

She got thrown into a state of absolute hatred for people and guys most especially. Jeffery was the only person who took all his time and gave out all his attention to her, he consoled her and made her realize that people who aren't meant to stay in your life would leave no matter how long it took and that she should rather be thankful she did not end up marrying the wrong man

He’d always tell her “time exposes weak bonds”. He knew just what to say at the right time, Emily admired his eloquence and how wise he always sounded. That made her like Jeffery even more. Also, last year when Emily’s mother, Saran, passed was yet another moment where Jeffery stood up for her and gave her a shoulder to cry on. Though her death was foreseen and expected, it did not take the pain with it.

The family together with all the workers in the mansion wailed and mourned. Everybody in Otto’s household was saddened by their loss, even the whole town felt the pain of the demise of such a wonderful person Saran was. Her funeral was a very big one which was attended by prominent people far and near including the Prime minister and some cabinet members of state.

They gave her a befitting burial and had a celebration after the funeral activities.

There was enough to eat, drink and take-home.

Otto was happy for the great turnout and thanked all and sundry for honoring his invitation and bidding his lovely wife a befitting farewell.

Jeffery stood by Emily’s side throughout the ceremony and made sure she was kept under control. That helped soothe her pain and made her feel cared for.

Rani would get at Jeffery and warn him to stay focused and ask him not to get distracted from doing what he was expected to do. He felt Jeffery was being swayed from his duties by irrelevant things. He ridiculed him on how sprung he was with Emily and Jeffery would fight him on and deny whatever Rani thinks he’s seeing.

One day when Rani came up to him, he realized he’s had enough and decided to put an end to the teasing and name-calling. He noticed Rani was only envious of how much people like him than they do to him. Just when Rani started with his regular yammering he warned him to stop but he would not budge, they had to get physical for him to prove his point. The scuffle lasted for awhile and had Rani mostly being subdued. They fought until they were both tired and since there was nobody around to separate them, they gave up the altercation.

Jeffery decided to stay distant from Emily for sometime since he did not want people thinking he loved her which he was sure wasn't the case. He avoided her at all cost and even changed his route anytime he saw her approaching. He would lock himself up in his room and won’t answer when Emily knocks.

She got worried about his behavior and made plans to get to talk with him vis-a-vis during the course of the week.

She lurked around the places Jeffery worked daily and would hide herself from been seen by anyone. One day when Jeffery was going to his room from the pond area, she appeared right in his face and there was no escaping for him, he was very surprised by how she just appeared there unsuspecting and he stuttered as he asked what she was doing over there by that time.

She asked if she had wronged him in any way and why he was avoiding her. He started by making flimsy excuses for the sudden behavior and how he had just been preoccupied with his duties.

Emily advised him to open up to her on whatever the problem was and for him to stop running away from it. He took a deep sigh and admitted to avoiding her because he did not want anybody thinking he wanted to take advantage of her unfortunate predicaments and make her fall in love with him. “I do not want any problem with anybody” he chimed. Emily asked if anybody was suspecting anything and he narrated his ordeal with Rani all because of her.

She looked up into his eyes and held his left hand, “I have been in love with you for a while now and did not know how to tell you about it”. She added. Emily opened up on how she tried fighting it initially and how miserably she did with it.

Jeffery’s heart sank.

He thought he was not in love with her but on hearing the confession from Emily he realized how well he had been fighting the emotion. He had been in love with her for the same time as she has, or even more.

She explained about how terrible she has been feeling for the past week without seeing him and begged him not to avoid her ever again. He looked at her and held her right hand also, she lifted her head and raised her neck toward Jeffrey, he leaned forward and bent his head and kissed her.

She felt his hands getting sweaty, she took off her hands and wrapped them around his waist, he drew her closer and pressed her back, squeezed her buttocks, they continued kissing, he was very passionate and took his time to run each lip against that of Emily’s.

Emily enjoyed been touched, she liked how it felt when her booty was rubbed, she remembers the feeling. It was that same thing she felt for Evans. But Jeffery’s touch was gentle, soft and easy. He was slow and more passionate, she liked it this way. As they kissed and smooched each other in the bush for some minutes, they realized it was getting dark and they hurried home both playing and making jokes.

Rani saw them as they came walking into the yard holding hands and laughing.

He was furious.

He thought Jeff would stay away from Emily after their fight. He thought of another idea. He wanted to also draw closer to Emily and possibly win her over. But he planned to do this without Jeff finding out.

At dawn the day after, Rani went up to Emily’s chamber and sat in her front-yard playing tunes on his harmonica. He knew how much she loved music, he stayed and played the song softly and Emily heard the music and rushed out to see who was playing such great songs for her at that time of the day. It was Rani.

She gave out a pure smile and her beautiful white teeth shone from the door, her hair was a mess and she still looked stunning. Rani admired the beautiful lady but did not stop playing the songs

She sang along and took a few dance steps.

She was elated but wondered why Rani would do something nice like that. She had never seen him do anything that sweet for anyone. She thanked him and gave him a warm hug and Rani left, he felt so good about himself and proud that he was able to get princess Emily enjoying the music so much that she even danced to it.

As he walked down the stairs to his room he was only left wanting more of the hug he just received from a lady who had just woken from her sleep. He felt his body pierced by good things from her.

Later that day Jeffery came up to Emily’s chambers, he felt a little bit shy from their first intimate section he’s had with her from yesterday.

But after he was welcomed, he got more confident and started a conversation with her. Jeffery had never had a girlfriend, the kiss with Emily was his first, but he liked what he felt and was ready to even explore more of such “good things”. (Rani on the other hand was a flirt who had made advances on all the maids and women to came up to visit the mansion, he had slept with many and ditched them when he felt like it)

They talked about what they had for each other and decided to wait for awhile before they told anyone about it. There came a knock on the door, it was Emily’s maid who had come to tidy up her room and cleaned her hair. They made an exit into the balcony from where they could see the whole of Bromstick because of how high their house stood.

They sat and chat whilst her room was cleaned and her hair washed, and the maid laid a clean towel above her head for her to clean the water from her hair before she left. And Jeffery sat in the balcony staring at Emily and how beautiful her black hair bounced after every wipe. She covered her hair up and went into the bathroom, sat in the tub and called out for Jeffery.

He walked into the bathroom and looked so nervous, he was literally shaking all over. He sat by the tub and watched as she undressed, he had never seen anything so beautiful like what he had under his eyes. He could see the actual curvaceous body that was always buried under the clothes she wore. He lustfully admired every inch of her body as she got into the tub and sat in it opening the water over her head. She bathed and Jeffery just sat by watching her with his mouth wide opened. What he has seen had made him deaf.

She got out the shower and they walked back into her room where she got dressed. Emily saw the shock on Jeff’s face and knew from that point of how innocent he was.

A few days passed and Rani went to visit Emily again and this time around it was about twilight and he went not with a harmonica or flute but with roses he had picked from the garden. He gave them to her and she was so happy again, she could not believe how caring and sweet Rani was getting so she invited him in and they started talking, she wanted to know why he was being very nice to her and so she quizzed him on.

Rani explained on what a nice person he was and how misinterpreted his attitude had always been. He made her believe he actually cares about her but was just reluctant to show those emotions to her because he feared being rejected. She got emotional as she listened to Rani explain. She apologized to him on how she had always perceived him. Rani gave her a hug to show his consent and left.

Emily now knew what she was getting into, she did not love Rani and would not want these gestures to continue.

She hoped they stopped as she had corrected the assumptions she’d carried about him.

A few days after Otto’s 83rd birthday he got seriously sick. He was bedridden and he became less active and healthy as the days went by. He called out to Emily and spoke to her about how happy he would be to see her marry before he dies. He advised her not to make any mistake like she did with her first partner, he gave out signs she’s gotta look out for in any suitor that comes her way.

Ending his speech to her he mentioned of how pleased he’d be if she got married to either Jeffrey or Rani because they are the two men he knows the most and are more like a family to him and are obviously also going to inherit his wealth when he passes.

Emily’s heart leaped for joy on that remark, she thought to herself if she should break the news to her dad now or just keep it until he got better.

But she said nothing and thanked her father for his advice and promised to honor him with a good husband before he dies. She sat with him and fed him then when he fell asleep, she left for her chambers.

After been in a critical state for about a month, he regained some strength and he got better but was still bound to his bed because he did not have enough vitality for any strenuous activity.

Jeffery and his dulcinea went up to visit him.

They got in and spoke with him for awhile after which they broke the news to him, he could not believe his eyes, he wanted to be sure if they seriously ever considered the decision or they just came with such plans because he advised Emily to.

They explained to him their little adventures and clarified the notion he might have had of their relationship being formed after his conversation with Emily. Otto got excited to hear that and believed that Jeffery would be the right man to marry his daughter and inherit his wealth.

He also told them of how he had observed them and how he thinks they both will do great. He spoke to them and advised them both on how to live together happily and respecting each others views and opinions. He blessed them both and asked that they took time off to study and observe one another if they were indeed right for each other before he fully gave his consent on their marriage.

Very early in the morning on the day after meeting with Otto, Rani came to visit Emily. She welcomed him as usual. Rani took the chance and proposed his love to her kneeling on one leg and supporting the other with his hand with a ring up in his hands. Emily was not expecting him to even make any more advances and now this? She helped him up and politely declined his proposal.

She told him she was sorry and that she could not date him because she’s already going out with Jeffery. Rani got shocked by the rejection, his hands and feet went cold, he got a few hallucinations, he heard an echo on every word that came from Emily’s mouth.

His lips twitched, and he got itched all over. He dashed out of the room on hearing her words of rejection.

His heart broke and his spirit crushed. He cried and sped down the stairs into his room.

Got in and locked the door behind him. It was apparent now that he will not be inheriting most of Otto’s wealth, which had been his ultimate goal.

The day that followed was a Friday , Emily called for Jeffery and asked him to go with her to her father and get his blessings before it got any late.

(But she would not say why the sudden rush in the decision). She knew the shot she had and would not want to take chances with it).

Jeffrey agreed and they went to Otto’s room. They got there when the maids were cleaning the room and the doctor was attending to him.

So they greeted him, waited for him to get cleaned and for him to eat his breakfast. After which they told him they have concluded on their decision and he blessed them both with happiness and success.

He spoke to Jeffery for a very long time teaching him about the things he did that made him successful and how he can take charge of his property when he dies. He showed him many secret things in the house and where he kept most of all his important things.

He told him about a room he liked to call the Code Room where he described as the heart of the house. He told him to always go to that room for answers whenever he needed any.” Otto fell asleep and they left him, he told Jeffery to come to him every morning for such lessons which he readily agreed to.

Jeffery went up to Otto for close to a month where they spoke about a lot of things and he taught him a variety of important things he deemed worth knowing.

Rani observed all that which was going on and heard of Otto blessing Jeffery and Emily. He heard and saw everything and felt very jealous. He felt hatred for everybody including Otto.

He was not pleased with what his share looked like if Jeffrey married Emily.

He would also inherit many property and wealth but NO, he wanted the Lion’s share instead, he believed he had served Otto too much diligently for him to get anything less.

He would not want to settle for less; “it is winner takes all for me and it is either I do or Jeff does” he said to himself.

Mondays were less busy days in the mansion and every department got less packed with activities for the day. They were days most people rested and days that many workers went back to their homes to attend to their personal issues.

Rani woke up and earlier than he normally does on Mondays that day, he took his bath and date his favorite breakfast meal: oatmeal with omelette and orange juice

He sat on his balcony facing the master bedroom where Otto sleeps. He sat on his rocking chair and moved it slowly whilst he smoked a few sticks of cigarette, he sat there watching as the maids moved in and out Otto’s bedroom and watched as the doctor came in to administer medicines to him.

The doctor left and as usual the maids also made their way out of the room. ( To mean Otto had fallen to sleep) He observed as everybody moved away from the master bedroom and then he got into his room and took a brand new dagger he had bought days ago from his closet drawer.

He run his fingers over the edges and admired how sharp the object was. He hid the dagger in his boots and made it out his room, he walked up straight toward the master bedroom and hurried inside the room.

There was nobody at the entrance and the whole place seemed quiet and tranquil. He saw from a distance how deep Otto looked sleeping, he drew near and Otto still could not hear a thing, he took off the knife from his boots and held it right at Otto’s neck then he tapped him to wake up. ( he believes killing someone in their sleep was the most cowardly adventure anybody could experience)

Otto opened his eyes and Rani commanded him not to make any sound or he pierced the object right into his heart. Otto almost died of a heart attack on seeing such a horrific picture just when he was woken from his sleep. He had never been that frightened in his entire life, he could not believe what was going on. He begged Rani to put the knife away and talk whatever problem he had with him through, he promised to give in to whatever he wanted.

Rani would not stop now, at where he had gotten, threatening to kill him, he must finish his task and make Jeffrey pay for the debauchery.

(It was said in their town that “an animal that wouldn’t bite you won’t show you its teeth”)

there was no way he would expect Otto to trust him after threatening to kill him.

He could even switch on him and get him locked up.

He stood with the knife shaking in his hands and Otto laid in his bed suffering minor panic attacks, he lifted the knife a little over his head and lowered it right into the heart of Otto.

He convulsed and bled from his chest and his nose. He died with his eyes opened looking right into the eyes of Rani. He left the dagger in his heart. He then rushed out of the room and went to hide in the bush by the master bedroom.

Waiting to see who enters into the room next, he was expecting Jeffery to show up then his plans will just work out the way he had envisaged. After about just 10 minutes, he heard someone’s footsteps approaching, he peeped through the bush and it was Jeffery’s.

He was going to sit with Otto and for their usual talks, as he walked up toward the room, Rani came out of hiding and run down to blow and alarm on what had happened.

He went up to call everybody in the compound to come and go check on Otto because he’d seen Jeffery walk up toward his bedroom with a knife and believed he was going to hurt somebody with it. The people believed and followed Rani up right behind Jeffrey who had just entered the master bedroom. Jeffery saw from the entrance blood dripping from the bed and rushed to see what had happened, he saw his master pierced with the dagger and pulled the knife out of his heart but he had already died.

Just when he began shouting and calling for help, the people walked through the door and found him holding the knife in his hands crying. They nabbed him and called the police for his arrest. He explained to them on what he had just seen but nobody would believe him.

Emily did not know whether to mourn her father or believe her fiancé. She was literally torn between choices, she felt like dying too, she saw her father doing well only for her to wake up to such brutality.

Emily was devastated, she was broken and now destroyed. “There’s nothing worth living for anymore” she cried out loud. She started making suicidal pronouncements, she burst out shouting on ending her life. The whole town was thrown into a state of shock and grief and the news spread so fast across the whole country as media houses and tabloids took charge of circulating news items regarding the subject matter.

The police retrieved all the items at the crime scene and began running tests to ascertain the guilt or innocence of the suspect.

The results matched the suspect’s fingerprints and other details.

He explained why his fingerprints were found on the dagger and his body because he got thrown into a state of confusion and shock when he saw his master laying in his bed with blood oozing from his body and that made him act impulsively and took charge of the situation in trying to revive or helping save him. But nobody would believe him as people tried to turn the story against him as wanting to kill his master, marry his daughter and inheriting all his wealth and property.

Jeffery pleaded not guilty and spoke to his attorney over the case who believed his innocence and promised to fight for his freedom and release. Emily did not want to see Jeffery, she wanted him dead, she hated him and hated herself for allowing such a horrendous and barbaric crime to be meted out to her father.

Jeffery was disappointed in Emily for not at least believing in him since she had known him better.

He thought to himself why Emily could be blinded into not seeing the truth right in front of her, why would he kill her father when he had given his consent on their marriage and blessed them, when he had already bestowed most of his wealth on him, why would he kill someone he called father for all these years.

He felt heartbroken not by the situation he found himself in but for the one person who knows him better turning her back on him.

He would not have given up on her if she found herself in such predicament, he thought to himself. Rani on the other hand was trying to console Emily by painting Jeffery blacker than he already was. “He only got close to you to ruin you into loving him so that he gained all that your family had suffered for” he told her.

He assures her of his loyalty and promised to be there whenever she needed him, he wiped her tears and comforted her.

Emily did not want to hear any more promises nor wanted to hear people say they will be there for her because all those who said those things were the same people who always let her down. She was tired of everybody, she had a lot on her plate and would not take any other chance into trusting anybody ever again. She did not want anybody’s help. She’s had enough.

Weeks passed and Jeffery was arraigned for court for his first hearing, he arrived at the high courts premises in a black CID mini van, he was handcuffed and had been given a nice shave that revealed his ugly skull and erected ears he had standing across his oblong face.

He was escorted by two police men in uniforms who led him to his box.

The case was opened and the details were laid before the house and the respondent queried Jeffery according to laid down procedures.

He confidently answered all the questions to the best of his ability and with those he was not sure of what was expected, his attorney came through to his defense. The case was deliberated for over an hour with short breaks in between. The presiding judge Mr Binfoh had seen many cases like this where the accused were wrongly sentenced and sometimes they were made to walk when they were actually guilty.

He described the case as a very dicey and technical one and asked for cooperation and patience from all stakeholders as judgment would be pronounced as and when they got all their facts right.

This was a very delicate case and did not want to jump into any conclusion that would hurt the wrong person. He adjourned the court and gave next week March 3rd as the next hearing date. He demanded Jeffery be held in remand custody. He was whisked away just after the case was adjourned. Emily was in the listening audience, she wore all black clothes and a scarf to match.

She was seen crying during the whole time of the hearing, Jeffery’s heart broke seeing Emily in such a state but there was nothing he could do to save himself or his fiancée.

Rani did not stop making advances towards Emily though he did that cautiously so not to worsen the situation or blow his chances of winning which were already slim considering her current situation. He devoted his time to Emily and would go over to her chambers to help her in anyway she needed even when she mostly did not want his company. He played her many tunes from his harmonica and flute which always calmed her down. Rani always brought gifts to her anytime he came up to stay with her.

When he started making such advances, Emily did not want him near her and tried to escape him at all cost after the death of her father and the worst betrayal she got from her fiancé but as the days went by she could not have been bothered by his presence. She felt tired of mistreating him since he was showing he actually cared about her. He saw that a great advantage, which it really was, if he did not mess it up.

On the 3rd of March, the set day for the second hearing of the case against Jeffery Nelson and the state. Jeffery woke up early from his cells and was given water to bath and some clothes to wear after which he ate some corn and fish for breakfast.

He had a prep section with his attorney and they headed to the court, this is the final hour, he prayed the Lord hears his prayers and worked a miracle for him to be able to walk. Everybody rose as the judge took his seat and they followed suit, he opened the case once for deliberation and the proceedings begun.

Jeffery’s lawyer did his best to beat the case but due to evidence of the accused’s matter identified all over the crime scene and testimonies given by witnesses, they lost the case and the judge sentenced him to 65 years imprisonment with hard labor.

Emily did now know if that was a fair verdict or not, she weighed the possibilities of how ruined Jeffery’s life would be if he was innocent, she felt a small voice telling her in her head that Jeffery was not guilty.

But who was she to say what and with all that people who saw him have said she would just left him to begin his sentence.

Jeffery’s conspicuous eyeballs sunk into his head when the judge declared his sentence. He could hear the words echo in his head as though he was standing in an empty church building.

He was expecting a miracle that never came, he knew his life was finished at this point. Jeffery managed to get to see Emily and begged her to forgive him and still believe him that he was innocent.

Though he had just been sentenced Jeffery believed that someday somehow, the truth shall be revealed. He only prays that comes by fast enough.

Emily cried as Jeffery said those few words and was whisked away to the national general prison to begin his sentence.

The story gained national interest because of how important the deceased was and the bizarre nature of the homicide. Jeffery’s photo was seen everywhere in the print media, television channels and radio stations reported stories relating to the news item.

Jeffery became popular even more in his hometown except for the wrong reason, but most people from his town who knew him never believed he killed Otto. They believed someone else did it and staged Jeffery into being caught at the scene.

Also, in the late Otto’s residence, Rani did not stop being nice and sweet to Emily after Jeffery was sentenced and continued catering to her. The day set for the funeral and burial arrangements of the late Otto came by and they had a grand service for him, the event was honored by the President of the state and other important dignitaries. People traveled far and near to honor the great man Otto was and to pay their last respect to how tragic his death occurred.

Everybody could only console Emily who lost all emotional control and was wailing and letting herself loose. Rani tried his best to hold her in place most of the time but could not effectively have his way. He cried also when the casket of his late master was being lowered in to the grave.

He was buried behind his mansion on a plane land with so many beautiful flowers and sculptures to remember him.

The funeral and the celebrations were a memorable one which had stories broadcasted all over the state and beyond. Jeffery only heard about it in prison and felt terribly sorry for not being there for the final rites of his late master.

He felt the need to avenge his death but what could he do now?

Months passed after the burial of Otto and just when Emily began opening up more to Rani and his hopes started escalating, She met a young man who had just being transferred to their town as their hospital’s General Practitioner. His name was Samuel, he was in his late twenties, tall and well built just like how she desired her men.

Samuel was astonished when he met Emily, he had not seen anyone that beautiful in the whole town. He reached out to her and they spoke and got to know each other.

Samuel on hearing that Emily was the daughter of the late Otto was surprised and gave out his well wishes. He asked her if she thinks she would be available any day for them to talk more and get to know each other. She gave out a day and it was not conflicting with his schedule so he agreed to it. They met in the park, bought some lemonade and candies which they put into their lemonades to drink because Samuel claimed it makes the drink taste even better. They spoke about growing up and Samuel also described his work and how he gets to travel within many communities and learn about various cultures.

He comes from the city and you could tell by how he did everything that he did. They met often and eventually started dating. They both loved one another and were sincere about everything. They kept no secrets from one another and Samuel involved her in every decision he took. He made plans of getting married and he felt lucky meeting someone so handy at such a good time. He respected and loved Emily very much.

After work on one Tuesday he went up to visit Emily at her residence and proposed marriage to her. She was excited and only kept yelling “yes” “yes” “I want to be yours Samuel”. Samuel kissed her and put the ring on her finger. Rani was just observing what was going on from a distance, he shook his head and walked away. “I killed my master and put my brother in jail when I needed to, and if I have to kill you too, I will” he said to himself as he entered his room.

A year passed and Jeffery could only remember all the things Otto taught him before he died, all the secret things and equipment he had in his mansion.

He knew he could avenge his master’s death if he gets proof out of his innocence.

He called for his lawyer and spoke to him about some of the secret things that were in the mansion and asked him to try and fetch things from the house that would aid in his defense. How stupid of him not to have thought of this during his trial but you can not blame a man traumatized with all that was happening.

He wasn't too sure if he could find anything valuable to his account. The lawyer believed in him and so was very patient and supportive. He listened as Jeffery explained how his master Otto had told him to find answers to his solution anytime he needed some from a room he called the Code Room and where those information he believed were been stored.

He knew from his master some few rooms in the house had cameras but nobody knew which and where they were. Jeffery wanted to find out if he would find anything to help his case.

The house was a huge one with many rooms and cubicles and would be very difficult to access if you’re not a tenant or ever lived there.

Luckily, the lawyer wanted to add some adventure to his life and his portfolio so he agreed to hiring some people who have worked in the house before getting them locate the Code Room where most information about the mansion is expected to be stored. Jeffery tried to paint a picture of how the supposed Code Room was and where it was likely to be located within the house.

Samuel and Emily on the other hand made wedding plans and as the days drew close they got more excited and full of emotions. They had picked and selected all their garments and materials they will be using and how their decorations will be done, they were working on sending out invitations to everybody to come celebrate with them. One fateful night, Samuel finished his work for the day and drove home to get some rest and prepare for the next day. When he got inside his house he realized the door had been opened even when he locked it before leaving for work and he’s the only person who had the keys to his house.

He thought he had been robbed so he hurried inside the rooms to check if anything was missing but everything was intact and the room was just in its perfect condition.

He got inside the bedroom and switched his lights on and right on the edge of his king size bed sat Rani. He got really frightened to see him and he had a gun in his hands, he got too scared to talk, Rani pointed the pistol right on his forehead and pulled the trigger.

Samuel fell to the floor with blood splashing all over his white painted walls and curtains.

He fell hitting his head on the Louvre blades of his window.

The next day when news broke out about the gruesome murder of the young medical doctor, Emily could not take it.

She has come to just feel so much pain and torment in the world. She mourned the death of Samuel all month and followed the mortal remains to his hometown where he was laid to rest.

Emily was tired of trying to work things out with people, she was tired of all that which was happening to her so she thought of all the plans she and Samuel had made and knew how caring and patient Rani had being with her even when she paid him no mind.

She decided to settle with Rani and just continue with the wedding arrangements she and Samuel had ongoing, besides her father told her to either choose him or Jeffery but apparently Jeffery decided to kill her father earlier before his time and so was out of her available options.

She told Rani that she loved him and wanted them to try and work things out and if possible get married by the end of the year.

Rani was ecstatic on the news, his longtime dream is now materializing and he’s not even the one proposing to her. He hugged her and promised her his total love and nothing less. She cried with joy as she held on to him. Jeffery’s attorney employed three laborers who used to work for Otto on contract basis and tasked them to find the Code Room each at different times.

Two of the people sent failed in getting anything close but one of them came with something very close to that which Jeffery had described to the lawyer. He passed the information gotten to him at jail and he knew just then that that was the room they were looking for.

They needed to get into that room and look for all the cctv feed of the month Otto died.

They planned their way of getting successful with their move, they kept the laborer who found the Code Room and the lawyer contracted an IT specialist who could get the information from the room out for investigations. The lawyer worked his way round to get a police search warrant for the laborer and the specialist should they get caught searching for the information in the mansion.

They did not want any attention drawn to the exercise so they decided to go incognito and at the time everybody was asleep. They two member team was successful in getting the information they wanted from the Code Room and the laborer was enumerated accordingly.

The specialist took the data to his lab and started scrutinizing the feed to reveal what actually transpired on the day Otto was brutally murdered. Rani and Emily were getting along so beautifully and their wedding plans were so close to happening, they started counseling and prep sections and were so ready to walk down the aisle.

The IT specialist came out with the results and handed over the video and every detail to the lawyer who called Jeffery and booked him for visitation

Although inmates were not visited aside stipulated dates and times, the lawyer got his way through and met with Jeffery. The video showed Rani sneaking into the master bedroom after everybody had left and also showed him running out and hiding into the bush just before Jeffery got into the room and after which nobody came out before he got arrested

The lawyer was thrilled and very happy for believing in Jeffrey and swore to fight for him to walk as soon as he could. They made copies of the footage and sent it over to the judge and other stakeholders on the case.

It was the wedding day for Rani and Emily and thousands of guests trooped the center where the event was taking place. There were beautiful people and decor, good music with people making merry, photographs were being taken and a whole list of assorted foods and drinks to serve everyone.

It was the most beautiful wedding ceremony one had ever been to in the whole country. As Emily was been walked through the aisle to the altar where the pastor was standing to help them declare their vows and pronounce them a husband and a wife, they heard sirens and a fleet of police cars trooped the scene. The armed police men dashed into the crowd and got through to the alter where Rani stood amazed.

He was arrested and the whole place was thrown into a frenzy when they saw Jeffrey walk into the church a free man. The police officer apologized for the inconvenience and to the whole community for wrongfully arresting Jeffery and for his long detainment.

The government pledged an amount of $10million as compensation for jailing him wrongly for 5 years.

Jeffery was hailed by everyone at the ceremony and Emily run to his feet begging and asking him to forgive her.

He took her up and told her “I've always loved you and I will forever do” he kissed her and they went up to take their vows. That wedding was a memorable one that was talked about by everybody as the news broke out on how coincidentally Rani’s wedding was turned into Jeffery’s.

Jeffery became an instant hero who was interviewed by many important people and media houses and for the wealth he had inherited alongside the big money that he got as compensation from the government. Emily and Jeffery lived together happily and got blessed with 3 boys and a girl. They continued to help the natives of their town and helped build many amenities with their wealth. Rani also got a life sentence.