Lady K

Extra lessons were over.

You could hear the excitement in the voice of all the students as they walked out of the school's premises and into the fleet of expensive cars parked outside waiting for them, you could feel the excitement in the air, for most students anyway. Some students were really indifferent about going home. For some, there was really nothing to go home to, no one to go home to, it was just back to being alone again in a big house with no one to talk to. Some didn't want to go back home. To them, school was the only place they got to escape their reality of being lonely. People like Kodi.

Somehow, it felt like her world had stopped and the rest of the world had moved on without her. With Nicholas gone, Susan on the run, and Jeremiah God knows where, there was nothing really to be excited about or go home to. Obianuju was trying so hard to keep her warm and make her feel loved but she just couldn't help herself. She missed her family. In as much as Nicholas always got on her nerves and Susan never really paid much attention to her until she was done paying attention to Nick, she still missed them so much. Her father, well let's just say he had other things on his plate to care about anything else, things like finding the brother she helped escape, who happened to have eloped with the love of his life and gone missing for two long days. The entire mansion was in an uproar searching for Jeremiah. Nothing had been the same since he escaped from the house especially since he refused to take his calls when his traditional wedding was in two days. No one had heard a word from him or Kora, not even Lilian or Obianuju. No one had a clue where they were or what it was they were doing. It was like they had completely ceased to exist.

Not that anyone could blame them, things would not have turned out that way, Jeremiah would never have thought of running away if their father hadn't pushed him and treated him like a prisoner for days. None of it would have happened if Benjamin had just listened to him and called off the wedding, if he had just given him and Kora a chance to be together. Somehow, Kodi envied them a lot, she envied what they had for each other. How they always fought for each other and never gave up on each other. It was like her perfect illusion of a perfect romance had become a reality. Her father had become really frustrated and had collapsed more times than she could count because of stress but it didn't stop him from cancelling the wedding plans. Even with everything that had happened he was still being so stubborn about the wedding. He was still making plans for it. No one had the time to even listen or be bothered by her. It was almost like she didn't exist. As always.

"Bye Kodi."
"Bye."

She exchanged smiles with her friends as she watched them hurry to their individual cars sent to pick them up from school. Kodi let out a shaky breath, holding on tightly to the arms of her backpack. She watched as all her classmates got into their cars. She could see how some of them ran into the embrace of their mothers, fathers, older sisters, older brothers, some just walked into the back seats of their cars with a driver waiting for them in it. She rose her wrist to her eyes. Where was hers?

Had they forgotten that her lessons ended by six PM again? Had they forgotten to pick her up from school too?

Her driver was supposed to be there by now. At that rate she was going to end up being the last person to leave the school's premises.

"Bye Kodi."

Kodi forced a smile on her face as she waved to the group of girls that walked past her. Kodi was one of the most popular girls in her school. She was kind and really hard to not love so it was no surprise how everyone noticed her. Plus she had been the talk of the school lately. News about her mother and father's divorce were circulating faster than normal and everyone wouldn't stop talking about the great wedding that was about to happen in two days. Her family was really at the peak of the popularity scale at that point. She checked her wrist watch again as she noticed how some of the cars were already driving away. She was getting really impatient and tired of waiting plus, it was going to get really dark soon. Kodi jumped in fright and turned immediately when she felt a hand grab her arm.

She narrowed her gaze on the figure in a face cap in front of her, wondering why whoever it was had just grabbed her like that and out of the blues. She tried to pull her hand away but the hand on hers held on tightly. She rose her eyes to see who it was even when it was difficult considering the fact that the lady had half her face shadowed and covered by the face cap. The lady rose her head slowly to Kodi. Kodi gasped the moment she recognized who it was.

"Mum?"

Susan pulled her away immediately towards a corner, she turned around quickly to assure herself that no one had seen her or noticed what had happened and then she turned to Kodi and exhaled.

"M-mum?" Kodi could not believe her eyes. It had been weeks since she last saw Susan. Ever since the warrant for her arrest was issued and the public was notified about her crime, a bounty was placed on her head, Susan went completely into hiding. Her numbers were not reachable. It had been really hard to find her anywhere. Kodi remembered how Emmanuel and her father and also Christian were doing all they could to find her. Everyone thought she was under the protection of her parents, Kodi's grandparents who were really influential but it happened to be that they didn't know where she was either. It was really shocking to see her there, looking like an escaped prison inmate. She had the shabbiest clothes on that Kodi had ever seen. Never a day in her life did she ever imagine she'd see her mother in a pair of really big faded jeans, tshirt and a face cap. How exactly had she been living all those weeks? What had she been up to?

With the way Susan kept looking over her shoulder, it was obvious she was still so scared of getting caught.

"Mum," Kodi grabbed her hands. Susan slowly turned to her. "Mum where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you."

"I don't have much time." Susan told her, dismissing the need to answer Kodi's question. "I could get caught in any minute."

Was that it? Wasn't she even going to explain where she was? Wasn't she going to at least ask how Kodi had been doing? How she had been living and surviving all that time? Kodi watched her carefully. She could see how scared her mother was, how nervous.

"Mum, is it true?" She asked her, raising her hands and squeezing them gently. "It's not true is it? You didn't do those things they said you did to Natalie. You didn't feed her poison."

"Now isn't the time to ask me questions."

"Mum!"

"I can't answer any questions now. The reason I'm here is because I need you to do something for me. The police and NDLEA are looking for me, I'm not safe here anymore. I need to leave the country as soon as possible without anyone knowing. I have plans to join your brother in the states, I managed to buy my tickets already but your father still has my passport which contains my visa to the states. It's going to take me weeks to apply for both a new passport and visa, I need you to help me retrieve my passport from your father's study and bring it to me. I'd send you an address to bring it to tonight, can you do that?"

"Mum," Kodi let out a weak breath. "Mum if you really did what they said you did why are you trying to run away from it again? What if you get caught running away? What's going to happen to Natalie? What's going to happen to Christian? You should turn yourself in Mum and make up for what you did. That way you can live, you can still be able to save yourself and when you come out, everything would be just like it used to be, everyone would respect you and the choices you made."

"What?"

"Mum, running away now is going to mean you can never return. What's going to happen to you when your visa expires and you're yet to acquire your citizenship? Nick and I may be citizens, Jeremiah too but you're not. It might take a while to finalize your documents. Are you going to live as an illegal immigrant for the rest of your life? What's going to happen to me? Do you not care about me? Are you going to leave me behind too? Is Nick your only child? Is he the only one that needs you? I need you too."

"Of course not. You're my daughter too."

"Then do the right thing Mum, turn yourself in. Face your problems instead of running from them and living like this. We'd all be waiting for you when you get out. Me and Nick. Natalie and Christian could learn to forgive you, Dad too."

"Forgive me?" Susan frowned. "Forgive me for what?" She glared at Kodi. "What wrong did I do that I should be forgiven for?"

"Mum?" Kodi stomped her feet. She was getting really frustrated.

"All my actions are justified. I did them to protect my children. I did nothing wrong."

"Mum please,"

"Just this one time." Susan grabbed her arms quickly and stared deeply into her eyes, she had this helpless look on, this look that easily showed how desperate in need she was. She was begging at that point. "Just help your mother this one time and I promise, I'd be better, I'd do better."

"Mum,"

"I can't go to jail. What's going to happen to you and your brother when I go to jail? Who is going to look out for you? Who would have your back and look after your best interest? I'm all the both of you have. If I go to jail, do you think your father is going to care about the both of you? He already banished your brother to the states, what would happen if he banishes you too? Do you know how wicked the system is? How unkind it is? How can you want your mother to turn herself in and live the rest of her life as a convict? Do you know how much I'm going to suffer if I go in there? Please Chikodi," she squeezed Kodi's hands. "I'm your mother! Don't turn your back on me too. You're all I have left. Just help me escape, save me, help me be with your brother again. Just give me one more chance to live please! All I need is my passport and I'd disappear. No one would ever have to worry about me anymore. It'd be like I never even existed. I'd rather be banished than go to jail, please my daughter, help your mother huh?"

Her eyes beseeched Kodi. Kodi didn't have words to say. How could she turn her mother down? How could she possibly watch her mother be locked behind bars? It was really difficult making up her mind, she wasn't even sure if she had a choice at that point. In as much as she wanted justice for what happened to Christian and Natalie, she couldn't imagine her mother being in jail too. She'd have no one left. No one else. She exhaled. What was she going to do? What was the right thing to do?

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

"I need you to set up a meeting for me with JJ and C holdings."

"Yes sir."

Emmanuel made sure he jotted everything Benjamin said down into his iPad, listening attentively to every word he was saying without interrupting for a second. It had been really crazy since the last two days and the doctor had suggested that Benjamin refrained from being stressed out for any reason. was to be bedridden until the wedding since he suffered a mild heart attack after what happened with Jeremiah and Kora. He had to handle all issues concerning the family and  company issues in the comfort of his bed, with Obianuju sitting beside him, taking care of all his needs. She had to make sure he ate well, slept well and kept his stress level low like the doctor asked. Everyone did.

"Any news from Johnathan Baker yet?"

"Sir, Mr Baker sent a mail earlier, he wouldn't be making it for the conference meeting but he would be sending a representative from his company. He should be here by tomorrow."
Benjamin nodded. He was satisfied with the news.

"That's okay. Make sure to have a reservation for Johnathan's representative at the wedding, send out invitations to BLK holdings and evergreen Oil and gas too, I need representatives from each company at the wedding."

Emmanuel froze for a second, Obianuju too. They slowly turned to Benjamin.

"I need Jeremiah's wedding with Oma to be the best in town. It can't go wrong. It has to be the best traditional wedding of the century. Make sure the most important people in the country, in the entire world are invited. Also make sure we have the most comfortable accommodations for our guests coming from other countries as well."

Emmanuel exchanged confused glances with Obianuju. Did he just hear Benjamin talk about the wedding?

"Sir?" He dared to say, Benjamin turned to him. "Sir, are we still going on with the wedding?"

Benjamin frowned.

"What sort of a question is that?"

Emmanuel held his breath. He wasn't sure he knew how to say his next choice of words.

"But sir, we still haven't been successful in finding Jeremiah and Kora. I don't think it's wise to hold a wedding without Jeremiah. It could get a lot of public disapproval and disappointment, ridicule too."

"So what are you trying to say? That we should give up on the wedding?"

"But sir, the Richards have already informed us that they wouldn't be going on with the wedding plans-"

"The Richards who?" He asked him. "Amanda? Since when did a woman who abandoned her family to be in the hands of another man have a say in any of this? Jeremiah and Oma's wedding was decided long ago by me and Oma's father. The only person that can refuse to hold a wedding can only be me and no one else. Set up a meeting with me and Oma. I'm sure she's only being like this because of how hard Jeremiah had made things for her. She's only frustrated and annoyed by the news of his sudden disappearance. If I talk to her again and try to convince her, I'm sure she'd come around. She has lived all her life as Jeremiah's fiancée. She's nothing without that title. She has fallen deeply for him. She can never be able to abandon him or this family."

"Chief," Obianuju whispered his name. He suddenly turned to her. "Chief don't you think we should postpone all of this? Maybe all of this is happening for a reason. Because we have pushed the kids too hard and now they are all rebelling. I think we should give them a break and at least wait for Jidenna to come home. When he does, we can be able to settle this once and for all. I think we should pay more attention to listening to what the kids have to tell us-"

"Jidenna?" He glared at her. "Haven't I warned you never to mention that name in this house?" He pointed at her. "His name is Jeremiah! That is the name I gave him and that is what you would call him. Listen to him?" He scoffed. "Why do I have to listen to him or anyone? I'm his father and the head of his house. The only one who should be listened to it's me. I decide what happens in my family. If you don't want that, if you can't accept that, then leave my house and stop being such a nuisance. I would not forget how you helped your son plan all of this. How you deceived me, disobeyed and made a fool out of me by helping your son run away with that cheap rag without a name. He's just like you. Weak and foolish just like you." He told her. "I wasn't like this to my father. The only reason I turned out to be the great man that I am is because I listened to the words of my father but here you are, instigating my own son against me in my own house?"

Obianuju let out a weak exhale. She was out of words. She didn't exactly know what to say.

"Chief," He turned to Emmanuel again.

"Continue with the wedding preparations. Don't even think about about stopping for any reason until I say so. The wedding is going to hold. Jeremiah is going to return home any moment from now. There's no way he can survive for so long. I froze his accounts, he can't do anything without money and he is an extravagant person. He needs money to survive. It's how he grew up, how all my sons grew up, feeling the taste of riches on their tongue. They can't survive on their own, in this cold world without it, without me, without coming home. He would be back too soon to apologize for his behavior before the wedding because he'd realize that that would be his only chance to gain my forgiveness. Mark my words."

"What about your meeting with the press tomorrow?" Manny went on. "You were supposed to meet the press a day before the wedding to explain the family's recent problems to the public. To talk about the divorce and the wedding and also show the public how you've managed to maintain a strong family and a booming business even with everything that had happened. Some companies already called to enquire. What do we tell them? Are we still going on with it sir?"

Benjamin nodded.

"I shall meet with the media houses and press tomorrow as agreed. I don't necessarily have to present any of my children. It's going to put us in a really good place with the public and cause a lot of high hopes for the wedding. It's good promotion for the company and family. Go ahead with plans for it. How is the search for Susan coming up? Any news on her whereabouts yet?"

"None yet sir, but we still have eyes on ground for her. I'm positive she's still in the country. We would find her soon."

"You have to. We can't let her leave the boarders of this country. I let her go the first time, not this time. She has to pay for all the crimes she committed, especially to my son and his family. Prison would be too good for her. She would probably be trying to reunite with Nicholas by now. Contact our men in the states and make sure they keep an eye on what's happening. Also visit that woman, Kora's mother, keep trying to pressure her. She says she doesn't know but I have a feeling she knows something about Jeremiah's whereabouts. She must tell us before the wedding."

Emmanuel bowed.
That was all. He understood perfectly. He turned and started to walk to the door briskly. He opened it and then walked out of the huge room. He froze.

Kodi had been pacing for quite a long time in front of her father's room and had barely noticed when the door opened or when Emmanuel walked out of it. She was lost in her thoughts. She had thought so much about everything and had already come to a conclusion about what to do and the choices she needed to make before she came there. She wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes she made before when she found out what her mother's plans were for her father and how she manipulated Christian and used his emotions to put him in a bad place with their father and cause a rift between him and Jeremiah. If only she had come out then and said the truth to someone, If only she didn't look away and tried to hide the truth to protect them, she would have been able to change a lot of things. She would have been able to stop them, to stop Nicholas and Christian from making the biggest mistakes of their lives. Their family wouldn't have been in the mess it was if only she had done the right thing. Now she had another chance, another chance to fix her mess but as she got to her father's door, she started to have second thoughts about it.

Was that really what she wanted?
Was turning her mother in really the best thing to do? How would her mother ever forgive her? How would Nicholas ever forgive her? Could she really live with the guilt of sending her mother to jail? What was she going to do?

"Kodi?"

She turned in fright the moment she heard Manny call her name, holding the neck of her dress and taking deep breaths. He had frightened her a lot. Manny could see it. He narrowed his gaze to her wondering what was wrong. Wondering why he had just caught her parading the hallway, lost in her thoughts? Was she there to see Benjamin? Was she worried about him? If she was, why didn't she get in?

"Are you okay?"

What about Christian and Natalie whose lives were ruined because of her mother? What was she going to do about them? Taking their side meant getting justice for what happened to them and abandoning her mother but not taking their side meant she had to save her mother and turn her back on them. What would that make her? Exactly the kind of person her mother and father were. She couldn't. She had to be better than them. She drew a deep breath and then swallowed hard.

"There's something you need to know."