Chapter 36 Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty Three

'Let's all take a moment of silence in respect of my wife and the mother of my daughter, who was loved and respected by all.....spot the lie'

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

Three Weeks Later.

Mayfair Estate,

Lagos.

Denola

Dame Mayfair placed a hand on Denola's shoulder and caressed it soothingly. "It's time, let me have Kamila" she said stretching out her arms for her grand daughter.

Denola nodded and handed her the baby, as he walked over to the where the coffin was situated. As he stood in the midst of his family and friends and beside Amanda's he couldn't help but remember all that had happened before today.

*

The scene of the accident. After the break out of chaos the morning Hakeem had told them of Amanda's death, Denola had asked Hakeem and his mother to accompany him to the scene of the accident.

There had been various police vans parked at the accident scene, police men were littered everywhere and reporters were asking questions trying to find out if there had been eyewitnesses but there were none.

Denola had walked over to the one of the officers and had introduced himself as husband to one of the deceased.

There had been sympathetic looks and consoling words but he didn't want any of  that. He kept on insisting that he wanted to see his wife's body, he wanted to be sure...he had to be sure...she couldn't possibly be dead....?

'I'm sorry sir, the car caught fire and burned. There are remains lying around but I doubt you'd be able to identify anything. Forensics managed to find some items, there was a wedding ring, an earring and....' One police officer had been informing him when he interrupted.

'Let me see... Please I have to see. I have to know' He'd said breathlessly.

Remains, His wife's remains? That couldn't be all that was left of his wife. There was no body and Amanda was gone.

Guilt hit him like a ton of bricks as he remembered their last conversation, she'd begged him but he was....

'Here you go sir' An officer handed him some items in a ziplock bag.

He recognized one thing immediately, the ring. Her wedding ring, realization hit him hard now. Amanda had really been in the car and she was gone now.

Hakeem must have seen the look of recognition on his face because he came forward and pulled Denola closer.

Denola shrugged him off and looked at the ring in a daze.

'Do you recognize that sir?' An officer asked

Denola nodded 'Yes, the ring belongs to my wife' he responded in a hoarse voice.

'We're very sorry for your loss sir, do you know anything else about the other people that were in the car. Forensics confirmed that there were three people in the car with your wife'  The officer had inquired .

Denola's expression went from dazed to stormy in a few seconds. 'My wife was kidnapped, held against her will and killed!' He responded furiously.

'Kidnapped? Are you sure about the claims you're making sir?'  The same officer had asked.

Denola had glared at the man, claims? They assumed he was making claims.

'I know who is responsible for my wife's death and I want to make sure they pay'  He sounded more like he was making a promise rather than informing the police.

After that, they'd  made arrangements to have Amanda's remains identified and brought to them but that was almost impossible. The officers informed him that they'd do their best.

Denola's father had phoned shortly after that. Atalia had phoned him and broken the news to him.  There was a suspect, Hakeem had told them as much.

*

Dealing with Kadin. Denola had reported to the police station and put down his statement, Hakeem did too since he was the one who knew more about Kadin and his goons.

Hakeem had been committed to Kadin but Denola was his man too. He couldn't keep quiet over this, Kadin had to be served with justice.

Aliu had been nowhere to be found when they stormed into Perdita Hotel and Suites later that day.

Kadin had been asleep on bed when Denola and the officers stormed into the room and grabbed him roughly. His eyes were half lidded and red when they opened, this brought Denola to the conclusion that Kadin had learned of Amanda's death and was wallowing in guilt.

Aliu who was also his accomplice had been wise enough to flee.

'What's the meaning of this nonsense?  I don't know Amanda and I don't know what you're talking about?' Kadin had kept on repeating as they dragged him out of the hotel room.

Denola had turned to him angrily and had punched him hard in the face 'You don't know Amanda, how about Hassana? Your ex wife who is dead because of your insane obsession for her!' Denola had yelled and punched him harder this time, disfiguring his nose.

Some officers pulled Denola away from Kadin quickly. 'Let's handle this, we know you're not in the right frame of mind now but let us do our job' The officer in charge of the case had spoken.

Kadin looked dazed for a moment 'What are you talking about? I have no idea what you're talking about!' Kadin had kept on yelling maniacally.

He'd been even more confused when he saw Hakeem standing by the police van. Hakeem refused to look at him even as he kept calling out to him.

'I will destroy you when I get out of here fücking Judas. You have no fücking idea who you're messing with you bastards!' Kadin had screamed at the lot.

Denola had scowled at him as he was shoved into the police van. 'You don't know me but you'll soon know how much power I wield in this city. You might run the show in Abuja but you're in my town now' Denola said staring right into his eyes.

Kadin had looked back at him with equal intensity. They didn't know who he was, he was going to teach them all a lesson they wouldn't forget, especially that Judas of a Hakeem. No one messed with him, no one messed with him and got away with it!

Where was Aliu anyway?

*

Judgement day.  Kadin had been tortured brutally in jail for days but he'd kept on insisting that he knew nothing about Hassana's death.

The officers had tortured him the more for his refusal to admit to his crime, his mother had been contacted but she'd refused to come down to Lagos,  out of fear perhaps.

Aliu had still not been seen and Kadin belived now that he'd been betrayed. Aliu had killed Hassana and fled the face of earth for fear of Kadin's wrath.

But why had he killed her, he couldn't understand this.

Hassana's parents had been interrogated by the police but they'd denied any alliance with Kadin. They had gone back to their home in Abuja right after the interrogation.

Denola had kept to his word on dealing with his enemy. He'd gotten every skilled lawyer and detective he knew and paid a heck load of money for them to dig up dirt on Kadin that would keep him away in prison for life.

For the first time in Kadin's life, he was truly afraid and alone. His mother had hired a lawyer for him but after facing the team of Denola's lawyers, the man had resigned to the fate that Kadin wasn't going to escape this.

At the court hearing, as expected the judge had ruled in the favor of Mayfairs and Kadin had been charged with murder, human trafficking and other associated crimes.

He'd be put in an isolated prison where he would remain till his last breath.

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

"Amanda was a special part of my life, I didn't expect to lose her so soon.  She was my wife and the mother of my daughter. Death decided to play a cruel joke on me by taking her away from me so soon.  Let's all take a moment of silence in respect of my wife, a woman who was loved and respected by all" Denola said taking a deep breath, he looked around before his eyes rested on his daughter as he ended his speech.

He was a liar, he was deceiving these people with this cool and collected facade.

The remains in the casket were all that was left of his late wife's body.

The funeral was indeed for his wife, the mother of his child but while he was acting all strong and composed, he wanted to scream out to the world. He wanted to rage in anger,  he wanted to wallow in tears and sorrow.

He wanted to rage at the world for being so unfair to him. Death had snatched his precious wife away from him and his little daughter.  He couldn't fathom why the good things of life didn't last forever.

He remembered telling her multiple times that they would grow old together, have lots of children and grandchildren. Now those words were meaningless, he'd lost the most meaningful person in his life.  The only person who really mattered.

She was dead......

And he was responsible for her death.