Well, this has been quite a chilling tale. From marital abuse to a ruthless revenge plan executed. Gripping, to say the least. So what happened to the major parties in all this?
“Khadijah! Khadijah!”
“Yes, Maame!”
“I’ve left the ‘olonka rubbers’ in the kitchen. Go and take them for me.”
“Yes please!”
Another day had begun, and Hajia Mareeya, the well-known Hausa koko seller, was already gathering her items and placing them in the taxi that always drove her to her spot.
As the driver put one pan in the boot, Khadijah walked out of the house, holding the pack of polythene in one hand, and a black bag full of garbage in the other. She moved to the car and placed the pack in the back seat of the car, then proceeded to move out of the compound.
“Ahh, the borla people will come for it today, eh?” Hajia Mareeya asked her daughter, who responded in the affirmative before stepping out to dispose of the rubbish.
She and the taxi driver completed their packing exercise and got into the car, ready to move.
Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced through the air.
Frightened, Hajia Mareeya stepped out of the taxi and looked in the direction of the gate. A second later, it opened, with a terrified-looking Khadijah rushing in.
“Ah! Khadi, what’s wrong? What’s wrong, my daughter?” she asked in concern as Khadijah stood before her, looking ready to burst into tears.
“Maame, come and see! Come and see!”
“See what?”
“There’s something in the bushes, Maame! Come and see, come and see!”
Pointing outside, she started moving back to where she came from. Hajia Mareeya and the taxi driver, already curious to know what had startled her so badly, followed.
They stepped out of the compound and found Khadijah tearfully pointing to the bushes near their house.
And they saw it.
“JESUS!” the taxi driver exclaimed, while Hajia Mareeya screamed and placed her hands on her head.
In the bushes lay the naked body of a young woman.
Lifeless and cold.
***
Half an hour later, and the bushes where the corpse was discovered had been cordoned off. The police had retrieved the remains, and investigations had begun.
One of the officers who had observed the body shook his head as the others placed it in a body bag. “I recognize the victim,” he murmured to one of his colleagues.
His colleague looked at him. “Really?”
He nodded. “One of those slay queens on Instagram. I’ve seen her profile before. The name was… was it Karina or Karini or something… Kirania! Yeah, that’s it, Miss Kirania. I recognized that tattoo on her breast; it’s quite visible in some of her photos.”
His colleague shook his head. “Hmmm, chale. Terrible. I wonder who did it, and what their reason was.”
“Hmmm. We’ll find out about that soon enough. Whoever it is will pay for this.”
“I sure hope so. Coz this is horrible. Just horrible. How do you do this to a young woman in the prime of her life?”
“Hmmmm. I wonder ooo, my guy. I really wonder…”
***
A couple of days had passed. And he just couldn’t stop crying.
He just couldn’t.
Every time he looked down, the memories came rushing with the fiercest force.
It didn’t matter what anyone said. His parents, his siblings, his colleagues, and everyone who came to see him and tried to encourage him despite the horrific sight they beheld. Nobody’s words could break him out of the traumatic state he was in.
All it took was one look down, and the voice of trauma was hollering as loud as it could in his ear.
Ferdinand lay in the private ward of Thursdon International Hospital, wailing uncontrollably as he looked at the gruesome result of that punishment in the room.
Stumps where his legs used to be.
Those guys had been cruel and ruthless in the execution of their orders, ensuring that blowtorch did maximum damage to his legs, before using the axe to chop them off.
The average hearer of this tale would recoil in horror at the mere thought of going through such a grisly punishment, especially after getting shot in the testicles. For Ferdinand, it was an experience he’d have to live with for the rest of his life.
Investigations were underway to find out the perpetrators of such a gory crime. His parents in particular were as vocal as could be, swearing on their lives that they would ensure the monsters behind this would be dealt with as severely as could be.
He could have easily just let them all know it was his wife behind it, to make it easy. But he didn’t.
It wasn’t just the disturbing memories of that gruesome punishment that continued to haunt him. The sight of those gory stumps was a reminder that, inasmuch as the acts of those goons were wrong, he couldn’t say he didn’t deserve it at all.
Indeed, in hindsight, he realized he had been a devil and more to his wife. He tormented her and showed her no respect at all. He really maltreated her and gloried in it.
Just because he could.
Indeed, he had lavished her with nothing but hate and contempt for no good reason, and now here he lay, reaping the fruits of his cruelty.
He had scorned her, and seen that hell had no fury as searing as hers.
So as he lay there, crying loudly as he wondered what would become of his life now that his legs and private part were history, there was a deep part of him that regretted everything that led to this, and this voice that kept whispering that as evil as her actions were…
… it served him right.
***
“It’s so nice of Mr. Graham to let us use this private jet to get outta here,” Princess remarked as the plane’s engine started up. “I just feel bad that Kofi and Darlow are gonna have to take the fall for that whore’s death…”
“Oh, don’t worry about them. They’re good,” Andy insisted as he took his seat next to her and put on his seat belt. “Those two niggas be some depraved motherfuckers. They’ll be fine. Mr. Graham will get them a lawyer to frustrate the whole case, and before you know it, the case will die a quiet death. And especially now that I’m leaving the empire to them to handle once it’s done? Babe, they’ll be fine.”
“Oh well, you know the road better than I do, so no problem… oh yeah, I just remembered. Honey, did you get the boys to send the cheque to Forestad Guest House?”
“Absolutely. Timo delivered it just this morning.”
“Great, great. Those room service girls were so helpful. I really wanted them to have something nice for their concern during my low points.”
“Well, worry not, my sweet. They have their due now.”
“Thanks.” she smiled at him as he took his shades off. “You really weren’t joking about leaving this underworld for me, were you?”
“Not in the least, my love. You’re worth giving it up. At least I have some accounts well stacked enough to last us a lifetime, so I don’t need to worry about money. At the end of the day, I lost you once, and I’m not ready to lose you again.”
Princess leaned over and kissed him. “And you never will, honey. I’m yours for life. Nobody’s ever gonna come between us.”
“Yep. Nobody… oh, by the way, you know what Gillie was telling me as I gave him the outline for maintaining the duplex? He was like, he and the others did not see that shot to the balls coming at all. Like, you really castrated a motherfucker! Damn!”
Princess snorted. “Huh. That son of a bitch got way less than he deserves.”
“You think? Babe, he’s gonna spend the rest of his life stuck in a wheelchair and no balls. The man’s off dick appointments forever. Girl, you really gave him the punishment of a lifetime!”
Princess smirked as she looked at him. “Well… what more can I say? I’m a woman. A natural multiplier. Whatever you give to me, I’ll multiply for you. So if you treat me right and love me good, I’m gonna multiply all that and give it back to you tenfold. You treat me like I’m shit, that vengeance game’s gonna be tenfold. It’s that simple, really.”
Andy grinned. “So now that I’m whisking you off to Curacao to see that you spend the rest of your life in comfort, luxury and love, what am I getting back in return?”
Princess paused for a moment, pretending to think. “Hmmm… for you… I guess in return, you’ll get kingly treatment… and lots and lots of babies.”
Andy threw his head back and laughed out loud. “Ohhh, I love the sound of that. Lots and lots of babies. Sounds amazing. Can’t wait. Let’s make it happen, then.”
Princess smiled, and squeezed his hand. “Sure, baby. Let’s make it happen.”
The plane began to ascend, as they made their way out of the country.
THE END
Quite an ending there! Well, a woman scorned and ready to get back her pound of flesh is no pleasant person to deal with. Ferdinand and Kirania really brought out the wicked side of Princess with their antics, didn’t they? Well, they messed with the wrong woman and paid dearly for it.
Thanks for reading, and as always, enjoy yourself around the State!
