Money, Fame and Love VIII

The story so far – Yaw Mensah is a ruthless and wealthy businessman who has done more than a few crazy things in the past. Among his dark secrets is that he ordered the death of the late Judge Orleans. His darling daughter Angie later falls in love with Derek Orleans, a lawyer who is also the son of the late Judge. One day while arranging files in the office Yaw’s secretary, Abena, stumbles upon a letter written by him that discloses this well-kept secret. She subsequently passes the message on to Derek. In the last chapter, Derek makes his way towards the Mensah’s home to find out their side of the story. Let’s read on to find out how the story unfolds.

`What a surprise it is to see you!’ Angie exclaimed, flashing Derek one of her sunniest smiles. Her smile was so infectious he found himself managing a weak smile back at her despite the confusion he felt inside.

`Let’s go in’ she said leading the way inside. ‘I’d like you to meet my mother she said, almost pulling him inside.

Derek interrupted ‘Angie that can wait…” after a brief pause he continued ‘We have to talk.’ Angie froze in fear. They sat in the garden and he handed her the letter. After reading the letter, her mouth dropped and try as she may, no words escaped her lips. All she could do was stare at him dumbfounded.

‘Oh my goodness…, why does my father have to get involved in so many dirty businesses?’ she asked tearfully. Her voice was barely above a whisper. ‘Let’s go inside and confront him’ she said still with tears in her eyes. Derek hadn’t braced himself for such a quick confrontation. Perhaps it was because he had been hoping that Angela could have put his fears to rest. He said a silent prayer and followed her inside.

Yaw, sitting in the living room was so engrossed in his newspaper that he barely noticed them enter. Their sudden appearance in the room startled him. What could be the cause of this visit? , he wondered. The grim looks on their faces did little to calm him down. Without waiting for an invitation, Derek and Angie sat on either side of him and she dropped the letter in his lap.

He picked it up as though it were his own death warrant and peered cautiously at the writing. His heart almost stopped beating. Was that his handwriting he saw? He brought it closer to his eyes and sure enough the letter was worded in his own handwriting. He quickly read the message. Yaw felt like a caged animal. He had gone through enough trouble this past couple of days and didn’t want to complicate issues any further for himself. For some minutes he reviewed the last ten years of his life and realized that the words dirty were splashed all over it in red. His every action had been motivated by a selfish desire. He had always considered it a sign of weakness when a man cried and he prided himself in not engaging in this childish habit. Even now he felt embarrassed as the tears washed down his face. But he did nothing to stop it from flowing. Boy, what a relief it was to cry after all these years, he felt as if the tears were washing the filth he felt deep within.

All this while Derek and Angie silently looked on, they were both awash with emotions. The man hadn’t said a word to them but he was crying his heart out. Yaw cleaned his tear-stained face with the cuffs of his shirt and turned to face Derek man-to-man.

`Five years ago I was sent to Court for heavy tax evasion. I was convinced I could bribe my way through the Court because I could afford not only the best lawyer in Accra back then, but also knew some top men in the judiciary who could help me pay my way through. One giant obstacle in my way then was your father, a principled man’.
Yaw looked away unable to maintain eye contact.  ‘I had to kill your Dad Derek, it was the only option available to me; or so I thought then he quickly added.

‘But I’m sorry Derek, I’m sorry I exchanged a sentence for the life of a person; the life of your father. Please forgive me.’ At this point, it was as if the floodgates in his body had completely lost their power. Tears flowed unceasingly down Derek’s cheeks.

Now it was Derek’s turn to be embarrassed. He looked away not knowing what to say. He had never felt more overcome by emotions like he did at this point. He did not know what to do. He thought of all his options… institute legal action against Mr. Mensah (the father of his sweetheart) among others …

When he opened his mouth to speak his voice came out as a hoarse whisper. ‘I think I need to leave’ he muttered and with that, he turned and walked out of the Mensah’s home leaving a bewildered father and daughter behind.

Wow, what do you think would happen next?…The story continues next week Saturday.