"Your mother visited you?" asked Charles and Ken answered yes but went further to say, "But she will not be a problem to what we are doing here Sir. I'm always available"
"No, Ken I can understand. The company won't suffer if you take few days off. You should spend some time with your mother and then you can resume after she must have gone home" said Charles.
"Sir, my mother is imposing a girl on me, a girl from the village. I hate discussing it with her but she keeps giving me this as a reminder" He took out a bracelet and showed it to Charles. "She said her husband, that's my father handed this over to her on the day he got married to her and said she should also hand it over to their only son as a gift which he in return must hand over to his own child. So all these is to make me understand that a child is expected of me and for that reason I am expected to get married" Charles chuckled at that statement and said, "You get married then if your mother insist that you get married but you must understand this Ken; she should not be a hindrance to the works in the family, the family must continue to run, you get me now?" Ken saluted him and while he was about to leave he stopped and turned to him once again and said, "Sir there is something else"
"Go on Ken" he said.
"It's about my mother. He was searching my box against my wish and saw one of the stuffs and ever since then she had been..." Ken was still talking when Charles stood with his hands on the desk and then he warned, "Listen to me Ken, your mother or anyone else must not get to be a stumbling block to what we are into and doing. We have come this far and we will not allow anyone, not even relations to be a hindrance or a reason why we will be exposed to the government that are against us. Make sure she doesn't get to speak to you about this further and there will be no problems" When he said this Ken regretted why he had to tell him about it in the first place. He covered his face with both hands and said, "Sir, I will not be a reason why things will be jeopardized in this family. This is my family and I swore an oath. I will take care of my mother"
*****
That night when Ken was about to have some rest his mother walked into his room holding a pistol. He was shocked and wanted to know what she was up to. She dropped the pistol on the bed carelessly and spoke with pain obvious in her voice.
"So it's true? You belong In a mafia? You my son, a son I raised" She spoke with tears in her eyes. Before Ken could say a word she had continued, "You ever bothered to ask about your father Kenneth? I bet you never did because you were preparing to toll his line. You never got to know about him because he wasn't given the chance by the government who discovered who he was. He was my husband but I wasn't rooting for him because what he was into was running many lives and taking many others. You don't think I will do same to you my son? If I turned in your father for being a drug trafficker how much more my own son?"
"You did that to father?" Ken was shocked.
"I did. Everything I told you before now concerning your father was a lie. All the things written in his farewell brochure were written to give him a good image, the image he never had for he was nothing less than a drug trafficker and money laundering. You are nothing but your father" said the woman.
"So tell me mother" Ken was now upset with her, "Tell me, how did father die?"
"I turned him in and I had enough evidence to through him into prison. I had to act or he bring me down. He was involved in so many shady deals and they were coming for him, the government were coming for him. They did not know his face but I knew they were closing in on him and I had to help them. You don't know what has happened ever since then; I have tried to lead a life worthy of emulation, vowing never to raise a child that will toll the line of your father but here you are, a son I was proud of, I boasted about, spoke of how he will never put shame in our family. All these wealth wasn't about any oil business but drugs. I will turn you in son, I have enough evidences to show my claims" She turned to work away and he asked her, "Tell me mother; before you vindicated my father were you like this; did you tell him to his face that you were going to turn him in?"
"Yes I did" said the mother.
"And what did he say or do?" asked Ken.
"What else would have expected him to do; he knew his time was up or maybe he didn't think I meant it enough to carry out my threat of turning him in. When the drug agency came for him he was right in the deal with another. He died in prison" said the mother with pride. Ken sighed and then said, "You were not right mother when you said I'm like my father. I can't be like him, I can't be as careless as he" He began to approach her after he said this and the woman wondered what he was up to.
"What are you doing Kenneth?" she had to ask.
"What my father should have done long before you had to audacity to do to him what you did to him. I will not make the same mistake that he made and so you will go down before you think of it" He held her by the neck and pushed her to the bed.
******
Moment later Ken who was seated on the bed and kept looking at the phone in his hand as it vibrated. It was Jude calling. He looked at his mother whom he had tied to the bed and covered her mouth with a seltape and shook his head. He then picked the call after it rang the second time.
"Hello" he said.
"Ken, I need you at the basement now" said Jude.
"I'm busy Sir" Ken said and hung up. Just then his phone rang again and when he picked it Jude ordered him again to come to the basement and this time he hung up and switched off his line. He then turned to his mother and said, "You don't know anything mother; if you told me before now that you were responsible for the death of my father you would have died long before now" He then stood up and walked out of the room.
Moment later he looked through the window and saw two cars packed in the compound and then eight men came down and headed into his house. He knew them and so he walked straight to the door and opened it. They walked in without saying a word. It was after they had entered and the door closed that one of them said, "Sir, we respect you alot and so we will not do exactly what we were ordered to do by Sir Jude. We will instead beg you to follow us to the basement quietly" When one of them had said this Ken sighed and said, "You come with me" Four men followed him, including the one that spoke while the other four remained at the entrance door and he led them into his room where he showed them a woman tied to the bed and they wondered why he was showing them that and what the woman must have done to him.
"That's my mother over there, my biological mother. Now you see why you have to excuse me?" He said and the men looked at one another and then the one that spoke spoke again, "Family issues; sorry sir for interrupting you. We will just find our way back to the basement" Then they left. After they were gone Ken returned to the room and met his mother shedding tears. He knew she had alot to say and so he pitied her and removed the sealing tape from her lips and she said almost immediately, "What you are doing to your mother your own children will do it to you"
"Stop so I won't get to cover your lips again" he warned and just as if she hated her lips being covered she became mute but she was still sobbing. "Mother" he called but ofcouse did no recurve a response. "Mother, you will not be able to make me love you again after revealing to me that it was because of you that I don't have a father. You turned him in because you were too blind to see that the same government is as evil as those that do drug traffiking and that you didn't do anything doing what you did; you simply added to the sorrow same government inflicted on you and your family. Now you are proud to admit that you turned in my father and he died in prison because of you"
"My son, is this why you have tied me like this as if I'm a goat?" asked the mother.
"You are worse than a goat" he stood up and walked to the wardrobe and brought out a pistol and cocked it. Pointing it towards her he said, "You made a terrible mistake by what you did to father. Now you will pay for that mistake with your own life"
******
Veronica having been let alone by Charles decided to stay indoor for few days. Her absence in the office was noticable. Emeka approached Sarah and spoke to her, "She found out?" he asked.
"I don't know. Maybe you ask the boss" said Sarah. Emeka then visited Charles's office and met him busy.
"I only came to know if there is anything else you wish me to do concerning our newest member" he said. Charles stared at him for a while before he said, " I have decided to be open to her. She already knows we have been making mockery of her intelligence but you should never worry about it. I have everything under control" Emeka bowed and before he could step out Charles asked, "By the way where is Ken?"
"Report from Sir Jude says he is in his house" said Emeka.
"Why?" asked Charles.
"That I do not know Sir but I believe that he has his own personal reasons Sir" When Emeka left his office he dialed Ken's number and when he could not reach him he dialed that of Jude and shortly after Jude was in the company and inside the boss's office.
"Family issues?" Charles had to ask.
"Yes Sir. He has something he needs to take care of and I don't know what it is all about but I do know it has to do with his mother" said Jude. Charles dismissed him but before he could walk out through the door he asked, "What about Shanty, your girlfriend"
"She is fine boss" said Jude who felt uneasy.
"You know Jude, I have been meaning to ask you but for the mean time I had to keep watching you and her; how well do you trust her considering who she is?"
"Sir I can't tell I trust her but she is no longer the person she used to be" said Jude.
"You defend her now. You must like her alot then. Well, I would like to meet with her again" said Charles.