House Of Secrets🏘️🏘️
Episode 17
She smiled mischievously, her mother’s plans was for them to
keep their dad’s accident secret but she’d tweeted it and the medi
had carried it, she would have Helen begging for forgiveness for
sl@pping her like that.
‘Rose, open the door’ Mark pounded her door.
‘Come in bro’ she answered sweetly.
She had dressed up, things had changed, she nee-ded to see her
father, they nee-ded to save themselves from what was to come.
‘How could tweet about dad’s accident? Have you forgotten abou
mum’s orders? Why did you disobey her’ Mark was annoyed
with his sister.
‘Well, I did the right thing, your mother is a very selfish woman
and she doesn’t care much about either of us, how could she
defend Nelson like that’? Rose hissed angrily.
‘Oh, this is still about Nelson? I’m sure you were Bleeping him,
how could you disobey mum? Though she seemed off, but I sa
the good in her suggestions, now, dad’s members may lose fait
in him, I hope you’re happy now’ Mark hissed and turned to wal
away.
This was her chance and she seized it.
‘Why do you think so highly of your mother? Let me tell you
something sweet bro, mother was having an affair with Nelson,
what if they connived to kill dad to afford them more time to be
with each other, have you thought about that’? Rose asked.
‘Is that all? Mum is slee-ping with Nelson, is that a bad thing? What
of dad, what if he’s slee-ping with other people? How is that your
business, see Rose, this is their marriage, we’re the children, we’r
not supposed to take sides, we’re to let them work things out on
their own not to judge, I’m not perfect, I just did something that’
eating me up which I may pay for later, I don’t think you’re
perfect too, let’s just be united now more than ever’ Mark hoped
she’d see reasons with him, he wasn’t surprised to hear about hi
mum’s infidelity, Grace had mentioned it before they had a fall ou
and Ajunwa had told him the night before.
‘br@vo, nice speech, I see, Helen has gotten her claws on you, bu
before you go, I had this feeling you and Grace had something
you guys shared and I’ll love to tell you something about your
sweet dear mother’ Rose ru-bbe-d her hands together.
‘What about Grace’? Mark sighed.
‘Grace isn’t missing, she is dead, she walked in on mum and
Nelson and mum killed her and buried her in the garden, I could
show you where, if you promise not to flare up’ Rose said.
‘You’re bluffing’ Mark swallowed ha-rd . How could Rose cook up
such a lie? His mother was many things but not a murderer.
‘Go find out, beneath the roses, midnight, check it out’ Rose patte
his shoulder.
‘Beneath the roses’he whispered the words, Ajunwa had found
Grace’s n£¢klace beneath the Roses, he swallowed ha-rd and
prayed it wasn’t true, he nee-ded to confront his mother.
‘Yes bro, you’ll have to excuse me now, I have a call to answer’
Romeo was the caller and she couldn’t wait to answer it.
‘Hello my darling…’ she pawed sweetly. She had set her plans in
motion, she couldn’t wait to see her mother go down.
‘Hello red rose, guess what’? Romeo answered in the same
manner.
‘What is it my love’? she asked.
‘I’m at your gate, plea-se let me in’.
***
‘Mum, open the door’! Mark was infuriated, different emotions ra
throu-gh him, how could his mother betray him like that? Why di
she have to kill Grace and lie to him about it?
‘Mark, what happened?’ Helen had just woken up from her sleep.
‘Mum, plea-se tell me this isn’t true, plea-se deny it’ Mark stared
de-eply into her eyes.
‘What is it dear’? she wondered why her kids wouldn’t let her be
in peace.
‘Did you kill Grace because she found out you were having an
affair with Nelson? Did you cut her into pieces and bury her
beneath your roses’? Mark asked.
‘I see, Rose is twisting this story, trying to paint me black, was sh
the one who told everyone about your dad’s accident’? Helen felt
de-eply hurt, calls from her church members had awoken her,
somehow they got to know the pastor was in the hospital. How
could Rose betray her like that?
‘Mum?’ Mark called her.
‘Thank you for coming to speak with me first before doing
anything stupid, come in and have a seat, let me tell you
everything but first swear you’ll forgive me and trust me again’
Helen invited him in.
‘Just tell me the truth’ Mark sat at the edge of her be-d.
‘I kept this secret from you because I didn’t want you to get
involved in something so dirty, I felt you saw me like a saint and
had to keep it that way, I’m sorry darling, I should’ve told you
everything, but know this, I love you from the bo-ttomof my
heart, I protected your sister who had turned against me now fo
some reason, just like I protected you’she paused.
‘Just go straight to the point mum’ Mark was getting impatient.
‘No, I’ll take this step by step so you’ll judge for yourself who’s
guilty or innocent. Your sister c@m£ into my room one day just
like you’re doing now and begged me to save her, she was so
scared, I followed her and found Grace on the floor bleeding fro
her head, she was dead. Rose claimed they had a fight and she hi
Grace too ha-rd , I knew reporting to the police would destroy you
father’s reputation, so I cut the b©dy into pieces and buried it in a
place where no one would ever know, un-der my roses, and no
she accuses me of being the one that murdered that girl’ Helen
scoffed, she would destroy Rose with her hands.
‘Mum, how could you do something so gruesome? What’s the
difference between you and Rose, you helped her cover her sin’?
Mark was still confused on who to believe.
‘I had to protect her, she is my child, even you, I have protected
you before, when I had the chance to turn you over to the
juvenile court, I saved you, don’t you remember Mark? What
happened when you were sixteen’? she rose to her feet.
‘I don’t want to talk about it mum’ Mark was evasive.
‘No, let’s face it, judge me, I’m the bad one here, but in my
badness, I protected you, Joy, your cousin had come visiting an
you R@p£d her in this house and I covered for you. I should’ve
reported you to the police, but I sheltered you, look into my eyes
and tell me you believe Rose’ Helen pressed his head to her face.
‘I’m sorry mum, I judged you wrongly’ Mark cried.
‘That’s my boy, now, your sister has drawn the battle line and w
must fight her, if she leaks that secret, I would go down for
nothing, so I nee-d you on my side, I nee-d you to support me, w
have to be clear with each other, no secrets’ Helen instructed him
‘I R@p£d Grace many times and Ajunwa last night, plea-se forgive
me, I don’t know what c@m£ over me’ Mark sobbe-d like a baby.
‘You R@p£d them?’ Helen was scared and disappointed.
‘Yes, I’m so sorry’ he nodded.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll fix this’ Helen replied. Mark could be trusted,
she had bought him over, now she had to draw him into her
own darkness.
‘I killed Nelson and buried him in the garden, somehow he knew
about Grace as I asked him to bury her decaying hand so I felt he
was a threat to that secret, so I killed him last night’ Helen sighed
as she let her son in.
‘Mum? How could you’? he was about to judge her when he
recalled his own sins were equally if not more grievous.
‘Good. Now we un-derstand each other, we have to fight for
ourselves first’ Helen fetched her phon
e, someone knew her secret and she had to protect herself from
going down.
‘What’s this’? Mark asked as she handed him the phone.
‘I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. IT MAKES ME SICK. I AM GOING TO
TELL. A SECRET IS BURIED IN THE GARDEN’.
‘Mum’? he called quietly.
‘Yes’? Helen wondered why he seemed shocked, did he know
anything about it?
‘I received this text last night, what’s happening’? Mark was
terrified.
‘Really’? Helen chuckled, not even the situation she found herself
could kill her s-en-se of humor. Someone was blackmailing them,
mind games was this person’s style.
‘Mum, this isn’t funny, what if they know all our secrets? We are
all dirty except Rose and dad, we have to find a way out of this’
Mark sighed.
‘No, we can’t be the dirty ones, maybe your father is clean but I’
sure your sister isn’t, she killed Grace for a reason and that’s your
job to find out. I nee-d to speak with the maid you R@p£d, I nee-d t
bring her closer to me, so she wouldn’t be used against us, most
times, blackmailers could get information out of domestic staff,
one of the reasons i took out Nelson’ Helen paced nervously, ther
was a lot of work to do.
***
She had not set her eyes on one of her admirers for a long time,
Kachi Romeo was as h0t he’d been three years back.
‘Hello Cherie’ he pres£nted her with some flowers.
‘Hmm, they smile nice, thanks Romeo and do come in’ she smile
and offered him in.
‘It’s been so long Romeo, thanks for paying me a visit, sit here, le
me fetch you something to drink’ Rose dived into the house and
left her guest in her mother’s garden.
‘Roses everywhere, garden of Roses’ Romeo looked around the
garden, it was really beautiful and smelt very nice but held a dark
secret.
Oliver had done a good job by telling him about Grace, now all h
had to do was find her and get her to give him evidence of the
pastor’s affair with his biological daughter.
‘I am back’ she returned with a bottle of red wine and glas-ses.
‘Your mother’s garden is beautiful’ Romeo smiled.
‘Thank you’ Rose wondered how he knew the garden belonged t
her mother.
‘So how’s everything? How is Grace? It’s been long I haven’t seen
her or your brother Mark’ he poured himself some wine.
‘They’re fine’ Rose replied hurriedly, why did he ask about Grace?
Her heart raced, no one could know she was dead.
‘Good. I was just in the neighborhood and I just wanted to visit,
I’d see you some other time’ Romeo rose to his feet.
‘Thanks so much Romeo’ she replied.
‘Can I see Grace before I go? And Mark too’ he quic-kly ch!pped in.
‘Uhmmm, they’re not around, Grace isn’t here, she’s at the
market’ Rose stuttered, why was he so keen on Grace?
Rose knew Romeo from church and he’d met their maid too, but
it made her uncomfortable to recall what happened that fateful
day.
‘Really? How nice, see you later then’ Romeo smiled and walked
away, de-ep down he felt it, something wasn’t right. He’d
observed the evasiveness that l@yprominent in her eyes
whenever he mentioned Grace, had Oliver lied to him?
‘Bye….’ Rose waved at him. Fear engulfed her, soon, more peopl
would ask questions about Grace, questions she wouldn’t be able
to answer and she knew how dangerous her mother had
become, what if her mother turned her in to the police?
‘No, she has to go down for it, for everything’ she hissed loudly,
she had her plans, Helen would go down, she nee-ded to see her
father.
TBC….