Chapter 16

MABUTHO ZUNGO

I couldn't sleep last night. Nqaba's text kept me awake. Why would he ask me if Mnqobi has a twin? What is going on with him? I hope he is not losing his mind. I take a quick shower and get dressed. After all this I need to take some time and visit my dad or maybe he can come this side but the man I call my father loves his house so much, asking him to be away for a while seems like an insult. Funny how he never had a problem travelling when mom was still alive.

I pull up and park in the driveway, step out and make my way in. He was just sitting in the lounge looking lost. I wonder what happened last night. "Hey man, are you ok?" He looks at me and nods. He gets up grabs keys and his phone. He tells his mother that he is going out with me, he'll be back soon and his mother responds by telling him to be careful. I guess his parents don't know about whatever he wants to tell me. He stops me when I walk to my car and we walk out of the gate and walk to his mom's old car. He tells me to get in and he drives off. We drive in silence, I am just waiting for him to say something. Obviously something is definitely wrong and he didn't want to talk about it around his parents. "We are in your old neighborhood Nqaba, what are we doing here?" He parks in front of a gate as if he is going drive in. He just parks. I assume there is no one home in this house. "The house behind us is Malusi Nkabinde's house, where he grew up." He tells me. "Ok brother, what are we doing here?" He doesn't say anything, he takes out his phone, pressing on it a few times and hands it to me. I am looking at picture of Mnqobi at the mall. I swipe through the pictures and land on one of him in this house. This is not possible. This is a prank. Milani cannot be this cruel. "Please tell me this is not what I think it is." He looks at and I can see tears in his eyes. "Hence I asked you yesterday if he has a twin that we don't know about. I brought you here so that you can see it yourself. I don't know if he is going to come out but I am hoping that he will. The car he was driving yesterday is registered to Milani Cele. Unless there's another Milani Cele who is not my wife, then that car belongs to my wife. The question is, what is he doing in Malusi's house. Since when is he buddy buddy with Malusi. I know Malusi is into illegal shit. He's been into it since high school." Before I could even respond, I see the small gate opening from the rare view mirror and a man walks out wearing shorts and flip flops. That looks like someone comfortable where they are. He is pulling out the trash bin and places it on the pavement. He stops and looks at our car and dear God kill me now because that is Mnqobi.

The small of gate of the house we are parked in front of opens and the man comes to us. He leans on the window on Nqaba's side, I haven't taken my eyes off Mnqobi, he is still looking our direction. "Guys, what can I do for you. You've been parked here for a while now." I glance at him and glance Mnqobi. "Listen, just pretend you know us for a few minutes and we'll be out of here soon. He looks at both of us but he doesn't ask questions. Nqaba chats him up a bit, I think he caught on, on what I was trying to do. In no time Mnqobi walks into the yard. "Nqaba let's go." We need to go before we are caught here. "Thanks man." Nqaba thanks the man, shaking his hand outside the window and we drive off as the man walks into his yard. "Nqaba, that was Mnqobi. You killed the man. How is he alive?" I am confused as hell. "I know. I have a murder case hanging over my head for killing him, unless I didn't do a good of it and they didn't cremate his body properly." He laughs, does he realize that this is no time for jokes. The man that he allegedly killed is alive and well. "I need him watched. I need to know what he does all day. I need to know who comes over to see him." I understand but he can't do this himself. "We need to tell your lawyer about this man. You can't be implicated in anything at the moment." His grip tightens on the wheel. "I know that Mabutho. I need someone to watch him and report back to me. Mandla is already keeping something from me. If I tell him now about this, then I won't know what I want to know. Now do you have someone who can do the job, can you get someone who can do the job and promise me not to tell anyone for now. That woman has taken a lot from me, she took my dignity, my reputation, my pride and I need to know why. Why I was her victim, why I was at the receiving end of all this. They both owe me answers."

I stay quiet this time around putting myself in his shoes. I understand him perfectly, I would want the same thing. I would probably act the same way. Again we drive in silence back to his parent's house and this time he drives in and parks the car in the garage. I couldn't help but notice that as we were driving he kept checking his mirror, his blind spots. I think he was trying to make sure that we are not followed. I have to get back to the office. I don't walk back in the house with him. We say our goodbyes and I get into my car drive back to the office. My mind cannot unsee what I saw today.

I still cannot believe that Mnqobi is alive. I park the car in my designated spot and go to my office. Just as I sit down my phone pings and it's a message from Nomonde. **I bumped into Milani today and we had breakfast together. She spoke about fighting for Lwandle since Nqaba is in prison and she's going back to Durban the day after tomorrow.** another one comes through before I can respond. **She was with her crazy friend Emihle.** I respond thanking her for the info. It's not much but the important but of this, is that they are coming back to Durban. I forward the text messages to Mandla and text an old friend to help with what Nqaba wants and he responds quickly agreeing to help since he owes me a favor.

MALUSI NKABINDE

My dad always used to say "You create and shape your own destiny." I believe that is what I did. I never loved school. He always pushed me to go school, to study. He said that no matter what I do in life, I still needed the basic education from school. He died when I was still young. He was never married to my mother who was left to take care of me when he died. My father was a tyrant. It was his way or the high way. You had to carry yourself a certain way with him. He loved being in control. He never wanted no to know what is going on or how to get out of a situation. Everything him had purpose. Every move he made was deliberate. People were nothing to him. People to him were just a means to an end. My mother played her role in his life by giving him a son and nothing else mattered after that. He left her but still did everything for me. Made sure to spend time with me. In that time I had to learn how to be a man. I am who I am today because of my father. He introduced me to Milani before he died. That girl is her father through and through. It was different for her because the man was married to her mother. He mother went through hell because of that man. She did everything our father told her to do. Even Milan. She was never able to make her own choices. Everything was chosen for her by out father. And I was told that's how you treat a woman. The only thing a woman is good for is to obey and submit. That' s what he used to say.

I met some people when I was doing grade eleven, that's when I started making money. I saw what I could do and what I was capable so I never stopped. I did a lot at a young age. My mother would always ask where the money is coming form eventually she stop asking and I continued making money and taking care of her. She retired early and now she is living a simple life of a retiree in Cape Town. She wants for nothing because I always make sure she has everything she needs. She taught me that life can be soft. Life is not just about control. Basically she taught the opposite of what my father taught me. I embrace her teachings more.

Milani and my wife walk in looking radiant. I must say Coffee Bay agrees with them especially my wife. She is relaxed and glowing. Now this woman right here is my ride or die. I met her through Milani and she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. "Nqaba is in solitary confinement. Apparently he attacked a guard." Milani tells me as they both join me in the lounge in our rental home. "That means he is going to jail for fifteen years. I mean he is supposed to be on good behavior and he attacked a guard so the judge might not take kindly to that." I say. "How is it going with Lwandle and custody?" I ask. This is something that is putting our plans on hold. "It's difficult. I regret ever telling him to let him stay with his grandparents. We gave them guardianship of Lwandle until he is sixteen. I must give it to Nqaba, he was clever when he added that clause. It is making it difficult for me to get him."

"Milani we need that company. The only way to have access to it if you you become Lwandle's primary guardian. The company is in his name right?" Emihle adds, with a hint of frustration. "I must say Nqaba was smart changing everything to Lwandle's name before filing for divorce. I still think we are missing something about your husband dear sister. He was hiding his finances from you. I think your husband has more money than he led on. The only thing my guy could find was the company being changed to Lwandle's name and put in a trust which is managed by his grandparents. Apparently he hasn't appointed any else to be CEO after the one he had resigned. This guy exists only as a regular man who has a good job and the restaurant." I don't know how Nqaba is managing to hide things about him.

"You pushed too hard Milani though with the control. I understand that you never wanted him to control you but considering the plans we have I think you could have toned it down a bit. The man wasn't even controlling you. He just wanted to take care of you, there's a difference. I asked you to tone it down but you didn't listen. He wouldn't have gone as far as hiding things from you." Emihle adds and I agree with her. My sister is too much of a control freak. Each and every move she makes is calculated that's why I like working with her. She never misses a thing. "What happened to Thabo? I think it's time we use him. It's time we take it to the media after he all that he did, he is keep going to keep you from your child. The public will be sympathetic. We need to get people to sympathize with you." I think that will work with the courts. We've come too far to fail now. The product Emihle has created is ready for mass production and we can't start the mass production until we have a proper way to clean the money. Yes I have companies that I use to clean the money but I can't over do it with them. I can only clean a certain amount with each company and then the money is moved to the offshore accounts which has kept me under the raider for a long time.

"We need to start with production. The product has been tested and it is going to fly off the shelves. We need to start supplying before we lose momentum." Emihle adds. "We don't need to rush babe. If they love the product, they will wait. The good thing is that we never gave an exact date of when we will get it out. So they can wait. We can't make mistakes." Milani is very quiet and like it when my sister is quiet. She is cooking something in that brain of hers and I know I am not going to like it.

Our father ruined my sister. It became worse when we found out he had another family and left everything to them, leaving us with nothing. The thought of it still gnaws at me. How do you get married and still have a secret family that becomes more important. She used to cry herself to sleep when she found out that we had another brother. With time she started to accept what happened and moved on. That's what I thought. She made an effort to get to know our brother asked him for a job in dad's company that we were not part of. She kept him close him enough and far enough .

Five years ago is when I realized that I could really use Milani in my team. I mean Emihle was already part of it as the scientist and I needed someone to keep everything under control, clean and smooth. That's where Milani came in. She has a way about keeping people in check. I noticed that she was running dad's company and little brother didn't even realize it.

One day she came to me and told me that she is going to get dad's company back for us. I tried to talk her out of it but girl is very stubborn.

"I know she's stubborn, but there's a fine line between stubbornness and recklessness," Emihle interjects, glancing at Milani, who seems deep in thought. Also as if she was reading my mind. "We need to apply pressure, but strategically. If she pushes too hard, we could risk alienating Lwandle, and we can't afford that. We need his grandparents to trust her."

Milani's eyes narrow, and I can see her mind racing. "Don't worry about that. I won't overstep my bounds with him, not when it's this crucial. He needs to see that I have his best interests at heart, even if he doesn't realize it. Strength comes from trust. Besides, if we can leverage Thabo's story, it will turn public sentiment in my favor."

"But we should be careful," I remind her. "Public sympathy can easily turn. They'll want to see genuine love and care, not just a strategic play for something you want in return."

"I get that. But it's a game of chess, and right now, we're all pawns in someone else's game. I need to think two or three moves ahead."

I can see her resolve hardening, and it sends a shiver down my spine. "What about the product launch? When do you want to unveil it? Should we wait until we have everything sorted with Lwandle?"

"I look at Emihle, who raises an eyebrow at Milani's question. "You're onto something, but we must anchor our plans in reality. No wild moves without consulting each other."

"Agreed," Milani replies, a sly smile creeping on her face. "But let's put our heads together and come up with a story that's both solid and sensational. After all, shutting down Nqaba will only take us so far; we need to ensure a future we can control."

Our father's betrayal looms like a dark cloud, but maybe this is our chance to redefine what it means to reclaim our legacy. Together, we would not only take back what was rightfully ours but also build something stronger from the ashes of our past. We need to become the architects of our own destiny, bending the narrative to our favor. We already have dad's company under us, thanks to Milani. When she said she was going to get the company back I didn't believe it. When she told me her plan and refuse to listed to what I said, I let her be. With the help of Emihle she started poisoning. The poison was meant to kill him slowly and within a month, he started getting sick and the doctors said it was cancer, and has spread, there was nothing that can be done. I couldn't believe it. Only cancer was found and that's what killed him. She somehow managed to get him to sign the company over to her before he died. She still needs to tell us how she did that.