Chapter 21

MNQOBI KHUMALO

I wake up and I'm still tied to a chair, I look around and notice Nqaba sitting on a couch. I don't know what he thinks he is going to archive with keeping me here. He needs to learn that he is never going to win this game. If Milani took their kid, then she acted on impulse and I don't know her to be like that. "Oh you are awake. Come, we going for a short trip." He gets up and unties my legs from the chair so that I can walk out. He pushes me into the car at the back seat. I watch walk to the driver's side, when he gets in he quickly drives off. I notice that he is driving towards the police station. When he get there he parks, gets out of the car, coming around to my side. "Since you can't help me find my son, I might as well hand you over to the police, he says untying my hands." He can't do that. "No man, you can't, we can talk about this."

"Time to talk is over Mnqobi. I wanted you to talk before we came here, now I am not talking." He pulls out a gun from under the passenger seat and drags me out of the car. He make me stand in front of the entrance, while pointing the gun at and I notice a few officers coming out, point their guns at him, telling him to put his weapon down but he doesn't listen. "Nqaba this is suicide. As soon as you fire the gun, they will kill you. Your son needs you."
"How do you know my son needs me, huh? You and Milani think I am a toy to be played with." He shifts his eyes looking around him. He is surrounded. Are these cops just going to stand there and watch this man kill me. "Lower your weapons officers." they seem to be hesitant, but the voice repeats more firm this time. I watch the officers lower their guns, the owner of the voice comes to view and I notice a smile on Nqaba but it quickly disappears when he turns to look at me.

"You and your little girlfriend have danced on my head for far too long. No you brought my son into this mess. I asked you why you did this to me. I am asking you again, why did you do it? What did I ever do to you that you felt the need to destroy me like this. To have me convicted of your murder and yet here you are look alive and well. You look for a dead a man. I can kill you now Mnqobi and these police officers will nothing to me." I can see that he losing his patience and the fact that the police are just standing here doing nothing is not comforting. We have more than the police watching us now. Even the people that came for their own reason are now part of this show. "You don't have the guts to pull that trigger. I think that's why you brought me, so that they can stop you."

"You are very slow Mnqobi. I didn't bring you here so that they can stop me. I brought you so that they can be witnessed to me killing a man that I already killed and was convicted of killing." He stays quiet for a bit. "It's called Double Jeopardy. I cannot be convicted of the same offense twice. I won't be convicted again for killing you, because I was already convicted. Like said to earlier, you should have stayed dead and now you are going to die for real." Ok, this is not going good for me. I need to offer him something. "I really don't know where your son is. Please Nqaba, you can't do this."

"I was not this guy, but you and Milani decided to make this man. She is next. I will find her and I will do exactly what she said I did to her. You see, you thought you were smart but you forgot one thing, I have lived with Milani for years, I know her. I knew from the beginning that this was a setup and it was her plan. You don't have the brain to put something like this together. She using for something, don't worry, I don't need you to tell me anything. Your gadget will tell me everything I need to know." He says cocks the guy and point it at me. " Now why did you do it?" I swallow looking at his serious face. "I did for the money. I did it for the money man and I love Milani." Nqaba's eyes don't leave mine and I can see the rage in them. He'll never understand. "I was on the brink of bankruptcy and Milani was there to save me. To save me, I had to make a choice and I chose me. I sacrificed you to save me. Only one of can come out of this and won't be you." That's just the reality of things. He can have me in front of these officers, the fact of the matter is that he is still losing. I hear the sound of gun fire and suddenly, my shoulder hurts like hell. Did he just shoot me? F**k, he did. "You motherf*……" I don't finish, he fires another shot in my arm, I groan again. "I don't know where your son is. She never mentioned taking him. It was never part of her plans. She never wanted him. All she wanted was access to the trust for the bank shares. She wants your bank shares, in fact she wants the entire bank. Malusi and Emihle don't know, she is keeping that to herself." I can't die like this. Milani will have to forgive me. "She just wanted to use Lwandle to gain control of the trust. She was going to send him off to her aunt. She didn't count on you getting out of jail. It was a perfect synphony. You go to prison, she gets the child, get the money and ship Lwandle off to her aunt." F**k, this sh*t hurts. The man that spoke earlier comes closer to me. "I am Det. Nxele, one of the lead investigators in this case. I need you to tell us how did it, how did you set him up? In exchange you turn state witness. Otherwise I'll let you bleed out right here." If I turn state witness that means I won't go to jail. I won't survive going to jail. I take a deep breath looking around me, everyone is waiting for me to say something. No one has their phones out. That's a good thing.

"It was easy actually. She already had you under her control. You were doing whatever she told you. The fact that she was abusing you and you never retaliated made things easy for her. She knew that no matter what she did, you never fight back. I know that you she r~aped you. She would drug you just enough to have power over and wake remembering what happened. Emihle supplied her the drug that she used. The night of the "murder and assault" she didn't want you to remember anything that happened. She gave you GHB, she put it in your food that night. When I came to the house, you were already passed out. I was given the tranquillizer. She managed to get me upstairs to your bed. The positioning of my body had to right. Everything in the room, had to be right. She paid off forensic scientist from Johannesburg to help her lay out the scene so that it look anything close to a set up, that the stab was in a perfect place but it was not fatal. The last two times she violated you, she kept your sperm, that's how we had your DNA. She also had Advocate Ndlela in her pocket, she still does. Ndlela does anything and everything she wants. That's all I know. Everything else that she does, she doesn't tell anyone. She only tells you if you need to know." The detective smile and there was another one standing next to him which I didn't notice. The both walk away from me and the otherone nods at Nqaba and he fires a shot to my chest that lands me on the floor. My breath comes ragged. Why did he do it. I didn't think he had in him. I hear someone tell them to call an ambulance. He walks up to me and kneels. "You have what she trusted you with in your phone and laptop. Now she is going to know that I got to you and have all that information. She is going to unsettled, she is going to crumble. She should have left my son alone and now, now I am going to destroy her piece by piece. You my friend are the first pawn to fall from the board. Remember how I was the champion in chess in university." He gets and walks away. The paramedics are here but right now, right now I know I am not going to make it. I watch walk to the car, I realize he was right. They won't touch him. Damn Nqaba, I underestimated you.

MILANI CELE

When I got back yesterday Lwandle was still out. Now he is awake. He looks so much like Nqaba. I never wanted kids but because my husband wanted to have kids and I had to keep him. We had him before we got married and I have been trying to be a mother to him but I just can't. Now, he is just someone I can use to get what I from his father. "How did I get here?" He asks looking confused. "Your father is not here, you are going to be staying while he is locked up in prison."
"Milani my dad is not in prison. He is out and I know for a fact that he wouldn't allow you to take me without talking to me first. I might be eight years but I am not stupid. I know what you have been doing to him and I don't believe he killed anyone. So let's start again, what am I doing here Milani." I look at this child amazed. "First of all, let's get one thing straight, I am your mother and you will address me as such. Two, I am not your age mate, you will talk to me with respect. You are just a child you need to your…….." I don't get to finish my sentence and he cuts in. "Whatever Milani. If you are not going to tell me what I am doing here, then I want to go home. You call yourself my mother and yet you kidnapped. You are doing things that hurt me and yet you are supposed to be my mother. On top of that you want me to call you "mom!" I must be dreaming." When did he grow up to be like this. I don't understand. He is not even scared. He has always been strong headed.
"I want something from your father and the only way to get it is through you. You are going to stay here until I get what I want from Nqaba." He just looks at me and laughs like someone who knows something I don't. "Form someone who has been married to my father for years, you sure don't know him but you know what, do you Milani. I would like something to eat please, I am hungry." I am left speechless. I get up, walking to the kitchen to make a sandwich. How can an eight year old be this smart. My pings in pocket. I take it and it's a text.
**Mnqobi is dead. Your husband shot him in front of the police station.** I stood there frozen. Mnqobi can't be dead. If he is and he was killed in front of the police station that means the police have his gadgets. Sh*t! I should have gotten rid of Mnqobi whilst I still had a chance. This is getting messy. Another text come through and this time it's Nqaba. **BRING MY SON BACK OR DIE.** F**k, it's not supposed to be like this. Mnqobi is not supposed to die. What the hell is Nqaba playing it. Could Lwandle have been right about me not knowing Nqaba? No, I know that man like I know the back of my hand. I finish making the sandwich, give to Lwandle with juice.

I sit down next to Lwandle, his innocence contrasting sharply with the chaos enveloping our lives. "I thought you might want to know that your father… he's dangerous," I say carefully, gauging his reaction. But he simply shrugs, chewing slowly on his sandwich. "I heard all the stories. My father, dangerous? That's the least of your worries." A chill runs through me. How does he know these things? "Do you understand what's happening? They're all in danger because of my decisions," I plead, hoping to break through the barrier of his defiance.
Lwandle looks me in the eye, his gaze unnervingly steady. "You're the one who decided to keep me from him. I thought mothers protect their children, not use them. I'm not a bargaining chip." His words slice deeper than I anticipated, stirring something uncomfortable within me. "You think I enjoy this?" I answer, frustration bubbling up. "This is about survival, Lwandle! I need to secure my future, your future. Nqaba won't stop."
"How is hurting people going to help us? You don't get do you? I don't want to be here with you. You should know by now that my father will burn down the world to make sure I am safe. Trying to convince me I am more safe with you than I am with dad, it won't work." he counters, his voice firm for such a small child. Just then, my phone pings again, this time it's a notification from a news app: **BREAKING NEWS: Mnqobi Khumalo declared dead four months ago, has been gunned down in front of a police station today and gunman walks away free.** The gravity of the situation hits me square in the chest. Nqaba is not playing games with me.
"What did I tell you? Your father has a way of taking care of business," I murmur to myself, my mind racing. If Nqaba is doing this, resorting to violence, then I've underestimated him all along. Suddenly, the door slams open, and a figure appears—It's my guard. "We need to leave now! They know where we are! Your brother knows. If you don't want him to know that you took Lwandle, it's time to move to the other location." he shouts, urgency lacing his words.
I glance at Lwandle, his face a mixture of fear and confusion. Take me back to my father, I can't just leave my dad! I won't leave my dad. You can leave on your own I don't care. I want my dad." he protests. "Forget about your father!" I barks. "You are not going to see him until I get what I want."

Panic sets in as I realize the walls are closing in. I can't let my brother know that I have Lwandle otherwise he'll make me give him back and I can't do that. I still need Lwandle. Nqaba thinks he is winning just because he killed Mnqobi. It's time to show him how serious I am.
"Lwandle, listen to me. We have to go, and you need to trust me," I say, my voice breaking slightly. But deep inside, dread envelops me. This convoluted mess is spiraling out of control, and I'm the one holding the matches that could ignite it all. It will all burn if I don't keep it under control. I don't have to deal with the tantrums of Lwandle right now. I pull him by his arm and we go to the car.

The guard drives off to our new location. Now the question in my head, how did my brother find me. My brother doesn't know about this location and my brother would have called or texted. This is not my brother. This is somene disguised as Malusi. My phone pings again and it's a text from a number I don't know. **You can run but you can't hide. You have something I want Milani. You owe me bitch.** Ok, this is not Nqaba, this is definitely not Nqaba. What the hell is going on here? "Ok Milani, keep it together. You don't panic." I murmur to myself. We arrive at the house, we go inside and I take Lwandle to one of the bedroom and lock him in. He doesn't scream, he doesn't fight him.

"What is going on here?" I ask my guard. "I'm not sure. I got a tip that your brother know where you are and I remember you saying, you don't want them to know that you have the boy." He says but he looks confused. "Something is wrong here. This is not my brother or Emihle. They would have called and I spoke to Emihle and I told her I didn't take Lwandle. Someone is playing with me." I walk away from him. I need to think and calm myself. I need see who is playing games with me. My phone pings again. **I AM GIVING YOU 24 HOURS TO BRING MY SON. 24 HOUR MILANI.** Who does Nqaba think he is to orders like that. He forgets who I am. He is going to learn the hard way. My pings again. I need to switch this phone off, it is driving me crazy. **The bank shareholders are missing.**