He put his phone down once he was done. He opened his laptop and navigated to the folder, which was named "top file." The picture of the eight men popped up on the screen. He smiled as soon as he saw them. If only they knew what was coming to them, they would never have messed with him. He picked up the first man on the list, Justin Achebe, 66 years old. Justin was a huge investor in one of the purest consumable fuel companies in the country. He was very well-known and respected, but that wouldn't save him. Tonna would deal with him so badly that he would regret ever setting his sights on his company.
"How is it going with the other matter?"
He texted Arnold. It only took a few minutes, and Arnold had already replied with videos and a voice message. The video was the live feed of Amy before she met with the accident. He didn't know that she had been humiliated to this extent. His jaw clenched the more he watched. At some point, he stopped the video and listened to Arnold's message.
"Hey, boss! Looks like Mrs. Bem was being mistreated by her husband's family. She was treated like an outsider in her own home. Her husband was working offshore, so he had no idea. Also, he wasn't coming home. It's almost as if he was avoiding his wife. He always sent her money monthly for upkeep, but the money wasn't that much. However, Mrs. Bem never touched the money. Instead, she had used her own personal savings to run the house. Her husband's family did not care for her or the children. They treated her worse than the housemaids. She was cursed at and even hit, made to do practically almost everything in the house without the help of the maids paid to do the job or even anyone else. The person who bullied her the most was her eldest sister-in-law, Amara Bem, but I found out something else about this woman."
The voice message was silenced at that point. But clearly, whatever Arnold said elicited a reaction from his boss because his face became annoyed and broody.
"I thought you were living a good life, seeing how you were happily married. Was this it? This was your happy ever after? Your fairy tale wedding?"
He chuckled as the thought made its way to his mouth but it carried no humour—only bitterness. He admitted that he had his people stop watching her after she got married. Seeing how the family was nice to her, he had thought that they would take very good care of her no matter what. Who would have thought that several years down the line, she would suffer so much and become a maid in her own house? He admitted that when he saw her in that accident, he was very shocked to see how much weight she'd gained over the years, and with her lying in a pool of her blood. He clenched his jaw. Now, he would make sure that she paid them all back in triple folds.
'Find out more about Amara. Also, I want you to send me the littlest details of everyone in her family. From what their breath smells like when they wake up in the morning to how they sleep at night, I want to know it all.'
Initially, he would not concern himself with these little people, but he couldn't just let it go.
'Also, I need you to check the heritage of those children. And everything about those women who appeared in the video claiming that Amy had something to do with their husbands. I want to know who they were talking to before the incident, and I want you to check their account balance or even their relatives for any abnormalities.'
'Got it, boss'
Arnold's message came in.
For the first time that night, his shoulders eased. He reached for his phone again and dialled a number.
The line clicked.
"What?"
The cold voice from the other end of the line did not hide her irritation and broadened his smile.
"Well, aren't you just an angel to listen to?"
He said back to her. He literally saw her eye roll through the phone, and he laughed out loud.
"What do you want?"
She asked again, this time impatiently.
"How is she doing?"
He asked seriously this time. He heard the woman drag a sharp intake of breath.
"She's still shaken up, but I think she's doing better."
He scoffed,
"Of course. No need to tell you to take it easy on her, then."
"Don't—" she began, about to protest, but he just hung up, snickering while shaking his head. He couldn't believe a woman as cold as Ms Kim. Colder than the North Pole, was conquered by an ordinary woman. The world was truly a strange and wonderful place. He would have never believed it if he hadn't heard it with his own ears. Ms. Kim actually liked Amy. He could relax, knowing that she would take care of her. He hadn't made a wrong choice by dragging her to Belvaria. He was aware she had a soft spot for broken and wounded people. He knew that when he sent Amy to her.
Tonna leaned back, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. seeing how she had replied with how Amy was feeling, He knew she was in capable hands, and he could focus on his plans. The Bem family would soon learn what it meant to cross her.
MEANWHILE, ON THE OTHER SIDE
Ms Kim's office was a white sanctuary, devoid of any personal touches except for the minimalist furniture and a single, potted plant in the corner. The room was cool, the air conditioning humming softly, creating a serene yet unsettling atmosphere.
"You can call me Ms Kim. I see you speak French and Spanish. How good are they?"
Ms Kim asked, her eyes never leaving the Tablet standing in front of her as she tapped its screen.
Amy hesitated. "A little above average."
"That's good enough. We will get to them later since you have a foundation. Let's focus on the things you aren't so good at."
She stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor, and began pacing.
"I have observed your personality for the past few hours. I won't say I know you very well, but based on my observation, you are a big people pleaser and know how to contain your anger very well. I think it is a great quality; however, it must be fleshed out and balanced. With how meek you are now, you are just a target for people to bully you easily. That ends here."
Ms Kim paused to see if Amy was following, but the other woman seemed lost in thought, her gaze dropping.
"Pay attention!" The sharp tap on the desk jolted her.
Amy snapped back to reality, her eyes widening slightly. "Sorry,"
Ms Kim didn't want to make the woman any more uncomfortable than she already was, lest she retreat further into her shell and make things difficult. But before continuing, she saw a strong, determined light in the other woman's eyes; her gaze bored through hers, and she smiled inwardly as it disappeared as soon as it appeared. The woman just looked down.
"You don't seem to be afraid of confrontation. Instead, you'd rather avoid it."
She carried on speaking as Amy's breath caught in her throat. She heard everything Ms Kim was saying to her, but her brain won't stop working against her, although her expression did not betray the turmoil of questions and loss inside her. To say this has been a very confusing morning so far is putting it mildly. The Lady in front of her, if she didn't see the strands of white hair on the woman's head, she would have thought she was in her late twenties. But she was struggling to place her age. Her demeanour and character were similar to those in their early forties, but her body and face gave off the vibe of someone in their twenties. She was extremely beautiful despite being slim and not wearing much makeup.
Amy twiddled her thumb, looking down. "You don't seem to like attention. No, not like, more like uncomfortable with it." She noticed Amy pinching her skin with such intensity.
"You are going to create a scar if you keep doing that," Ms Kim noted, her tone softening slightly. Amy immediately released her skin, but the area had left a red patch.
"Your intonation when you speak is very good, and your pronunciation of words is very good. Now we must look into your written words and typing speed."
Unable to hold back anymore, Amy spoke, her voice soft but steady.
" Ms. Kim… what are all these for?"
The older woman's brow arched. "Finally, I thought I would be the only person doing the talking the whole day. As for your question, I am sorry, but I was dragged halfway across the country to teach you life skills. I, too, have no idea why I have to do all these."
Amy bit her lips. Her phone dinged, and she pulled it out. It was a message from Mr. Ziko.
"Hey, I know you must have been super frightened and confused. Sorry, I meant to text you since. How's your study session with Ms. Kim going? You have to really focus and learn everything you can from her. I know things are tough for you, and you are in an unfamiliar place. But I promise you, you'll be better than ever once you are done. I will explain more once I finish my business and get back. Don't be afraid; Ms. Kim is a real softy once you get to know her."
Amy's lips curved before she could stop herself. Quickly, she smoothed her expression.
"Ready?" Kim's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Yes!"
"Good. Follow me."
She followed the woman, who led her to a large room with a white cabinet stacked with books. An ergonomic white chair and a sleek white working table were just in front of it. On the tabletop was a Lumina desktop. Ms. Kim pulled out the seat and gestured for her to sit in it. She sat down, and Ms. Kim dropped a folder by her side.
"Sit. Type the words in this folder. You have one hour. Let's see your speed. You can work a desktop, can't you?"
She nodded and immediately sat down to get to work. Fingers hovered over the keyboard. Confused as she was, she could clearly remember last night, seeing the video of her dear husband marrying someone else; her anger was fueled.
Her thoughts churned. "Was she that useless?". It was just a year, a year after she left. No one bothered to look for her. The family she had slaved for in the last seven years thought of her as less than the cockroach that roamed the house. She smiled bitterly as she typed ferociously. The husband she had married for seven years and had only seen for three years consecutively after their marriage. The man she had loved all her life, given her everything and endured everything for—this was someone she thought would love her only in this lifetime, no matter what came between them. She had only just realised that she had been living in her own fairy tale and had refused to admit that the love she thought he had for her had long been extinguished.
The only thing that had kept her going all those years was the fact that she was making up excuses for this man. No matter how much he didn't come back home to see her and the kids, she never blamed him for it. Instead, she had come up with different excuses for his reaction towards them, but she now understood that she was buying time because she refused to admit that the marriage had gone up in flames. Now, not only did he bother to look for her, but he went ahead and married someone else. They were all very happy, hand in hand, and smiling even more than they had been when she had married him. She had never seen him smile so freely since she had the twins and gained weight.
This was all she got from the Bem family: years of torture and being humiliated by them. She had no idea why she needed to learn this so-called life skill, but she wasn't a fool. Whatever Ms. Kim was teaching her was similar to what a secretary would do. Mr. Ziko was probably thinking of getting her a job; she needed to stand on her two feet and pay the man back for all his help. With a determined look in her eyes, she decided that she had spent enough energy on the Bem family. Since she started dating him, she had never had time for herself. She cared for Duru's family, maintained a meek demeanour, and did everything to please them to get his mother's approval to marry her son. Even after marriage, she still concentrated on serving them while taking care of the house and kids at the same time.
She had always been working, even while pregnant and after pregnancy. She worked from home as an online influencer, which she did part-time to earn some more money. She worked with big brands to help them facilitate sales. However, her family didn't know about this. They just thought all the money she had in the account came from her husband. But only she and her so-called husband knew the truth. She was going to work hard, get into a good company, and bring down that family of hers.
Her phone dinged, and she opened it. It was a message on Snapgram from Joy.
'I hope you are getting tortured in whatever part of hell you are in. But if they still have any Wi-Fi signal there, you should know that your precious husband has remarried. The bride is a hundred and fifty times better looking than you were or will ever be. So take this L and burn with those little demons of yours. You good for nothing, pig. Lol, sis was right. After you died, everybody in the family became happier, even brother. You and those spawns of yours were a burden to this family. No wonder everybody felt free with you all gone.'