C3 Chapter 3

EYE OPENER

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ROSE POV

While I was racing down to Mr Brown's office, I kept asking myself if I would like what I was about to hear, I had been pestering his secretary to fix a time for me to have a discussion with him, I need to know what i will do with my life now that I have his dead daughter face.

Just yesterday his brother almost slapped me. I really don’t know the problem he had with Maya but he definitely doesn’t like her. He has been acting weird since a month ago when I first met him during dinner. He went cold blue when he saw me join them at the dinner table in Maya’s white gown.

“You are welcome rose … please have your seat, I have been busy with doing business and all… I miss my daughter, she can be spoiled and rude but she’s hardworking and knows my business very well. She closes a lot of deals for me and forces me to relax when I know she can handle anything” Mr Brown told me, I could feel the pain in his voice.

A young lady about my age offered me cold water and I took it, thanking her with a wide smile as I drank from it quickly, “so what happened to her? How did she die and why didn’t you tell anyone about her death?, not even your brother? I Threw out all the questions that had been eating me up since I found out about Maya.

But what happened next propelled me like a robot to hold Mr Brown's shaky hands at once. My questions forced him into tears at once. I realised that the man was grieving his daughter internally and acting tough for the world.

“Her name is Maya and she’s twenty four years old just like you rose… same skin colour, walking step and even voice, when I first saw you especially after the face surgery .. I cried just like this, it felt like my Maya came back to me…” Mr Brown told me, removing his left hand from mine to clean his cascading tears.

“I lied about her being alive because I can’t rest until I find my precious daughters’ killer. That young girl was so full of life and dreams, Very intelligent and beautiful… you can see for yourself, you have her face now..” I nodded sincerely in agreement and laughed softly at his joke and he smiled sadly at me.

“I … we found her body in the deep bush smelling and rotting away a day after she went missing. She didn’t return home that night after work, which had never happened. I knew something was wrong immediately because she would call me if she couldn’t come home after the day work… but my maya didn’t call me .. I knew at once” Mr Brown stopped to resume his crying.

“Sir you don’t need to cry anymore.. I need you to see me as Maya now…you saved my life and I promise to help you find the killer. Please for your health sake..”

His secretary walked in briskly, whispered something in his ear before leaving almost immediately again, cutting me off when she entered.

“I know you will help me, I was about to ask before you volunteered… thank you very much rose, I will also help you get back your properties and assets from this David! He’s a thief and doesn’t deserve a sweet soul like you” He praised me.

This time I was the one to burst into tears, we both cried silently in his office, nobody spoke for a long time, it was so relieving to just let out all the pain and sorrow, it felt like Mr Brown understood me even before I said anything.

He was grieving for his only daughter and I was hurting from what my husband did to me, five Years of staying and living with the wrong person who only wanted me dead so he could have my wealth when I would have killed anyone and killed myself willingly for him.

“My daughter was strangled … to death, the autopsy couldn’t find any trace or finger print… but she was raped by numerous men and cleaned up… no semen was founded it was a professional job and they knew what they were doing” Mr Brown suddenly spoke again after almost an hour of crying.

I sniffed back my tears and sat still, watching him as he grieved, I had stopped crying and my mind was made up on the direction to go, “I will be Maya for you sir.. I will be your daughter and fight off your enemy… I will take care of you and treat you like my father, I’m an orphan and have no one..” I found myself making promises to Mr Brown.

Something was forcing me naturally to want to protect and care for him and I would do just that, whoever thinks they could mess with him because he’s all alone and old now must be joking, I won’t allow that.

Few days later after my intimate encounter with Mr Brown, I received a call in the general calling room, “you asked to speak with me.. this is the Brown’s resident, how can I help you?” I spoke softly into the phone, being careful as I’m Maya and not Rose at the moment, the caller requested to speak to Maya, everyone is a suspect so in need to be alert.

“Ohooo so it’s true.. you are still alive? Why did you change your number… have been trying to reach you..I thought you decided to kill yourself after I broke our relationship and incoming wedding” the thick and sexy voice flowed into my ear, I almost smiled and fell for it before my mind struck a cord in realization of who it was.

“So you want me dead Richard! Do you have any plans to kill me?” I spat back at him, hardening my voice and growling into the phone, he sounded so disappointed that Maya was still alive.

“This is why I left you… so proud and full of yourself, couldn’t you read the sarcasm in my speech… I was only pulling your legs.. I’m happy to hear from you after almost six months… your father said you were in the hospital and I knew you wouldn’t want me to visit so I stayed back….” He continued talking like a radio into my ear.

“Look… keep All your worries to yourself,I’m fine now.. go back to your Mrs IVY and stay away from my back, after all you left me for her…” I didn’t know why I sounded angry and mad but I did.

“You rejected me first and told me to fuck off because I’m arrogant and would break your heart!” Richard yelled back at me, amazement filling his voice.

I didn’t know what to say or respond to that, I remembered Mr Brown telling me the same thing, Maya had gotten home one day two years ago and told her father to break the engagement between her and Richard.

“You should know this before you resume… back to work rose… hmmm!… I proposed to Ivy and we are getting …married soon!” He threw the information at me, I rolled my eyes and shook my head in annoyance, “you can go to your ivy for all I care ..: I don’t need you anymore.. go to hell”

With that I ended the call at once, and sighed in relief that the call was over, I’m tired of yelling and saying things I didn’t mean, I have never seen his man in reality, although I have seen several of his pictures in Maya’s room and to be candid he’s very handsome, more like a Greek god but he’s too rude and arrogant, no wonder Maya called off their relationship even though she decorates her room with his pictures and magazines with his face on it.

“Maybe he killed her because she said no to him” my mind made a quick conclusion, I squinted my eye, thinking about that possibility.