Three Generations episode 27

THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 27

Isabella had been trying to have a baby since she became serious with Obi but she had not conceived yet. It bothered her. She wanted to have a child by him to secure her position but it wasn’t happening. She went to see a specialist concerning her problem and she had been on several medications to no avail. This was one of the reasons she wanted the marriage to take place urgently before people notice she hasn’t conceived.

Since Obi’s people had decided on August for the wedding, her father advised her to accept and go about her business. He told her not to appear too desperate. He didn’t like the fact she was marrying a man with six children and no money but he could see the loyalty in Obi and understood why his daughter liked him.

Isabella’s father had arrested many men who had scammed her in the name of a relationsh¡p. He had remotely destroyed some who eventually came back to beg. He had checked Obi and discovered he brought very good fortune to his daughter. Since her involvement with him, she had grown in the businesses she used as camouflage and her main business. She had never had a police case nor had any of her girls escaped. She had been very successful. He told Isabella to spoil him so he doesn’t look elsewhere. It was when Isabella gave him a spiritual work to do on Obi’s two daughters that there was the first issue. The spiritualist told him since Isabella was using Obi’s star, she couldn’t do him any harm. If she did, everything will backfire. Her father warned her and told her to leave Obi’s children alone. She must always have a clean conscience toward him.

“Papa. Is it not that I shouldn’t do him harm? What I want to do for him is for the two girls good and they will make him happy. Was it not my own sister that trafficked me and made me work for my release. Nobody said anything until I had paid every kobo. Now, I am bigger than her in this business. I am not doing them harm; I have a clear conscience”

It wasn’t entirely true. She had found out about the s€×ual relations between Obi and Chinyere and it upset her. She couldn’t confront Obi because she knew what his response will be so she decided to teach Chinyere a lesson instead. Coupled with the car Nwanneka gave her which increased her hatred for Chinyere, Nwakaego and Nwanneka. Instead of Ogo going first, she took the two girls to Italy. They would work and pay her for as long as she desired. She decided she would use Nwanneka for pr-stitution in Port-Harcourt before luring her abroad. She would win her trust and then ruin her life.

A month had gone by and still, they had heard no news from Ogo or Chioma. Chinyere was worried and sensed something was wrong. Obi kept telling her they were fine but as a mother, she felt not all was well. She brought the case to papa Anozie when she was walked out of Isabella’s house in Benin city. Papa sent for Obi and Isabella. Isabella refused to come home saying she was not around. Papa was disappointed in his son.

“Obi, where are the children? Chinyere has every right to know where her children are”

“They are fine; I spoke with them two days ago. They are working and would come back in December. They are fine”

“It is good you have heard from them. Since they are in the north, I will like to know which state they are so I can send a relative to them to confirm they are there and they are doing well.”

“I don’t know what state they are in but I know they are safe”

“It is safe to say, you do not know the whereabouts of your children. I understand now. Chinyere, contact your brother and let him know your two daughters have been kidnapped and held by Obi and Isabella. I will also alert Onyedika. This is getting serious and I am tired of playing games”

“You are taking this too far. The girls are safe. Why do you want to invite trouble when there is no issue? Are they not my daughters; they are with me and that’s it”

“The only way I will let this rest is if Chinyere sees her daughters and confirm they are fine. Once she does that, I will not make any fuss. But if after a week Chinyere doesn’t speak with them, it means something has happened to them.”

A week went by and Isabella called papa’s bluff. Even Obi couldn’t understand what was going on. Isabella told him that where the girls were she couldn’t bring them back just because their mother wanted to see them. Obi insisted and for the first time they had a major misunderstanding. Obi packed his things from Isabella’s house without her knowledge and left for the village.

Isabella was worried Obi had moved back with Chinyere. She sent someone to check on him at Chinyere’s but he wasn’t there. Then she sent someone to the village and she found him there. She knew she had to do something fast to gain his trust and loyalty back.

She asked her agent to get both girls to write to their parents telling them they were working and earning a salary. The agreement they had with their employer was to work for a year before taking a month leave. The letter was well-drafted and sounded very convincing. They made the children use terms their parents were familiar with. In their mother’s envelope, both girls sent their mothers N100 each.

Isabella came to the village with the letters. She gave papa the letters in the presence of Obi. “I had to send someone to where they are working. They wrote these letters and have asked for them to work for a year and then come home to their family”

“This will make their mother very happy for now. I will send the letters to her. Obi, take yours and let us know if you are satisfied with it”

Obi read his letter happily. Papa Anozie could see the excitement in Obi’s eyes as he read. He sent for the driver to help deliver Chinyere’s letters to her.

Isabella stayed back in the village for some days. She invited an architect over to prepare a drawing of their new house. Obi wanted a bungalow but she wanted a duplex so she could dwarf the other houses in the compound. She told Obi she wanted to commence work as soon as the possible and he would be the one overseeing the construction.

Obi asked her to be patient so he could inform Onyedika and papa about his intentions. He didn’t want to rub it in their faces. Isabella wanted to surprise them but she knew Obi will definitely insist on it. She agreed. Once he gets their consent, he will proceed and everything will be done through him.

Chinyere got her letter and money sent by her two daughters. She believed her daughters wrote the letters but wasn’t convinced they were in the country. She believed they had travelled out and wanted to know the country and state they were in. It shouldn’t be so hærd.

She went to Nwakaego armed with the letter. She showed them to her and kept quiet. There was no mention there of their location and why should they wait until Christmas to talk to her or even see her if they were around. Even though confusing, Chinyere wanted more.

Nwakaego was also worried. She believed now the two girls had been trafficked. Nwakaego sent Chinyere back to Papa to inform him about everything she knows. Papa would be in the best position to ensure the plan goes well. He was to secure the homefront.

Chinyere went to report to her elder brother. She told him what Ogo had told her and when she asked questions she was ignored. She wanted her children back with her. Her brother went into action immediately.

Nwakaego left that same day to Lagos and then Seme border. She informed Onyedika of the latest development. He was perplexed. What could be Isabella’s intentions towards these two young girls? He took permission from work and left for town with Nwakaego. He had a friend in Immigrations; that was where he decided to start the hunt.

It took two months before they could trace where Ogo and Chioma were. They needed a rescue team to bring them back. It had to be well planned as this was an international ring which Isabella was a part of. They had to use an Italian to go undercover, request for these girls and then interrogate them.

The military officer, Chinyere’s brother, worked hand in hand with Onyedika to trace where the girls were. It was a syndicate and they had to be careful not to raise suspicion. The girls were later traced to Italy but only Chioma was there. An Italian posed as a customer and requested for her. He told her who he was and asked her how she got there. She broke down and begged him to take her away from there. She couldn’t continue. She was a V-rgin when she travelled. Isabella had made sure she didn’t lose her V-rginity while in Nigeria. She was held captive alongside other girls who were young and innocent like her. She was disgusted with the demeaning acts she was forced to do to please her customers. She talked while the Italian recorded,

“It was Isabella that promised me a job here in Italy. She asked me to keep myself because the people I will work for will pay me heavily but they want girls that are intact. I agreed. I have been on it with her for some months. She told me I would work in the factory and be paid in foreign currency. But when we landed, a woman received us, collected our passports, separated V-rgins from non-V-rgins and that was the last time I saw my sister. These men used us and treated us like s€× slaves. I can’t begin to tell you what they made us do. I can’t continue like this. I have attempted suicide twice but couldn’t go through with it. If you can help me…….”

“Your family is looking for you. Where is your sister?”

“I don’t know. Since we got separated almost four months ago, I haven’t seen or heard from her.”

The Italian told her to go back, keep quiet about their plan. He would request for her again and then he will help her escape. He needed to find Ogo. Chioma cried when she heard this. She didn’t want to go back. She begged him to take her immediately.

“If I take you, we will not be able to rescue your sister. This is a powerful syndicate. We have to sneak both of you out of Italy. If we take only you, we will not be able to take your sister ever again. They will hide her or kill her”

“Please don’t let me go back. I would rather die here than go back. I can see a way of escape and I would want to take advantage of the opportunity. Please, don’t let me go back”

“You have to be strong. It is just a few days and we will find out where your sister is. I will come back for you”

Reluctantly, Chioma left him. She cried for days each time he didn’t come back. When asked why she was crying, she said she missed her sister and would love to see her. She wanted to tell Ogo the plan so she could escape with her.

When they found Ogo, she was called to house party in Volterra where she was camped. She was one of the girls requested to entertain some business associates of a popular businessman. His beautiful home was close to the water. The girls wore bikinis and played by the pool while the men held the meeting. Afterwards, they stripped and entertained the guests. They partied, ate exotic foods and wine, there were drugs everywhere and the girls were forced to use the drugs so they could perform better. They were used to it.

Ogo was led into a room by one of the guests. He spoke English fluently and didn’t have an Italian accent. He asked her how she came to Italy and she told a c*ck and bull story. Then he asked if she enjoyed the job she was doing. She said she did, she enjoyed the parties, drugs and the money it paid.

“Would you like to go back home to Nigeria?” he asked.

“What will I be doing there? Here I have a good job; once I pay off my madam by next year, I will begin to make my own money’

“You must have known what you were coming to Italy to do”

“I was told I will be given a good job here, my sister and I but instead we were thrown into pr-stitution. In every situation, you have to make the best of it. I accepted my fate and I work very hærd, I have paid off almost half of my expense and by the end of the year, I want to finish paying off. The other girls are jealous of me because I work h-rder than them. Once I finish, I am going to be a madam too. I will bring girls and make money. I will be like Isabella.”

“Who is Isabella?”

“My father’s second wife. She was the one who brought me here”

“She was the one who trafficked? Your father’s wife?”

“Why are you asking all these questions? I don’t want any trouble. Who are you?” Ogo asked.

“I came to rescue you and your sister. Will you be willing to leave Italy for Nigeria?”

“Go back to Nigeria to do what? I am remaining here until I pay off my debt. If my sister wants to go back, she should but I am remaining here.”

“Where is your sister now?”

“I don’t know. She is working somewhere, maybe Milan.”

“You don’t want to go back home?”

“I don’t”

“Don’t tell anybody we had this conversation. Deny ever talking with anyone. Be careful on these streets; they can be very dangerous”

The man made sure Ogo was very high that night and by morning, she didn’t remember all that transpired the night before.

The house where Chioma was accommodated was invaded by Police for pr-stitution. They were all fingerprinted and locked up for days. Then six of them who desired to return to Nigeria were deported. The madam pressed buttons but there was nothing she could do as powers that be insisted they must be deported. They retained all the girls and refused to inform her who the six girls to be deported were.

Chioma arrived Lagos the happiest human alive after her four months’ ordeal. She met her uncle, Onyedika at the airport. Even though they were not close, she ran to him and hugged. He was the closest family member right now.

The Police and Immigrations took her and the other five girls to the station to write their statement for the investigation. Chioma’s statement showed she had been groomed for trafficking. Isabella had filled her head with lies and prepped her for this trip without her realizing. Immediately they had a date for the traditional marriage, she sent Ogo and Chioma with the next batch of girls travelling.

“When we got there, we were picked up by a woman and four men. They stripped us unclad and took photographs of us. Then she collected all our p-nts and put in a calabash. She said she was sending it back to Nigeria and it will be in a shrine until we have finished paying the cost of bringing us to Italy. She told us how girls that betrayed her have roamed the streets of Italy raving mad. We swore an oath not to betray her. She gave us incisions on our heads and then that was it. We still believed we came for factory work until we were raped that night by customers and almost every night afterwards”

They were rehabilitated for two weeks and then sent to their families who were waiting for them. Chioma landed Port-Harcourt into the waiting hands of her mother who shed tears of joy. Mama Nwanneka was with her. She was so happy to be home. It was agreed Chioma would remain in Port-Harcourt until they were ready to file charges against Isabella which was already in progress.

Nwakaego went to visit papa and mama in the village. She secretly told them the latest development. Papa was shocked and in tears. Mama was left speechless and in pain. They couldn’t believe Obi allowed his children’s lives to be ruined because of money; ill-gotten wealth. They knew how much this was going to affect Chioma. Papa wanted to talk to Obi but Nwakaego told him to be patient and act normal. They intended to arrest her on her wedding day.

“Obi is around. He is building a house for himself and that useless girl in the compound. They wanted to build a duplex but I refused saying as long as he was a building on Anozie’s land, he can’t build a house bigger than what Anozie built. Only Anozie’s child can do that. I asked them to build outside Anozie’s compound but he refused. So they decided on a bungalow which is finished now. It is just left with furnishing and some finishing touches. Isabella said the furnishing will come from Italy, I am waiting. After selling my children she wants to use the money to furnish this house; let me see how that will happen.”

Nwakaego went to see for herself the house Obi and Isabella were building on the land her husband bought before he died. It was indeed a magnificent building. It broke Nwakaego’s heart that it was the pain and suffering of other humans that provided this building for them. She turned and left as she had tears in her eyes.

She bought GCE form for Chioma and got her a lesson teacher to teach her in preparation for her examinations. Nwakaego and Chinyere had listened to the recording where Ogo said she didn’t want to be rescued. They left her because they were scared she could expose their plans. It was the person who needed saving they saved.

Tbc