49. Explanation

"Save her," Shirleen whispered her voice filled with grief, "I can't lose her not now." She knew that Stacey would move heaven and earth to save her mother because she was in love with her. "Bring her to the next room it has a bed and medical equipment. It is like a makeshift hospital that Angela set up for me in case we had medical emergencies that required secrecy," Stacey said standing up and Shirleen turned to look at her father expecting him to do the necessary. Lawrence without being prompted lifted Angela into his arms and carried her to the room. Angela turned to look at a panicked Shirleen and raised her hand for her to take. Shirleen walked to the bed and took the offered hand without hesitation. "When did you find out?" Angela asked her.

"A few weeks ago a private investigator brought me a file with results of my DNA compared to Shirley's and a doctor's statement which confirmed that Shirley's child was still born at the time so there was no way her child could have come back from the dead," Shirleen said softly placing Angela's hand on her cheek. "It was easy to believe after I got that report when I started remembering certain things as I was growing up in South Africa. The guards they were not trying to keep me in they were trying to keep everything out. How else would you explain how easily I managed to escape most of the times to go to martial arts tournaments? They were exchanged frequently because you didn't want them to make the connection and endanger my life. I also remember that my bedrooms always had a ceiling that mimicked the constellations and the night sky because I was fascinated by them since I was a child. I was served my favourite cake every day on my birthday. I was so angry with you and mourning my mother that I never noticed the little things," Shirleen said softly. "I had also started to be suspicious of the birth mark on my back. It isn't really a birthmark; it is a tattoo of a phoenix that heirs in your family get. I guess you made sure I got mine as a baby so I might have a part of you even if I didn't grow up by your side."

"When I gave you that tattoo, I had already made up my mind to become heir so I might be able to protect you. You see when I found out I was pregnant, I also found out your father's only love was pregnant. I went into hiding because I knew my father would have wanted to use my child as a weapon like he had used me and to control me. I also knew Lawrence would not have been able to protect you. I was afraid he would love Shirley's child more than you and would have been willing to trade you for Shirley and her child's safety if my father gave him the option. The plan was any woman who would have gone into labour the same week as I did in my hospital and lost her child in the process then we would have exchanged that child with my own. I wanted my daughter to grow up in a normal family where all she had to worry about was exams and what to wear when going on dates," Angela stopped and breathed in.

"Mom you can tell me all this later when you get better," Shirleen whispered holding tightly onto her hands as Stacey worked on the wound. Shirleen suddenly noticed how her mother did not flinch in pain or react at all.

"I need to tell you this now before I lose my courage," Angela replied. "The only child that was still born was Shirley's child. It was as if the universe was playing a trick on me. The woman I hated the most was going to end up raising my little girl. She had premature birth and they could not save the child so we exchanged the children that night. When I saw Shirley's child, I grieved like it was my own."

"That is why you set up the mausoleum at Limuru for Shirley's child," Shirleen said softly and Angela nodded. "And made sure she was also buried there close to the child she never knew because she raised me."

"To me it meant you could have a full family without me and protected from my father. My plan fell apart when my father found out about your mistress," she said looking at the dumbfounded Lawrence watching them. "Seven years later and he found out about Shirley and Shirleen. He had started being suspicious when he realised I was not happy like he expected I would be and he had you followed around. For years I had tried to protect them but you got careless when you gained what you wanted. He was furious when he found out about your other family considering I had chosen you over him. He couldn't have had you killed because he knew I loved you and if he had killed you, he would have lost me forever. That night he sent one of his men to kill Shirley and Shirleen. I found out too late about his plan and as I rushed there, I was so scared I will find both dead. When I got there Shirley was already dead. My plan to protect my precious little girl unravelled at that moment. That was when I decided to become a monster and to gain as much power as possible to ensure her life will never be threatened ever again. I killed my father just like I killed everyone who found out about her over the years. When Shirleen was safe and outside the country I went back to my father and served him his favourite whiskey with a hefty dose of poison just like he had taught me. As he lay dying, I told him, 'there is one thing in this life I will protect with my life if I need to. I am willing to become a monster just like you to protect my little girl from the darkness that has consumed our souls'. He died by my hands because he found out my secret the only one, I was willing to burn down the earth for. I knew many people would have wanted to use Shirleen to control me or kill her to break me and that is why I sent her away. If anything had happened to her, I don't think I would have survived." Angela still remembered that night she had walked into the house she had grown in and found her father in his study room. She had sat down on the sofa in the room and stared at the handsome man behind the mahogany desk. He was dark skinned in complexion, broad shouldered and six foot tall. His hair showed signs of greying and perched on his nose was glasses with gold rimmed holders. She could see why her mother had fallen in love with him. "I want to come back to the family as long as you name me heir," she said going straight to the point.