CHAPTER 46

Max and the rest of the family were driving behind the ambulance that carried Rachel when Max's phone suddenly rang and he picked it up. Everyone looked at him strangely as they felt that he was not supposed to be picking up any phone calls at this time but they got very concerned when they heard him scream. He shouted "oh my God! Thank you." He instantly disconnected the call and told the family that Rachel is back. After relaying that message to the families, for the first time in his life he saw his mother in tears. Mrs Lilian George shed tears of Joy and relief while Shulamite's mother put her hands over her mouth and cried. She thought that it was over for her family because she felt that she has lost her grandchild and a greater part of her daughter forever. While crying, she whispered "thank you Rachel for always considering us. Thank you for coming back to us." Max was very happy as he was even more happier than the first time he learned that he had a daughter.

Max never voiced out his worries but he was always blaming himself for what happened to his daughter as he feels that all of this happened because of his negligence. No day goes by that he doesn't regret and when his daughter was pronounced dead sometime ago, he felt the world shutting down around him even though he wasn't showing it. This news which he just received is the best news he has ever received since he was born. He could smile and breathe again as he hugged Shulamite and was telling her that her daughter was alive.

Max thought that that was a great piece of news which was worth sharing with Shulamite so he hugged her and told her that their daughter was still alive but Shulamite have lost it already and it was almost like she couldn't tell the difference between what was real and what was not anymore. She got violent and pushed Max off her. Max's only hope was tied to when they get to the hospital as he hopes that when she sees her daughter she will come back to reality and not remain in this state which she has fallen into.

 Even though Shulamite was still acting crazy, the families were very happy to have gotten one part back which was Rachel. They believe that Shulamite can still get better, but if Rachel has really died, she can never be gotten back so everyone's mood improved as they were all headed towards the hospital to meet Rachel.

The police stormed Ima's house with an arrest warrant as they received information that Ima is at home and her parents are hiding her. When the police got there, her mother was denying it by telling them that she has not set her eyes on her daughter since the day that she left home and kidnapped Rachel but the police wouldn't take no for an answer because they were also here with a search warrant. One of the police officers showed her the search warrant and said "if you know what is good for you, you had better go in there and bring your daughter out because if we enter and find her, we will also arrest you for colluding with a criminal and interfering with justice." He told Ima's mother that this is her last chance to do the right thing else she will go to jail alongside her daughter.

Ima's mother truly loves her daughter but with the current events that has been occurring, she knows that her daughter cannot be saved and it will be very foolish of her to interfere with the police and still go to jail because of her daughter. She looked at the police with tears in her eyes as she walked in with them and went to Ima's room.

Ima was seated at the center of her bed when the police entered her room and the moment she saw them, she began to shout like a crazy person and she was telling her mother not to let them take her away but it was too late because the police did not only take her away, they also arrested her mother. Ima's mother was devastated as the police was taking them away because the press were outside waiting for new developments so that they can share it with people immediately. True to her thoughts, as they stepped outside with the police, reporters began to snap away as many journalists were approaching her and asking questions. But the police was wading them off.

The maid that Ima pushed down the stairs some time ago which her parents created a different story for and warned her never to reveal what happened to anybody was the person who went to rat them out to the police. The maid still had some grievances against the family because of what happened as she feels that she was never given Justice. She feels that instead of the family to compensate her and reprimand their daughter, they ended up making her look like the perpetrator when she's actually the victim. When Ima was brought back home by her mother, she saw this as the perfect opportunity to take out her revenge on them by giving the police an anonymous tip about Ima's whereabouts. She also saw the news and saw what happened to Rachel so she told herself that if she doesn't act now, she or one of the other maids might end up being Ima's new victim but she knows that the others will not talk because they are afraid of losing their job.

The police could not get Ima's father because he was not at home when they came. After speaking to Ima, he left the house as he needed to sort out the problems with his business because investors were pulling out as nobody wants to do business with a man whose daughter is a murderer.

Ima and her mother were at the police station where her mother was trying to convince the police that her daughter is suffering from a mental relapse as she told them to contact her psychiatrist if they don't believe her. As they were discussing, one of the police officers came in and told the IPO that the little girl that Ima threw down the bridge and was confirmed to be dead by the doctors has along with the ambulance, has miraculously resurrected.

When Ima I heard that, she instantly went crazy and began to pull her hands away from the handcuff as she was shouting "Oh she can't be alive, she is supposed to be dead. Shulamite does not deserve to be happy. I want her to be as sad and miserable as I am. Let me out of here. I need to go and finish what I started." The police officer looked at Ima's mother and said "you had better restrain your daughter before breaks her hand in that handcuff because she can't get them out even if she tries from now till forever." Ima's mother shook her head as tears kept pouring down her face. She thought to herself that if not for what Ima has done, will any police officer look into her eyes and tell her words like this?" Do you think that because I followed you down here I do not know my rights? I have a right to a lawyer but you have soon refused me to get my lawyer down here. I've been quiet since because I know what my daughter has done and I am also trying not to escalate issues but it seems you are taking me for a fool and for that reason, I am not saying anything until I see my lawyer. If anything happens to my daughter, I will hold you responsible so if you like keep watching her pull her hands until she gets her hands broken according to you." 

The IPO smiled at Ima's mother and said "I love your spirit and how you talk. You talk smart but unfortunately, you never used that talk to affect your daughter's life positively because if you had been able to do that, you wouldn't be sitting here in my office and listening to me say all these things which you don't like to your hearing. I am assuring you that you and your daughter will not get out of this and if you like, you can get Femi Falana or Monday Ubani to defend yo in court."

The IPO called an officer and told him to lock them in the cell because that's where criminals like them belong. Ima and her mother where not treated any better than thieves and murderers. She looked at her daughter and said "I was warned that you will make me cry and that is exactly what you are doing to me right now. If only I had known, I would have done the right thing a long time ago and this day wouldn't have come. Even the man I forced myself on, still talks to me anyhow he pleases and his mother's dislike for me over the years has not reduced rather it has heightened because of you. If you and I go to jail, your father's mother will not hesitate to get him a new wife of her choice because she always have them in stock." Ima's mother now regrets her life and wished that she has been working over the years and trying to make her own money and accumulate wealth for herself.

Ima's mother is a full-time housewife who does nothing to better herself accept depend on her husband for everything that she needs. Her husband told her before they got married that after marriage she will not be allowed to work and she agreed because she loved him so much that she couldn't afford to lose him. Looking back in time, she wished that she had disagreed and let him go if he had wanted to. Probably, she would have found someone better and her life wouldn't have been like this today. She cried more tears as she told herself that sometimes even the universe tries helping us but we don't agree with the help as we try to create our own path which is not usually right. Her husband telling her not to work back then was a sign for her to leave him and move on to someone better but she never saw it as one. Today she is in police custody and she knows that her lawyer will not come if her husband does not approve.

She has always prided herself on her husband's money and never tried to add to his wealth. Her friends and family warned her over the years that men are unreliable and the same husband who has told her not to work will be the same person who will turn against her later in life and start telling her about women who are doing exploits. She looked at her life and discovered how worthless she is, both to hee family and her husband because in this part of the world, if you don't have money to help anyone then you are not relevant. Ever since ima started displaying signs of mental disorder, her husband has been blaming it on her as he feels that it should have come from her family because none of his family members has ever suffered that. Every time their daughter does something wrong, her husband blames it on her and her family and also remind her of how his mother never wanted him to marry her.

 she promised herself that if she is able to get out of this without her husband's help, the first thing that she will do when she gets out is divorce him and move on with her life because it's never too late to start all over again.

Najiba was at the hospital with her mother and has just woken up because she fell asleep because of the injections that were administered to her. She explained the whole ordeal to her mother and told her mother that she is no longer sure of who is after her. Her mother was insisting that it was Zahid's third wife but Najiba wasn't sure about that because the way Ima has been on a killing spree punishing all her enemies along the way, she suspected that the attack could have come from her.

 Najiba and her mother were busy suspecting different people for what happened unknown to them that none of the people they suspected was responsible for the attack. The man who attacked her is a psychopath who feels that women should always cover their body and because he has been seeing  Najiba in some magazines wearing revealing clothes, he felt that she needed to be punished and her punishment should be death because she is luring innocent young men to commit sin. The self-righteous psychopath has taken it upon himself to go around punishing models, musicians, actresses, and every other person who wears revealing clothes. Najiba unfortunately was his first victim so the police have not encountered him before and they are not yet to be sure of who the man is.

Najiba's mother was busy advising her daughter on what to do to get her revenge on Na'ima because she believes that Na'ima was the one who orchestrated this attack. She looked at her daughter and said "it seems ever since you got married to Zahid and started enjoying his luxury, you have forgotten who you are and the kind of enemies that you are dealing with. Nobody is your friend in this family, not even the first or second wives, so do not believe that they are not capable of killing you so that you can get out of their husband's life." Najiba sighed because she was tired and her mother's voice was making her have a headache. She looked at her mother and said "must everything be about fighting? Since I grew up to have sence I have never heard you talk to me about peace as all you keep filling my mind with is fight. Why don't you think outside the box for once instead of thinking that one of zahid's wives is the one responsible for this attack. Do you even know that he does not pay any attention to me anymore? He has a new girlfriend that he has been flaunting around town and everyone is talking about it. I guess you've not heard that news because you have been focusing on how to get back at your friend as you have never done anything for me without having an ulterior motive. Mum please I am beginning to have a headache and I need some rest so I would like it if you can postpone our conversation because I want to go back to sleep again.