Chapter 17

Karen wished the ground would open up and swallow her. 

"You, my own mother, connived with another man to poison my father and kill him!" Avery began to cry "You, my own mother plotted with the same man to steal my inheritance! And now all of a sudden, my safety has now become your priority? I would rather not have a mother than have you as my mother!" Avery screamed. 

Karen was totally speechless. She felt tongue tied and unable to utter a single word. She couldn't even look directly at Avery; she kept staring at the floor.

She stammered "Why, why didn't didn't you say anything Avery?" 

"I really wanted to but seeing you suffer in Fred's hands gave me and is still giving me great joy" Avery said and walked out on Karen.

She slammed the door hard on her way out.

After unburdening her heart, she felt peaceful.

Karen on the other hand, was greatly troubled. 

She now knew why Avery refused to take up Kenny's offer; somehow Avery got to find out the truth about everything and was now happy seeing her suffer at Fred's hands. 

Avery even told her that she would rather not have a mother than have her, Karen as her mother! 

With all these thoughts running through her mind, Karen broke down and wept bitter tears. 

How could she blame Avery for hating her? 

When she herself learned of how Fred had killed her family, didn't she start hating and plotting against him too? 

Avery was so smart; she chose to reveal the truth now that she and Fred had become enemies. 

The feeling of loneliness overwhelmed her and she started bawling like a child. 

Avery received a text from Kenny on her way to the library. It was to give her information on the shadow bodyguard he planned to assign to her. 

The guard's name was Tammy. Kenny texted Tammy's cell number and pictures to her so she could easily identify him if she ever saw him. 

Kenny wanted reduced physical contact between Avery and the guard for as much as possible except it couldn't be helped. 

For her safety, he didn't want anyone to be able to connect Avery with the guard. 

While reading in the library, Avery got a text this time from Tammy himself. 

He introduced himself to her in the text and assured her that he would always be nearby so she needn't be scared and she could always ask him anything. 

For once, Avery knew what to be safe felt like. She replied 'Okay, thank you' to Tammy and continued with her reading. 

Karen eventually got up dejectedly from the sofa, took her bath and prepared to go shopping. 

She had also received a text from Kenny regarding the bodyguard he had also assigned to her. 

As she stepped out of her front door, she came face to face with a young man dressed in worn jeans and a faded flannel shirt. 

"Hello" The stranger said "My name is Eric. My boss Kennedy Chapman sent me"

"Hell, hello" Karen mumbled "Ken sent you? This is a little strange" 

"Didn't you get the text? Everything you need to know is in the text" 

Karen quickly picked up her phone and checked. The text had arrived 15 minutes earlier, she didn't know because she was in the bathroom. 

The guard Ken appointed for her had already arrived; she was impressed. 

She called Ken. 

"Hello Ken" 

"Hello Karen, have you seen Eric?" 

"Yes but please I'm still at a loss about what to tell Fred" 

"Haven't we discussed this issue before? Tell him whatever you please" 

"But why can't he just protect me from the shadows like Avery's?" 

"Eric's responsibility is to protect you directly from Fred. How can he do that from the shadows?" Kenny asked.

"Please Ken, let's arrange it like that because I'm really scared about how he'll react. It hasn't been easy for me lately" Karen said tearfully. 

"Do you agree that if anything happens to you inside your house, Karen, I get absolved of all blame?" 

"I agree Ken" 

"Okay, kindly pass your phone to him; I'll need to speak with him" 

Karen handed her phone to Eric. 

"Your boss wants to speak with you" She said to him. 

After listening for a little while to the caller on the other end of the phone, all Eric said was "Understood sir" 

When he was done, he handed the phone back to Karen , apologized tor disturbing her then he turned around and left. 

Karen watched as the guard walked away. She became confused; was Eric her shadow guard now or not? 

She called Ken again to confirm the new arrangements but she could no longer reach him. She kept trying till she realized that Ken had blocked her! 

Misery and loneliness weighed down on her soul till she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. Fred had turned against her! Avery had also turned against her! Her parents and siblings were all gone! And even Ken, her last hope, had turned his back on her! 

'Was this karma?' She kept wondering as she made her way to the supermarket. 

Fred was heading out of his favorite clubhouse with two ladies of easy virtue, one on each arm. They kept giggling and squealing each time Fred inappropriately touched them. 

Fred was at this moment headed to his hotel room. Whenever he didn't want to return home, he stayed at this hotel. 

As the trio made their way to his hotel room, Fred scanned the familiar surroundings. 

His sharp eyes noticed a figure standing across the street, partially hidden in the shadows. 

At first, he thought it was just someone waiting for the bus or a ride but as he glanced over, he caught a glimpse of something that made his heart skip a beat. 

Although he had drank some beer, he wasn't drunk. He was sure he saw the figure holding a small camera with his lens directly trained on his group of three! 

Fred's instincts kicked in and he felt a surge of adrenaline as he realized he might be the one being spied upon.