Chapter 1 “The Visit”
POSTED BY RACHEL IN 30. DEC, 2013, UNDER CONSPIRACIESMy eyes swept through the apartment where my distant cousin with the funny name lived. At least she is clean, neat and organized, I thought, looking through the apartment she was living in. It was not big and not small; medium, exquisite but modest. The curtains were black, perhaps as dark as her heart I mused. From the look of it, it was a one bedroom apartment. I could look into the kitchen from where I sat, it too was clean and organized I saw. The couch was of pure leather but not as expensive as those I had back home. It was wine colored. It had no view but it is a great apartment; it was better in the neighborhood in which it was; among middle class rich folks, old lawyers, doctors, accountants and the thought of accountants made him smile realizing the latest trouble he had to bail her out of. She was living where men, would gasp at her beauty, dream of her when she smiles at them. My cousin surely knew how to get her bills paid. What taste she must have. Black curtains, wine couch, shinny wooden desk in the corner and above all the white painted room. The whole color combinations in the room were as weird as the elegantly draped girl in the couch opposite me. I knew her eyes expertly followed mine when ever I looked somewhere. Every movement I made never escaped her attention even though she sat like she wasn’t paying much attention to me. She let me make all my eye searches without a slight look of discomfort or anger in her eyes. She was smart, cunning, brave and greedy. In simple description, she was just like me and that must be the reason I liked her enough to offer her a hand although unwillingly, whenever things went completely of the tracks for her. She was living well I could see, she got style of her own. She could pass for a high class miss anywhere anytime and with money and connections, she could own the world and rule it with at her whims and the funny thing will be the real rulers will think they were still in control. She had a way of sneaking up on people, crawling softly into their lives like a virus, multiplying and conquering without them realizing it. She had tried it on him but he was too smart. He caught her just when she was going to multiply and conquer. He had known and played all along. He wanted to know how far she could go and he realized she would go far, very far.Mr. Nilsson Kenathi turned his gaze on his distant and favorite cousin, Midas Kenathi. He knew his hard stares will never work on her. Well, it achieved results in his life but not with Midas. He will have to be gentle. The girl had been left in his custody after her parents died in a terrible plane crush. On that fateful day, he had been sad when he heard the news but the animal in him quickly saw how he could exploit the situation to his advantage and their death became the most glorious news he had heard that day. He quickly made his plan. He had acted like he really felt sorry for the then seven year old only child. Her parents were also inheritors of the Kenathi fortune and owned large shares in the family’s company together with their own business empire. His half brother, Majik and he were the only direct Kenathi male to which the responsibility of taking up young Midas fell to. When Kenathi family gathered to decide who deserved Midas, he had referred them to the old family law that clearly stated that before anyone take up any challenge either it is custody of kids, taking up positions in the family works, especially if it were male, the person must be married thereby showing he is responsible. This law might have been set up by their ancestors after they studied how care free the Kenathi males were. Some members of the family, who knew how greedy and selfish Nilsson was, argued this pronouncement which automatically makes him the guardian of Midas as Majik was too young to marry. Others also felt, he was rich and it was time for them to support him in other to gain his favors. It ended that, he got custody of Midas and her parents’ fortune. The other Kenathi’s who didn’t attend the family gathering and those who had separated themselves from the trouble filled but powerful Kenathi family just shook their heads in sadness for little Midas and hoped for the best. He had taken Midas to the best schools in the country as soon as she was old enough to travel out of the country, he sent her to the best schools overseas and he began dissolving Midas’s parents’ fortune little by little into his foreign accounts. He blamed it on unfavorable investments and broken economy, expensive school bills, Midas’s way ward life style abroad which was not as wild as he described it to the family but by then, he had become the most powerful Kenathi and no one dared argue with him. Finally, he produced a document which stated that Midas’s parent owed an oversea bank a huge amount of money. Of course he had to pay, so after the payment, there was nothing of theirs left. Even their shares were sold, which he bought. Midas had to come back home. She didn’t enjoy staying with Nilsson and left after some few months. He knew she knew he stole her parents’ money. As the years filed past, he had received calls from people who reported she had taken huge sums of money from with the pretext of selling them shares on the Kenathi world wide company. Some he battled with threats, others he settled secretly. He did all these to keep the family name from been dragged in the mud. He knew any scandals involving Midas been jailed will lead to a riot in the family and demands and investigations will be made into how the girls fortune got finished which will lead to problems he didn’t want. So though he disliked been Midas’s clean up man, he cleaned up her mess anyway. She knew the power she had over him but she never misused it, the hardest he had to battle was when a small bank had contacted him saying Midas had worked for them for some few months and she made away with some large amount of money. As her guardian, he will be responsible for the girls actions even though she was of age the manager had told him when he refused to pay the amount demanded. It had been very hard and head aching for him but his lawyers knew better when they told him to pay the man as any lawsuit will smear the Kenathi name, brand and business. Plus, he had so many skeletons in his closet which could be exposed if care is not taken and he had a lot to lose if anything like that happened. He was aware of the strong opposition from some of the Kenathi males in the family. But what pushed him to pay, was the news that Midas was secretly seeing one of the Mayor’s sons. He and the man were enemies in business; he was a threat to his business and if he loses his foothold, the man will take advantage. The man was likely to take advantage of news like that to sabotage his business deals. So he paid the money and the case was settled. Days later, his lawyers had dismissed the whole thing as mere rumors distributed by some unscrupulous people. “No, the Kenathi’s has no money problems with any person or any bank. Anybody who says otherwise can face Mr. Nilsson Kenathi in court” they concluded. But the opposition in the family knew better. As for the rumors involving the Mayor’s son, Midas is the right person to answer that. Nilsson had a little talk with Midas after this, and the debts stopped. He no longer cleaned up her mess anymore, his threats had worked but she knew the hot headed girl had something up her sleeves and he prepared himself for it. But fate had different plans for them.I continued to stare at the girl whom I had taken so much from. It surprised me she agreed to see me after all that transpired between us. As I sat looking at her, I felt a slight discomfort in my bones as if she had something up her sleeves. She always had something up her sleeves, I knew it wasn’t for nothing that she asked that I come to her home rather than she meeting me at some place else. But there was something else I couldn’t quite place my finger on. Anybody else would have thought, it was mad or suicidal to come seek help from an enemy especially when I did them evil, but Midas and I shared a bond of understanding of deep, deep things. We know there is enemy and there is an ENEMY. After I handed her my proposal, she asked for some minutes to think about it before she made her choice. I knew she will never dilly-dally in making her choice. I knew also that, if she accepts, she will have power over my fortunes, the company and most of all, my twins. And that is where my fears rested; she might decide to revenge all my wrong doings by maltreating my children. But looking at the situation, it was better Midas than the other options. If Midas refused this offer, I knew my children will be damned as the Kenathis who will take custody of them will be much worse than Midas. My half brother was the only person who could step in for me but he was too far away and I had little time left for me besides I doubt if he will help me as I had done him untold sins.Midas spoke, it was affirmative. I am glad; my first problem has been resolved. I hurriedly handed her the huge brown envelope from my briefcase. All the necessary details were inside. We will keep each other informed we concluded. I had no time to waste, I had to prepare as I had a lot to do with my little time left. As I got up to leave, I flashed a look into the kitchen once again and I realized where she got the money to buy all the classy appliances. It was my money! She and the manager had planned alright but knowing Midas and her schemes, I knew she must have really stolen the bank but she might have convinced the manager to increase the amount so she they will both gain. Yes, the whole thing was falling in place now, he realized she didn’t choose her neighborhood with all the middle class naïve folks for nothing. He turned with anger to look at the girl but she already knew and met him with cool eyes which seemed to say, there is nothing you can do. He hurried on as fast as he can, his body guards ready by his side. He was angry at having this little girl play him for a fool, beat him at his own game! He was helped into the car and he noticed the sky was bright but the dark clouds circling far back might mean rain…and he prayed it wasn’t rain because rain worsened his situation. He braced himself for the long journey back with only memories of his past keeping him company.He had married his late wife after long years of dating, break ups and infidelity all on his part. She had been faithful and always willing to forgive him. He took advantage of this and did as he pleased. Women after women, lies after lies but she still stayed. At a point in his life, he realized he was getting older and had no child to heir his empire and succeed him. He wasn’t going to die without one, lest his fortune will be transferred to the nearest Kenathi in the family. He married Lucia as he needed the kids to be legitimate. He was too smart to bring forth to illegitimate kids. The Kenathi family accepted illegitimate children and gave them a place and property in the family but they had no real say and power in the family. It was common knowledge and that was why power fell to him and some of the members of the family. After he married Lucia, he continued to play his games. They waited for kids for a long time. They went to reputable doctors after doctors but the kids weren’t coming. This disturbed him greatly, they weren’t getting any younger and he had no idea what to do next. Divorce wasn’t accepted in the family, polygamous marriages weren’t accepted either and adoption was unheard of. Other Kenathi’s kept close watch on his activities and he had ran out of ideas. He realized if he died, his empire and fortune will be shared amongst Kenathi’s closest in lineage to him that will be his half brother and others. Heavens finally smiled on him when Lucia conceived. She gave birth to beautiful twins; a boy and a girl; Dean and Deanna. He loved his children and doted on them. The birth of the twins left Lucia weak. The fact that she was a little older before giving birth also counted for this weakness and also, she had to be operated before the babies were delivered. Her weak health didn’t deter Nilsson from his adulterous life. And poor Lucia died from a heart attack after news of her husband and her sister’s involvement got to her ears. Nilsson had been sad but wasn’t bothered, he was rich, he had women everywhere, and he had his business which kept him busy. The twins were a year old then. He hired a reputable nanny for the kids. He was so obsessed with enlarging his empire and making fortunes that he had no time for the twins. His wealth grew and he lived joyfully, not mindful of anything or anyone, not even his kids. He was under the notion; he was working hard to acquire wealth for them.He had been a happy man those years but his happiness was short-lived when he was diagnosed of prostate cancer. He had thought he was infected with some sexually transmitted disease when he began feeling pain when urinating and also frequently passing urine, especially in the night. Then the trace of blood in his urine and semen alarmed him. He went to his chemist who prescribed something for him without even bothering to investigate. He knew Mr. Nilsson Kenathi has a whole history of sexually transmitted diseases. But after he began feeling pains in his thighs, lower back and pelvis, he visited the family doctor and for the first time, he heard the cursed thing ever in his life; prostate cancer!His doctor had told him that; in many cases,A prostatectomy�"surgical removal of the prostate�"is performed, often in conjunction with radiation. If the surgeon is properly trained, the surgery can be performed with a laparoscope. Laparoscopic prostatectomy involves smaller incisions, less time in the hospital, and a faster recovery than standard prostatectomy. Another surgical procedure, transurethral resection of the prostate, involves removing cancerous tissue from the prostate with an instrument inserted through the urethra. Both kinds of surgery can cause impotence and urinary leakage. A procedure called nerve-sparing surgery can avoid damaging the nerves that control erection, but this procedure may not be possible if the cancer occurs near those nerves.He further advised that they take time to analyze the cancer very well before they decide on which treatment to go for. After this news, he had been so disturbed. Depression set in and life no longer excited him the way it did. He feared his death was near even though his doctors continued to tell him it wasn’t a serious issue and could be dealt with. He had combed renowned pharmacies to see if there was a drug to could uproot this prostate cancer once and for all. It surprised them that, a man of his stature could have little knowledge on diseases and treatments as such. He worried about news of his health been made public and took necessary steps to ensure those who knew of it were discreet. As it was that, a man reflects on his life during his last moments, he began looking at his life, his affairs, his deceptions, those he cheated, those he hurt, his business partners and opponents, his mistresses, his late wife and his children. He wished he can change some things about his past but it was too late. The doctors finally opted for surgery which was performed outside the country for secrecy and security reasons. But somehow, this news spread through the media. His lawyers who had been handling his business and empire through his ill health had expertly denied this news and called them “baseless rumors” spread by ill meaning people, they further went on to say, Mr. Nilsson Kenathi was holidaying in the Bahamas to relieve stress and rest after long periods of hard work. Some months after the surgery, his doctors decided to ran a some tests on him to see which other disease was hidden in his body. He began worrying when; they performed tests after tests but never said anything in particular about their findings. The only kept scheduling dates for further tests till he got furious and demanded to know what was wrong. His most trusted doctor amongst them all, Doctor Manuel Temba, asked him calmly, if he had heard of Huntington’s disease or if they had any history of the disease in their family. After the doctor’s explanation of the disease and its signature, he realized he was going to be the first person to have this kind of disease in the family. This set him thinking seriously as the disease was hereditary and no one in his family was ever reported to have had this disease. He finally concluded, it was either he wasn’t a full blooded Kenathi which was impossible as his rivals in the family would have already made a mockery of him or the Kenathi family was really a tight bag of old horrible secrets. He was lucky his well-learned doctors had discovered the disease before the symptoms began to show. He realized how dreadful his life was going to be in the few years to come and decided to act promptly as there was little time left with more to do. That was what called for his visit to Midas, his one enemy whom he could trust to a certain extent. He needed to do this for his children and for himself.The first symptoms of HD are usually movement problems, such as rapid, involuntary twitching movements, known as chorea; clumsiness; poor coordination; and abnormal eye movements. As the disease progresses, patients also develop muscle stiffness and difficulty walking, talking, and eating. Their speech becomes slow or slurred, and they may lose weight. People with HD develop problems with concentration, problem solving, memory, and other mental functions, and these problems eventually make everyday activities, such as driving, decision-making, and communicating with others, quite difficult. Emotional problems, such as depression and irritability, are also very common, but are less predictable than other symptoms of HD. In the advanced stages of the disease, patients usually use a wheelchair or remain in bed and show little awareness of their surroundings. Most often, difficulty with eating and other movements leads to death from starvation, choking, or pneumonia.A diagnosis of HD is usually based on a person’s family history, symptoms, and neurological exam. Chorea, clumsiness, slurred speech, and abnormal movements of the eyes are all key indicators of HD. To confirm a diagnosis of HD, doctors administer a blood test to detect the presence of the abnormal HD gene.Thunder, lightening, wind and rain poured down all at once just as Nilsson Kenathi got into his exquisite suite in the five star hotel. He wiped his brow and smiled weakly, “lucky me!” he said to himself.
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