"Good morning citizens of Nigeria, a notice has been brought from the traffic control officer for those passing through the 3rd mainland street going to Lagos island that a major accident occurred over night resulting to one dead and two missing, a black Benz car crashed into an incoming tanker vehicle causing a catastrophic occurrence, the forensic confirmed that the cause of the death was not only due to the accident but was also stabbed five time in the chest region and was partially burnt"
"Good morning dad" Thaddeus greeted walking towards the dinning, dressed smartly in his school uniform not missing a single piece.
Richard nod his head at his son
"Another accident?"he asked noticing his father gaze on the newspaper in his hand then taking his gaze to the Tv, watching the reporter
"The Police confirmed the four figures present during the accident three male and one female" the reporter continued
Richard sighed and put the newspaper down " hmm it's going to be a long day!!"
"One of the higher ups involved?" Thaddeus asked taking his seat
"Hmmm, Senator Botigar"
"Sounds familiar?!"
"His daughter goes to the same school with you and is probably in your class and he is Mr Arelusi best friend"
"Three of the figures has been confirmed by the police Late senator Botigar, his driver Mr salami and Adelusi Lucy"
Hearing the name "Adelusi Lucy " Thaddeus paused he started deeply at his father not wanting to jump into conclusion
"Yes it is the same Lucy and Botigar child, her name is victory"Richard confirmed
Immediately Thaddeus carried his school bag and dashed out as his father word landed, what the heck was Lucy doing there, why was she on 3rd mainland bridge in the middle of the night? Based on her status he can already imagine Victory's thought already, damn he has to get to school on time.
*************
X CITY COLLEGE
Lucy entered her class, ignoring all the stare, she peacefully sat in her seat about to bring out her note when suddenly a figure in black clothing rushed into the class, aiming for Lucy
"PA!!!!"
Lucy was hit in the face before she could even resort another came in landing on the other side of her cheek
"VICTORY!!!!" Lucy yelled angrily
"What? You want to reveal your hidden claws now that I hit you, tell me what did I ever do to you?" Victory cried, soon the entire class and hall way was filled with student, none of them wanting to separate them enjoying the good show
"What did you think will happen now?"
"That bitch is really crazy, Victory always avoid her yet she killed her father how cruel"
"Victory should be careful, who knows who the bitch next target is" students whispered among themselves but it was still loud enough for Lucy to hear.
Confusion rose in their mind,what did they mean by she killing Victory's father? This is stupid.
"I should have known, you killed your mother and father with just your existence alone adding to your collection you murder your grandmother your weren't satisfied and came to your father's friend targeting my father what exactly is your goal Lucy?" Victory said angrily with tear rolling down her eyes
Lucy was taken aback, each word hitting her hard, it was as if he close scars were forcefully opened, she felt her heart gushing out blood and tears at the same time.
Her goal…..? She just wants a peaceful and loving life is that too much to ask?
"ENOUGH THATS ENOUGH!!!!" she yelled "how long will this tag game continue with me losing each time, I've said it a million times I did nothing wrong, I killed no one and…."she stopped trying to catch her breath "why….. Why will I kill your dad? In the middle of the night? What am I doing outside? You all keep blaming me for every little thing,do you even have proof?"
"Proof?" Victory scoffed "I've got thousand, ever since you were born you became an pandemic to the society, my father's driver was found in the garage unconscious, CCTV showed he had been there 30 minutes before the accident"
"My father was in the passenger set he didn't drive but someone was driving him no one knows who, then he was stabbed five time in the chest before the accident and the only person that was there was the truck driver who was later found dead 10 feet away and you….the cctv captured you damed bitch"
"What?" Lucy was surprised as she watched the video although it was not clear but it was still obvious that she was the one in the video, how was this possible?
"Ohh I'm not done yet!" Victory said,soon two voices were heard from her phone
Lucy tensed up when the Audio started. A terrified man voice came from the other end
"Old pal..!!!"he yelled "she's...she's back,Lu…boom" the car exploded.
Victory broke into tears listening to the sound of burning metals then the audio stopped seeming like the phone also exploded.
Lucy was shocked to the extent her lips only parted but no words came out, she is back...… who was back? And the Lu….no…..no…..it's all a lie, she's innocent,it can't be…
"You murdered my father, you killed him….it was you…you bloody tasty monster, you are heartless look now, you've made me and my sister orphans are you happy? Are you glad? Huh?" Victory yelled pulling Lucy by the color of her shirt vigorously
Lucy was still in shock not noticing the harm victory was causing her. Another murder case and yet everything was pointed to her, even if she was there at that time, she was not the one that ran a car over her father but his last words were not something to overlook
"You killed him!!!" Victory raised her hand to hit her again
Bam!!
Her hand were held back by a strong palm, Thaddeus furrowed his brows noticing the finger mark on Lucy's face
"Enough Victory!!" He yelled angrily, his cold voice not only silencing Victory but also the whole class and her action.
Victory yanked her hand away from his, she hissed "don't tell me you are still going to believe her when the truth is out already"
"Truth…? Tell me are you talking about your father last words or her presence during the accident, which one? Are you that dense? Was she the one driving the truck that hit your father? Shouldn't you be after the man that ran away after hitting you father car yet you are here blaming another person!!"
Victory shook her her not willing to admit "no...no…..she did it, she killed him" she said and pounced on Lucy but Thaddeus was faster already holding her back
Victory starred at Thaddeus, her eyes revealing lot of emotions pain and anger especially "just kill me!!" She said ready to pounce on Lucy again but a few boys already held her back, she struggled to free herself hitting the boys causing uproar in the class but then her eyes met Lucy's
Lucy smiled mischievously mouthing "you aren't related"
Everything happened so fast that it felt like an illusion, she stopped moving and fell to the floor, seeing that she was already calm the boys slowly left her. Victory raised her shivering hand pointing at Lucy.
"She…..she just smiled" Victory stammered "she spoke Thaddeus I heard her she spoke"
Everyone looked at each other confused, Lucy spoke? When? They didn't hear word. Seeing their doubtful expression, Victory stood up and spoke trying to convince them
"She spoke, she really spoke!" she said attempting to grab Lucy's shirt but she was stopped by another girl
"Victory that's enough, I understand your pain but I stood beside her the whole time and I did not hear her speak, you are overreacting" the girl said
Just as Lucy was about to argue back a teacher walked in and separated both of them, the students also dispersed since there was nothing else to watch, leaving Lucy and Thaddeus alone in the classroom
Thaddeus looked at her, seeing her like this always hurt him, he felt his heart ache, he had no idea how to console her,what to say or do. Damn!!!
Some seconds passed the room still remained silent, Lucy felt completely lost,she….she should have just died
"Lucy…" Thaddeus called with a calm voice, he said both silent afterwards and he just started at her, for some reason she always felt relieved whenever she hears he voice,she looked up and smiled weakly "why…?"she asked her voice a little hoarse.
Thaddeus did not reply,knowing that the question he had no answer.
"Do you know what the autopsy said?" She paused "he ties were broken, his elbow was dislocated and he was burned to death"she paused again controlling her tears from falling "and lastly he was stabbed in the chest five time....just like my grandmother"
Everywhere fell silent for a while, Thaddeus clenched his fist, that was her weakness he has no other way of consoling her than to just walk over and hug her.
The last restraint in her broke,Lucy tears fell like hot lava flowing down her cheek, subconsciously she buried her head in his neck and cried bitterly. Thaddeus said nothing throughout but only pat her back and let her cry her heart out that was probably the best thing right now.
**************
In the principal office, Victory sat in a chair expressionless, she looked pale and sick, her eyes swollen from over crying, she looked at her sister that was sitting beside her and pat her head.
"Aunty victory ,is daddy coming to pick us early?" Her younger sister asked. Victory forced a smile and looked way without replying
"Sorry for the delay" the principal apologized as he entered before taking his seat
"It's nothing sir"she forced a smile
"I'm so sorry for the loss" he said and Lucy nodded without a word "uhmmm to cut the long story short the board of directors has come to. Conclusion to give you and your sister a full time scholarship to study in the school and also the university,your father was one of the biggest investors and he did lot of things the school won't forget so it's out way of saying thank you"
Victory covered her mouth and cried silently, she kept on bowing her head as she could not voice out how she felt brocade of her tears.
The principal sighed and pat her back "take heart get yourself together,remember you still have your sister to guide, the school will also be giving you three weeks break ok?"
Victory nodded and thanked the principal then she left
**************
In front of Lucy house
"Are you sure you are okay?" Thaddeus asked worriedly as he watched her open the door.
"Hmm" she nodded and looked at him "you know…..you don't have to do this everyday"
Thaddeus frowned "what now,are you sending me away?"
"No no it's not like that it's just…"
"Silly girl don't worry about me just go home and rest alright?" He said and rubbed her her before walking away
That night the stars in the sky were surprisingly not much, the sky was almost pure dark and cloudy
"It's going to rain soon" as if waiting for her call, the clouds poured down heavily. Lucy closed her window about to lay down when suddenly
Knock!! Knock!!
Lucy furrowed her brows,who could it be at such late hour, she hesitated before going outside, holding her umbrella firmly "who is that?" She yelled as she got close to the gate but what greeted her was not something friendly
Bam!!!!
Lucy was pushed to the floor roughly,she couldn't think as her body rolled down together with the attacker
"Who are you?" Lucy asked as she steady her self, moving several feet away from the attacker
No words came out expect for the sharp knife aimed at her which only mean one word
DIE
Swish!!!!
In a blink of an eye the attacker was already on top of her, pinning her to the floor. The rain poured harshly on her face making it hard for her to see this enemy face, taking her attention away from the attackers face, her next aim was to stop that knife from piercing into her heart
The attacker increased her strength and pressed forward aiming for her chest, seeing that she was losing, Lucy quickly diverted her hand to her side, the knife fell to the other of giving her a deep,long cut on her arm, ignoring the pain she kicked the attacker by the waist with her knee and fled from the attacker's custody.
They both rolled away in opposite directions, Lucy eyes were getting blurry because of the rain, she cleaned her eyes and noticed the hoody covering the attacker's face had fallen, her eyes widen in shock
"Vic…..victory!!" She called "you-"
"Go to hell!!!" Victory roared and pounced on Lucy returning back to their original position, Victory tried to stab her but Lucy already caught her hand and twisted it causing Victory to curse under her breath. Lucy looked at her bleeding hand and captured Victory who was trying to escape from her grin switching their position
"Stop I don't want to hurt you" Lucy said calmly
Victory laughed "showing off your skills, let me ask you how did it feel when you killed my father! how about I know how it feel hmm?" She punched her stomach,escaping!
Victory picked up her knife and aim at Lucy again like an arrow but Lucy wasn't slow either she quickly grabbed her hand and directed it towards the tree,her knife got stuck.
"Victory let's stop this ok? We will only end up hurting each other!!" Lucy pacified
"GET LOST!!" Victory pushed her away making her hit the wall and fall to the ground panting heavily,she was losing blood now she's too weak to even get up, she looked up and to her dismay Victory had successfully removed the knife and was walking towards her with an evil grin.
"How does it feel to be the one in this position hmm?" She asked kicking her stomach
"Ahhhh…" Lucy cried out
"I'll make you go through what my father experienced, every single one of them maybe in your next life you won't be this evil again" she laughed "that is if you are granted one judging by how evil you are" she added, engrossed in her own thoughts she had missed the smirk that appeared on Lucy's lip for a while
She turned Lucy's face towards the sky and whistles "let me feel what you felt that night" she said, placing her hand on Lucy chest and smiled evilly, her left hand up in the air "life for life…." She said and aimed for Lucy's chest
3 meter
2 meter
1 meter
Bam!!!!
Lucy's hand collided with Victory's wrist,she grabbed it firmly until a cracking sound could be heard. Victory let out a painful scream, she tried freeing herself but it won't bludgeoned.
Lucy got up on her feet and lazy fling Victory away some distance far from her that she hit her back on the wall and moaned in pain
Lucy dusted her cloth, she picked up the knife and walked towards Victory, she flung the knife in between her fingers, bent down and faced Victory, the tip of her finger raising Victory's jaw up, she tilted her head to the side.
"Hmmm...you are?"