95 // Abigail // Prisoners

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I decided to unlock their chains before I let them speak, and we went back to the house and got them both to shower.

Luckily, Cecilia had clothes at the basement, and Sello wore Vincent's old clothes.

I had to get out of the house and get them food from the nearest shop.

"When last did you guys eat?" I asked as I watched them eat as if they had not eaten in a long time.

Sello shrugged. "Maybe three days ago," He said with a mouthful of food.

"Cecilia, who did this to you?" She was doing the same thing –eating like her life depended on it. I helped her to shower as she was very weak, and I fixed her up.

I tried helping her eat, but she said I was not helping at all, so she grabbed her food and fed herself.

I'd bought them a full grilled chicken, salads, chips, juice, some rice and pasta.

"Can I just eat first?" She said, ignoring my question.

I was growing impatient, because I wanted to know if Bridgette was involved in this.

I had no doubt that Betty was involved, but after everything I discovered, I was finding it difficult to believe that Bridgette was incapable of doing any harm.

"Where are my nieces?"

I looked up and noticed that he had finished his food. I was uncomfortable in his presence and I tried avoiding eye contact and any talk with him, there was something I couldn’t pin about him, and it scared me.

He was not a bad person, in fact, he had the purest heart. He was a fair man probably in his forties, he was dark-skinned, tall, and most likely, he was well-build in his old days.

"Uhm... let's wait for Cecilia to finish eating," I said dismissively.

How was I supposed to tell him that his Karabelo has turned out to be evil?

"I know," He said, and I raised my eyebrows at him. "Karabelo helped Betty to lock me down here, but either way, I need to know where she is and how she is doing– she's still my sister's daughter."

"Certainly, Betty has turned her against you too." He nodded. "Well, you are not the only one – she was turned against her own sister too."

I covered my mouth, realizing that I might have spoken too soon and had to complete what I started.

"WHAT?!" They asked in unison.

Dammit!

"Is it safe to speak down here?" I asked.

"They only come after seven days, so yeah." Sello shrugged. "What is going on?"

"Well, Betty and Karabelo have been trying to get rid of everyone in order to accumulate all your wealth," I said, but they remained silent and didn't look a bit surprised.

It was as if they expected that, I guess it all had to do with Cecilia's ability of astral projection. "I thought you knew, I mean, you must have seen it for yourself." She shook her head. "You have been out there in spirit; don't you remember when you visited Lesego in hospital?"

She scoffed. "Young lady, I can't even remember how she looks; she was five the last time I saw her."

No. That couldn't be right. Her spirit first appeared to me when Lesego was admitted in hospital, she was the one that told me Karabelo and Ryan were planning to have Lesego killed in prison.

She saved us when Lwandle tried to kill us, and she was the one who convinced me to isolate Adelaide from everyone.

"I'm confused," I confessed.

"I am a medium," she said.

"You mean..." she nodded.

"Even if I did all those things, or you saw my spirit. I couldn't possibly remember." She smiled weakly. "I'm not as strong as I used to be, and I'm old."

I threw my head back and groaned, this was more than I'd anticipated. I didn't what was real anymore.

"Okay, so you said that Betty warned you when she came to visit?"

"She did, but not in many words. She just kept repeating that she teamed up with my enemy. I never thought for once it was my sister, because I've never seen her as an enemy," She explained.

I nodded in understanding, it made sense. I didn't want to be mean, but it seemed that betrayal was a thing in this family, look at the situation between Lesego and Karabelo, Betty and her brother, and now Cecilia and Adelaide.

"What really happened out there, Abigail?" Sello asked.

I shook my head, tears trickling down my cheeks. "I'm sorry, I failed her. I failed Lesego and I couldn't protect her. I promised her that we would get through this together, but I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most," I cried, covering my face with my hands.

"No, no, no, no. Young lady, don't do that to yourself." Cecilia scooted next to me and put her arms around me. "I've only just met you and I know even though your spirit is bothered, you are pure," she soothed, "no matter what you did, nothing could have prepared you for whatever happened. Betty is my daughter, I raised her, I know her well, and if there's anything I can tell you about her is that she is very unpredictable. I can feel that you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, it hasn't been an easy road, but it will get better."

I pulled away from her and wiped my tears. "I don't know about that; things are so bad. Betty and Karabelo are not going to rest until they get what they want, they started an alliance with a group of people and kidnapped Lesego."

"No, such a sweet little girl," She said.

I still couldn't believe this was the same woman that was wandering around, making my nights difficult.

"How did things get so...messy?" Sello asked.

I wish I had an answer to that, I really do.

"Well, look on the bright side, you are going to get justice this time around," I offered, but she laughed bitterly.

"Justice?" She asked, tears falling down her face. "I am 75 for goodness sake, I missed eighteen years of my life! I did not get to watch my grandchildren graduate from creche, I never got to see them graduate from high school or tertiary. They are now young independent women and one of them could be dead. Tell me about justice now. You know what? Elizabeth can still have her way and kill me, what is there left for me to live for, huh?"

My heart swelled at that, she really had no idea how blessed she was; she had an entire family out there waiting for her, and they would take her in without second thought.

"Your son, your granddaughters, and grandson. You might not have been able to see them graduate, but at least you can still watch Dineo grow." I could already feel my eyes flooding. "Don't lose hope, Cecilia, especially not now – your family needs you." I took a deep breath and held her hand. "Just a few hours ago, Betty and her people bombed an apartment with your son inside, I don't know what is happening, but he could be–"

She snatched her hand out of my hold and shook her head. "No, Abigail, he is not. I know my son is not dead. If he was, I would know it – I would feel it." At this point, I was crying out loud, and she knew that nothing she said could calm me down.

It didn't matter whether Vincent lived or died, I would always live with the burden of knowing that once again I was late.

I felt Sello's hands around me. "It is okay," he said with a crackly voice. I knew he wanted to cry, but he wouldn't do it. "Come, you guys need to rest." He helped me from the couch in the room to the bed where Susanna was now seated. "Sleep, Cecilia, you too, Abigail. We will see what's next tomorrow morning." We climbed and lied on the bed, using some blankets we found at the basement to cover ourselves. "Just rest," he whispered, placing a tender kiss on my head.

I grabbed his hand before he could leave and I stared at the scar on his wrist, as if sensing my thoughts, he snatched his arm away and left in a rush.

I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling I’d just found my father.

I don't know why, maybe it must have been from all the crying and all the sleepless nights I had, but my eyes were heavy, and for the first time in weeks, I was able to close my eyes and sleep without wondering if something bad was going to happen in my sleep.

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