Jamaica

Chapter 4

Duke Okafor had shown a heavy reluctance in accepting the job of tracking the governor's husband. This was because Miriam was his sister; a sister whom he hated so much. He still couldn't digest the fact that she had inherited a huge share of their late father's fortunes. He felt she had robbed him but still couldn't figure out how she did it.

All three children of Mr. Fidelis Okafor-Miriam, Abigail and Duke sat down in their father's lawyer's office. The lawyer was about to read the Will their father had written and left. Their father, the late Fidelis Okafor was a wealthy businessman and owner of several businesses in Lagos.

As he stood looking out of the window after Jamaica left, Duke reminisced on that particular moment when the Will was being read.

"I Mr. Fidelis Okafor in full possession of my faculties, and not being held under any constraint, both forced or otherwise, do hereby pass on my businesses, my two houses and monies held in various banks to my three children who are respectively, Miriam, Abigail and Duke. To Miriam I leave all my businesses; to Abigail and Duke I leave my two houses.

As the lawyer kept reading the Will, Duke's eyes looked like they were swelling with each pronouncement the lawyer made. Then it was time for the part he had waited patiently for. The lawyer cleared his throat and got up.

"Excuse me, let me drink some water." The three siblings watched as the lawyer called his secretary to bring him water. When the water came, he drank it and then wiped his mouth with his handkerchief. He gave the three brothers an unpleasant smile and sat down and continued reading the Will.

"The total amount of money in various banks amounts to the sum of three hundred million Naira. Of this amount I leave two hundred million to Miriam, seventy million to Abigail and thirty million to Duke."

Hearing he got the smallest share made Duke an angry man. It made him feel he had been robbed by his own family and precisely by his two sisters. And so he bore so much hatred towards his family members, especially the governor.

He couldn't believe she took the lion share of their father's fortunes. He kept wondering how she did it. Deep in thought he didn't realize Jamaica had come back. When she saw him still standing by the window she asked,

"Uncle have you been standing by the window since I left?"

Duke turned and looked at his niece. He was fond of her for the strength she possessed. She has the strength of Abigail, her mother, he always told himself. But she was family, and he hated his family for all that they had denied him. Hating his family meant he hated her. But he was attracted to her strength and survival instinct. Looking at Jamaica, he inwardly thanked his sister Abigail for leaving her with him.

This gave him a chance to really know and study her well. And when he found out her potentials he then personally trained her in combat and in the use of weapons. He took the time to teach her judo and karate. Then he taught her how to control her emotions by telling her things like,

"Agnes there are enemies out there, and that means you have to be strong. You can't break down otherwise you show your weaknesses to the enemy. That is vital information you are selling to the enemy."

Duke trained Jamaica so well that he was proud of how fast she had developed the skills he had taught her. He told her that with her skills she could achieve greatness and with it wealth and riches. He taught her how to think outside the box and also adapt to all kinds of situations using those skills. And then he gave her a nickname.

"Agnes? I'm impressed with how much you have done to build yourself into the person that you are now." He had told her, while they were sitting in the veranda of his house one evening and drinking wine. His wife had left to go and prepare dinner. And so Duke used that moment of his wife's absence to have a conversation with her.