“We need to leave now” David said with urgency in his voice. “To where?” I asked, “I don’t know but we just need to get out of this place. I can’t afford to get arrested. I need to be here for you and Yuri.” he said. I could hear the genuineness in his voice. I knew he really cared about both of us . Deep down, it was obvious that he was a good man who unfortunately made poor choices that had led to our current predicament. I had a rethink about leaving David. He had been nothing but good to me since we met, he had shown me love, taken great care of me and it was obvious he had good intentions for me. Besides, I had vowed to be with him for better or for worse, it would be unfair to abandon him at the time he needed me the most. Also, I didn’t want Yuri growing up without a father, it had only been a few days since she was born but David had been an awesome dad, comforting her when she cried, changing diapers and even bathing for her. My mind was made up, I was sticking with David, hopefully, we could escape together and start a new life somewhere else.
“I was going to leave for Ghana tomorrow. I have a friend who lives there. We can stay with her till we figure things out.” I suggested. “It’s too risky to fly, the police may have tipped the immigration officers at the airport already.” David replied with a worried look on his face. “We don’t have to fly. We can drive. Ghana is just about 6 hours away by road” I suggested.
We immediately swung into action, packing only the essentials—-clothing, money, documents, bank cards and the like .I didn’t have to worry about taking any baby food along for Yuri because she was on exclusive breastfeeding.
Exclusive breastfeeding is the act of feeding your baby with breast milk only. No formula feeds, no other food, no water, just breast milk. It is recommended that all babies are exclusively breast fed for at least the first 6 months after birth. Exclusively breastfed babies can either be fed directly from the breast or bottle fed with breast milk that has been extracted using a breast pump. Some busy or working mothers, may decide to use a breast pump to extract breast milk from their breasts to be stored for later consumption by their baby when they are away.
Breast Milk contains all the nutrients that a baby needs and helps to provide immunity against diseases for the baby.
In a few minutes, we were done packing and were heading out. We decided to go in David’s least expensive car —one of his Mercedes SUVs so as not to draw too much attention to ourselves. So much for not drawing too much attention huh? Well it was better than going in his yellow Lamborghini.
We left the house never to return again. David had decided that he would get someone to help him sell the property left behind, that is if we were lucky and they did not get confiscated by the police.
During our long drive I couldn’t help but think that there was still a piece of the puzzle missing. How did David get introduced to kidnapping and what led him to it?
Unable to bear the weight of the unanswered questions any longer, I broke the silence. “Babe, I know we’ve been through this before, but there’s still one part of the missing puzzle that I still can’t wrap my head around.” I began, “Ok, what’s the missing part of the puzzle?” David asked, his curiosity evident.
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“How did you get involved in this? What led you to kidnapping?” I finally found the courage to ask.
He sighed, a heavy and weary sound. “It wasn’t always like this. I had a difficult childhood, and life pushed me into a corner where I felt like I had no other options. My parents died in a car accident when I was just a teenager, leaving just me behind, as I am an only child. My Father’s only sibling was interested in his property alone and took all that my father owned, leaving me with nothing. He didn’t even bother to see me through school. My mother, who was also an only child, had no siblings to help look after me and the few of her relatives that I remembered lived in the village, none of them ever came to look for me. I was left to fend for myself. I got involved with people who promised me an easy way out, a way to secure a better future.”
His words hung in the air, a confession wrapped in regret. I listened intently, my eyes fixed on the road ahead.
“I started doing small jobs for them, like spying on unsuspecting people which I thought were harmless at first, at least I was earning enough to feed and pay my school fees. Eventually, one of the guys that I worked for offered to fund my education. I gladly obliged as I was struggling to pay my way through school. But as time went on, the tasks he gave me began to escalate, by the time I was in University, I started to help him lure innocent people into his trap and before I knew it, I was entangled in something far more sinister than I could have imagined.” he explained.
“Eventually, he died and I left to be on my own. But it was so difficult to survive. No one would employ me. I struggled to make ends meet for years, before I finally made up my mind to start my own kidnapping network. That was the only successful way of making money that I had been exposed to in my formative years. And the man I knew who was into the business, never for one day got caught. It was an easy way to make money, abduct people, threaten their families, get paid and release them. So I called some of my guys from back in school, who were also not doing too well and that was how the team was formed. Olamide, my family friend, was the only female one amongst us, she used to be my neighbour in the house where I lived before my parents died. My parents and hers were very good friends. We lost contact after my parents death but reconnected again in University as she attended the same University with me. It was while in University that I started dating Joyce who happened to be her best friend.” David narrated.
I felt a mix of emotions — anger, betrayal, and a deep sadness for the struggles David must have faced. The road seemed to stretch on endlessly as he unravelled the painful details of his descent into a criminal world.
“Baby, I never wanted you to be a part of this. You and our child deserve a better life,” he said, his voice strained with remorse.
“The moment I met you, I knew I wanted more from life. I knew I needed to stop. But my team members insisted that we had to finish our planned gigs for the year before we disbanded. And like I told you earlier, this was supposed to be our last. No one ever predicted that it would turn out this way, as all our other gigs had always been smooth.” he added.
I listened to his remorseful explanation, grappling with conflicting emotions.
“I’m not proud of myself or what I did, but at the time I really had no other choice. I tried to make up for my guilt by giving back to society. I have provided scholarships for over a thousand students and provided financial support to many market women to help their small businesses. I know that doesn’t make up for anything. But I really hope you understand” he said, looking really sober.
The weight of David’s confession settled heavily in the car. His words painted a portrait of a man torn between a troubled past and a desire for redemption.
“It’s a lot to take in,” I finally said, my voice betraying a mixture of sadness and understanding.
“But it’s in your past now. I’m ready to start a new beginning with you.” I said, squeezing his hand to reassure him.
We drove quietly, for a few minutes after that. Yuri was in her car seat at the back, sleeping peacefully while David and I sat beside each other and drove in silence, each of us alone with our thoughts.
We had passed several checkpoints on the way to the border but luckily, we sailed through smoothly. David wore sunglasses and a cap, so he would not be easily recognised, although , it seemed most of the policemen at the checkpoint had not even been alerted about the wanted kidnapping syndicate, because they didn’t seem to be doing any special checks besides their usual lobbying for tips.
When we approached the border, we were asked to present our passports for stamping. It was then that our nightmare began. We presented my passport, David’s and a birth certificate for Yuri, showing both our names on it as her parents. My Aunty Chizzy had helped to arrange Yuri’s birth certificate and had sent it down almost immediately after she was born, as my mum had suspected that we might be needing it sooner than later.
After stamping my passport, the immigration officer scrutinised David’s. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing the fear that enveloped us. The officer’s eyes widened as he compared the photograph in the passport with something on his phone.
“I need you both to step out of the car,” the officer instructed, his voice carrying a stern authority.
David glanced at me, his expression a mix of anxiety and resignation. There was no escaping the reality that had caught up with us. The border, once a threshold to new beginnings, now marked the boundary between freedom and the consequences of past actions.
Find out what happens next in the final episode tomorrow #checkwithdoctoro