HIDDEN MOTIVES - Episode 13

He stopped going to work for sometime, instead he decided that he will wait for another week then he will go and look for Lucinda in the new house he bought for her.
That was the only options left for him.

After another week passed by, he decided it was time.
Jerome set out that morning.
As he was in the bathroom, his phone began buzzing, somebody was calling him.
He thought it was Lucinda and rushed out of the bathroom, but the caller was his wife.
Seeing Maria’s call his heart skipped, he frown before returning back to the bathroom.

As he was about leaving, Maria’s call came in again, he ignored at first but picked up after the fourth time.
He spoke first before Maria can say anything.

“Hey, don’t you give up calling, sending messages and asking me how I mismanaged the company’s money? I still don’t have an answer for you Maria and you need to start treating me with respect as a husband. All you care about is this money, how I spend each dime, giving me attitude and treating me like a houseboy. I’m not your houseboy, not your messenger or staff, I’m your husband and the earlier you understand that the better. I don’t know who is brainwashing you over there, is obvious you are seeing another man…I don’t need anyone to tell me the obvious truth. That’s the only explanation why you keep treating me like some errand boy. Yes, I spent the Millions on my health and some other personal things. If you’re only going to call me to know what I did with several million then I really don’t have answers for you. I’m a man and this said company is also mine, I deserve whatever I spend Maria, stop troubling me and treating me like stranger. I’m tired of all this…”

“Report reaching me says that you haven’t been in the office for over a week now. Hope you are alright? And everything is fine with you? I maybe angry for different reasons but I still care about you Je. Are you alright? Maria asked concerned.

“Yes…I mean not really. I’m not feeling too strong due to that accident I told you about and you think that I was lying. You said it was all a pathetic story. I have being going to the hospital off and on this past weeks. The doctor attending to me said I need a physiotherapy and that will cost lots of money. He said is about 900k and because I don’t have such amount I have been trying to manage with the little massage that I was able to get with a the little money left with me and by next week I will have nothing on me at all…” Jerome said, trying too hard to sound convincing so that Maria will buy into his story and either give him access to the company’s account or send some money to him…”

“I’m not doubting you Je and you know that I will do anything to for you to get fit again but you have finished all the money in the company’s account. I thought you were duped or ran into some serious troubles, but you kept saying a different thing. If my thoughts were true I could have found means to start recovering some of this money. I know we can’t get all but even if is 40-50% back, it will go a long way in rebuilding. My hired accountants and intelligent expertise are trying all they could to come up with something and so far what they have been able to get is that several millions were transferred to a car company late last year, they digged up another huge transfer to this island estate owner. Believing the millions was a payment for an expensive property. All of this transfer was done by you. They are still working very hard to bring up more of the related transfer. One that’s still not clear…is the transfer you did early this year to Siluga Moon. They believe there’s several other transfers to this said name but they’re still working on that. He, you didn’t buy a car but you paid millions for an expensive car, you did not buy any property but you paid several millions for a property in this expensive island. Then who is this Sil..uga Moon that you transfered lots of money to. Please, I need answers Je, maybe there’s a way we can recover part of this money… please. The company is going down, we can no longer pay staff their salaries. I may probably not be able to do my school clearance here. Everything over here is expensive and you know I also have to take care of our daughter. I’m paying for a nanny that looks after her while I’m in school and I’m also paying for a short time preschool for Jasmine. I don’t want to go into much details of the whole expenses here, it wasn’t a problem initially and I never complained or worry because I know we were covered in the aspects of money, not until now. Tell me Je, anything you think I should know…I promise I will find a away around it to recover part of the money. Were you involved in some sort of scam or something related…”? Maria asked pleadingly.

“How can you hire all this people to search out what was going on in the company without asking me or even letting me know first. Since you said there’s no money how are you going to pay them? if they’re really intelligent expertise then they should be able to find out everything, why are you still asking for my help? You never needed my help before, the only time you did is to help you run the company in your absence. You don’t value me or the effort I bring to the table, you don’t even acknowledge anything I do for our betterment. I really don’t know where all of this accusations are coming from because I’m equally surprised that all of this transfer was done using my name. But no matter what I say you will rather believe outsider than your own husband. So, let them sort it out…I don’t know anything about any of what you mentioned…”

He ended the call.
Jerome stood thinking to himself. Siluga Moon is Lucinda’s bank account name. How did this people managed to dig all of those things up.
They must be really good and is also a good thing that he denied it all.
He will find a way to keep defending himself until the whole issue dies down and Maria also let it all go.

Maria has about three different properties, she sold one before traveling and they’re left with two.
The house they live in and another one under rentage and the annual rent goes straight into Maria’s personal account.

The money may not be enough for her abroad program expenses but she is industrious and smart too.
She will get around it.

Jerome went into his car and drive off to check if Lucinda was in her new apartment.
He was thinking outloudly while driving.
Jerome said he may even decide to move in with Lucinda and they will live in the new apartment if Maria continue to be stubborn.
Maria will have to come begging him and he may not even give her a second look if care is not taking.

That Lucinda’s account number, she will have to change it or get another account with her name.
“Siluga” the name sounds like Silaz and Lucinda coined together.
He doesn’t know why he felt that way but he doesn’t want her to have anything to do with Silaz again.

When he arrived at the place, he realized that the house has been repainted to a different color.
Lucinda never mentioned that she was changing the house paint to something cooler and different.

He parked his car in front of the big gate before going to knock.
a different younger security man came out. He was more like a military personnel.
This wasn’t the security that was paid to guard the property.
The military man who was hanging a rifle asked him who he was looking for and Jerome mentioned Lucinda. He described her and even her car. Jerome told him that he personally bought the property for her and even showed him some proof.

The officer said he does know anybody with such description.
He said it was just last month that he resumed and the celebrity, who happens to be a musician employed him to safeguard the property.
His boss was not in town at the moment.

The man said probably the Lucinda she was referring to must have sold the property to this celebrity or there was a mistake somewhere.

Jerome stood for sometime. He couldn’t make sense out of the whole thing, he decided to leave.
There must be a huge mistake somewhere and an explanation has to be made.