CHAPTER1: WELCOME HOME?

The sun was beginning to set in the calm and quiet suburb with about 50 houses. Ella stepped out of her taxi to gaze at the lovely sunset on the horizon. She smiled to herself as she realised that she would enjoy this view for years to come. She looked at her beautiful two storey house with pride and walked towards the gate. She was surprised to see curtains already set up on the windows in the upper rooms. She had planned to furnish everything herself but she didn’t mind if Kevin had set things up for her. Besides, she didn’t mind saving some money. Just as she was about to ring the doorbell, a car hooted from behind her. She turned around and was surprised when she noticed that the car was two feet away from her. It seemed to be ready to enter her property. The driver looked at her with suspicion and she walked to his window. He rolled it down and looked her up and down. A beautiful woman who was wearing too much makeup looked at Ella harshly.

“Can I help you?” the man asked.

“I was hoping to look around. Is Kevin here?” Ella asked. She was confused as to what this man was doing here.

“I haven’t seen Kevin since we closed the deal on the house. I hope you are not one of the idiots he swindled,” the man asked, chuckling. The gate was being opened from inside and the man started to drive into the compound. Ella followed him in as the taxi driver hooted furiously. She had not settled his payment yet. The other man parked his car and stepped out. His female companion got out of the car and into the house without giving Ella another look.

“What deal are you talking about? This is my house,” Ella said. A feeling of dismay was rising up in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she would vomit any minute now.

“I bought this house from Kevin almost a month ago. Several people have come claiming their deposits and other sums of cash but I had paid in full so I have all the documentation. The sale was transparent and I can refer you to my lawyer for any further information. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve had a long day and I want to rest,” he said, turning towards the front door.

“I didn’t buy this house from Kevin. I sent him money to build it. This is my land. I bought it more than five years ago,” Ella said. She was on the brink of hysteria now and the man looked at her with concern. Before he could respond, a little boy bounced out and hugged the man.

“Hi daddy,” the boy said with a big smile. He was going towards Ella to hug her too when his father held him back.

“I’m sorry for your predicament. It seemed Kevin swindled many people. If you come to my office tomorrow, I will show you all the paperwork. Here is my business card. My office address is listed there. Come at 9 a.m. because I will be out of the office shortly after that,” he said. Ella simply nodded and stumbled out of the compound in a daze. She bumped into the irate taxi driver who was following her into the compound. He sighed in relief as Ella walked to the car and sat in the back seat.

“Take me back to the hotel,” she said.

He drove in silence when he realized that the woman looked shaken. He knew her kind as he had picked them from the airport many times before. These local women went overseas looking for greener pastures. They sent large amounts of money home to their husbands who often swindled them and married other women. He had seen the look of surprise on this woman’s face when she had entered this house and he knew she had met a similar fate. He had been at the airport yesterday when she arrived in the early hours of the morning. He had driven her to a hotel with her many bags of luggage. She had kept his contact and called him the next day. He had taken her around the city where she had several meetings. She had told him that this was her final destination so he was surprised when the man turned her away. She looked like she would burst into tears as she continuously tried to call someone on her cell phone. She finally gave up and stared out of the window. The taxi driver stole a glance at the sad woman from the car’s rear view mirror. He found her exceedingly beautiful, and he wondered why men mistreated such beautiful and hard-working women. He would be happy to have her as his wife as they would build their empire together. He didn’t know how far-fetched his assumption was. Although Ella had been taken swindled, her problems had nothing to do with matters of the heart.

In the back seat of the car, Ella was going through what she considered her own personal hell. She was just coming to terms with the loss of a house that she had never even occupied. She had been overseas for seven years working herself to the bone to invest at home. Her job as a nurse paid her well, so she took as many shifts as her body could allow. She also saved accommodation costs by living with one of her elderly patients. The old lady had several relatives living with her, but none wanted to care for her. Ella’s job was to medicate her and set up her intravenous feeding pipes. She managed to check on her and clean her in between shifts while working at several other facilities. It was from these proceeds that she managed to construct some townhouses for rent. She had visited the property manager earlier as she toured her eight houses. They were already earning income for the last four months and she was proud of the development. She had borrowed some money to complete the houses to the standards she desired and so that she could complete the property on the contractor’s schedule. Ella had been eager to clear the loan quickly so she had set up a standing order which channeled all the rental income to the bank. This way, her loan would be cleared in seven months and she could finally begin earning money from the rentals. Her personal residence had been constructed with the rest of her income, as well as a chunk from the loan. She has given the job to her step brother Kevin, because she did not want to overwhelm her contractor with two concurrent projects. Besides, she liked to keep her investments private, and she didn’t want one individual to be too familiar with her properties. She had planned to come home shortly after her house was completed and when she was already earning from her investment. However, things had not gone according to plan.

First, she had to come home before time because her income had been cut short abruptly. The old lady she was working for had passed away, and suddenly Ella was without a place to stay. This had automatically led to a loss of a significant chunk of her income. She had moved to a motel for about a month while she looked for additional work.  Ella decided it was time to come home when she realized that she was spending more than she was making. She had enough for a flight ticket, and enough to live on for the next year. Besides, life was much cheaper in her country and she would not have to work the crazy hours that she was subjected to in a foreign land. She could furnish one room at a time because she planned on living alone. Things would go on faster if she managed to start working. She did not need much luxury and she was going to make the most of her situation. She quickly made arrangements to return home and even arranged for her car to be shipped to her country. She had been lucky to purchase a well-maintained, second-hand vehicle that would be handy in the unfriendly terrain at home. Everything would have been perfect, except that she had not planned on being homeless. She wished this was some sick joke, but when Kevin didn’t answer her calls, she knew it was real. Eventually, he blocked her and his number was no longer reachable.

“Madam, we are here,” the taxi driver said politely. Ella stepped out of the car still in a daze. She paid the taxi driver who smiled at her as he asked if she needed anything else. She shook her head to say no and then she turned towards the hotel.

“I thought you were trying to run away without paying your bill at that house,” the driver said. He was trying to start up a conversation with her but she did not look interested.

“I’m not a thief. And besides, my bag was still in the car,” she said as she quickly walked into the hotel. The last thing she wanted was to chit chat. When she got back to the hotel, she opened up her laptop. She compiled all the correspondence between Kevin and herself and then she made copies of the property ownership documents. She prepared this into a docket that she put together for the man who was in her house. After taking a shower, she felt a bit calmer. She tried to call her other step brother Brian who responded immediately. He was surprised to hear that she was back in the country. He claimed that Kevin worked in the northern region of the country and that the area had connectivity issues due to poor network coverage. She relaxed when she heard this and she let a glimmer of hope ignite in her heart. Her brother had many faults, but conning her was not one of them. She had to have some faith that her own flesh and blood would not swindle her.