MARTHA MEETS NATHAN
I was not myself since the attack at the old man's house. I was very scared as I remembered how I ran into James' room as one of the men threw the vase at James' door. I was never one to spy on others but I was glad my curiosity got the better part of me when I saw how he entered his secret space a week ago.
When we got to the mansion, I was aware of the building but my mind was not serene enough to take in and appreciate the beauty around me. I entered the room I was provided with, with so much lack of enthusiasm and the only thing I was aware of was the softness of the bed and the maid who came to give me some snacks. She told me the time dinner would be served and that some 'young master' would like me to have my dinner downstairs.
I ate what I could and slept till it was like twenty minutes till dinner time. I don't know why I slept that long but it was nice. I had a quick shower in the luxurious glassy bathroom, got a green gown that James got for me one of the days he went to deliver engine oil and despite my absence, the gown sized me perfectly.
I heard a knock at the door to remind me that it was time for dinner. I came down the stairs and saw James and a guy I had not met before at the dining table. The man was seating at the head of the table and was facing me as I came down the stairs. I came close to the seat Mr James was and he stood up from his seat and pulled out a chair for me. I smiled at him and he introduced me to the guy I noticed earlier at the head of the table.
I learnt that he was Gabriel Martin's son, Nathan Martin and we shook hands but I felt a kind of warm fuzzy feeling as our hands met but I quickly withdrew my hand and sat down. We were served our dinner of mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon. It was a simple meal but it tasted rich and I stuffed myself with it and Mr James intermittently told me to be careful.
After the meal, dessert of velvet cake and a rich wine of which I know nothing of was served as we discussed the next steps on bringing down The Stones.
Nathan asked me to recount how I got to meet The Stones and also what transpired between Dr Mathew and myself that led to the attempted murder charge. I looked towards Mr James and he smiled encouragingly towards me to tell Nathan.
I looked interestingly at my thigh and kept fumbling with the edge of my dress as I narrated it all to Nathan. At the end of my recount, tears stung my eyes and when I knew the tears were about to break like a dam, I ran up to my room and shut the door with Mr James hot on my heel, hoping to offer some sort of comfort but I needed none.
Once in the room, I rested my back on the door and slid to the floor crying. Can I ever get past this?
[NATHAN's POV]
Earlier that day, my dad told me of the persons that were coming to join us in our house. I was not really shocked that there were going to be persons in the house because apart from the mansion being built to flaunt my dad's wealth, its major agenda is to house persons that were on the run.
Many persons, men and women have come to this house but nobody had been able to tug at my heart as Martha did. The moment my eyes met hers, inwardly my thoughts were put in so much jeopardy but outwardly I retained every ounce of composure I had practised over the years.
After listening to her story, my heart was torn as I watched her race up the stairs and all I wanted was to comfort her but I could only watch as James Jordan went after her and I vowed in my heart to protect her from The Stones.
The next few days after my dad's return, we agreed that the first thing to do was to get her free legally so she had to go to court and we had to prove her innocence at all cost. We made the arrangements but she had to be detained by the police.
We briefed her and although she was not convinced that we could win the case - I saw the fear in her eyes- James had to reassure her that we were more than able to win.
It hurt my heart every time the case was adjourned over the next few months because we could not get solid proof, especially when after every court hearing, Dr Matthew and his mum came to make snarky and discouraging remarks.
The only reason why the case dragged this long is because my family influential. I was sure if they had caught her themselves, she did spend eternity in jail.
One day, I heard tiny sobs while I was passing James' door and I knocked on his door. He answered my knock and I asked him if I could come in. He agreed and when I got in, I sat on the chair facing the wall while he sat on the bed facing me.
I asked why he was crying- a man I had seen over the years lead a lot of persons- and he told me that the next date for Martha's court hearing which was a month away was Martha's birthday.
He told me how he had plans on celebrating it for her because for a long time, she had had no proper one. I listened to him and I knew that we had to get real evidence in the next court hearing, to silence Dr Matthew and charge him for rape, embezzlement of hospital funds, planning in the killing of the governor of Konza and other minor charges we knew he was guilty for. Every time we had evidence, some way or the other, it would be countered in the court or the judge would say that it was not evidence enough.
I asked a member of The Heart to follow the judge and see if by any means the judge had any personal connection with The Stones. Even the spies we planted in their houses could not get anything solid enough. While I was still pondering on this and Mr James was still sulking, I got a text affirming that there was a personal relationship between Judge Langard and The Stones while at that same time, Mr James got a message that Martha fainted. I was torn in two but I decided to follow Mr James to the hospital and we were told by the doctor that she was poisoned and that it was a miracle that she was still alive.
We knew who must have done it and we were not really surprised. We had an insider in the police station that was a rookie and he informed us of the likeable person to have poisoned her. It was one of the female wardens. When the warden got off work that day, we trailed after the warden and kidnapped her. We interrogated her and asked her who sent her, she was not willing to talk and we acted like we wanted to kill her, then she told the truth, saying the name I suspected.
It was planned by Anne Stone and her son. We asked her if she would testify for Martha in exchange for her release and she said she could not. We probed and found out that The Stones had her seven years old son and could kill him. Despite later threats, she refused to tell us still. I was super vexed and went after Judge Langard, I met him when he was in an hotel with some ladies I hired to seduce him and I played the blackmailing card. I told him I was going to kill him or reveal his promiscuous acts if he continued working for The Stones. He was obviously terrified due to my threat and because I was the son of Gabriel Martins, he knew I was beyond serious.
I told the judge to get real evidence that could silence The Stones and he got an audio recording of Matthew speaking haughtily of how he usually raped Martha. It was used in court and I enjoyed seeing the look of shock, fear and defeat ruining Matthew's face as he cried and Martha was freed.
It was a joyous day for us all and though we know that we have not won the battle totally and that there were still some persons behind the scenes, pushing some buttons, we know that The HEART would always come through.