Senator John Mwirigi sat in his plush office, the towering windows overlooking the city below. The glass reflected a man who had built his career on the back of promises, ambition, and a well-crafted public image. He was a man who knew how to speak, how to charm, and most importantly, how to make people believe what he wanted them to.
But in that moment, as the phone rang sharply against the quiet of his office, Mwirigi felt a knot of dread tighten in his stomach.
He picked up the receiver, his hand steady despite the cold sweat gathering at his temples.
"Yes?" he said, his voice professional but edged with an unspoken tension.
"Senator Mwirigi," a voice on the other end said, low and urgent. "You need to hear this."
Mwirigi's eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"
"It's Wendo... He's dead."
The words hit him like a punch to the gut. Mwirigi stood up abruptly, his chair scraping across the floor, forgotten. He could barely process the words as they echoed in his mind. Wendo Munge one of the men he had been protecting, one of the men whose dark actions he had kept buried for years,was gone.
"Dead?" Mwirigi whispered, though the word felt foreign on his tongue. "How?"
"They found his body in his hideout in the coast. Stabbed. We think it's linked to the Mwende case."
Mwirigi's heart raced. He had always known this day would come,the day Wendo's secrets would come to light. But not like this. Not with the murder of a man whose very existence had been tied to so many hidden truths. If Wendo's death was connected to Annah Mwende,if it was connected to Lucy...
He had to act. Quickly.
Mwirigi paced the floor, his mind racing through a dozen possibilities. He had covered up so much. He had silenced so many voices to protect his own. He couldn't let this unravel now. Not when everything was at stake.
"I'll take care of it," Mwirigi said, his voice low, calculating. "Make sure the media doesn't get a hold of this. We don't need any more attention on it."
"Yes, sir," the voice on the other end replied, but there was something in the tone,an unease. "But... what about the girl, Annah? If she starts talking..."
"If she starts talking," Mwirigi interrupted sharply, "we stop her. Do whatever it takes. We can't afford another scandal. Not now."
He slammed the phone down, the weight of the conversation settling over him like a thick fog. His pulse still hammered in his chest, and his fingers clenched into fists.
Wendo's death had set a dangerous chain of events into motion. But Mwirigi knew what was at stake. He had been involved in everything. From the moment Lucy Mumo had been assaulted, he had been there, making sure that no one would ever find out the truth. Wendo had been the key,he was the one who had silenced Lucy, the one who had helped cover it all up.
Mwirigi's mind flashed back to that night,years ago,when he had stood by and done nothing as Wendo, along with his other associates, assaulted Lucy. She had fought, screamed, and begged for help, but none had come. And when she had tried to speak out, Mwirigi had made sure she stayed silent. He had used his influence to intimidate her, to erase the evidence. She had been just another casualty in the ruthless game of power.
But now, Lucy was dead. Wendo was dead. And Annah Mwende,her sister,was the one left standing, her grief and rage taking on a life of its own.
The problem, Mwirigi realized, was that Annah had inherited more than just Lucy's pain. She had inherited their wrath.
The death of Wendo Munge was a tipping point. And now, he feared, the Mwende girl might be the one to finally expose everything. Mwirigi couldn't allow that. He had to make sure Annah didn't piece together the truth. She had to stay quiet, just like Lucy had.
He opened the drawer of his desk, pulling out a folder filled with documents,old records, surveillance reports, and the name of a lawyer who had been paid to bury evidence. His fingers ran across the folder's edge, feeling the coolness of the paper as his mind raced.
The lawyer had been instrumental in helping him erase the proof of Wendo's involvement. It wasn't enough just to silence Lucy. They had to silence everyone. There were always risks when dealing with people like Wendo, and Mwirigi had known the cost of his silence from the beginning. It was a web he had woven with care,carefully timed, carefully executed. He had covered for Wendo's transgressions for so long, and now everything was about to crash down.
His hand hovered over the phone, but before he could make the call, a knock echoed at the door.
"Senator Mwirigi?" A voice from the hallway.
Mwirigi's heart skipped a beat. He quickly shoved the folder back into the drawer and turned around. His face was a mask again, all traces of fear erased.
"Yes?" he called out, his voice steady, betraying none of the panic churning inside him.
The door creaked open, and his assistant, a young woman named Sylvia, entered with a concerned look on her face.
"Sir, there's a report coming through. Detective Stella Njoroge is... she's looking into the Mwende case. She's asking questions about your connections to Wendo."
Mwirigi's blood ran cold. He forced a smile.
"Of course she is. She has to be. Just make sure she doesn't find anything that could lead her here."
"Yes, sir," Sylvia said, her voice tight with worry. "But there's more... The press is starting to catch wind of the story. They'll be asking about Wendo soon. They're going to make the connection."
Mwirigi's mind raced. This was all spiraling out of control. He couldn't afford another scandal, not after everything he had worked for. If this went public, everything would be lost.
He stood up and paced to the window, looking out over the city. The familiar sight of the bustling streets, the people living their lives,oblivious to the darkness that had been hidden in the corners of their world,was now a reminder of just how fragile it all was.
"This is the beginning of the end, Sylvia," Mwirigi murmured, more to himself than to her. "And we need to make sure it ends on our terms."