The darkness of Annah's apartment felt suffocating as the hours passed. She sat alone at the edge of her bed, her hands trembling as she clutched the knife she had used to kill Mwirigi. The weight of what she had just done settled heavily in her chest, but it wasn't just the murder that haunted her. It was the slow, creeping feeling that she was being controlled, that the strings were being pulled by someone far more powerful than she could ever understand.
Her mind drifted back to Dr. Kariuki. The man who had been a constant in her life since she had first met him. His presence was a steady reassurance, his voice a calming anchor in the storm of chaos that had become her existence. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Dr. Kariuki was not just a mentor or a guide. He had been a puppeteer all along.
And she had been his puppet.
Ten years ago, Dr. Kariuki's life had been shattered. His daughter, Njoki, had been just fourteen years old when she died in an accident during the rally of a certain politician. The police reports claimed it was a tragic mistake,a simple case of bad luck. But Kariuki had always suspected otherwise. He had known the people involved in the accident,people with power, influence, and a history of covering their tracks. People who had ties to the political elite, the same people who had played a role in Lucy's assault, the same people who had silenced anyone who dared to speak out.
Njoki had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had been a victim of those same people who had corrupted the system, who had turned a blind eye to their crimes. The accident was no accident at all. It had been a message. A warning to anyone who dared to cross them.
Dr. Kariuki's grief had been unbearable, but it wasn't just the loss of his daughter that consumed him. It was the knowledge that those responsible for her death were walking free, untouchable, and protected by the very institutions that should have brought them to justice. And as the years passed, his anger festered, turning into something darker, something more dangerous. He had sworn to make them pay, to expose the corruption that had led to his daughter's death.
But he couldn't do it alone. He needed someone with the right… temperament, someone who had been affected by these people just as deeply as he had been. He needed someone who had nothing left to lose.
Annah had been the perfect candidate.
She didn't know it yet, but she was more connected to Dr. Kariuki's past than she could have ever imagined. Her own family had been caught in the web of corruption that had taken away his daughter. It was no coincidence that Annah had ended up under Kariuki's care. He had carefully watched her life unfold, knowing that she had suffered in ways that few people ever would. Her trauma, her anger, her sense of betrayal,they were all emotions he had once known too well. He saw in her the same spark that had once driven him to seek vengeance.
It wasn't about Lucy. Lucy's death was just a catalyst, a means to an end. Dr. Kariuki had used her, just as he had used every other person in Annah's path. He had played on her need for justice, her thirst for revenge. But behind the scenes, it was always about one thing: the people who had wronged him and his daughter.
Annah's hands trembled as she sat with the knife, thinking back on everything that had led her here. She had trusted Dr. Kariuki. He had always been there for her, offering guidance and reassurance when she needed it most. But now, as the pieces started to come together, she realized the truth. He had been manipulating her from the beginning.
She thought about the times he had whispered in her ear, encouraging her to take the next step. "They need to pay," he had told her. "The world needs to see justice." But it wasn't justice he had been after,it was revenge. It was his need to make the powerful people who had destroyed his family suffer.
And in doing so, he had used Annah's pain, her anger, to achieve his own twisted form of redemption. She wasn't the only one he had manipulated. He had spent years laying the groundwork, targeting people like her,people who had been affected by the same dark forces, the same powerful individuals who had caused his daughter's death. He had used their suffering to fuel his own vendetta.
Dr. Kariuki's plan had been brilliant, in a twisted way. He had carefully orchestrated every step, making sure Annah became the instrument of his vengeance. Lucy's death had been the first step, the first piece in a much larger puzzle. And then, each of the people Annah had killed, Mbithi,Mwirigi, Pastor John, Kevin Langat,wendo,they were all part of a much bigger scheme. Each one had been connected to the people responsible for Njoki's death, and Dr. Kariuki had known that exposing them would send shockwaves through the system.
But now, as Annah sat there, the weight of her actions pressing down on her, she realized the full extent of Dr. Kariuki's manipulation. He had used her grief, her need for justice, to drive her down a path of destruction. He had never cared about her. He had only cared about his own need for revenge.
In the dim light of the apartment, Annah's world seemed to collapse around her. She had killed for a man who had never seen her as anything more than a tool, a means to an end. The anger that had burned inside her, the fury that had driven her to take the lives of those who had wronged her, had been carefully manipulated by Dr. Kariuki. He had been the true mastermind all along.
And now, the truth was staring her in the face. She had been nothing but a pawn in his game.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kariuki sat in his own office, staring out the window. The rain had started to fall heavily, the droplets running down the glass like tears. He had always known this day would come,the day when Annah would finally realize the truth. But he didn't care. To him, she was just another piece in the puzzle, another step toward the ultimate goal. The people who had destroyed his daughter's life would pay. Nothing else mattered.
His phone buzzed. It was a message from Annah.
I know everything. You've been using me. You manipulated me into this.
Dr. Kariuki's lips curled into a small smile. He wasn't surprised. He knew she would eventually figure it out. But it didn't change anything. The wheels had already been set in motion. There was no going back.
You are part of this now, he replied, his fingers tapping the keys with cold precision. You will finish what we started, Annah. The people who destroyed my daughter's life will pay. And you are the one who will make them suffer.
The phone buzzed again.
I'm done, Kariuki. You can't control me anymore.
Dr. Kariuki stared at the message, his smile fading. He had always known that Annah had the potential to turn on him. But he had underestimated her. Still, he was unshaken. She would come around. She had no choice.
The game was far from over.