Chapter 9

" If the rose puzzled its mind over the question of how it grew, it would not have been the miracle that it is. " - J. B. Yeats Katrina walked into her room and kicked off her shoes. They were not that high but they had exhausted her nonetheless. She debated on first taking a bath or not but her curiosity prevailed and in the end, she ended up sitting down with the white envelope in her hands. As she propped her back against the chaise's white backrest, Katrina tore the blank envelope wide open. As expected several sheets of paper fell out and a heavy metal piece which on closer examination she found to be a key. "An the mystery continues..." the woman mumbled, opening the folded bits of paper to read the contents that were within it. Dearest Amanda, Katrina frowned. That was not her name but was rather the same name that she had found on that title deed. However, she decided to read on. Maybe it would help answer her questions. I know that you must have so many questions at this point but worry not. As I had presumed Harper must have pushed you so much that you found yourself in this position. Either that or you are about to have your first child and have therefore have come of age. "Harper?" Katrina scoffed. "Who on earth is that?" she mused remarking at how hard these people must have worked to do their research. How else could her situation be so similar to this girl Amanda? As I said, I know that you have any questions. One being your name... Amanda. That is what I liked to call you. What your mother would have liked to call if she had been here with us. Instead, they settled for that Dienda... Whatever that means! Katrina laughed. Truly, that was her middle name and even she had issues with it. Like the woman had suggested, she had always wondered what that meant but had never gotten round to finding the meaning to it. However and much like this person she never really grew to like it and therefore had just gone by her first name Katrina. By now, you may have joined the dots, And she had. This also means that you are quite clever just like your mother. She was a good soul that one. A happy one and so full of spirit that sometimes she bordered on being a terror. She was a great woman, her weakness though was in trying to find the best in everyone. Like your mother, I also fear for you. Fear that you will also fall prey to those same feelings or that your warmth will grow cold from growing up under Harper's influence. Meredith assures me otherwise and I pray that it never comes to that. If it does, let it not crush your spirit, but always know that you are resilient and that you can make the best of every situation. I know you are wondering, who is this old woman who seems to know so much about me? Katrina smiled. "Old lady indeed." The key should answer your questions. As I am sure, Boris will tell you the rest. I am only sorry that I will not be around to do this myself. I want you to know that I love you, I always have even if it was from afar and I am proud of you and the woman you have become. Remember all that I have told you and the rest of the answers you seek will be found at the house. It was not signed anything, but as she had said, Katrina had already joined the dots. She could not tell however the reasons that had made her stay away, but even that was not so hard to imagine. Knowing her father, he would probably scare away any living relative just to have a monotony on her own life. Katrina folded away from the letter and picked up the rest of the papers. They were lists. Lists of things she could not tell and the last of them was a bank statement from a trust fund all in this girl, Amanda Vicente's name. Was she to believe that she was the same girl? Was this the reason that her grandmother had sent her there? Had she know about all this all along or was it something that her mother had made her do? So many questions yet so few answers. Slowly, Katrina stood up with the documents and put them in the envelope before placing them under her blankets. Her room had a safe but that was the least likely place that a person sent by her father would go to snoop. Her handbag however she placed it in the safe together with the small pouch. As she knew, they would come and she hoped that they would. She hoped that they also thought her gullible and that the contents in her safe were the only things that she got out of the safe inside the bank. Even though she was worried about being monitored, Katrina knew that there would be no cameras or sound. Her father would not have his men infringe that much into her privacy, but the fact that these people had gone to so many lengths to keep the documents away from him, made her feel like she had something to worry about and that made her wonder. Slowly she stood up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. Her hands turned the faucet to ran a bath. They would come. She knew it and as she had decided, she would make sure to give them as much time to do what they needed so they would finally leave her alone. It was a long shot, but with that final thought, Katrina went back to the door and locked it taking her time to make sure that the lock was sturdy enough before sliding into the warm now bubble-filled bath. Ryan paused. He hesitated as he stared back at the mammoth of a gate that was now standing between him and where he was going. It was an iron structure that rose high into an overcast sky and its grills were painted black ending up in spikes that looked so forbidding that no one would dare climb up. At least not him. He loved his features the way they were and his entrails intact. The more he looked at it the more the gates seemed to taunt him, giving off an illusion that a haunted house laid beyond its fences and the driveway that was hidden between the grove of trees. He could have called, he knew that. However, he hadn't. He could not risk it. For to risk it by letting them know that he was coming would have only worked to give them a chance to prepare and with that, a reason to turn him away before he even tried. What would he tell her? He mused. Their last meeting had not turned out so well and even he knew that he had made a mistake by approaching her on the offensive. Maybe he had thought that she would cower. That she would see the wrath that was on his face or feel the guilt and give in, but he had been solely wrong. The woman he had met was not the Katrina he had been forced to marry. No, she was different. Stronger even and had proven that she could not be cowered into doing anything that she had not set her mind to doing. It made him wonder though, what had instituted this change? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had approached her on her turf or maybe, her growing confidence had something to do with the fact that she knew that he was not capable of doing anything to her while she was still under her father's roof. Either way, Ryan knew that she had changed. He continued to think, weary as he awaited the resident soldiers to approach. One thing was sure though, he was not going to use the same approach, neither did he want to. That encounter at the church had changed him and he was not about to lose those milestones for a guilty pleasure. "Mr. Thorpe. I am afraid you cannot go in." The guard said as he came to stand beside his car. "Katrina?" "No. Mr. Maracheli's orders sir." the guard answered as his grip on the car's steering wheel tightened. It was all he could do to keep from voicing his frustrations out loud. After a few calming breaths, he released his grip on the steering wheel and turned to regard the soldier. "I just want to talk to her. Shouldn't that be her own decision to make?" his eyes pleaded with the guard. "it's my wife and my child we are talking about here." "I am sorry. Even if I wanted to, I can't help you as Ms. Katrina is no longer on the premises and no one knows where she is headed." Ryan stilled. "She's not?" "Yes...a moment please. "he added as the comm device on his shoulder began to cackle and he stepped away to speak into it. Meanwhile, Ryan's thoughts reeled. A series of emotions he could not place filled him. Fear, coupled with doubt, anger, and disbelief besot him. His frustrations welled over and threatened to overwhelm him and all he could behold on and try to get more knowledge from the guard who was now walking back towards him. "Mrs. Maracheli is coming down to speak with you." The guard finally said as he came back to him and all Ryan could afford was a simple nod as his thoughts ran away with him. Thoughts of Katrina filled his mind. Her whereabouts and what she was doing. Was their baby safe? Was she doing this to get back at him? He did not have to wonder for long. A few minutes later, a sleek black car pulled up on the other side of the gate and Ryan sat up expectantly as he watched the guards pull the gates open to allow the vehicle to drive out. He was not sure what he had expected, but being told to give up his vehicle and drive that other car was not it. It was rather strange, but Ryan was beyond caring as he needed answers that only this woman could provide. "Do not worry, Arnold will take good care of your car." the elderly woman in the backseat of the luxury car told him. All Ryan could do was nod, his eyes transfixed on the road ahead of him and occasionally on the matriarch who was decked in blue and a whole lot of pearls. " I know it looks rather strange, but this was the only way you see." When he seemed not ready to reply, the woman continued. "You have a lot of questions that need answers and my time is limited. Beggars can't be choosers Ryan. This was the only to give you what you seek and still meet my deadlines." "So this is not some sort of covert operation you are pulling? " he hated to think that things with Mr. Maracheli had escalated too much to the point that they needed that kind of secrecy. "No silly. I have a function in town and the more we delay, the further Katrina will get away from you." "Like you care." Ryan laughed bitterly. "Look, I know from the surprise on her face that day that Katrina had nothing to do with the divorce papers. But you, I am not so sure about that. You must have known. So, why are you here trying to help me? Whatever reason it is, please do not involve me in your power wranglers with your son." The woman laughed. "That is hardly what is happening here. Everything I am doing, I do it because I love my granddaughter and therefore, I would do anything to see her happy. If that happiness happens to have something to do with you, then let it be. " she replied as Ryan responded with a scoff. "It's true. Now, I am not so keen about you seeing all that you have put her through, but I understand that you were angry. What was done to you was unacceptable. However, you two were once friends. Maybe if you tried you can work things out? If anything, you now have something that brings you two together." "I already know all that. Now will you please get to the point and tell me what happened with Katrina? Why did she leave?" "Contrary to what you may think, she did not leave because of you. This was long in coming and Katrina is now pursuing a journey of self discovery." Self-discovery? Ryan scoffed again but this time, it all happened in his head. Of all the times that she could choose to do that, he mused. It had to be now? " Don't worry. She is not backpacking across the world if that's what you think,or at least I do not think that in her condition she would decide to go that far. No, I believe my granddaughter to be more sensible than that, but just incase you can find her here." the woman said as she offered him a card. Ryan received it and managed a glance in between driving and having a conversation with the woman. " You can pull over here. Arnold will drive me the rest of the way and you also can now go your way. I just hope though that you will keep in touch and keep me updated on how things are going with you and the baby." Ryan did as he had been told and pulled the vehicle over to a curb. They were still some few miles from town, but he did not question her thinking. What the woman was up to was none of his business. He had gotten what he had come for and that was more progress than he had ever hoped to achieve. Clutched in his hands. He stepped out of the car just as Arnold did the same in his car that had all this time been behind them. As Arnold walked over, the window to the back seat of the sleek car rolled down and despite herself, the woman smiled back at him, possibly aware of the turmoil that she had created within him. "Thank you. I do not know how I can ever repay you." "well...by finding her for one and making it up to her. I believe she once felt something towards you. Maybe you can rekindle that. Just make sure that my great grandchild grows up well and in a happy home. That is all I will ever ask." He nodded. "I will do my best." Slowly the windows rolled back up and the vehicle pulled away leaving the man dazed and at loss for words at that unexpected act of kindness.