Secret Betrayal

Episode 31

Continuation……… …

I began
to sweat and shake visibly in
the air-conditioned room.

What was his picture doing
here? Perhaps he used this
room also or even owned it.
I quickly sought to see what
the other stacked pictures
held. My eyes bulged at the
sight of what I had forgotten,
what I once thought was
hallucination. So it was real?

The same things I had seen in
Collins’ room the first time,
even a scarier sight. I
searched from picture to
picture at how women were
bondaged and fastened to an
apparatus where they were
tortured and used for sexual
gratification. Conspicuous
marks from whip lashes and
dripping blood decorated the
women’s bodies as their
faces writhed in pain and
tears. What was all this?

Curiosity led me to view more
and by the time I got to the
last photo, I was convinced
that the room in the photos
was in the cabin I had been
sleeping, eating and making
love in. I was totally oblivious
of the spooky nature of this
house, enjoying​ what was
supposed to be a nightmare
for me. The revelation made
me shudder and drop one of
the framed photos to
shatters on the floor and
jolted me from the seat. I
wanted to see it all.

I knew I had to search the
house to find this room.

Where else could it be? I had
entered all the rooms in the
house so no room that size
could be anywhere on the
surface of the earth, sharing
the same building with the
one I was in. I was about
giving up when I tripped and
fell, crashing into a flower pot
just under the staircase. I was
struggling to stand when I
caught a glimpse of a squat
door on the floor underneath
the staircase.

Yes, there was a basement. I
struggled to my feet and
went to check the door. The
metal latch on the door was
posing some difficulty but I
forced it open anyway and
found a wooden staircase that
led into a steep darkness. I
went back to retrieve my
torch and returned to calm
my curiosity. I took one step
at a time, descending the
creaking stairs without​ a rail. I
flashed my torchlight but
couldn’t see much ahead.

At the foot of the stairs, I
searched and found a light
switch. As soon as I switched
on the lights, my jaw dropped
and my stomach churned. My
head swirled around me and
my limbs lost their strenght. I
slumped and passed out.

When I woke up, I was lying
on the bed and Collins had
almost packed all our bags. I
didn’t understand what he
was up to. In a flash, the
pictures of the basement, the
sight of bondage apparatuses
looking like a serial killers
laboratory, the whips and
chains and clips and needles,
they all came back. With a
jerk, I t—-t myself up to a
sitting position, startling
Collins to an abrupt turn.
“You’re awake.” He turned
and continued packing.

“What is this place?” I asked.
“What are you talking about?”
He has a way of avoiding
questions.

“You know exactly what I’m
talking about. What is his
picture doing here?” I asked
through squinting eyes.
“You ask too many
questions.” He replied coldly.
“And I need answers Collins.”
I yelled. “What exactly are
you? Who are you? Who did I
marry? What else am I going
to find out?”
He launched at me at
lightning speed, pinning me
down with a hand cupped
over my mouth.
“Shut up, this is not Nigeria.

Stop shouting or I’ll kill you
and leave you here to rot.”

After he calmed me, he
retreated and stood at the
edge of the bed, looking
down at me.

“We’re leaving first thing
tomorrow morning. I got a call
from home that my parents
were both involved in an auto
crash. They are both
unconscious as we speak.” He
said calmly and left for the
bathroom.

I was weakened but never
shut a lid until daybreak.