His Identity

The next day, Rita resumed fully at the office. She could see that a lot of changes had been made especially with the security system. Yasmin, her loyal secretary was now at the top floor, a few doors down from Rita’s office. The other staffs of the organization each had a string of security men, stationed at strategic corners of the building.

Rita’s office was like a vault. The security system was improved and now, anyone who wanted to see her had to pass through both physical and mechanical screening. A device that read her fingerprints was designed and installed on her office door and she alone could access the office.

“Glad to have you back ma’am”, Yasmin smiled.

She had come upstairs to welcome her boss when she was sure she had settled down. She beamed as she took in Rita’s appearance. She was glad to see that she was okay without any strain in her eyes.

“Yasmin, how have you been?”, Rita smiled.

“Alright ma’am, thank you”, she said.

“That’s good to hear. Do I have any pending meetings today?”, Rita asked.

She wanted to know so she could plan her day without all the hassles of last minute preparations.

“No ma’am, I moved all your meetings till next week because I wanted you to get settled here first before you’re ready to meet anyone”, she said.

Rita was moved by her thoughtfulness and she vowed within her to compensate the girl who understood her here at work.

“That’s really thoughtful of you Yasmin, thank you. I owe you a raise and I promise you’ll get it soon”, Rita smiled.

“Thank you so much ma’am”, she gushed.

“No, thank you fir your help so far in this organization. Without your help and dedication, I could never have gotten round all of the work so I owe it to you. Never stop being the smart girl I know”, Rita smiled.

She came around to hug Yasmin who had tears of joy streaming down her eyes. Rita could see that the young girl was starstruck at the love she poured on her.

“I won’t, you can count on that”, Yasmin said.

“Good. Please got back to your work, I’ll call you if I need anything”, Rita said.

Yasmin nodded, whilst thanking her before she walked out of the office. Rita sighed, heading back to her chair. It was the little things like this that matters to her, her appreciation to the people who stood by her was something she always looked forward to do.

A sharp screech had Rita jolting until she remembered that it was the new message system that was recently installed that allowed her to speak with those who were outside.

“Ma’am, you have a visitor”, Ramirez said through the intercom.

Rita groaned. She had just come into the office and now, she had a visitor so early. She sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t have a break as long as she was here.

“Who is it?”, she sighed.

“Senator Brabra’s son, Edmundo”, he said.

Rita sat still upon hearing his words. She didn’t understand how is potential murderer could still walk free despite everything he had done.

“What does he want?”, she seethed.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I have no idea ma’am, he won’t say”, Ramirez said.

“Send him in”, Rita said.

She wanted to know why he was really here, her curiosity was eating her up. Ramirez hesitated before he spoke.

“Are you sure ma’am, I can tell him you’re busy”, he said.

“I’m sure, thank you”, Rita smiled.

“Okay, I’m escorting him in but I’m not going to leave your office. Whatever he has to say, he can say it in when I’m present”, he growled.

Rita chuckled. She knew that most people didn’t like Edmundo but Ramirez seemed to despise him.

“Alright, please send him in”, Rita said before switching off the intercom.

She waited for their arrival and soon, Edmundo swaggered in. Rita felt disgusted about his attitude. He always acted as if he owned the whole place.

“What do you want?”, she asked crossly.

She congratulated herself on how well her voice was controlled. She’d have hated it if it came out weak and fearful. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction to think that he scared her. Rita was beyond that now and there was no going back.

“I came to see my fiancee, is there a problem with that”, he chuckled.

“The last time I checked, I’m no longer your fiancee or didn’t my parents give you the news?”, she seethed.

“Yes, they did but I’m not accepting it”, he said.

Rita drew out her side drawer, pulling out the cursed ring. She stood up from her chair as she walked towards him. From the smile on his face, the fool thought she was coming to kiss him but his smile took on a downturn when she threw the ring at him. He bent to pick it up and at that moment, Rita wished she could kick him but she held her peace.

“It’s over between us Edmundo”, she said, calmly.

“How dare you?”, he screamed.

Ramirez attempted to walk towards them but Rita held a hand. She wanted to deal with him her own way. If she gave Ramirez the chance, she knew he would deal with him without missing a beat.

“Did you really think I’ll get married to a murderer?. I hate you Edmundo with every fiber of my being and I hope you rot in jail. In fact, I’ll make sure of it”, she said.

He moved towards her so fast she couldn’t keep up. He raised his hand, ready to strike her but before he could even get to an inch of her face, Ramirez tackled him to the ground, punching the living day light out of him.

All that was left of Edmundo’s face was a bloody pulp and some missing tooth. Ramirez kept punching and Rita knew that at this rate, Edmundo would die.

“It’s okay, Ramirez”, Rita said.

She pressed the intercom, summoning the other security men. Within seconds, they had arrived. When they saw the scene before them, they pulled Ramirez away from the bloodied mess of Edmundo. He was still breathing and Rita was glad because she couldn’t live with it if Ramirez was accused of murder.

“I’ll… ghest.. yiuss for thiss”, he stuttered with the few teeth that remained inside his mouth.

“Take him away, straight to the police station. I’m ready to press charges”, she said, finally.

Two of the security men dragged him away while the third opened the door for them to pass through. When they left, Rita walked to Ramirez who was gripping his hands painfully.

“You should get this bandaged up”, Rita sighed.

“I will. It really felt good beating the crap out of him”, Ramirez chuckled.

“Ramirez, I’m inquisitive. Did you know Edmundo before?”, Rita said.

He sighed and Rita watched the look of pain that crossed his eye. She could tell that something had happened.

“Yes… A lot actually”, he sighed.

“Really? What happened”, she said.

“He raped my sister when she was just fifteen”, he croaked.

Rita was dumbfounded. This was the height of it, she knew Edmundo was an animal but what Ramirez said just proved that he was a beast.

“God! Where is your sister now? Isn’t she going to press charges?”, Rita said.

“She will, now that Edmundo’s crimes are gradually coming out”, he said.

“Please, tell her to. I’ll personally back up the case”, Rita said.

“Thank you ma’am”, he smiled.

“Rita is fine please, I mean you’ve saved my life more times than I can count so it’s okay to call me Rita”, she smiled.

“Thank you, I need to go please. I have to bandage this up but I’ll assign another security outside your door”, he said.

“Okay, please take care of yourself”, she smiled as she watched him leave.

Rita went back to her chair, sighing as she toyed with the cover of her pen. Now, she was fully guaranteed that she had every cause to deal with Edmundo.

Just then, her phone rang. It caller ID showed that it was Theresa calling. Rita picked it up and was greeted with the whining of Mateo.

“Hey girl”, Rita smiled.

“Rita… Gosh, where are you?”, Theresa huffed.

“In my office. What’s going on?”, she said.

Her heart rate just spiked up. Theresa’s voice was hurried like she was going somewhere. Rita had no idea what was going on. Her thoughts travelled to her parents but she knew they were fine especially with the added security at the mansion.

“What’s going on Theresa?”, Rita asked quietly.

“Rodrigo. Rodrigo is back and he’s in Senator Brabra’s house as we speak”, she finally said.