The Fallen Shadow

Karen always locked the door to her room whenever she went out. 

Obviously it was done to prevent Avery from entering the room. 

Avery had never cared to know the reason before but now her curiosity was highly piqued. 

Whenever Avery found herself alone in the house, she would turn the door knob to Karen's room. Lo and behold, It was always locked!.

Karen had been feeling sick recently and felt the need to go for a medical check so while Fred went to work, Karen went to the local clinic. 

Karen forgot to lock her room door this time before leaving the house and as usual, Avery turned the door knob and this time, it opened! 

The chance she had been looking for had finally arrived! 

The first thing she did was to ensure that both the front and back doors of the house were firmly locked from within to avoid being taken by surprise. 

Then for the first time since Karen remarried, Avery entered her mother's room and looked around. 

This room was the only part of the house she was strictly forbidden to enter.

The walls were painted with a soft touch of cream color giving the room a calm and serene look. 

In the middle of the spacious room, there was a king sized bed adorned with firm and soft pillows, table lamps and drawers were positioned on either side of the bed. 

A sturdy wooden dresser with ornate carvings stood against the wall by one side of the bed with candles and pictures of Karen and Fred. Avery was nowhere to be found in any of the pictures. 

A comfortable oversized armchair was positioned at the foot of the bed. 

Avery stood looking at the room with mixed emotions. 

The decorations were simple yet elegant and in contrast to this room, her own room looked like a servant's quarters. 

She brought her thoughts back to the present and quickly set to work with her tools. 

Earlier on, she had prepared a flashlight, old hand gloves belonging to Karen and a note book to record anything of worth. She had gotten this idea from watching TV. 

She meticulously searched the bed covers and underneath the mattress. She searched under the bed itself. She checked inside and around the armchair. She checked under the cushions, inside the drawers and even inside the flower vase. 

She struck gold when she searched inside the wooden dresser. In there, she discovered a hidden compartment with a metal box inside. 

Inside the box, she saw some journals, letters, receipts and documents for six landed properties and a company named Avermine Global Industries apparently belonging to her late father. 

She spent time poring over the papers. 

One of the letters was addressed by her late father to her with instructions written on it to be given to her on her 18th birthday. 

The seal on the letter had been broken meaning someone else had read the letter meant for her. 

Silent tears coursed through her eyes as she read the letter her father wrote to her. 

In the letter, her father had showered her with praises. He mentioned how his ill health hindered him from remaining by her side but promised he would come home as soon as he possibly could. 

He wrote that if for any reason, he wouldn't be able to come as promised, he would like for her to take over his properties so she could keep living like the princess she is. 

He mentioned that her uncle Kenny would take care of everything and she was to find him when she turned 18 years and finally to remember that papa would always love her. 

Most of the other letters dated as far back as when she hadn't been born yet. 

They were written by Karen to Fred and vice versa. 

While going through the letters, she discovered a web of deceit, lies and corruption. 

She also discovered that Fred had been employed for some time as a manager in her father's company after his murder. 

Obviously uncle Kenny didn't know his true identity. 

Evidence of embezzlement and money laundered by Fred during the brief period he worked at Avermine Global Industries were all in the box as well as the letter revealing how her father had been murdered. 

For all the crimes he committed in the company, he only got fired. 

She also finally discovered why she was still of use to Karen and Fred. 

Both of them had typed a document indicating Avery's willingness to hand over power of attorney to her mother and Avery didn't even know anything about this. 

All that was required was Avery's signature and the signatures of 3 witnesses to prove it's authenticity. She reasoned that it was apparently because she was still a minor that this conniving couple had not forced their evil scheme on her yet. In order to claim her inheritance, she would also be expected to sign some other documents when she clocked 18 years. 

Her hatred for these wicked and deceitful couple shot to the rooftop. 

She had initially planned to gather incriminating evidence against Karen and Fred, get them arrested and jailed for murder, place the current house up for sale then travel to any other country and live out her remaining days there but on second thoughts, she changed her mind; merely getting Karen and Fred arrested for murder would be showing them mercy and she had vowed she would show neither of them any ounce of mercy and besides she had made the first plans in ignorance of her real worth. She didn't know she was so rich! 

She would have to plan out new measures again. She jotted down all the relevant information into her note book, carefully placed the documents back into the box, placed the box back in the hidden compartment, kept everything back in it's proper place and left the room exactly as she met it. 

She quietly went to her own room, kept her notebook in her own secret compartment and sat down to think. 

She had read from the letters and learned how Karen got married to her father instead of Fred. 

It had been an arranged marriage forced on Karen by her parents because Avery's father, Samson was rich while Fred, her high school sweetheart was too poor to marry her then. 

Karen threatened suicide if she wasn't allowed to marry Fred. 

Fred was in turn threatened by Karen's parents that if anything happened to Karen, Fred and his family would pay. 

All this heightened Fred's hatred for Samson. 

He had to convince Karen he would always be there for her. 

Fred took her into his confidence and revealed his plan that would see them reunited again. 

He had given her a powdery substance and instructed her to place it weekly into Samson's food. 

He had assured her it wouldn't kill him as long as it was weekly she administered it. 

He told her it was certain that Samson's health would certainly decline. 

He told her to monitor Samson's businesses and give feedback to him. 

Samson's health slowly declined. 

His doctor had exhausted all means of treatment and told him to put his house in order as there was nothing more he could do. 

Samson couldn't give up searching for treatment so he booked an appointment with another doctor and preparations were made for him to travel. 

By this time, both of his kidneys had deteriorated badly. He couldn't walk any more and was using a wheelchair. He had to go for dialysis thrice a week and it affected his health adversely. The letter he had written to Avery was when he was about to travel for his doctor's appointment. Avery was 8 years old then. 

Samson felt as his only surviving child, Avery should get all his possessions when she would be of legal age. 

Then he arranged a little business for Karen that would tend to her and Avery's immediate needs. He placed his elder brother, Kennedy in charge of his properties pending when Avery would be of legal age to own them. 

He placed his trust in uncle Kenny because uncle Kenny was even wealthier than him and was more than capable of caring for his assets. 

On his way to see the doctor, Samson's car got rammed in by a hit and run driver sent by Fred. 

All of this information was contained in the metal box. 

Both Samson and his driver died on the spot. 

Although the local police launched an investigation into the case, no one got arrested and the case became cold. 

The mastermind Fred in cohorts with Avery's mother, Karen were neither detected nor arrested. 

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