Chapter 7 - WHAT THE GIRLS SAWI met Karabo and Zipho the following afternoon in Mara's office.
Their mother came with them.
Naledi was a tall woman with tired eyes and a face that looked as though it had forgotten how to relax.
The moment she saw me, she covered her mouth.
“Oh, Ndoni.”
I barely had time to stand before she crossed the room and embraced me.
Her arms tightened around me.
For a moment, I felt the kind of affection nobody can convincingly manufacture.
Not because it was dramatic.
Because it was familiar without demanding anything in return.
“You gave us such a fright,” she whispered.
I hugged her back.
“I seem to be doing that a lot lately.”
She laughed through her tears.
Then she stepped away and looked at her daughters.
“Tell her.”
Karabo immediately lowered her eyes.
Zipho straightened in her chair.
I sat opposite them.
“Before anyone says anything, I want you both to know something.”
The girls looked at me.
“You don't have to be afraid of upsetting me. I've discovered plenty of unpleasant things this week, and I'm still here.”
Zipho swallowed.
“We weren't trying to hurt you.”
“I believe that.”
She twisted her fingers together.
“Before your accident, you used to come to our house all the time. You helped Mom with the neighborhood meetings. Sometimes you stayed for dinner.”
Karabo nodded.
“You helped me apply for college.”
I smiled faintly.
“Did I?”
“You spent two whole evenings helping me rewrite my personal statement.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“You said my first version sounded like I'd swallowed a motivational poster.”
Karabo laughed.
For a moment, I could almost see the three of us at a kitchen table, surrounded by papers, teasing one another.
Then Zipho's expression darkened.
“Everything changed after you started fighting with Jason.”
I waited.
“He came to our house once,” she continued. “You were there with Mom, and he was really angry.”
Naledi closed her eyes.
“Zipho.”
“No, Mom. She deserves to know.”
I reached for Zipho's hand.
“What happened?”
“He wanted you to go home with him. You said no.”
My chest tightened.
“He started arguing with you in the driveway. Not hitting you or anything, but he was shouting.”
Zipho's voice trembled.
“You told him he couldn't keep treating you like a problem he needed to manage.”
I looked down.
“He said the company was more complicated than you understood. You told him people were losing their homes.”
Naledi spoke quietly.
“Jason eventually apologized and left. But the girls saw enough to be frightened.”
“And then the accident happened?” I asked.
“About two weeks later,” Naledi answered.
Zipho leaned forward.
“After you woke up, Jason called Mom. He said the doctors wanted everyone to avoid discussing stressful things from before the crash.”
I shut my eyes.
“He told you not to mention our separation.”
“Yes.”
“And the redevelopment?”
“Yes.”
Karabo wiped her cheeks.
“He said if we really loved you, we'd help you recover instead of making you upset.”
I felt a sudden, terrible anger.
Not toward the girls.
Toward the way adults could make dishonesty sound like kindness.
“Then why did you come to the sleepover?”
Karabo looked at Zipho.
“Because you invited us. And we missed you.”
Zipho nodded.
“We thought maybe we could tell you things without Jason around.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because Celia called Mom.”
Naledi's face hardened.
“She told me the company was reviewing the funding for our community program. She said some people were making dangerous accusations and warned me not to involve my children.”
“Was that a threat?”
Naledi hesitated.
“It felt like one.”
Zipho continued.
“On the day of the sleepover, a package arrived at Mom's house. It had Celia's name on the card.”
“What was inside?”
“Snacks and a small gift basket. There was also a note saying the girls should enjoy themselves and let the adults handle complicated matters.”
I frowned.
“Did you bring it?”
“No. Mom refused.”
“Then why were you worried about the food?”
Karabo spoke.
“Celia's assistant called later. She asked whether we had received the package, then told us we shouldn't eat anything from it if the seal looked damaged.”
I stared at her.
“That makes no sense.”
“I know,” Zipho said. “It was weird. And after what happened to you, I couldn't stop thinking about it.”
Mara leaned forward.
“Do you still have the package?”
Naledi nodded.
“I put it in a cupboard.”
“Don't handle it again. I'll tell Detective Nkosi.”
I studied the girls.
“Did either of you see Celia at Sphandla's house?”
Zipho hesitated.
“Not that night.”
“What about before?”
She lowered her voice.
“Two days after you came home from the hospital, Mom took us to drop off some clothes. We weren't supposed to stay.”
I nodded.
“I don't remember.”
“Jason wasn't there. Judith was helping us upstairs.”
Zipho swallowed.
“When I came back downstairs, Celia was standing near the kitchen with a woman I'd never seen before.”
“What woman?”
“She wore a cream suit and carried a black handbag.”
“Did you hear them talking?”
Zipho nodded.
“Celia asked if everything had been taken care of.”
A chill moved over my skin.
“What did the woman say?”
“She said the arrangement would hold until the medication ran out.”
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Mara.
She was writing rapidly.
“Did you see anything else?” she asked.
Zipho's eyes filled with tears.
“I saw Celia put a small pharmacy bag inside her purse.”
I leaned back.
Suddenly, the medication bottle beside my bathroom sink no longer seemed like an innocent object.
It seemed like something somebody had deliberately placed in my path.
“Why didn't you tell me earlier?” I whispered.
Zipho looked devastated.
“Because I was scared she'd hurt Mom. And because I didn't know if you'd believe me.”
I reached across the table.
“I believe you're telling me what you saw.”
Her shoulders sagged with relief.
I squeezed her hand.
“And it was never your responsibility to solve an adult's crimes.”
Naledi began crying quietly.
I looked at her.
“Whatever happens next, I don't want these girls paying for our mistakes.”
Mara nodded.
“Then we'll make sure they have proper support and aren't pressured into making statements without safeguards.”
For the first time, I felt something stronger than fear.
Purpose.
I had already lost too much time to other people's decisions.
I wasn't going to let two teenagers carry the weight of those decisions as well.
Then Zipho took out her phone.
“I have one more thing.”
She opened a photograph.
It showed the Zwide driveway, taken from inside Naledi's car.
Celia stood beside a black SUV.
A man in a dark uniform was speaking to her.
Zipho enlarged the image.
“The night before your accident, I saw this man outside your apartment building.”
Mara leaned closer.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
My breath caught.
“Who is he?”
May you like
Zipho looked directly at me.
“The same man who followed your car before it crashed.”
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