THE TRUTH HAS A PRICE
1026 Words
They found Naledi's father six hours later.
He was alive.
Barely conscious.
He had been left inside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
When Naledi saw him in the hospital, she almost collapsed.
His face was bruised, one arm was bandaged, and his voice was barely a whisper.
“Dad.”
His eyes opened.
“Naledi.”
She took his hand.
“I'm here.”
He looked at Maseko standing behind her.
Then he whispered, “You have to leave.”
Naledi shook her head.
“Not again.”
“Portia knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That I told you.”
Naledi's stomach tightened.
“About my mother?”
He nodded.
“And Richard?”
Another nod.
“Tell me everything.”
Her father looked toward the door.
“Not here.”
Maseko understood.
“We'll move you somewhere secure.”
“No.”
Her father shook his head.
“It's too late.”
Naledi squeezed his hand.
“Then tell me before it's too late.”
He closed his eyes.
“Portia didn't start this.”
Naledi froze.
“What?”
“She inherited it.”
“From whom?”
“My father.”
Naledi stared at him.
Her grandfather.
The man who had built the first Khumalo companies.
“The money was already being moved before Portia met me,” he continued.
“Richard discovered it.”
“Who was stealing it?”
Her father swallowed.
“Your grandfather.”
Naledi couldn't speak.
“He used shell companies and false accounts. Richard found the records and threatened to expose him.”
“What happened?”
“He disappeared.”
“Richard?”
“Yes.”
“And Portia?”
“She was working for your grandfather.”
Naledi felt sick.
“She helped him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
Her father looked at her.
“But later, she turned against him.”
Naledi frowned.
“Why?”
“She wanted control.”
Maseko stepped closer.
“And Richard's eleven million?”
“Portia took it.”
“Why put it into the trust?”
“To make it disappear.”
Naledi finally understood.
The trust had been used as a hiding place.
And now that she was about to inherit it, someone had to clean it out.
“That's why I was framed.”
Her father nodded.
“They needed you convicted.”
“Because then I couldn't inherit.”
“Yes.”
Naledi sat back.
“How much money is actually in the trust?”
Her father looked away.
“Less than the records show.”
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy Portia if the truth comes out.”
Maseko looked at him.
“Where are the original records?”
Her father stared at Naledi.
“Your mother hid them.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Naledi remembered the letter.
Look where Richard kept what he feared losing.
“Richard's safe,” she whispered.
Her father looked at her.
“What?”
“Richard had a safe.”
“How do you know?”
“The letter.”
Maseko's eyes sharpened.
“Where?”
Naledi pulled out the photograph of her mother.
On the back, she had noticed a number she had previously ignored.
A sequence.
“Is this a safe combination?”
Her father stared at it.
“Yes.”
Naledi's heart raced.
“Where is the safe?”
Her father hesitated.
“Richard's old warehouse.”
They went that night.
The building had been abandoned for years.
Dust covered everything.
Maseko found the safe behind a false wall.
Naledi entered the numbers.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a small collection of documents, a flash drive and a photograph.
The photograph showed Portia standing beside Naledi's grandfather.
Behind them was Richard.
Alive.
Naledi stared at it.
Maseko picked up the flash drive.
“This is what we've been looking for.”
Before they could leave, the warehouse lights came on.
Portia stood at the entrance.
She wasn't alone.
Two men stood behind her.
Naledi's heart hammered.
“You should have stopped,” Portia said.
Naledi held the documents against her chest.
“You should have told me the truth.”
Portia looked tired for the first time.
“I tried.”
“No. You lied.”
“I protected myself.”
“You framed me.”
“I had no choice.”
Naledi laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
Portia looked at Maseko.
“You're making this worse.”
“No,” he said. “You did.”
Portia's expression hardened.
“Give me the drive.”
Naledi shook her head.
“No.”
Portia stepped forward.
“You don't understand what will happen if those records become public.”
“I understand exactly what will happen.”
Naledi looked at her.
“You lose everything.”
Portia smiled sadly.
“So do you.”
The men moved forward.
Maseko grabbed Naledi's hand.
“Run.”
They turned.
A struggle erupted behind them.
Naledi ran through the side door, clutching the evidence.
Maseko followed.
They reached the car.
He started the engine.
The warehouse disappeared behind them.
Naledi looked down at the flash drive.
For the first time, they had something Portia couldn't explain away.
Proof.
Maseko glanced at her.
“Are you all right?”
Naledi nodded.
Then she looked at him.
“I kissed my lawyer.”
He smiled.
“You did.”
“That's probably a terrible idea.”
“Probably.”
She laughed.
For the first time in days, the fear inside her loosened.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A woman's voice whispered,
“Portia isn't the person you should be afraid of.”
The call ended.
Naledi slowly lowered the phone.
Maseko looked at her.
“What?”
She stared into the darkness beyond the windshield.
“I think we've been chasing the wrong person.”
Behind them, the city lights disappeared into the night.
And somewhere in Johannesburg, someone who had been watching the Khumalo family for years was finally ready to step out of the shadows.
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