"Wait...are you saying that uncle Ferdinand is the one who tried to have you killed?" Dwayne asked in a shaky voice, his eyes growing wide with disbelief. "That can't be true! He's a good man, I've known him for years, and he's always been kind and generous. This is all just a misunderstanding."
"Don't make excuses for him." Ciara snapped, her tone sharp and full of anger. "I know what I saw, and I know what he did. He may have been kind and generous to you, but to me, he was nothing but a monster."
Suddenly, Dwayne's face shifted from shocked to furious. He stood up from his seat and glared hard at his sister. "You're lying! There's no way uncle would ever do such a thing to you, his niece. He's a good man, and would never harm anyone, let alone you!"
"Oh, so you think I'm lying?" Ciara blurted out, raising an eyebrow. "Let me ask you something then. How well do you really know uncle Ferdinand? Do you know what he's capable of?"
Dwayne hesitated for a moment, his mind racing as he tried to come up with an answer. He couldn't believe his ears, he knew his sister would never lie to him, but he couldn't bring himself to trust these words of hers -maybe this was just a misunderstanding!
"I know him well enough to know that he would never do something like this." Dwayne insisted, his voice growing louder. "You must have misunderstood something, or you're twisting the truth to serve your agenda. I know my uncle, and I won't let you slander his name like this!"
Ciara rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed by Dwayne's show of loyalty. "Oh please, give me a break, big brother!" She scoffed at his words. "Uncle is not the saint you think he is."
Ciara decided to start at a time, she would rather not break the main news and circumstances surrounding their parents yet to him; she knew his brother, he couldn't hold in such tragic news, it will be too much on him.
"Look, I know this is hard for you to believe." Ciara said, her voice softening slightly. "But the fact is, uncle has done terrible things. I know this for a fact, and I'm not making it up. I need you to understand that what I'm telling you is the truth."
Dwayne shook his head, still refusing to believe Ciara's words. "No, I can't accept that. There must be some mistake, or you're misunderstanding something." He insisted, wanting his sister to believe his words.
"I have proof, Dwayne." Ciara said, her voice firm and determined. "I have evidence that he was involved in the attempt on my life. And I'm not going to let him get away with it. I need you to understand that I'm not lying to you, and I'm not trying to make him look bad before you. I'm just trying to get justice for what he did, and the rest of our uncles are in cohorts with him."
"Why did you think I've been hiding from them all these years? Why did you think was the reason I suddenly left uncle Kent's house in the middle of the night without notice?" Ciara questioned, adding to her claims. "I needed to go far from them, not to just protect my life but that of my son too!"
Dwayne's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock. "...When will you cease needing some space and from uncle Kent, of all people?" He remembered asking his sister this question years ago -and this was the reason behind it?
"What kind of evidence do you have?" he asked, his voice wavering slightly.
"I have several documents, including emails and financial records, that show that uncle Ferdinand was involved in the plot to kill me." Ciara stated plainly. "I know this is a lot to take in but please, just hear me out, big brother. I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm just trying to bring the truth to light."
For a moment, Dwayne was silent, his mind racing as he set out to process what Ciara had just told him. Finally, he took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "I need to see this evidence for myself." he vocalized, not meeting with his sister's gaze.
As Dwayne watched the video, he felt a mix of emotions -shock, horror, and anger. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, but at the same time, he knew it was the truth. His uncle -no, uncles had been responsible for the death of his parents too, and he'd had no idea. He felt sick to his stomach, and a deep rage began to boil within him.
Ciara watched him carefully, waiting for his reaction. "I know this is a lot to take in." She uttered gently. "I'm so sorry you had to find out like this."
But Dwayne said nothing. He still finds it hard to process the truth -his uncles had killed his parents and still wanted to do the same to his sister and her son? He felt he had been a fool for years for him not to have learned the truth.
All of this is happening right under his nose, but he wasn't aware? What if they had harmed his sister as planned and Herzl too? He doubts if he will be able to forgive himself for his stupidity!
"What do you want to do about it?" Ciara asked, her voice quiet and respectful. "I know this is our uncles we're talking about, and I know this is difficult for you. But he needs to be held
accountable for what he did. I'm not asking you to make any decisions right now, but I do want you to know that I'm here to support you in whatever you decide."
Dwayne took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing thoughts. "I need some time to process this..."He said, finally finding his voice after several seconds. "I need to think about what I want to do. But..."He paused, pressing his lips into a thin line.
"I have to see my uncle..."Dwayne said, his voice firm. "I have to talkto him face to face, and hear what he has to say for himself. I know he did this terrible thing, but I still want to hear from him."
Ciara considered his request, and then nodded. "I can arrange that," she said. "But I would like to make one thing clear-this is not a negotiation. I'm not going to let him go, regardless of what he says or promises. He has to pay for what he did."
"I never said anything about negotiation here, Ciara!" Dwayne hold himself enough so as not to yell at her. "We are talking about lives here, and the people involved are my parents -our parents."
"I just want you to know that I'm not trying to pressure you into anything," Ciara said, her tone softening. "I just want you to be fully informed of the situation and have the opportunity to decide how you want to move forward. I'm here to support you, whatever you decide."
Dwayne nodded, appreciating her understanding and compassion. "Thank you..."He said, his voice hoarse."I...I just need some time to think. I need to be alone."
"I understand." Ciara uttered plain with a simple nod. "Take all the time you need. Just know that I'm here for you, whenever you're ready..."
With that, Ciara turned and left the room, leaving Dwayne alone with his thoughts. He sat there for a long time, trying to process everything that had happened. His uncles -the men he'd looked up to all his life; had betrayed him in the worst possible way...