Ciara swallowed hard, unsure of what to say next. How could she talk to her aunt after everything that had happened? Her husband's death, his brother's turning themselves to the authorities for committing a great crime -with her husband inclusive.
"I'm sorry, aunt Elsie." Ciara sighed, unsure of the best words suited for a situation like this. "I should have come to you as soon as I heard the news about his death, but I couldn't create time for myself -work is overwhelming these days."
Aunt Elsie smiled faintly, her eyes clouded with a warm expression. "I know, right..." She nodded slowly, her smile still on her face. "It must have been hard on you to look after all of these fortunes after your parents' death -I wouldn't dare lay a blame on you, Cici."
Ciara reciprocated the smile, hers was warmerthan that of aunt Elsie's. "Have a seat, aunt Elsie," Ciara said, gesturing to the chair next to her desk.
But Elsie shook her head. "No, thanks, I'll take the couch." She uttered in disapproval to Ciara's offer.
Ciara looked at her aunt with a puzzled look on her face. "What's going on?" She asked, her brows raised alongside her question.
Elsie sat down on the couch and let out a long sigh. "This isn't about business, Cici." She muttered, breathing in slowly. "It's personal, there is no need to sit near the desk."
"Oh, right!" Ciara sat next to aunt Elsie on the couch.
"Kent is dead! He died in the hospital due to labored breathe because there was no one around at that time to help him." Elsie's voice crackled as she speaks, her heart shattering at the thought of it.
Ciara's was clouded with guilt as she sees the look on her aunt's face, her words hitting Ciara hard in her gut. If Aunt Elsie should know the reason and the person behind her husband's death, she will probably hate her.
"I learned about the cause of his death." Ciara unconsciously uttered, her voice was low and barely above a whisper.
"I didn't realize you knew about the cause of Kent's death too, Cici." Elsie said, looking shocked.
"Yes, Dwayne told me." Ciara muffled out slowly, her voice tinged with sadness as she tried hard to fight off the guilt within her. "But why are you here, Elsie? What does this have to do with me?"
Elsie took a deep breath, looking hesitant. "I'm in trouble, Ciara," she said, her voice crackled and shakes. "I'm in some serious trouble and I don't know who else to turn to."
Ciara was concerned, and she did not know the reason behind it at the moment -is it because of the guilt that clouds her or the sincerity she used to feel towards Aunt Elsie.
She adjusted herself on the couch next to Elsie and took her hand. "It's okay ..."She said to her. "You can tell me anything, you know I'm always ready to help however I can."
Elsie takes a deep breath. "Thank you, Cici..."She says. "I don't know where to begin."
"I guess I should start by telling you what happened," Elsie says. She takes a shaky breath and continues. "As at when Kent's health became worse, coupled with the asthma he was having, there was no money to pay for his health bill. I was desperate, so I went to a loan shark for help."
Ciara's eyes widen in alarm. She knows that loan sharks are dangerous, and she doesn't like where this story is going. "What happened?" She asks, hervoice soft.
Elsie's eyes filled with tears, herwarm eyes filled with pain and agony. "They gave me the loan." She muffled out alongside her silent sob.
"Now, I owe a lot of money to the loan shark. And now, they're threatening to hurt me if I don't pay them back."
Ciara felt a wave of concern washed over her. "How much do you owe them?" She asked, her voice low and laced with concern she felt towards Elsie.
"Enough to get me into serious trouble." Elsie said, biting her lip hard to hold back the painful cry that's threatening to burst from her throat. "I did not know what else to do, so I came to you."
"Did you try paying any part of the money or talking things out with them?" Ciara did not know when the words escaped her lips -it wasn't a necessary question, she realized, but it was too late.
"I sold our house, hoping to get the bills settled with it." Elsie said, her voice cracking. "But the money from the sale wasn't enough to pay them back. I'm really desperate at this point, and I didn't know what else to do. I thought maybe you could help me."
Ciara's heart broke for her aunt. "What about Kent's life insurance?" She requested, her mind racing. "Didn't he have any?"
Elsie shook her head negatively in disapproval. "He didn't have any insurance." She muttered, her eyes welling up again. "I'm so scared, Cici. I don't know what to do."
"The fact that you have nothing on you and no place to stay is bothering, Aunt Elsie." Ciara said, sharing in her aunt's pain.
"I know this is too improperto ask coupled with what Kent and his brothers did to you and Dwayne, I know about this, and I tried to talk him out of it -I never knew he had some other plans he was hiding from me." Else muttered, her voice was low as she avoided Ciara's gaze. "But there is no other hope for me at this moment."
"Look at me, aunt..." She demanded as she pressed her hands softly, Elsie doing as requested, meeting her gaze with Ciara's. "You can ask me anything, Aunt Elsie, I'll be glad to help."
"Can I stay with you?" She gathered enough courage before speaking. "I won't stay for long. I just needed a place to stay until I'm able to regain my feet once more -I can't live on the street, I'll be in danger."
"You can stay with me for as long as you can, Aunt Elsie, I don't mind." Ciara offered with a friendly smile on her face, putting a hand on her aunt's shoulder. "But we need to figure out a way to get you out of this mess."
Elsie's face lit up, and she reached for Ciara's hand. "Thank you, Cici..."She appreciated, her voice thick with emotion and delight. "I don't know what I would have done without you."
Ciara smiled wider, feeling a sense of relief that she could help her aunt. "We'll figure this out together, dear aunt." She said with assurance laced in her voice, giving Elsie's hand a soft squeeze.