Mother of Her Father's Son: A Novel

By Toni Peters

Beautiful Ella Igor is the only child of her parents and she had always been very close to them. She knew they loved her and had given her a good life including the best schools and holidays abroad growing up. Now she worked as the IT Security Manager in a University and she enjoyed the job as well as the challenges that came with it.

In a relationship with Josh Dumo for a over a year, they were already making plans for marriage but had not informed their parents.

Everything changes when she receives a message inviting her home to see her father. Thinking he was ill, she quickly makes plans and travels home.

When she finds out the cause of the summons, her world comes crashing down. She finds herself faced with a choice that threatens her faith, relationships, duty, and family. She is forced to make a decision that will change the entire course of her life except…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Louise J. Brown
• Release date: Dec 2, 2018

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MOTHER OF HER FATHER’S SON

TONI PETERS

COPYRIGHT

This book is a work of fiction and all characters appearing in it are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events or locations is purely coincidental. All characters and events depicted in this book are the product of the author’s imagination. All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

 Copyright ©Toni Peters 2018.

MOTHER OF HER FATHER’S SON

Quote

Proverbs 3:5 & 6  

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

ONE

A single beep alerted Ella that she had a new message on her phone. She didn’t want to be distracted. She was trying to pull up some documents on her computer for the presentation she was giving to top management staff of the university where she worked as the IT security manager. The meeting was scheduled for ten o’clock and it was already half past nine. She leaned backwards on her chair to pick a folder from the file cabinet behind her. There had been several reports of security breaches in the school’s network in recent weeks and she had finally worked out a strategy and plan to arrest the situation. This presentation was very important to her as she needed their support to implement the plan she had developed. She had made recommendations in the past that would have prevented the current problem if they had been heeded. Hopefully, this time they would listen and allow her take the necessary action. Leaking examination questions were no laughing matter and with the semester exams coming up in a couple of weeks, this needed to be tackled immediately. She flipped through the papers in the folder, found what she needed and went back to work.

The meeting was going to take place in the smaller conference room down the hall from her office. Her office was located downstairs on the west wing and at the end of a long line of offices in the administrative building of the State university. It was roomy but with the basic amenities. A wide and plain desk, faux leather covered, high-backed chair and two chairs for visitors facing the desk. She had a side table beside the desk where she put her purse. There were two file cabinets facing each other on opposite walls. At one corner of the room were stacks of cartons of computers that were just recently supplied. She didn’t understand why they were kept in her office but guessed they felt she had more space as she was alone in her office while most others shared offices.

As she finished and closed her laptop ready to leave for the conference room, she sat back and closed her eyes rubbing the back of her neck. Recently, she had been having very little sleep at night and it was beginning to take its toll. She loved her job and was not afraid of hard work but lately she had started feeling restless about everything. Her boyfriend Josh had told her she needed a vacation and had suggested they get married and go away for a long honeymoon. She had merely laughed it off and told him that it was not rest she needed. But as she walked to the conference room to set up the projector and get ready for the meeting starting in less than five minutes, she began to wonder if maybe Josh was right and she was overworking. Her position in the university came with lots of responsibilities and she always discharged them efficiently. When she took over the position three years ago she had initially felt overwhelmed by the role but gradually she had gotten a hang of it. She knew she was very good at her job and had received tons of recommendations from her superiors. She often went out of her way to help colleagues and some of the students with their personal IT and other computer related problems.

When the meeting ended she stayed back briefly to answer some questions from fellow workers and then suddenly remembered the message that had come in while she was preparing for the meeting. She pulled her phone from her bag and checked. It was from her mother. It simply said, Please, call me as soon as you can. She didn’t want to make a call during work hours but she was burning with curiosity. She decided to call at lunch break. Before dialing her mum’s number, she briefly wondered what the urgency was. It was an unusual message coming from her mum. As the only child of her parents she was very close to them and was considered by many to be over pampered. She knew this was not true as her father was quite strict and made sure she worked very hard at whatever she did including her studies.

Hello mummy. I got your message. How are you? and dad? she said hearing some voices in the background.

We are doing very well. How are you? her mother asked sounding subdued. Ella became concerned and asked again, Are you okay mummy? You sound kind of strange. Are you ill? Who is there with you? Is that daddy?

There’s nothing wrong. We are doing okay. Your daddy wants you to come home as soon as you can. He is not here now; your aunt Ada came to visit. Her mother said quietly.

Daddy wants me to come home as soon as possible and you want me to believe that everything is fine. Is daddy there? I want to speak with him now. Ella demanded as she was getting scared that her mother was keeping things from her.

You father is not at home right now. You can call him later and you will see that he is fine. Stop worrying, there is nothing wrong. Your father just wants to discuss something important with you.

Okay mummy. I want to speak with Aunty Ada. I will call my daddy as soon as I get off the phone with you.

No problems my dear. So, when do you think you can get here? Her mum asked. I’m not sure mummy, let me speak to my daddy first. I may be there on Friday or Saturday. Please pass the phone to Aunty. Love you mummy and see you soon. Her mum responded telling her she loved her too and then must have given the phone to her sister as Ella heard her aunt’s voice next.

Ella my love, how are you doing? How is work? I’m sure you are doing great. I came to see your mother and will be here for a few days. She just kept going on without letting up. Finally, Ella was able to respond. I’m good and work is fine. Aunty, is everything okay? I think mummy is keeping something from me. Why don’t you tell me what is going on? There was silence on the other end for some beats and for a moment she thought she had lost the connection. Then there was a sigh and then her aunt’s voice, "You needn’t trouble your head about anything. As your mum said, your father just wants to have