End of days

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

After their high school graduation, Rayford and Lauretha decided to end their relationship. Rayford was leaving the country for his university education, and they both didn't want to do a long distance relationship.

''I can't believe you would do this to me?''

" Rayford calm down, you are shouting" Lauretha pleaded.

"Where is the boy?" He asked in a restrained voice.

"He is staying with my aunt in the US"

"How old is he?" Rayford clinched his fist on the table.

"Thirteen"

Rayford slammed his fist on the table, "I have a thirteen year old son, and you never told me about him all these while? How could you?"

"I always meant to tell you Rayford, I was just waiting for the right time"

"When? On my dying bed? Was that when you were planning on telling me? Huh?" Rayford angrily got up to leave.

"Please Rayford hold on, let's talk about this"

"I need to process all of these Lauretha, I will talk to you later" Rayford stormed out of the restaurant before he did something stupid. He got into his car, and drove to the beach Jane took him to on his birthday. He needed to clear his head, probably the ocean waves would help in calming him down.

By the time he got to the beach, it was already getting dark, he went to the sea shore and screamed out loud.

"God where are you? What has I and my family done wrong? Why are you allowing all these to happen to us?" The sea waves carried his words off into the sea.

"Come on, talk to me, come f*****g talk to me God, I need answers! I know you can hear me, I know you are out there!" He fell to the ground as he yelled. And as if to answer his questions, the sea waves came and splashed water on him.

"I'm sorry God, I know I shouldn't be swearing at you, please help me out of this misery, It's too much for me. Heal my sister Lord, please don't let her die I beg you. Bring Jane back to me in one piece please, I can't bear to think of anything happening to her or her friend please....."

And for the first time ever since all of these started, Rayford broke down and wept. He wept for his sister who's life was hanging in the balance, he wept for his fiancée and her friend who he couldn't find and didn't know if they were still alive or not. He wept for his ignorance all these years of not knowing he had a son. The sea waves kept splashing water on him as he knelt down and wept in agony.

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Meanwhile, Jane and Amaka's kidnappers have been tormenting them all day. The lady took Jane to the bathroom, filled the bathtub with water, and made her kneel in front of it with her hands tied to her back. Then she forced Jane's head into the tub full of water and held her head still.

Jane struggled for air, but the lady kept pushing her head into the water. And when she was almost passing out for lack of air, she pulled Jane's head out of the water.

"How does that feel?" The woman asked Jane who was gasping for breath. "Answer me you b***h, how does that feel uh?" She pushed Jane's head back into the water and had her struggling again before pulling her head out.

"You see that feeling right there? That's how I feel every time I see you and Rayford together. That's how I f*****g feel when he wouldn't even notice me because of you" She pushed Jane's head inside the water again and this time when she brought out her head, Jane started crying and pleading.

"Now you are pleading, if you had left my man alone, we wouldn't be here right now. You are pleading, by the time I'm done with you, you would wish you were never born, I will make sure you suffer for every pain you caused me by making Rayford to stop loving me!" She slapped Jane so hard on her face, she fell on the floor and passed out.

Her partner came in and carried Jane out of the bathroom.

"I think you should take it easy with them, especially this one, we don't want anything happening to them before boss arrives"

"They are going to be killed anyway, so we might as well get started with the process" She went over to where Amaka was, untied her and dragged her by her hair to the bathroom. Amaka kept shouting as the lady kept pulling at her hair. "Shut up you stupid fool! If you had shut your mouth in the first place and minded your own business, you wouldn't be here. But no, you decided to make other people's business yours, by advising your friend to take another woman's man!"

"I don't know what you are talking about" Amaka cried as the lady pulled harder at her hair.

"Don't worry, I'm sure this will refresh your memory" The lady pushed Amaka's head into the water.

When she brought Amaka's head up for air, she started begging the lady.

"Please I beg you to forgive me, for whatever.." Amaka was still speaking when the lady pushed her head back into the water. "I do the talking, not you"

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These past few days, Vivian has been suspicious of Katherine's movement. She always moved like she was in a hurry and sneaks out to take certain phone calls.

At first, Vivian suspected it was because of that lowlife she was seeing, so probably she didn't want to answer his call in her presence. But on Sunday evening, Vivian went to Katherine's room to talk to her, and she overheard Katherine making a phone call in the bathroom and she was telling whoever was on the other side of the line; "we strike tonight, their so called protector is not around so their defense will be weak, I will meet you up in thirty minutes time"

And that night, Katherine didn't sleep in the house. Vivian didn't pay much attention to this, until that private investigator came and told her; Jane and Amaka had gone missing on that same night.

She knew Katherine disliked those two girls, but not to the extent of k********g them. Vivian blamed herself for all these, she was the one who sold the idea of dating Rayford into Katherine's head, now Amaka and Jane are paying for something that isn't their fault.

What was she going to do? Should she tell Rayford to involve the police? Or should she just pretend like she knows nothing? After all, she already told the private investigator she didn't have a hand in Jane and Amaka's kidnap, which was true.

But what if Katherine harms them, or even worse kills them? If anything happens to those girls, and she later finds out Katherine had a hand in it, she won't be able to forgive herself.

Vivian decided to call Rayford. She had to call severally before he finally picked up.

"hello Rayford, sorry to call you at this hour, but I think I might have information on the person who kidn*pped Jane and Amaka"

"You know who is keeping Jane and Amaka? Who is that? Where is the person?" Rayford who had passed out on his couch after he got back from the beach, was suddenly alert, he immediately sat up.

"I'm not so sure, but I have a nudge that Katherine might have a hand in their kidnap"

"You mean Katherine your niece?"

"Yes, I have been suspicious of her behavior for quite sometime now"

"Do you know where she could be keeping them?" Rayford was already on his feet as he talked to Vivian.

"I'm not quite sure, but I heard her making a phone call about meeting someone in a few minutes time, I will follow her to where she is headed and then find out if that's where she hid them"

"Alright, you do that and send me the address, I'm leaving the house now, so I can meet you up. Thank you so much Vivian"

Rayford quickly went upstairs and changed out of his wet clothes, which he was too lazy to change when he earlier came back from the beach.

Few minutes later, Rayford was already dressed to leave the house, he decided to call Vivian to know where she was, so he could meet her up, but she wasn't picking up.

He has already informed Dele who would be meeting up with them, alongside some police men.

He kept trying severally to get Vivian on the phone, but she still wasn't picking up. Rayford became concerned, how were they supposed to know where Katherine had kept Jane and Amaka if Vivian doesn't pick up?

He finally decided to go to Vivian's house and speak to her in person. He was about driving out from his compound, when Dele called.

"Bro, what's up? Has Vivian told you where Katherine kept them?"

"No, she is no longer taking my calls. I have called her severally but she isn't picking up. I'm on my way to her place now. I will keep trying her line on my way there"

"Okay bro, keep me informed on whatever you find"

"Alright sure, I will. Have you informed the police men already?"

"Yes, all they are just waiting for is the address"

"Okay, once I get it from Vivian I will send it to you guys"

"Alright cool. And Rayford?"

"Yes?"

"Please be careful"

"I sure will, and you be careful too"

Rayford prayed silently on his way to the Vivian's house, that Vivian is able to lead them to where Jane and Amaka were being kept. And let them be found in one piece.

On his way to Vivian's house, he encountered traffic which made him take a longer time in getting there.

When Rayford got to Vivian's street, he could hear some noise coming from the direction of her house, and as he got closer, he discovered the noise was actually coming from Vivian's house and a lot of people were gathered in front of her gate.

Rayford got down from his car and asked one of the women standing, what was going on?

"Dem attack the owner of this house and him family" she said in pidgin English.

"Attack how? I don't understand?"

"Some boys come their house come shoot them"

"What? This can't be happening" Rayford suddenly became confused.

"People dey even talk say, na one of the oga opponents go don send them, because them nor take anything for the house" Another lady who was standing close to Rayford chipped in.

"But how did this happen? I just spoke to the madam of the house not quite long ago"

"E never too tey wen the thing happen"

Rayford tried to go into the compound, but was stopped by an officer who was taping the gate to prevent people from coming in.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in sir, this is a crime scene"

Rayford stepped back, confused at how all of these could have happened between the space of two hours. He was still pondering on what to do, when some paramedics wheeled a bleeding woman in a stretcher out of the house. Rayford went close to get a closer look, and he saw that the woman was Vivian, she was groaning in pains as she held her bleeding abdomen.

The paramedics, carried her into the ambulance, and few minutes later, they wheeled out another younger lady, who looked unconscious and was bleeding profusely from her chest and thigh as they carried her out of the house, into the Ambulance.

The lady's face looked familiar, he kept trying to remember where he has seen that face before, then he remembered; that was Katherine.

If Katherine was shot too, then how was he going to find out where she hid Amaka and Jane?

Rayford stood staring at the ambulance with it's blaring siren, as it drove off to the hospital with all the hope he had of finding Jane that night.