Eighteen

Kate prepared Kent’s favorite meal. Last time she talked to him, he was happy at the prospects of finding a great writer. She made sure that she had everything ready. After being satisfied with what she had done, she took a bath and wore her beloved dress which she knew Kent loved. She went back in the kitchen and checked on the food warmers as if someone had entered to steal the food. She sat on the dining chair while busy looking at her phone. She had texted him earlier on and he said he was in the neighbourhood but it had been thirty minutes already. Knowing Kent, he had a tendency of talking to people especially when he reached the neighbourhood. She didn’t want to call him. She told herself to be patient. They had the whole night together.

With all the work Kate had done, she was very tired. She got her sweater and rested her head on the dining table and fell asleep. An hour later, she woke up to no sign of Kent in the house.

“Babe!” She called out to him thinking he was already in the house.

She tried calling him but his phone had gone off. Kate became worried. She got up and checked the bedroom but Kent was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is this man oh?” She asked loudly fidgeting.

She decided to peep through the window to check if his car was outside. To her delight, Kent’s car was parked outside. She felt relieved and headed for the door.

“So why is your phone off?” She asked walking to Kent’s car.

She could see him from a distance. As she drew closer to the driver seat door, she saw his head resting on the driving wheel.

“Kent!” She ran and opened the door.

She lifted his head and was met with terror. Blood was all over Kent’s face. Kate felt her legs go numb. She tried to scream for help but her voice failed her.

“Baby talk to me,” she cried holding his head carefully.

She shook him but he wasn’t moving.

“Don’t do this to me, Kent please,” she cried.

She got out of the car and went back in the house to get her phone. Phone in her hands, she forgot why she needed it. Confusion was a cloud above Kate’s head. She ran back to the car. She carefully moved him to the backseat while tears kept streaming down her cheeks. She removed her sweater to support his head as a pillow. Luckily, she found the keys in the backseat. She went back to the driver’s seat and started the car.

“You’ll be fine baby, don’t worry,” She said driving out of the yard.

Ludo felt like she could choke on her fast beating heart. It was like the tiny confinements of her chest couldn’t contain the heart anymore. Her head bowed down, she could feel the eyes on her with the thirst for blood. All that was needed was just an order to kill. She looked at her phone on the sofa she had sat on, but she knew that the moment she reached for it, that might as well be the death of her. There was nowhere to run to.

“Two deals have gone sour today because of your manuscript, Ludo!” Elise broke the deadly silence. “Do you still expect me to believe what you said?”

Ludo didn’t answer.

“I don’t know why you all think this girl is innocent,” Erica added. “She’s a weapon to our enemies. Look what she’s cost us now.”

“Today she will tell us who she’s working for. Failure to do that, I’m having her parents killed in front of her eyes,” Elise said angrily.

“She will just have another seizure,” Evan said. “Look at her, I think it’s even on its way,” he chuckled.

Ludo looked at Evan with hate in her eyes.

“What? You want to beat me?” Evan angrily asked her.

“Screw you!” She yelled at him.

“Screw this, I’m killing her,” Evan quickly walked to Ludo and grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up.

“Leave me you bastard!” she shouted kicking and punching him.

Evan threw her on the floor, hurting her hand.

“You will hurt her,” Elise looked at Evan.

“That’s what we are supposed to be doing right now. Do you know how embarrassing it was seeing Naveen beating me at a deal I worked my ass off for?!” Evan shouted at his mother. “All because of a damn manuscript written by this epileptic weirdo who claims to know nothing about it.”

“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Evan,” Elise warned him.

“She embarrassed us mother,” Erica joined. “Apparently, her manuscript says I have STI’s more than fifty women combined. Who writes something like that?”

“She did.” Ethan said standing at the door.

They all went mute as they watched him walk in.

“Aren’t you ashamed of beating a woman?” He looked at Evan. “You failed to finalize a simple deal and here you are getting angry at a girl, Evan.”

“She ruined the deal for me,” Evan said.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, twin brother,” Ethan said wiping his hands with a cloth.

All four of them present could see the blood stains in his hands.

“And you Jezebel, did she lie talking about those STI’s? Huh?” He gazed at Erica. “I thought you were all better than this. Instead of fighting the greater enemy, you are all busy playing games.”

“Where have you been?” Elise asked him.

“I went to take care of their mess,” Ethan answered. “Lately, it seems like it has become my work to take care of their businesses. Let’s talk in private,” he looked at his mother as he walked to the stairs.

“Don’t move,” Elise told the three.

After a good twenty minutes that seemed like forever, Elise came back alone.

“Where is Ethan?” Erica asked.

Elise ignored Erica’s question.

“Take her home,” Elise told Evan.

“What?” Erica and Evan asked in unison, surprise showing on their faces.

“You heard me,” Elise left without looking at Ludo. “Erica follow me.”

Erica followed her mother, expressionless. She didn’t know what to make of what had just happened.

“What’s wrong with this family?” A drunk Evan hit his head. “After everything you’ve heard, I take you home? This is crazy. I don’t believe this.”

Ludo just looked at him while she sat on the floor nursing her hand.

“Stand up!” He yelled at her.

Ludo quickly got to her feet.

Evan got his car keys and started walking to the door. Ludo trailed behind. They got to his car while he said nothing. He waited for her to get inside the car and started off.

If anything, this was Ludo’s most ghastly night ever. It wasn’t over yet and she had convinced herself that as soon as she got home, she was telling her parents everything that was going on. That was if she would even make it home alive.

“What did our family do to you? How much are the Patels paying you?” Evan asked with his eyes fixed on the road.

Ludo shifted uneasily.

“We can triple what they are paying you. What do you have to gain in all of this?”

“No one is paying me to do anything. You people are just crazy,” Ludo said moving to the door.

“If it was that friend of yours, Melanie, I would have understood and maybe give her a benefit of a doubt. That one is a thirsty whore but you? You don’t seem like those kind of people.”

“Leave Melanie out of this, Evan.”

“So you are now defending her? Do you know that the reason I hang out with her is because of you? Once we figure out your deal, both of you are done for. I just don’t know what Ethan told mother to have prompted letting you go. If it were up to me, you could be dead by now,” Evan said driving into Ludo’s street.

Ludo was ready to jump out of the car and run for her life.

“I see what you want to do. Don’t even dare! You will get yourself killed,” Evan said looking for where to park. He drove slowly into the street avoiding alarming people. There was no one in sight.

Ludo looked around. She calculated the amount of time it could take her to run to the gate. If she could run faster, he wouldn’t catch her and being that he was drunk, she knew he couldn’t catch her. Evan found a good parking spot and had concentrated his mind to it when suddenly the car door open and Ludo jumped out of the car hitting the ground.

“Damn!” He shouted. “I don’t even want to kill you. What’s wrong with you?”

Ludo was on the ground. She quickly got up as fast as she fell and took off. She ran as fast as she could. All she prayed for was to reach the house and tell her parents everything regardless of the repercussions. She didn’t even look back; her eyes were on the gate. She reached for it and opened it when she was grabbed by the hair and pulled back outside.

“You are making me angry girl,” Evan dragged her.

“Help!” She screamed.

“Shut up. I didn’t want to do anything to you, but now I need to teach you one lesson,” Evan said furiously.

Ludo cried.

Evan dragged her back to the car.

“Please I won’t say anything, I swear. Don’t do anything to me,” she begged.

“Stay here,” he let go of her and went to his car.

He got a knife from the car and walked to her while she begged him not to harm her. Ludo blinked her eyes repeatedly and saw a huge figure behind Evan standing fiercely. She opened her eyes widely in terror.

“What is it?” Evan noticed her expression and turned around.

“The bearded man?” Ludo felt her heart pound even faster.

Evan was firmly gripped by his neck that he couldn’t clearly see who it was, who had got hold of him.

“Easy, Easy,” Hunter said as he tightly squeezed Evan’s neck with his firm arms.

“You’re killing him,” Ludo screamed.

“Young girl shut up,” Hunter looked at Ludo angrily.

Evan fought back but his effort was in vain. He slowly lost conscious and fainted.

Seeing what had just happened, Ludo took off running again. This time, she made it to the gate and entered the house. She entered, panting heavily, and met her parents in the living room preparing to leave the house.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zamiwe asked putting her phone in the handbag.

“Mom,” Ludo hugged her.

“What is it?” Joe asked too. “Is there anyone chasing you?” He went to check outside.

Ludo’s breathing interfered with her speaking. She couldn’t get any word out clearly.

“Water!” She said. “I need water.”

“Nancy!” Zamiwe shouted.

Nancy came in the living room with a glass of water and handed it over to her.

Ludo drunk the water rapidly.

“What is it?” Joe asked entering the house.

“Speak up, we are going to the hospital,” Zamiwe said impatiently.

“Hospital?” Ludo asked.

“Yes. Mr. Visashi was attacked this evening.”

“Oh my God,” Ludo dropped the glass of water on the floor. “Let’s go,” she stood up.

“Wait. What happened to you first?” Zamiwe held her hand.

“It can wait. Let’s go to the hospital,” Ludo ran to her father’s car and got in.

Zamiwe and Joe were astounded by Ludo’s behaviour. They all followed her and found her in the backseat.

“Is everything fine with you?” Zamiwe asked.

Ludo didn’t answer.

Joe started the car and left the compound.

Ludo checked through the window to see if Evan’s car was still parked but it had vanished. She remembered what happened to Mr. Jabulani. Could the same fate have met Evan? She asked herself. That was not important at the moment. She was worried about Mr. Visashi. She had connected the dots. She visualized Ethan wiping his hands and talking about the mess he was taking care of. All the drama with Evan and Erica being upset with Ludo’s manuscript. It all brought her back to Mr. Visashi; The second person from his wife, Kate, other than her parents to have approved the manuscript.

They reached the hospital and went to the waiting room where they found Kate weeping on her own. Zamiwe ran to her to comfort her.

“I didn’t have anyone to call. Sorry to have bothered you,” Kate told Zamiwe.

“It’s fine dear. What are friends for?” Zamiwe comforted Kate.

Joe went to check on what was happening while Ludo stood like a statue feeling like her world was crashing down. She slowly walked to where Zamiwe and Kate were sitting and sat beside them.

“What happened to your hand?” Zamiwe asked Ludo.

“Nothing!” Ludo answered.

Zamiwe looked at Ludo dubiously.

“What happened to Mr. Visashi?” Ludo looked at Kate.

“I found him badly beaten in his car,” Kate sobbed.

They were all silent.

Joe came back with the doctor.

They all stood up.

“How is he doctor?” Kate asked.

“I have good and bad news,” the doctor sighed.

“What is it?” Zamiwe asked.

“Good news is that he is still alive. Bad news is that we have medically induced a coma on him.”

Kate knelt down and wailed.

Ludo knelt too and held Kate, trying desperately to stop her own tears but to no avail.

Suddenly, Kate sprang up.

“I know who did this,” she said, with anger in her voice.