Destined To Love Only You

ANISHA'S POV

As I got closer to the gate, I began to quicken my steps. I was very late, and I knew this was going to affect my employer ma'am Larissa la Martina. She would not be able to leave home before my arrival, since she had a nine month old baby, Liam. Oh Liam, what a sweet little boy. I rushed up the front stairs and knocked at the door just for formality. I hardly ever knocked, and ma'am Larissa usually left the front door open for me. Before anyone could answer, I pushed the door open.

"I'm here, ma'am!" I called out with a smile. The house was unusually silent. Every morning when I reported for work, I was always greeted by some music.

"Ma'am? Liam? I'm here!" I shouted louder as I hurried towards the child's bedroom. In the hallway, just before I could ascend the stairs, I saw some clothes thrown about, as if someone had been in a fight. A fight? Could sir Lucas ever be in a fight with ma'am Larissa? No. Not the man that I knew. He loved his wife too much to ever raise his hand on her. Or maybe...maybe they...or no...could they have been just having fun in their house, and ended up leaving their clothes thrown about on the stairs? I used my hand to cup my mouth in great embarrassment, and I decided it probably was not the right time for me to go up the stairs. What if sir Lucas was still in the house, and I would just walk in on them? Oh no, I could not imagine such a scene! I quickly ran down the stairs and entered into the lounge.

The room was dim, so I opened wide the curtains and the windows. I picked up a few toys which were scattered all over the floor, and then something caught my eye. A huge drop of blood. Huh? What was happening? I shifted my gaze and saw that just a few centimetres from the huge drop, there was another larger blood stain. And another, and another. My sight followed the red trail, and I saw that it moved up to the carpet, the deep red blood painted a huge stain on the carpet. It seemed like someone was bleeding and they walked into the lounge with blood dripping. Who? Who had spoiled the floor with their blood? Oh; where had they gone to? Sensing danger and beginning to be very scared, I followed the drops of blood, which led me to the kitchen. My whole body shook in terror, but I continued to tiptoe.

"Ma'am Larissa!! Sir Lucas!!" I called out with a voice so hoarse and shaky that I could not even recognise it as mine.

I was nearing the kitchen door when something caught my sight. From within the kitchen I saw numerous drops of blood.

"Ma'am?" I called out again but there was no response.

Slowly and in fear I started to walk towards the kitchen, following drops. It led me to the most horrific sight of my life; my employer ma'am Larissa lying on the floor. Just behind the kitchen counter she was lying, and from looking at her, I immediately knew that I needed to call an ambulance. She was covered in her bath towel.

"Ma'am?' I shivered as I drew closer asking myself, is she alive?

"Ma'am! Who did this to you!! Who did this to you ma'am?"

Tears started to stream down my face as I hurriedly searched in my bag for my phone.

"Hold on ma'am, I will call 911", I said as I fished my phone out. Just then, my phone rang. It was Sir Lucas la Martina, husband to ma'am Larissa.

I quickly answered it, "sir, you have to come home now...."

"Listen to me, Anisha," in a deep scary voice, he interjected. His voice was so serious that I dared not say a word to oppose him. All I could do was listen.

He continued: "Go into our bathroom, check carefully between the sink and the shower doors. You will find a loose tile. Move it. Get inside the tunnel. It leads to my secret basement. Check drawers of old white cupboard. Take as much cash as you can. Take one of my cars. Run. Take Liam with you. Leave Southrain City now!! Do not go to the police, the police cannot be trusted now! Someone in the police is after you and Liam!! Go as far away as you can!" and the line went dead.

"Sir? Sir? ...." I called out, but there was no response.

I kept staring at my phone in fear and confusion. Someone in the police force was after our lives? Liam and myself? I could not understand it at all. He said I had to leave the city of Southrain? To where? Southrain was and had always been my only home, I had never left the city for any other place; and the two people I called family were in Southrain City. I was very much confused and scared, tried to call back Sir Lucas' number, but the line was not going through anymore. Then I remembered Liam. Where could he be?

I stood up and ran as fast as I could up the stairs. The child was asleep, I quickly picked him up and he woke up with a cry "shh! We will call the police now" I said as I picked a set of car keys and hurried down the stairs. In my hurry to go and pick the child, I had left my phone on the kitchen counter, so I went back in, took the phone and started running outside. In my rush, I almost dropped Liam, and as I struggled to keep him in my hands, I dropped my phone and it fell with a loud thud, the screen immediately shattering and going blank! Oh no!! I cursed out loud and ran outside, but I did not know what I was doing. Ma'am Larissa hardly ever spoke to her neighbours, and so I also did not know them well. Standing by the side wall, I screamed towards one neighbor's house "help!! Help me!!" There was dead silence.

I called out again and just then a man appeared through the gate. In great fear, I ran towards the garage, aiming to get into a car and drive off before the man got to me. I was continuously pressing the car remote, checking which car was responding so that I could jump inside. Who was that man? Was he the one who had attacked ma'am Larissa? What was happening? I ran like I had never ran before, towards the beeping car. I pulled open the door and hopped in with Liam in my hands. Car seat...car seat! Oh no! It was too late for that! There was no car seat, and I just had to go. I fastened the child using the seatbelt in the back seat.

Feeling sorry for Liam who had no idea what was going on, I quickly reversed the car, headed for the gate. The man was in my way, but since a part of my heart told me that he must have been an intruder, I made up my mind not to stop. My intention was not to hit him, but for him to jump out of my way. The car veered at great speed, and the man, seeing that I was determined to keep going, jumped off my way and called out my name, "Anisha!! You want to kill me?"

Oh! He called out my name? In shock I stopped the car and looked. It was Eden Salatto, one of my housemates. The three of us, Eden, Valentina and myself shared a house. Eden was a plumber by profession, and Valentina and myself were babysitters by day, students by night.

I was more than shocked to see Eden, wondering if maybe I could have been in a dream. I failed to understand how Eden could have been at the la Martina' house, more so during such an early hour of the day. How had he known about my workplace, had he been looking for me or what could have happened? I could not help but ask in shock "Eden? What are you doing here?"

He chuckled. "This is my area, Harvey Street. There are a lot of houses here where I do some plumbing work. I was just coming from fixing some pipes down the street when I heard your cries for help."

Snapping back into reality, I suddenly remembered ma'am Larissa who was alone in the house. "You have to help me!! You have to help me Eden!!" I cried as I got out of the car and moved closer to him.

"What happened?" he asked as he tried to calm me down.

"Something terrible has happened! Ma'am Larissa has just collapsed on the floor," more and more tears ran down my cheeks.

"What!!!!" he gasped in disbelief.

"You have to come with me to find an ambulance or inform the police, in case a robber invaded the house." My voice was demanding. There was no room for negotiation.

"You haven't called an ambulance yet? What happened?"

"My phone broke! Stop asking questions, Eden. Let's go." I screamed at Eden.

"I don't understand. Please tell me what happened?"

I was failing to control my loud breathing. Although a part of my mind wanted so badly to convince me that I was just having a nightmare, the other part insisted that it was reality. Ma'am Larissa? What had happened to her? Why did sir Lucas tell me to run away with Liam? My whole body was drenched in sweat; not that it was hot, but because my body was producing its own heat.

"Sir must somehow know that ma'am is not well. Maybe they had a fight," I broke into tears afresh, my whole body shaking as the image of ma'am Larissa's lying helpless on the floor refused to leave my mind.

"What happened? Did you witness him harming her in any way?" Eden did his best to sound calm.

"No, but sir Lucas told me to get lots of cash from his secret basement and run as far away as I can. And he said I mustn't report this to the police! Get in the car, let's go!!" I quickly jumped on to the driver's seat and I was already reversing as I urged Eden to join me.

"Where will you go then?" he asked, showing concern. In my mind, I still wanted to go to the police, for there was no safer place than that. But then, Sir Lucas had sternly informed me that someone in the police was after our lives? Who? How? I had never had an issue with any police officer before; so where was all this coming from?

"Go to the house, Anisha! Go to the house, our house! If someone is after you, I will help you! I can take you to Yellowleaf with me! I will report this to the police and meet you at home in ten minutes." He shouted out to me as he ran towards the open door of the house.

Without wasting any more time, I drove out in haste, headed towards the police station. Liam, probably sensing that something had gone very wrong, let out a sharp scream which greatly startled me. I almost lost control of the car, but I managed to get it back on the road, and it screeched loudly as the tires gripped the road, on my way to the police station. I had to report it! My mind was telling me that ma'am Larissa had not just collapsed on her own; she probably had been in a fight with her husband.

Tears blurred my vision but having no option, I fought hard to keep my sight on the road, speeding towards the city center. I knew that Eden had told me that he was also going to report the issue, but I felt that, to be just to ma'am Larissa, I needed to report what I had seen. How on earth could I have gone home to wait for Eden, while I knew that my employer, my loving employer ma'am Larissa, was lying unconscious in her kitchen?

LUCAS' POV

I was blindfolded and beaten like I had never been beaten before.

"Just say where the merchandise is!! How can it all disappear?" an angry voice, which I failed to recognise, yelled at me.

I groaned in pain, crouching on the cold floor. Although there were many people in the room, I had failed to recognise a single voice.

"Where are the goods?" the man repeated as his thick leather belt landed on my bare back.

"It's enough!" a voice screamed.

Troy!! Oh! That voice was undoubtedly Troy's! Troy was there too! I almost screamed in joy upon hearing Troy's voice.

"Troy! Troy is that you" I sobbed in desperation.

"You better shut up if you want to leave this place alive," Troy said. "Everyone get out!" he screamed.

"But Troy, boss said we must beat him until he speaks", said the voice of the one who had been beating me.

"Boss said we must torture him until he talks, not until he dies. At the rate you're going, you will kill him any minute from now. I said out! Everyone!" Troy's commanding voice was followed by the sound of many footsteps which were loud at first, and slowly faded off as the people left the room.

I heard the loud sound of a door slamming shut.

Footsteps drew close to me, and I believed it was Troy, so I asked in a begging voice,

"Please untie me, Troy. My feet and my hands are hurting. I also have a very bad headache. Please untie me."

"That's not going to happen. Tell me, where are the goods?" he asked in an emotionless tone.

"Troy, please believe me; I have no idea. But please, help me save my family. My wife and my child are..."

"Your wife is dead", he said in a rude tone.

I suddenly froze. Although my eyes were already blindfolded, I felt a deeper, thicker darkness engulfing me. It felt like I had been thrown into a freezer, for suddenly I felt cold. The cold was moving through my body from my legs upwards, intensifying as it moved upwards, causing my body to shake.

All my limbs were suddenly numb, and it felt like something or someone was chocking me, making it extremely difficult for me to breath. My head started spinning, I felt like I was in a roller coaster going round and round, and the faster it went, the colder I felt.

Without any warning, I threw up and my tears started coming out, wetting the cloth that they used to blindfold me. I wanted Troy to say it was a joke. I waited anxiously for Troy to say, "she's alive, I was just joking," but those words never came. He did not say anything.

Larissa! Larissa was dead? My dear lovely wife...my heart ached. It felt like a rock was placed, or rather thrown on to my chest, weighing heavily on me, causing both physical and emotional pain. I could not breathe. My breathing, which came in short outbursts accompanied by small whimpers, heightened with each breath I took.

My breathing was fast and forced, and the cold which I previously felt instantly turned into heat. My body seemed to be producing its own heat, for the warmth came from within. It was warmth at first, but the temperature rapidly rose, leading to my sweating.

I felt my trousers clinging to my legs, soaked by the sweat that my body was producing.

"Where are the goods?" Troy said to me.

The goods? He was still asking me about the goods, soon after informing me that my dear wife was dead? Larissa! Larissa la Martina, my wife. If I had known that things were going to come to this, then I would have never got involved with the people that I involved myself with. My wife; my dear wife.

"I said where are the goods!" Troy sounded impatient.

"M-my s-s-son. Is Liam alive?" that was all I managed to say.

If Larissa was dead, did it mean that whoever killed Larissa also killed Liam? Troy remained silent.

"Liam. Troy, please answer me. Is he alive?", I said through my tears.

"For now yes. Where are the goods?" he asked without any emotion in his voice.

Using the phrase "for now" was Troy's clear way of letting me know, in a few words, that Liam's life was in danger too.

I needed to beg for my son's life...

"Troy please, for my loyalty to you throughout all these years, please help me save my son. Please." I cried even more as I struggled to get to my feet.

He roughly pushed me back and I fell on to the floor. Falling was not an issue at that time. I did not mind, as long as Troy did something to help save my son's life.

"Please, Troy", I begged.

"I can help save your son, but I can't save you," he stated with finality.

A chill ran through my body upon hearing those words. But it was better than nothing. If he could save Liam, there was always a chance that next time I would convince him to help me too.

"Can I use my phone, please Troy? For the sake of our friendship, please!"

To my utter surprise, Troy placed the phone in my hand, before withdrawing it and asking,

"What's your password?" I told him. Then he asked, "who do you need to call?"

"Anisha", my voice shivered.

I heard him clicking on the phone, and I assumed he was searching for Anisha's contacts. As soon as the phone started ringing, Troy said to me "thirty seconds."

I stretched out my hand, believing that he was going to give me the phone, but instead he ordered me to talk, informing me that the phone was on speaker.

"Sir, you have to come home now....", came Anisha's loud voice. From what she said, I knew things had already gone seriously bad, because the panic in her voice could not be missed. Hoping that Liam was still alive, I could not allow her to finish off her sentence. I needed to get straight to the point as I told Anisha in a stern voice,

"Go into our bathroom..." I gave her the full instructions on how to get money and run as far away as possible. Before I could finish talking, Troy ended the call.

"Troy," I pleaded. "May I just say a few more things to her? Just one more sentence, please Troy?"

"Instead of thanking me, you're asking for more favours?" Troy said in a mocking tone.

"Thank you", was all I could say.

"You'll never see this phone again", was his response.

He walked out of the room and as soon as he was out, someone walked in. Without saying a word, the person injected something into my right arm, while two or three other people firmly held me. I tried to struggle but it was in vain. They overpowered me.

"Why do you keep injecting me? What is that?" I protested.

A woman laughed and said, "this is good for you. it will kill you slowly. You don't have to go through the pain of a cruel death."

They walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. My right hand felt heavy. The drug, whatever it was, was too strong. The muscles of my body ached terribly, and I felt parched. It was as if my throat was some narrow dusty road in a desert, with the ground caking from the vast heat.

"Water!" I called out in distress. "If anyone can hear me, please may I have some water?"

The door was opened. Someone walked towards me and I felt their presence right in front of me.

"What do you want?" a woman's voice demanded in an angry voice.

"May I have some water?" my parched throat managed to let out a husky whisper.

"Zuri ordered for us not to give you any water."

"She doesn't have to know. Please." I tried my best to get the woman's compassion.

"Zuri has a way of knowing everything. I cannot risk my life for a glass of water!" and with that, she walked out of the room.

The huge door made the usual loud sound. A small echo was heard after the door was shut, followed by dead silence.

My heartbeat was the only sound I heard; for it was thumping rapidly, causing me to wonder in horror what it was that they had just injected me. I started to lose energy, and I slept on my side.

The image of Larissa came to my mind. I saw her in my mind, laughing, talking, singing. And to think that I was never going to see her again was the most painful thought. She was gone. Dead. Who killed her? Was Zuri that heartless? After serving her for so many years, she still ordered for my wife to be killed, just for my one mistake? For all I knew, I had never made a mistake before, yet on my very first mistake, she ordered for the death of my wife.

My throat ached, and my chest tightened in response to the injection. My body, refusing to have mercy on me, continued to produce immense heat. All the muscles of my body throbbed in deep pain. I curled my body into a ball and groaned for leniency, yet there was no ear to listen to all my cries.

My mind shifted to little Liam, my only son. Was I ever going to see him again? Where was Anisha? Was she with Liam? Anisha, how far can you run before Zuri's men catch up with you? Run, Anisha, just run!

EDEN'S POV

As soon as Anisha left, I rushed inside the house with the intention of getting the cash that she told me about. I made myself believe that she was waiting for me at home, as per my instruction. Anisha looked too shaken to do anything else besides following the instruction that I gave.

My intention was to get the money as fast as I could, and leave the place before the police got to the house. Basement; Anisha mentioned a basement. Just then, it dawned on me that Anisha had said "secret basement", meaning that it wasn't going to be easy for me to find my way to that basement.

While I thought of calling Anisha, I remembered that she had no phone, and I was on my own. I had to find the basement. As I walked along the corridor, I saw in the kitchen the ghastly sight of Larissa's body, lying in a pool of her own blood. I just shook my head. A young beautiful woman gone too soon!

Pushing the sight to the back of my mind, I hurried out and into the garage, with the hope of finding a way to lead me to the basement. Basement basement! Oh where was the basement!!

I searched the walls for secret doors but found none. I had to do a wild guess and search in places where I thought someone would hide cash. I ran up the stairs and opened doors. There were many bedrooms of different sizes. Then I opened the door to one bedroom which to me appeared to be the master bedroom.

Yanking all the drawers open, I searched frantically for the cash. Drawer after drawer, handbag after handbag I searched. I turned the bed upside down but still there was nothing.The more I failed to get the money, the more irritated and impatient I became. I wanted to just get the money and leave. I had turned the master bedroom upside down and I was sure that there was nothing in that room.

There was not even one note, not even some loose coins in a drawer!! Where was the damn money!! I clenched my fists and hit hard on the dressing table, knowing that my time was running out. I kept asking myself, so how do I get to the basement? Is there even a basement in this house? I felt very frustrated and started heading downstairs.

Part of my mind told me that the door to the secret basement could be linked to the kitchen. I walked around the dead body, going towards the other end of the kitchen and opened the door which led outside. I quickly headed towards yet another door, which I opened. It led to a scullery.

It was dark and smelt terrible. There was the smell of dirt and dust; it seemed like the scullery had not been used in a long while. I peeped in and searched on the walls for the light switch, but I did not find any. I then switched on my phone torch, and I saw some old staff in the room.

In a corner there was a very old washing machine, and two ironing boards next to it. There was yet another ironing board leaning against the wall, and the spider webs around the old furniture confirmed my thought that this room had not been used in a very long time. I looked around and saw some old linen folded in a pile.

Suddenly an idea crossed my mind; what if I open to see the inside of the washing machine. I wasted no time and opened. Inside I saw used baby clothes which were stuffed in a plastic paper, and I kept digging. Then I felt the rustling of a paper. I dug deeper and pulled out a brown paper whose contents I was very curious to see. With shaking hands I opened the paper and saw lots of small zip lock bags with small white tablets. Drugs. Drugs of fine quality. I smiled to myself as I clasped the brown paper under my arm. By then, my hopes of finding the money started to increase. There was newfound energy in me to search even harder.

I checked around for a door, but there was none. I started to examine the floor intensely, with the hope that there would be a lose tile covering an entrance leading to the basement. I needed to get to the basement at all costs.I dug furiously in the boxes which were in the room. There was nothing of interest, but I continued to search. Why on earth did I leave my car? I cursed myself. If only I had my car with me, it was going to be easy for me to carry what I wanted and drive before anyone noticed me.

And then I heard footsteps and a woman's voice calling out "hello! Anyone home?!"

I froze in my tracks. Who could it be? The voice was coming from the main entrance, and the person had not yet seen the dead body. I could not allow this person to see me; whoever it was. I quickly switched off my phone torch and continued to listen.

There was silence.Just when I thought the intruder was gone, I was startled to hear the footsteps drawing closer. It sounded as if the person was moving to the other side of the house. Oh, yes I was right! The owner of the voice left the lounge entrance, went around to use the kitchen entrance, while she continued calling out for attention.

With the kitchen door open, it was obvious that whoever was calling was going to see the dead body! I cursed under my breath and, without thinking, walked out of the scullery and stood by the kitchen door, blocking the intruder from seeing the inside. I immediately regretted my decision for doing so, realizing I had acted out of panic; but it was too late to have such regrets. Seeing that everything had turned seriously nasty for me; I knew I needed to act as calm as I could.

A young lady stood in front of me, looking at me, smiling brightly. She appeared to have a lot of time on her hands, while I was eager to get rid of her at the earliest possible time.

***.

AT 24 HARVEY STREET; NEIGHBOURS TO LUCAS AND LARISSA LA MARTINA

A lady was lying peacefully in her luxurious bed. She lazily opened her eyes and yawned. She stood up and headed to the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror to admire her beauty, and she smiled.

Suddenly she remembered something. She was not sure if she had a dream or if it happened? She was more than convinced that she heard a voice calling out, "help! Help me!" She decided to check with her housekeeper, so she walked slowly down the stairs and into the kitchen. She almost bumped into the housekeeper, who profusely apologized,

"Oh I am sorry ma'am! I didn't see you coming."

"It's alright", the lady responded as she proceeded to walk into the kitchen. "Was I dreaming, or did someone call out, help! Help me!"

The housekeeper looked startled. "Oh I heard it too ma'am. And I thought it was from your room"

"From my room? What on earth made you think that I screamed for help?"

"No ma'am, I thought you were watching a movie. I assumed it was your TV" the housekeeper explained.

The lady remained silent and started to think. If her housekeeper heard the cry too, it means that she did not dream about it; it happened.

"How well do you know our neighbours?" she asked the housekeeper.

"That young couple? Besides knowing that they own Double L Waste Management company, I hardly know anything else about them. Wait umm, they have a child, not sure if it's a boy or a girl. And they must have a child minder who comes in every day in the mornings and leaves at the end of day"

"Could they be in any trouble? Who was crying for help?" the lady asked.

"I am not sure, ma'am".

"Can you just go and check on them?"

"Yes ma'am", the housekeeper nodded.

At the house next door, the front door was open; she knocked but there was no response. She moved around the hose until she was saw the kitchen door which was open.

"Hallo, anybody home?" she called in a loud voice.

A man immediately emerged and stood at the door. The way he stood, it was as if he was blocking her from seeing inside the house.

"Hello sir, are you the owner of this house?" the housekeeper giggled, failing to control herself in front of the man who stood before her. He was fair to the eye; there was something about him which was captivating.

Before the man could say anything, the girl quickly corrected herself,

"Oh sorry but it can't be you. I have seen the owner of this house a few times before, you look very different. May I know who you are, sir?" she stretched out her hand to give the man a handshake, but the man ignored it.

"I am no-one important. How may I help you?", he spoke in a flat tone. All he wanted was for the woman to leave.

"I came to check...I thought I heard someone crying for help?" the girl asked while turning her head slightly to the left.

"Crying for help? You must be mistaken", the man stated firmly.

The girl giggled again and looked at the man with seducing eyes. He really is a handsome man; she thought to herself. She was wearing an apron which she started to hold and twist in a shy manner.

"If you don't mind, I really have some work to do. I am the plumber. I am fixing some pipes here", the man turned to go back into the kitchen.

Before he closed the door, the girl spoke again, refusing to let him go off that easily;

"Oh really? You're a plumber?" her eyes beamed with excitement. "May you also come and fix something next door. I will talk to my employer. Please may I have your name card?", she smiled and continued to look at the man with pleading puppy eyes.

"OK I will do so. I have no cards with me at the moment", he said, hoping to dismiss the lady as soon as he could.

He did not have time to waste on the girl anymore, so he chose to flatly ignore her. He turned around and pushed the door, but the girl moved forward to hold it, saying,

"Please don't close the door on me".

Her movement was just in time for her to see the body of a woman lying on the floor.

The smile on her face instantly disappeared, her eyes bulged in fear and she retreated back before screaming out,

"You killed her!!", and she ran at the speed of lightning towards the gate.

Her reaction took the man by surprise, and he saw the lady vanishing right before his eyes.

"There's a dead woman in that house! There's a dead woman!" the housekeeper shrieked, having no mercy for her throat.Last chapterNext chapter