Chapter 41 Nyah
NYAH
Imet Taylor at a coffee shop near the hotel, choosing a corner where no one would notice us. My hands were clenched around my cup, the coffee untouched.
“You need to take extra special care of Caleb at all times,” I said, keeping my voice level despite the fear tightening my chest. When his brow furrowed, I leaned in.
“Please just trust me when I say he could be in danger.” I swallowed hard, hating that I couldn’t explain more without risking Caleb.
“Please,” I added. “Just take care of him.”
Taylor met my gaze. “Nothing will happen to him. There’s security at the office, and I’m with him otherwise.”
I sighed, knowing I’d done all I could. I missed Caleb with an intensity that caught me off guard—the quiet comfort of his presence. My fingers turned the ring he’d given me, its weight grounding me even as it reminded me of everything that was still broken between us.
Time passed slowly. The last three weeks had been endless, each day stretching into the next with no release. I had thought of all the possible scenarios and prepared for them, running them through my mind until I knew them by heart.
It was July 21st, on Saturday at 5 p.m., when I finally answered the ghastly call I had been waiting for.
“I thought I told you to patch things up with your boyfriend, Jiya,” Jeremy said. He exhaled heavily on the phone, the sound making my skin crawl. “You didn’t do as I instructed, you bitch, and now I have become irascible.”
“What have you done, Jeremy?” I asked, dread pooling in my stomach.
“Well, I need you and two million dollars, so I’ve decided to take a different approach.”
I could feel him smiling while he uttered those words, and unease rippled through me. What did he mean? What different approach?
“Would you like to guess who’s with me right now?” he murmured on the phone.
I heard muffled screams, growing louder as he walked toward the source of the sound.
“Who are you talking about?” I demanded. “Lucas is far away from your clutches. You can’t get to him.” I scoffed, clinging to that certainty.
“You’re right. He is far away, and I don’t know where,” he said casually, “but I do know where Caleb’s nieces are, and boy, oh boy.
” His voice darkened with cruel delight.
“These two little girls… let me see what their identity tags say… Michelle and Malaika. They remind me so much of you—feisty and full of spunk!”
My grip tightened on the phone as my heart began to race. How did he get to them?
“They are going to be real beauties when they grow up… if they grow up, I should say,” Jeremy tittered.
“They are such gullible little children. I kidnapped their chauffeur and changed into his clothes. I told them their parents had sent me to pick them up from their ballet class. Was really kind of disappointed by how easy it was.”
He kidnapped the chauffeur? My thoughts spiralled into chaos. “Don’t you dare touch them!” I said through clenched teeth. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on them. I’ll get you what you want. Just don’t touch them.” My mind raced as I tried to figure out where I could get that much money.
“Well, darling, this is the plan, and I need you to stick to it,” he said, his tone smug. “I’ve already made contact with their parents and told them to have the money ready. You are going to be the one to deliver it to me.”
Two birds, one stone. Calls started coming through from Caleb’s family almost immediately. Messages popped up one after another. Do they know the connection between Jeremy and me?
“Don’t worry,” Jeremy continued. “They don’t know about our history.
I’ll let you do the honour of explaining that to them.
You’re so good at that… making up stories, changing characters.
This will be fun for you.” He snickered, clearly enjoying this.
“But I’m warning you… no police, no weapons.
Just you and the money, and I’ll let them go.
You’ve got two hours. I’m on a timeline.
Don’t try anything funny, or these two little girls will not have a breath left in them by the time I’m done. ”
The line went dead.
A moment later, he sent me the location.
I spoke to Alex while I quickly changed into jeans and a T-shirt.
As he listened to Jeremy’s plan, my movements were efficient, automatic.
I slid into casual loafers that hid a pocket knife blade in their rubber soles.
I took the gun out of the shoebox and hid it as best I could in my jeans.
Informing Alex that I would be at Simon’s house in twenty minutes, I ended the call.
Then I called Cat and told her I was on my way.
My tires screeched as I pulled into Simon’s driveway.
I ran to the door and flung it open. Caleb and Cat rushed me inside, their faces pale.
The whole family was gathered around the kitchen table.
Sandra sobbed as Simon tried to comfort her.
I braced myself. I was ready for their questions, and I was going to be honest.
“Nyah, thank God you’re here,” Bruce said. “Can you please fill us in? How do you know this guy?”
“Why does he want you to deliver the money?” Sophia asked.
“Why is he targeting us, and what do you have to do with it?” Cat demanded.
I took a slow breath and looked at them.
“His name is Jeremy Lipster. He was my foster father.”
Gasps rippled through the room.
“I knew it!” Eleanor exclaimed. “All of it has to do with you. I knew you were connected somehow. You were out to get us from the start—you’re bad news!”
“Let her explain, Mother,” Caleb cut in sharply.
I told them everything—about the abuse, about my escape. Their mouths fell open. I did not tell them about Alex. The less they knew about how I planned to get the girls out safely, the better.
“He is after me, and he will not stop until he gets me,” I said. “Well, now he wants money too.”
“So let’s just get this straight,” Sandra said, pointing at me. “This is all because of you? He’s got my children. God knows what he’s doing to them right now.” She wiped the tears as fresh ones rolled down her cheeks again.
That statement threw me back. I had anticipated anger and outrage from her, from all of them, but seeing it play out this way hurt me because it was never my intention.
I had to take their emotions and accusations with a pinch of salt because I had put them in this situation.
My involvement with Caleb, my relationship with him, had endangered the offspring of his brother.
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking at her with genuine remorse. “I never meant to hurt any of you. I never thought he would find me here. The police assured me of that, and they were tracking him. I promise you, I won’t let anything happen to them.” I walked to Sandra, but she backed away.
Caleb came to me then, his face drawn. He lifted my drooping shoulders gently.
“So this is what you’ve been hiding from me this whole time?”
I nodded, staring at the floor. I could not look at him. What I had hidden from him felt unforgivable.
“You should have told me,” he said. “I could have helped you.”
“I was going to tell you,” I said softly. “The day I came to your apartment, I was going to tell you everything. But things took a different turn.”
Eleanor approached us, her voice filled with accusation.
“I knew from the start there was something not right with you. The way you had my husband wrapped around your little finger, and then my son,” she mocked.
“You can pretend like you are a good person, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You—”
“That’s enough, Mum!” Caleb snapped, cutting her off.
“Nyah has been a victim her entire life, and all of you are blaming her instead of that son of a bitch. She doesn’t need to be here helping us, but she is.
” He turned to Sandra. “She could have skipped town, but she’s here, and she’s willing to go back into danger to save your children,” he said, pointing at Sandra.
The weight of the realization probably dawned on him just then as he put the pieces together.
“You think he’s only come after your children.
He came after Lucas, too, didn’t he?” He turned towards me.
“That time at his school, he came for Lucas, and that’s why you were so upset and didn’t tell me. ”
I looked down.
“She’s been trying to protect her son and herself,” he continued. “Her only mistake was not telling us sooner.” He held my face. “But I can understand why she did that… because she was trying to protect us. So the hell you’re going there alone. I’m coming with you.”
“No!” I yelled and heard it echo as the others shouted the same. “I need to go alone. Those were his instructions. Besides, I have reinforcements of my own.”
“I don’t care,” Caleb said. “I’m coming.”
My phone rang. “It’s him.” I showed them the phone and then answered, putting it on speaker.
“What’s taking you so long?” He sounded agitated. “Don’t you know that you’re on a deadline?”
“I came here to grab the money and then come to you. I’ll be there in forty minutes.”
Caleb snatched the phone from me. “I’m coming with her. Someone needs to drive the children home while you get your money. Plus, she told us about you.” He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, “And since you want her to sort out your issues—”
“Wow! The love died quickly after she told you about me,” Jeremy sniggered on the phone. “No, she needs to come alone. Just her, or else—”
Sandra grabbed the phone. “It will be her, only her.”
“Make no mistake, Mrs. Evans, if I so much as hear a rustle or the slightest whiff of someone else, you will be responsible for what will happen next.” He hung up.
“I’m not letting you go alone,” Caleb said, holding me firmly by the shoulders.
I looked up at him and placed my hand on his chest. “I’ll be fine. I’ll take care of this. This is my mess and my mistake, so I will clean it up. I won’t let anything happen to the girls. I promise.”
I saw the bags of money on the counter. Everyone followed me to the car as I grabbed one bag, and Caleb grabbed the other. His family watched as we put both bags in the trunk.
Sandra walked up to me. “I’m sorry about what I said before,” she said, sniffling. “Please... just get my girls back.”
I promised her I would and hugged her. I went to open the door of the car, but Caleb stopped me.
“Come back to me, Nyah!” he whispered. It wasn’t a request, but a plea. “Promise me,” he said.
I nodded ever so slightly, hoping I wouldn’t break that promise. The pain of his betrayal still bothered me.
But seeing him defend me against his family—against his mother—raised questions in my mind.
Can the trust between us be rebuilt?
Can we go back to how we were?
I looked at him, trying to present myself as strong as I could, but I felt so weak inside as I sat in the car, dreading what was to come.
In the rear-view mirror, after I got into the car, I could see everyone I cared about, including the man I loved, as I drove off toward the person I hated the most.