Two Part POV:

Bria POV:

I was released from the hospital after a week . Because of what had happened the police decided to check in with me on a regular basis as well as told me repeatedly to let them know if  I remembered anything. What I was mainly concerned about was Celine but, since she had gotten her kidney transplant she had started to recover slowly and I could see the relief in my mother's eyes and spirit.

I didn't immediately resumed my studies in person on campus but, instead resumed online as they stated that they wanted to give me time to recover and I wasn't able to stop thinking about Caius. All that he had put me through and actually realising that I had survived almost a month with the man who had inserted himself into my life and had turned it into his version of hell , was hard to forget.

I also noticed something else otherwise from what happened with Caius , my mother was acting different around my father.  She kept giving him these suspicious glances whenever he wasn't looking and I had seen her once , listening to him talking on his phone inside his office . She had placed her ear against his office door and quickly pulled away the moment she saw me coming down the stairs and I couldn't help but, wondered what she was trying to find out.

Now that I knew that Caius had actually been inside my house , I ensured to keep my window locked and checked it every day for the slightest disturbance.  I also turned my room upside down and searched for any suspicious devices like hidden cameras but, I didn't find any but, I knew that no matter what I did , I was never going to be able to truly get away from him .

Romero’s family tried to get in contact with me , his parents mainly and the police and my parents intervened on my behalf explaining that I had already been through enough and I didn't remember anything but, if I did I woud share the information with the police who would then share it with them . I was on one hand , grateful that I didn't speak to them but, I was also filled with guilt for being the reason that their son was killed .

I visited Celine in the hospital because the doctor's hadn't deemed her suitable enough to be released.  We cried together especially after she told me that she didn't think I was ever going to be found and she wouldn't have been able to survive if I hadn't.

Mickayla called me one night as I was getting ready for bed after finishing some assignments that I had to do.

" how yuh feel ? Yuh remebah anything since yuh lef the hospital?"

" no but, mi alright".

" mi just nuh understand how yuh comes yuh nuh remembah nuhun at all. Wah this person do to yuh suh?"

"Mi nuh know edah but,  mi thank God seh mi deh home ", I replied trying to put a stop to the conversation but, she wasn't letting it go.

" sorry if eh seem like mi a pressure yuh but, mi just worried Bria . When mi did find out bout Romero murdah and hear seh nuhbody cah find yuh, is like mi heart nearly stop and mi neva know eh fus thing fi do and all mi coulda think bout a eh fact seh some wicked smaddy have yuh to themselves and a hurt yuh or even worse seh dem kill yuh ... mi just couldn't manage it and eh get to a point weh mi coudah barely focus pon mi work", she said and I sighed.

" mi understand Mickayla but, the important thing is that eh person let mi guh and mi alive and eh doctor dem already run dem test and do all a eh necessary checks dem and mi alright".

" mi know,  mi just nuh wah nuhun like this fi happen again mi just cah deal wid it , yah eh sista weh mi mada neva get fi gi mi Bria and mi love yuh and mi just cah manage fi loose yuh inna deh way deh at all", she said and we spoke for a little more before she ended the call and I continued getting ready for bed.

Mr.Tomlinson POV:

The house was quiet, save for the steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway. I  sat in my office my  hands trembling as I  poured myself a drink. The Henessy burned my throat, but it did nothing to steady my nerves. I had tried to cover my tracks, but Jermain Anderson knew.

And now, I was about to pay for it.

The moment my phone rang, my stomach twisted into knots. The number on the screen was blocked, but I already knew who it was. Jermain never called unless it was bad news. He was a terrifying man , ruthless,  cold and calculating , not someone you would want to get into conflict with.

Slowly, I pressed accept and brought the phone to my ear.

"evening Mark ", Jermain’s voice was smooth, too calm, the kind of calm that came before blood was spilled.

I swallowed,

“Jermain, I can explain...."

"Oh, I know you can explain ",  Jermain chuckled darkly. "Gwaan , tell mi how yuh ‘accidentally’ lost mi bloodclaat money. Tell me how yuh mek one a mi shipments fucking dead pussyhole before mi coudah even turn a profit".

I  flinched. I had screwed up badly.

The girl, she had fought back harder than expected and in the struggle she had been suffocated  dead on arrival. The money? Gone. Some of it had been misplaced, the rest skimmed off the top when I had thought no one was looking.

Jermain had been looking.

“It was a mistake. Mi swear , mi cah fix it".

"Fix it?" Jermain repeated, mock amusement in his voice.

"Tell mi , how exactly yuh  plan fi fix being  bloodclaat shawt a nearly 1 million dolla ? Or yuh think mi a eh  kind of man who aguh mek likkle ‘mishaps’ slide?"

A bead of sweat rolled down my  temple. I  opened my mouth, but Jermain wasn’t finished.

"Mek mi mek this simple. Yuh have two choices". His voice dropped into something icy, suffocating.

"Pay mi back every last rassclaat cent by eh end a eh week… or mi show yuh how wicked mi cah be inna this rawce likkle pastor man , betta pray seh yuh God cah bloodclaat save yuh or mek yuh bulletproof pussyhole".

My breath hitched. A week? There was no way I could come up with that kind of money in time. I  was dead.

Unless…

My mind raced, searching for anything, anyone, that could get me out of this. And then, as if the devil himself whispered it in my ear, an idea came to me.

Bria.

Our adopted daughter. Beautiful. Innocent. Untouched. A perfect high, value target.

Slowly, my fear melted into something sharper. Calculated.

"Jermain", I started carefully,

"Mi have sumuh else wi cah agree pon and eh betta than eh money ".

A pause.

" talk , mi a listen".

I inhaled deeply, steeling myself .

Mi daughter, Bria. She perfect. Young, pure, and she pretty and nuh man nuh experience nuhun wid har yet suh eh price fi she aguh high ". I  let the words hang, knowing exactly how much a girl like her could fetch on the market.

Jermain was silent.

Then, a dark chuckle.

"Now that" Jermain said,

" a sumuh mi cah work wid".