To Survive

4: PRESENT BERNA

That Monday night Lola didn't get her usual ride from
Gina. Gina's mother was coming to stay in Accra for a
while from Vendado to visit her and Camila and Gina had
to get home early to ensure that everything was going
smoothly at home before she could go and pick her
mother up from the airport. After scheduling Birgitta's
meetings for the next day and getting done with the
assignments Birgitta had given her she decided to trek to
the bus station and pick a bus home. The streets of
Sowutuom were dark and less busy which was surprising
to Lola. Before she could even get any closer to the bus
station, three guys in a mask walked over to her side and
demanded that she give her bag to them. She struggled
with them and before she could think of screaming they
stabbed her twice in the stomach and pushed her to the
road. There was an approaching vehicle and...
*
Adel had been permitted a marriage leave and all he
did was to sit in his apartment and drink like he was crazy.
He was going to get a hangover the following morning but
the only name that moved through his crazy head was Ally
Halle. He could sense her radiance. Her beauty. Her eyes.
She was everything he could ever dream of. He
remembered the night of the charity gala by Nessa
Records and how glorious she looked in the white gown.
He wished so desperately that she was the one he was
going to marry instead but it was too late. Someone
knocked on his door and when he opened it he met an
equally drunk Ally Halle who was in tears.
"I love you, Adel." Everything seemed to have stopped
around him when his eyes met with those black ones of Ally Halle. It was her words that touched him the most and
how they fled out of those innocent lips of hers. She had dared to say something that he had never
mastered the courage to tell her. He pulled her in and
kissed her shutting the door behind him and at that
moment they didn't care about the world. Her entire body
demanded attention and her eyes drew him more to her.
Her lips were slightly open after the first kiss and he
kissed again even rougher than before. They knew what
they were doing was wrong but at that moment they didn't
care.
Her lips were painted a cherry red which brought out
her fair beauty even more. She still managed to look
beautiful in her sadness and it killed him the most. He
carried her and walked straight to the bedroom still
passionately kissing him. She pulled the band off her hair
and her ringlets fell to its rightful place. That blonde angel.
He didn't know what it was about her that gained his
attention but it was just lovely to have her and he knew
that what he felt at that moment was love. A true feeling
that Kira Halle had never managed to give to him. They
kissed wildly and then slowly before breaking the kiss. She
smiled lightly and blinked slowly opening her eyes to stare
back at him. She had no idea what she was doing to
him...maybe she did.
He pulled off the singlet he had on and she pulled off
her blouse as well he gently placed his hands through
her hair and helped her back towards the bed. She rested
her hands on his firm back and admired every muscle that
drew out his manliness. She played with his hair as they
kissed. He kissed down her jawline and down her neck making her moan silently. His touches were amazing and
his lips were one she'd never tasted before. She pulled him
back again and kissed him passionately again. She loved
the feel of his lips on hers. He pulled down his denim
trousers as he continued to kiss her and then raised her
and made sure she sat on top of him while he sat on the
bed. She kissed his forehead, kissed his nose, his cheeks, and returned to his soft lips again. He passed his hand
behind her and unhooked her bra and the strapless bra fell
off on its own. He kissed her even more intensely running
his left hand behind her smooth back and his right hand
on her hard nipples.
She moaned and shut her eyes and he shut his eyes
too as they felt every bit of the sin they were committing.
A repetition of history in the weirdest way ever but they
knew not what they were doing.
*
"Lola has stayed out long today." Ananda brought
Manuel and Trina's mind to it. She moved to the kitchen
for a glass of juice and moved out to the hallway where
both Manuel and Trina were staring at a picture from
Lola's 20th birthday. Ananda was holding Lola tight. Those
two were sisters since they grew up together and Lola
treated Ananda like her younger sister. Ananda stood by
their side.
"My funniest memory from that day was when Uncle
Andrews slipped and fell. I laughed so hard my stomach
hurt." she laughed remembering it all and Manuel and
Trina laughed too remembering that scene. The picture
fell from its position on the wall and landed on the floor and Trina had a phone call that moment. Her eyes opened
in shock.
"My baby has been knocked down!" Ananda dropped
the glass of juice she was holding in shock.
*
Peter walked over to The Don's table with his men
and The Don turned to him. "What did you find?"
"Nutifafa has a niece. He managed to wipe off all his
links to her because she's married to a detective but then
we still managed to find out. She is his only relation."
"Family is always the weapon." he turned to Kofi who
was also there, "Go and kidnap that niece, bring her to me, and let Nutifafa know that I did it. I want to see how
desperate he can get."
"Do you think it's the best idea?"
"Ever since Michael died he has laid low mainly
because the Police managed to find out that he was the
one helping Michael and after the seaplane stunt you did
I'm sure he's scared of his unknown enemies. This is the
perfect time to put in more fright."
"If you say so." Kofi turned to Peter, "What's the name
of his niece?"
"She's called Barbara Gyamfi, she's a doctor at St.
Michael's Hospital and surprisingly the wife of the
detective helping your wife."
*
Nicole and Sabella met at a restaurant. Julius stood out waiting for them. They had decided to have a meeting
with Nicole's detective. He joined them soon.
"Sabella meets Detective Kweku Jackson and Jackson
meets Sabella, Kofi's wife." Kweku shook Sabella's hand.
"Nice to meet you," Kweku said and they both sat.
"Nicole told me yesterday that you wanted to meet me
relating to the case of your husband's death being a
murder case and not an accident."
"Are you sure about this?"
"I couldn't be more sure. Evidence and facts prove
plus the last place your husband was cited before the
accident was at a restaurant in Taifa..."
"Taifa and the accident occurred off the Pokuase road.
What did he do at that restaurant and who was he with?"
"That's what we are yet to find out. The camera
records for the parking space of that restaurant were
cleared on that very night. Whoever did this planned it
well." Sabella tucked her hair behind her ear and then
turned back to Kweku.
"What's the name of the restaurant?"
"Bocelli Restaurant."
"Bocelli... that's the restaurant Kofi proposed to me.
He sent me out on a date to that place on our last
anniversary together but what would he have been doing
there?"
"It's the answer we are all looking for."
*
William's threat still lived rent-free in Sedem's head
and he was right. He had nothing to lose. His marriage
died before it could even begin and Birgitta was going to
take the news in normally but if everyone else found out
she had a lot to lose. The entire Bons Geng was going to
hate her, and her life and that of her son would be at risk
and she wasn't ready for that.

BERNA @ 40
(The night of Kofi's accident)

Trina looked polished that night. Her deep brown hair
looked glossy with its waviness and mid-length. She wore
a simple white dress with a fur-white coat on top of it that
matched the length of the dress she wore.
"Date night?" Lola questioned. She was standing by
the door to the study holding an accounting book.
"Yes, I'm trying to explore my possibilities but why are
you still awake? It's past bedtime."
"Tell that to Ananda," she rolled her eyes, "Just bring
home a man we can all love." Trina smiled at her.
"Go get some sleep," she said and then walked out of
the house.
*
Nicole walked out of the house to her compound and
just as expected Peter came out from his hiding place and
approached her. "And where do you think you're going to
at this time of the night in a nightdress this short and
sexy." he scanned her body lustfully.
"My tracker is telling me that Kofi has moved out of
his house. He has never moved out at this time of the
night before so go and find out where he is going to and
make sure he's out of danger."
"What's about this Kofi guy for you? How much do
you love him?"
"To an extent, you can't imagine."
"Do you think he will like it when he finds out that you
have a tracker on his phone and that you know his every
move."
"That's why he wouldn't find out and I'm concerned
because earlier today I made Sabella aware that her
husband was seeing another woman behind her back but I
didn't make it too obvious. I just pointed it out as instincts
and drew out times he lied to her to see Trina. I don't know
what those two are up to but keep an eye on Kofi for me,
would you?"
"I'll do just that if you'll be content."
"Trust me, it's the best thing you could ever do for me
at this moment."
*
Sabella sat on the floor in Kofi's home office in tears.
Luckily the children didn't hear her argument with Kofi
from upstairs but she just couldn't get a hold of herself. It
was the first time in their union that Kofi had raised his
hand on her and she deserved it. He had had enough of
her nonsense. He'd driven out of the house right after the
argument leaving Sabella in tears. She wiped off her tears and then walked out of that place and then climbed
the stairs to the room she shared with Kofi. She coiled
herself up in their bed and cried even more.
*
William and Sedem had just finished having a lovely
night at a guesthouse and they were checking out. William
moved to the car first as Sedem got herself ready. When
she got out of the guesthouse she hid when she noticed
Trina gets off a taxi right opposite the street. She entered
the Bocelli Restaurant and Sedem's eyes followed her. She
sat next to the window and that was when Sedem noticed
the gent she was there with. It was no other than Kofi
Amoyaw. What would those two be doing together?
Sabella needed to know about this. She picked up her
phone to make a call and then thought wisely. Disclosing
this information to Sabella meant that her affair with
William was also going to come out and Sabella was going
to be disappointed in her. She chose not to call.
William moved out to stand by her side and he
followed her gaze and saw Trina and Kofi. He laughed.
"You Bons Geng members are the best. Here you are with
me and there is Trina with Sabella's husband. Very soon
we'll find Sabella with someone's husband too." he
laughed even harder but then Sedem stopped him when
she spotted something.
"Look there." she pointed at Kofi's car which was
parked a bit distant from the entrance of the restaurant
and William's eyes shot open at the sight of what he saw.
There was a guy with a mask beneath Kofi's car doing
God knows what. Before a word could rush out of his lips, a car drove in and William recognized it sharply as his
wife's car.
"It's Birgitta," he announced and Sedem walked back
to the guesthouse as her escape route. Birgitta saw his
wife's mistress enter back into the guesthouse but she
never got to see the woman's face. She parked and rushed
past her husband into the guesthouse looking for the
woman and almost causing a commotion but then William
pulled her out of the guesthouse. "Did you come here to
disgrace me?"
"You're cheating on me, William!" she cried out.
"This is not today's news so don't be all dramatic
about it," he replied with cool.
"What does she have that I don't, Will?! I want to see
her for myself and see what compels you to go to her.
Why can't you be content with me?!"
"Have you seen yourself in the mirror? You look like
my mother and not my wife. Let me have my peace."
William moved to sit in his car and drove off leaving
Birgitta is there in tears. Sedem used the backdoor to
escape and then she walked back to the road that faced
the Bocelli Restaurant. She was taking a huge risk but she
needed to see the person that was tampering with Kofi's
car. She needed to avoid being spotted by Kofi, Trina, or
even Birgitta. She neared the scene from the opposite
direction and stood in that dark corner. She needed to see
for herself and then she saw what she feared to see. A
man she had known for more than twenty years. The
dark-coffee-skinned guy that blinded by the darkness.
Richmond Otchere.
Right after he finished a car drove to his side and
picked him up. Sedem couldn't spot the driver because the
car's glasses were tinted and Birgitta had driven out of the
guesthouse at that time. She ducked and stayed silently
there.
*
"Be rest assured that Kofi Amoyaw, Sabella's dearest
husband, will be dead tonight. She'll finally get to be
mine." Richmond said to the driver. He smiled wickedly in
return.

PRESENT BERNA

Trina rushed to St. Michael's hospital in tears
with Manuel and Ananda. Andrews met them there. The
whole thing shocked Trina to the bone but what surprised
her the most was when she spotted Sonkor there. He sat
staring at his blood-stained hands. Sadat and Berna
arrived shortly after being informed too. Sonkor raised his
head and began to cry when he spotted Trina. He moved
and knelt in front of her.
"I didn't mean to knock Lola down. I didn't even know
she was there. She was attacked by some armed robbers
and after they stabbed her they pushed her to the road and
I was too late to step on the brakes." Trina hugged him
and cried even more. She couldn't blame him. It wasn't his
fault. They'd explained the whole situation to her already
and how Lola's body flew over his car after he knocked her
but she didn't know that he was the driver. Whoever those
armed robbers were, they were going to suffer all the days
of their lives for this harm caused.
One of the doctors handling Lola was Barbara and
when she walked out of the operating room she spotted
Berna. They knew each other from church. Pious and Jana
arrived there at that moment too. The news was spreading
amongst them and everyone cared...at least for Lola Kena,
if not her mother.
"How is my daughter doing?" Trina asked in tears.
"I won't lie to you she has lost a lot of blood and she's
not in the best state. There's a 50-percent chance she'll
survive and we'll need a blood donor for her ASAP. She
has suffered head injuries, fractured bones, internal
bleeding but luckily the stabs didn't affect any delicate
organ but we need blood. We are asking neighboring
hospitals for 'type O' blood type but it's difficult to get. If
we don't get a 'type O' blood doner in time she can lose her
life. The quicker we get it, the better."
"O goodness, I'm type B." she sat and placed her
hand to her head before turning to them, "Do any of you
have an O blood type?"
"I don't even know my blood type," Berna replied
sincerely.
"We can run tests on all of you but then you have to
find someone. Maybe her father would be type O. Where is
he?" Trina turned to Manuel and then back to Doctor
Barbara.
"He's not around," she replied.
*
"Were you content with your meeting with Nicole's detective?" Julius asked Sabella as he drove her home.
She had her attention on the streets even though she
wasn't staring there.
"I need to connect some dots and to do so I need to
know everything about Nicole. I want you to do a
background check on Nicole Hayford for me. I want to
know everything about her family and her other
investments and why she chooses to be with KAS Food.
Nicole is hiding something. It's not just
Kofi's
investigation."
"I don't think it's necessary. You've been with Nicole
for so long and you still want me to do a background
check on her." Sabella turned to Julius.
"This is odd. You never question. I was closer to
Macey but you didn't question. What is different about
Nicole?" he made a stiff sound in his throat before he
replied.
"I'm just caring."
"Have you ever wondered why the person that shot
Michael shot you too?"
"He might have seen me as a guard of Michael's."
"I hope that's the case." she turned back to look at
the streets.
*
"None of their blood types matches what we want."
Barbara admitted to Trina and she cried even more, "We'll
see what we can do for now." she walked back in. Manuel
pulled Trina over to a side distant from where the others were.
"Lola's life is at stake and I know I promised not to
mention this but if Richmond can save her life why don't
you inform him? He might have the same blood as
Lola."
"I'm not going to do that."
"Don't be stupid! Do you want to lose her first? Do you
know how painful that is? The truth should come
out now than for you to lose Lola completely. Think
clearly."
*
There was a knock on Sedem's door at that time of
the night and it surprised her. Who could it be? She was
still in the living room with Clifford as they watched a
series. She went to open the door and Eugene rushed in.
"I'm coming for my son!"
"Are you insane?" Sedem questioned angrily and he
slapped her so hard that she fell. Clifford rushed angrily to
his father's side and punched him in the face and Eugene
punched him back and smacked him on the neck. Sedem
could tell that he was drunk. He always acted stupidly
when he was drunk but now he had broken his boundaries
with her. How could he dare to hit their child? She tried to
stand up and fight with Eugene but he kicked her and she
groaned in pain. She didn't have time to picture what
happened next but she noticed someone enter the house
and then Eugene let out a huge groan before he landed on
one of Sedem's wooden tables destroying most of the
contents on it. She sat upright holding onto her stomach and leaning on the opened door and that was when she
noticed that the man that had come in her defense at that
time of that night was Kay.
His presence seemed more surprising than Eugene's.
Clifford came over to his mother's side. Kay grabbed
Eugene by the neck and tightened his grip before he threw
him out of the house and followed after him, "Get out of
here or I wouldn't think twice about killing you. You
scumbag!" Eugene scarpered with fear written on
his face.
"Are you alright?" Clifford asked his mother and she
nodded lightly even though her stomach hurt. Kay turned
to them.
"You need to file for a restraining order. Who knows
what he might do next?" Sedem turned to him.
"What were you doing here at this time of the night?"
"I was passing by," he lied, "Frankly, I wanted to come
and see the both of you but I thought it was too late so I
was about to drive away and I saw that jerk."
"Thank you," Sedem replied lightly although doubting
Kay. He helped her up to the closest sofa and kept them
company for a while.
*
Therod stood silently on the balcony by the side of the
dining room. He held onto a glass of water as he stared
into the midnight blue. Juanita had woken up from bed
and was walking to the kitchen to get herself a glass of
water and then she noticed Therod. She walked to the balcony to stand by his side. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I just don't feel sleepy."
"You stand here silently at night only when you have a
problem. You stood here this same way for nights when
Macey left and when she arrived too Thelma felt like
you lied to her. You stood here all those times." Therod
turned to Juanita.
"I think I still love Macey." Juanita frowned.
"I don't know how the heart works nowadays but are
you willing to get back to a woman you abandoned her
child for 22 years? It's yours to decide."
*
Therod was not the only one who couldn't sleep.
Macey too sat in bed with a bottle of wine by her side. She
cried in the lone of her bed. What was the essence of all
these riches if she didn't get the love she wanted? Therod
had every right to be angry at her but it was his fault too at
a point. Why did he give her so many high hopes just to
shut it down?