Chapter Two The devil you know.

Tolulope's POV

My mind was traveling in a million directions, I couldn't believe what was happening right before my eyes, it was the eve of my wedding, and an anonymous number had just sent me a text that my Lade had been abducted. We were all together until he offered to get some drinks; he had been gone for barely ten minutes when I got the text. I could not think straight. How the abductors got my contact, I didn't even know. I felt so guilty that the only reason we were on the island in the first place was because of me. So many thoughts were running through my mind, and I was at a loss for words.

It wasn't until a few minutes before Kemi could calm me down. She had always been the cool-headed one in the family, and I had no doubt I was in safe hands. She took my phone from my hands and went through the text properly. Apparently, the abductors wanted the trust fund of three hundred million naira that I had gotten from my father upon my engagement. I had no idea how they got the information about the money and did not even have time to think of who they were. All I wanted was for Lade to be safe. Hence I did not hesitate to send the money to the account number provided. The trust fund was my father's way of saying he was happy I was getting married and that he was proud of me and a way of getting me started on my own even after marriage before I could finally take over his company. I did not mind that at this point, though, all I wanted was Lade safe and sound.

I was already in tears when the anonymous number called again and gave me directions to where Lade was. Again, I was threatened not to contact the police and was informed that I was being watched. I was asked to come with Kemi, though.

Upon getting to the place where the abductors told me Lade was being held, I was surprised and scared to see that it was empty. But unfortunately, I did not have time to think about that for so long because I was hit by something heavy and immediately seeped into the darkness.

I was awoken by a splash of water on my face, and when I tried to move, I discovered that I was tied down to a chair. That was not as shocking for me as the image playing out in front of me. Right before me was Kemi, my half-sister in the arms of Lade, my supposed husband, to be smiling at me in a sinister manner.

I was not left in the dark for so long as Kemi began to speak. She talked about how she had lived in my shadow all her life. She was always seen as the child of the other woman, having to compete with me for our father's love, and how for years, she had been given no acknowledgment or credit for the things she had done. She made me realize that my meeting with Lade wasn't a coincidence; they had planned for me to fall in love with him to get my trust fund.

I could not believe my ears. Kemi, my own half-sister, the person I had grown up with, and Lade, the one I thought I would spend the rest of my life with, had both been in on a plan to destroy me all along. I couldn't believe how naive and stupid I had been, but at that moment, all I could do was beg for my life. All my pleas fell on deaf ears as Lade spread the house I was tied down in with gasoline... My life flashed before my eyes, and all I could think of was how I had not done anything to deserve what I was going through... The place started burning when they walked through the door a few seconds later. I thought of what would befall my father if the news of my death got to him. I wondered if my stepmother knew what her daughter had done. I wondered how I had wined and dined with devils without an idea of who they really were. I thought of what would happen the next day, which was to be my wedding, and I prayed... I had never been much of a Christian because I really didn't see why I needed God, but in that fleeting moment, I prayed that the higher power above would somehow keep me alive...