Chapter 55
Zay
DAYS LATER…
“A Son Done Playing”
Ares sat in the passenger seat, calm as ever.
That usually meant his mind was somewhere dangerous.
We didn’t play music.
But he spoke.
“You know I turned you into a multi-millionaire on some legit shit.”
I smirked slightly, eyes still on the road.
“You did more than that.”
“I’m always gonna keep you paid,” he continued. “You my brother.”
Then his tone shifted.
“But your pops… He gotta pay up to you. And you gotta let him know tonight to pay you your bread.”
“I will.”
Ares leaned back in the seat, looking out the window at the passing city.
He said something low.
Cold.
Dark.
“Les vieux rois sont enterrés quand ils oublient qui a construit le tr?ne sous eux.” Old kings are getting buried when they forget who built the throne under them.
I didn’t respond. Just nodded.
Because I understood exactly what he meant.
The warehouse came into view a few minutes later.
Laveau territory.
Security already posted outside.
Men who had been there long before me.
And men who would be answering to me by the end of the night if things didn’t go my way.
I parked the car.
Engine off.
Ares didn’t move right away.
Neither did I.
He looked at me.
“Handle your business in there. Let him know you ain’t a kid anymore.”
I stepped out.
Inside the warehouse, the lights were bright and unforgiving.
My father stood at the center. Like I was still the boy who needed his approval.
Men stood around watching.
Waiting.
Madam Laveau was there too.
Of course she was.
Watching everything like it was entertainment.
My father looked at me.
Then his eyes slid past me to Ares walking in behind.
He smirked.
And spoke
Something slick.
Disrespectful.
Trying to sound cultured, but mocking.
“Tu n’es qu’un invité dans cette maison.” Remember whose house you are in, son in-law.”
Ares didn’t hesitate. “Your broken French sucks, old man.”
A couple of my uncles shifted awkwardly.
My father frowned.
Then his attention snapped back to me.
“Let’s talk business,” he said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Let’s.”
We stepped closer.
The tension between us already boiling.
“You been moving money without clearance,” I said.
“I don’t need clearance in my own house.”
“This ain’t just yo’ house.”
“Oh yeah?” he challenged.
“Yeah,” I replied, not backing down.
“What’s up with you coming into my house and putting your hands on my wife?”
“So? That was last month and you just now saying something? Typical you.” I crossed my arms.
“So, don’t put your hands on my wife again. She raised you.”
“She runs you, not me. She sent a voodoo doll to my house.”
“He’s lying,” my stepmother finally said. But my father put his hand up. “I got this.”
“Nah, you ain't got shit. The only thing you should have is my money that you owe me.”
“This again? I told you that you would get your money. We’re merged with this nigga,” He pointed at Ares. “Money should start rolling in, so I can pay your crybaby ass. You always been sensitive.”
“My nigga, run my bread or shit won’t end right for you.”
“I’m tired of you disrespecting me,” he gritted through clenched teeth.
He swung at me next.
The old man still had some strength.
But I wasn’t a kid anymore.
I took the hit but gave it back.
Harder.
The fight turned real fast.
No talking.
Just fists.
Years of anger finally getting a voice.
I hit him again.
And again.
And again.
Until he dropped.
Breathing heavy.
Blood on his lip.
He was trying to push himself back up.
I stood over him and pulled the gun from my waist.
I pressed it to his head.
The room froze.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Not even my uncle.
Ares was smirking like a proud brother.
Madam Laveau didn’t smile anymore.
My father looked up at me.
“You don’t have it in you,” he said, cocky.
I leaned down slightly. “You know what she did to me.”
Madam Laveau shifted behind him.
“You know how she used to touch me. You know what she did to me when I was thirteen and until I was seventeen. You walked in on her taking advantage of me.”
My father’s expression cracked for a second.
Just a second.
“I know about my real mother too,” I added. “You sent her to kill that woman over drug money.”
The room felt like it was closing in.
“And when it went bad…”
I pressed the gun harder against his head.
“You let her take the fall because you wanted to marry Shayla for access to bigger drugs. That’s why she is doing life. But I’m fighting to get her out. I know everything.” My voice dropped lower. “You think I’ve been moving blind all these years?”
My father stared at me.
Probably trying to find control again.
He couldn’t.
Not anymore.
“So here’s what’s gonna happen,” I said. “You stepping down. You handing everything over to me.”
Still nothing.
I cocked the gun.
“Or…”
My eyes flicked briefly toward Madam Laveau.
Then back to him.
“I’ll tell the family what she did to me, then kill both of you.”
The threat hung in the air like smoke.
Real.
Final.
The room stayed silent.
Because everybody knew…
This wasn’t a bluff.
This was the moment everything changed.
My father looked at me with a mouth full of blood with his guard down, “It’s yours, and I’m sorry for what Shayla did to you.”
I didn’t respond to his apology. He was lying. He knew what she was doing, even if he wasn’t around. I remembered it as clear as day, him finally walking in and seeing her violate me.
Now, he was handing the empire over easily tonight, but I knew he was going to be a problem until I killed him. But for now, I needed the nigga alive until he gave me keys and contracts to everything…
$$$$$
We hit the highway fast.
LA lights stretching out in front of us.
Cars moving like the world didn’t just change.
I kept my eyes on the road.
Hands tight on the wheel, gun back in my lap where it belonged.
I was trying to stay in control.
But Ares spoke.
“What did that bitch do to you?”
His voice was calm.
But I heard it.
That anger sitting underneath.
I exhaled. “Ion wanna talk about it, bro.”
Ares shook his head slightly. “Nah, we not doing that tough man shit.”
I frowned. “I shouldn’t have used that as a weapon.”
He turned and looked at me, and firmly said, “Tell me.”
I stared at the road for a long second before I spoke.
“She started giving me liquor young.”
My voice stayed low.
Flat.
“Too young.”
The city lights passed us in streaks.
“She used to let me do whatever I wanted when my pops wasn’t home.”
A small breath left me.
“Had me thinking I was grown at thirteen, long as I watched Yu-Yu.”
I gripped the wheel tighter.
“She used to walk around naked like… it wasn’t nothing.”
A pause.
“It ain’t feel wrong at first. Shit, she a woman and I knew she wasn’t my real mom.”
Silence filled the car.
“She ain’t touch me. Not until I got older, but she made me touch her a few times. Saying she was showing me what a man should love.”
Ares didn’t interrupt.
Didn’t rush me.
“When I was sixteen… she set something up for me. Let an older girl from the Valley come over and take my virginity for my birthday, and she watched.” I whispered the ending because it still haunted me.
I shook my head slightly.
“Like that shit was a gift. Like it was normal.”
The words felt bitter coming out.
“And when I turned seventeen…”
I paused.
Didn’t need to say everything.
“It happened. I was drunk.” My voice dropped. “I ain’t want it like that.”
Another breath.
“It felt wrong.”
The highway stretched in front of us.
“My pops walked in…”
That part still sat heavy.
“And acted like he ain’t see nothing.”
Silence.
Thick.
“That’s why I don’t touch no woman but Emily. That’s why I watch who be around my son.”
I finally glanced at Ares.
Green eyes dark.
The kind of dark that meant something was coming.
“She dies,” he said.
Cold.
Certain.
I looked back at the road as I got over to the express lane.
“Yeah.”
My voice didn’t shake.
“She dies.”
A beat.
“But not yet.”
I exhaled slowly.
“I need her.”
The car kept moving down the highway.
Fast.
Straight into whatever came next.