Epilogue
Royal
ONE MONTH LATER . . .
“Your honor, there is so much evidence to prove corruption. The only way to truly fix it is to dismantle the entire FBI and start over. It’s ridiculous to think that we have gotten them all.
It would have to be gutted at the root. Seven Henderson was scammed by the government, the people who are supposed to protect him, especially when he agreed to help them.
He didn’t know they were simply using him for a bigger plot. ”
Shy slid his hand down his face. “I’ve been here with these people before. That’s proof that they don’t give a damn.”
“Careful, Mister Berotte,” the judge said.
I bit my bottom lip as Shy rolled his eyes.
“The point is, as long as the government and justice system keep bailing them out, this is going to keep happening. Make them suffer consequences besides payoffs. Somebody needs to do jailtime. Hard time. Not at the lil cushiony prison either. Had Seven Henderson done something wrong, I can guarantee he wouldn’t get the same courtesy.
They are law enforcement. They should suffer greater consequences.
For lack of better words . . . they know better. ”
Shy had a seat, and we all clapped. Mrs. Taylor smirked at our foolishness. She knew how we got down. The judge banged his gavel and nodded as we quieted down.
“Let me go to my chambers to deliberate. There isn’t much to deliberate on. Take an hour lunch break.”
He banged his gavel, and we all stood as he walked out.
When he left, so did we. Shy had presented proof of corruption within the bureau.
PJ had uncovered shit that led all the way to Patel himself.
They were running that group of hoodlums as their personal rogue agents to harm the Black community in Liberty and surrounding areas, which was why we could never get rid of all their asses.
It was like they kept sending in more troops or some shit.
All of it was a ploy to get at Marcus and what had come to him.
That was an inheritance. It didn’t signify his involvement in anything, and he was clearly a U.S.
citizen. It was a shame when you had to protect yourself from the government.
However, we knew as Black people, the government was never meant to protect us anyway.
When we all got outside the courtroom, Uncle Storm stood next to me. I looked up at him, knowing he had something to say. “So when is the big day? I saw that rock on her finger that you didn’t bother clearing with me.”
I chuckled. “My bad, Unc. We haven’t set a date yet. Since Aaliyah and Iesha are getting cool, we may have a double wedding if Seven ever proposes.”
“He wanted to wait for all this shit to be over first.”
“I get it . . . I guess. I mean, she’s here through all the shit. Why wait? Whatever. He does what the fuck he wants to do regardless.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why we here. Although it was a pain in our asses, we gon’ all benefit from this shit. Did you see those muthafuckas faces when PJ walked in?”
I chuckled. “Right. I’m glad y’all revealed that shit to everybody beforehand, because y’all would have killed his sisters. Had Uncle Philly finally told Aunt Kema?”
“Yeah. She was mad as fuck at his ass. She slept at Tiff and Ryder’s place for a whole week. I told his ass he should have told her sooner.”
“Yeah. I messed around and let it slip to Aaliyah about a month ago. Let me go holla at my boy.”
Uncle Storm pushed my head, and I laughed. He’d been low-key, because he was worried about my dad . . . all his siblings were. He and Mama were only home alone when they were sleeping . . . or fucking, because I was pretty sure they were still getting it in, no matter how depressed they were. Ugh.
This trial couldn’t be over fast enough though.
I needed to get in Aaliyah’s shit asap! She’d had her six-week checkup yesterday, but she wasn’t feeling all that great.
I needed her at her nastiest. My parents agreed to keep the babies overnight so we could enjoy ourselves without having to stop to tend to them. I was beyond ready too.
I went over to PJ and hugged him. He was so happy to see everybody he could barely function.
He was walking with a cane and still had that damn colostomy bag.
He only had another month to deal with that shit.
I swore the other attorney looked like he shit on himself when Shy called PJ to the witness stand.
They knew they were done after that. Because he was working for Watchful Eyes, he had surveillance. That shit was the nail in their coffin.
When we got back inside, everyone was excited to get this shit over with. After all the evidence of them trying to fuck with our businesses and PJ’s cousin’s testimony of how they targeted my brother, I was pretty sure we would come out on top.
The judge came in as I stood and grabbed Aaliyah’s hand. My parents already had their babies. Whenever we were somewhere when they were present, they always took them from us. I believed they felt connected to Crew in a way.
When we sat, he said, “This is corruption at its highest level. But we can thank the president for giving them this much confidence in their crimes. They thought they would get away with this. They’ve been terrorizing the Hendersons for nearly two years.
For now, I’m going to place fines . . . money that needs to be paid to the Hendersons immediately for their troubles, especially Marcus Henderson and his family, Seven Henderson, the family of Crew Henderson, and Philly Semien Junior.
There will be five different settlements. ”
He shifted some papers around, then continued.
“For the Henderson family as a whole, you will pay twelve million dollars, to be split between the eight siblings. That’s one point five million each in damages to their businesses and disturbances that cost them business.
For Marcus Henderson and his family, having to endure detention centers and false imprisonment, the stress of separating his family, and the attacks on his person, I award them fifteen million. ”
We were clapping like crazy. We were family, and we already knew the wealth would be shared across the family.
“For Seven Henderson for the false pretenses, incarcerations, drugging for a false confession, and so much terrorizing, I award him fifteen million as well. The family of Crew Henderson. This is terrible. He was targeted because of his intelligence and the weakness in his mental stability. They felt if they could get him off the path to success it would destroy the Hendersons from the inside out. Now he’s no longer here, because they beat him to death. ”
He shook his head as he slid his hand down his face.
“I had a son in the same predicament. If I could find the person that got him strung out, I would put them under the jail. If I knew the government was involved, I would go after them with gusto. Twenty-five million to the family of Crew Henderson.”
My eyebrows damn near hiked off my face. No amount of money would replace my brother, but I surely didn’t expect that much. My mama was crying as she held Rasha close. My dad had an arm around her and Ravi in his other arm as he nodded repeatedly.
“Finally, for Philly Semien, better known as PJ. Son, you did your due diligence plus some. They nearly killed you, and now you’ve been forced to endure a tough road to recovery.
You had to spend time away from the people who loved you most, so they didn’t try to finish the job.
For that reason, warrants will be issued for the specific ones who orchestrated the plot to kill you.
You will also be awarded twenty-five million for you and your family. ”
We clapped again as PJ lowered his head and cried. The Semiens didn’t have as much money as the Hendersons did, but now they were multi-millionaires.
“Sentencing will be in one month and those warrants will be executed now. We are adjourned.”
We all jumped to our feet, celebrating the verdicts and settlements. My dad came over to me and Ashanni and said, “You know I’m gonna split that money. Twelve point five for me and your mama and six point two five for each of you. If . . . “
He lowered his head, then gave Ravi to Aaliyah.
“If either of you ever feel like something is off, or you seem to be struggling with something mentally, please get help. Losing a child is hard as fuck. What makes it worse is how we lost him. The last words I said to my son was for him to get the fuck out of my house. That hurts me so bad. While I know he knew deep down that he was loved, he died without feeling it. Knowing that he knew about his diagnosis of bipolar disorder but didn’t want to tell us, makes my heart ache. ”
I hugged my dad as he cried. Ashanni hugged him too. After Crew’s funeral, his medical records were released to us, and we found out that he’d already been diagnosed as a manic depressive by a doctor in Houston. He’d listed us as emergency contacts and next of kin on his paperwork.
When they couldn’t get ahold of him to discuss his missed appointment and reschedule him, they called my mama. He was trying to take care of himself. It was like we grieved him all over again, like he’d just died, when we read the details of his records.
Ashanni spoke first. “We love you, Daddy. You have my word. I won’t let shit fester, even if I have to seek out counseling.
Crew knew he was loved. It wasn’t deep down.
It was on the surface. That was why we were the ones he attacked.
He knew we would always love him, no matter what he did. I promise, he knew it.”
My dad dried his face and nodded. I added my two cents.
“I love you, Dad. You don’t have to worry.
We both have families that need us. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure I’m good physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.
Despite how you’re feeling right now, you’ve been an amazing dad and a great example of what it means to work hard, take care of the ones you love and your community, and shower your spouse with unconditional love.
You the fucking standard. Don’t ever forget that. ”
We all huddled up and cried for what seemed like forever. When we released one another, we all took a deep breath at once, then laughed.
“You know what? I need a fucking blunt,” my dad said.
“Let’s go get that shit then,” I said.
We walked out of the courthouse feeling lighter than we did when we got here, knowing that justice would be served. Crew’s memory would live on in all our hearts.
When Aaliyah came out of that bathroom in that see-through shit she wore, I had to grab my dick. That nigga was showing the fuck out before I could even touch her. She walked to me, one foot in front of the other, like a sexy ass model. Once she was close, she slid her nails down my bare chest.
“Oh fuck!”
I literally nutted every-fucking-where. I couldn’t contain that shit. Aaliyah possessed every part of me, and I couldn’t handle it. It had been over two months since I’d felt her insides, and my dick was losing his fucking mind, knowing he was about to get a taste . . . finally.
She dipped to her knees and sucked my dick like that nigga was dripping milk and honey.
I grabbed her hair and began stroking her mouth.
My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I couldn’t contain my groans.
“Liyah, fuck! I missed your nasty ass, baby. I need to taste and feel you, like right now.”
I lifted her from the floor and took her to the bed.
The second I placed her on it, she lifted her legs and spread them, showing me the passion that had accumulated at her entry.
I took a deep breath and dove right in, sucking her shit like I was dying without it.
It felt like I was close to that. I ate her pussy like it was the most succulent piece of meat, sucking that shit right off the bone until she bust in my mouth and sprayed me mercilessly.
I stood and scooted her to the middle of the bed and got in with her. After lining my dick up to her entry, I saw the precum leak out of me. Slowly, I pushed my shit inside of her.
“Royaaaaaall, fuuuuuck!”
She was as deprived as I was because she was cumming on my dick, letting me know just how much she missed it.
I began stroking her as my face twitched from trying to hold in my nut.
Her pussy was like heaven before, but shit!
I had to be at the throne of grace now. Stroking her until I could no longer hold in my nut, I said, “Baby, I’m about to fertilize your grounds.
I already know them birth control ain’t finna stop shit. Fuuuuuuck!”
When I released inside of her, it felt like I fucking blacked out for a second. It was like my entire body needed to reset. My body shivered until every bit of nut had found out it was in its favorite place. I sucked her nipples until my heart was content.
After rolling over, I saw Nikki in our doorway, naked as fuck. When Lareesa appeared next to her, I looked over at Aaliyah. She bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Back to business as usual, baby. We finna give you that fire and have you tapping out.”
I smacked her ass as she straddled me. Just before Nikki straddled my face, I said, “Naw. You the only one that got that fire . . . that good shit.”
The End
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