33. Prodigy Moretti #2
I hated the idea of leaving him there, but he was right. Bringing him home would expose our hand before we knew who else was involved or how deep Marcus’s control reached.
“So, you stay here for now,” I said. “Jamir keeps digging, and you give me every name, account, payment, and connection you found over the years.”
Renzo nodded. “We put the whole story together before Marcus knows we’re coming. One wrong move could get you or your mother hurt.”
“And once we know everything?”
His fear disappeared beneath eighteen years of anger. “Then we figure out how to get rid of him.”
I drove back to Chicago pissed beyond words. My stepfather, uncle and auntie were snakes. They’d watched me spend eighteen years wondering why my father left while knowing the truth all along. They let me believe Renzo had chosen another life over me while keeping him buried in Michigan.
I didn’t know who the fuck I could trust anymore.
Leaving my father in that house had torn me apart, but staying any longer was too much of a risk.
Renzo and I had embraced so many times before I left that I lost count. Each time his arms closed around me, I wanted to hold on longer. Having my father in front of me after all those years felt too good to walk away from.
It hurt just as much.
He’d been alive the entire time, living alone because the people I loved and trusted had forced him out of our family.
I felt broken and manipulated.
Every memory involving Marcus played differently now. Every time he’d told me he was proud of me, every lesson he taught me, every birthday, every time he’d stepped into the space Renzo had been forced to leave.
I wondered had any of it been real.
I’d been driving in a daze, barely registering exits or the traffic around me. The same questions kept circling.
I was about thirty minutes from home when my phone rang through the speakers.
It was Legend. My brows curled, curious what he could want. We had received our new shipment without issues, and it wasn’t time for us to make any payments.
“What’s up, Legend?” I answered.
“Yo’, we need to meet asap?”
I inwardly groaned. “Tonight.”
“Or first thing in the morning.”
“I can’t. I got some shit going. Wise and Vega gonna have to meet y’all without me.”
“This something you need to hear first.”
“Well, I can’t right now,” I spit. Then I took a deep breath. “I … I got some personal shit going on. I can’t meet right now. Just holla at me now.”
“What up, Prodigy?” I could hear Icon speaking too, as if Legend had the phone on speaker.
“Damn, both of y’all on the line at the same time? This must be serious.” I chuckled, but they replied in silence, making my laughter cease. “What’s the word?”
“We found out who killed Kash.”
“Okay…”
“It was Knox.”
“The fuck?” I damn near slammed on the brakes until I remembered I was moving with traffic. I fought to keep control of my ride as I asked them, “You sure?”
“Yeah. You know we’ve had Jamir looking through Kash’s burner,” Icon explained. “Knox is all over it. Kash overheard Knox plotting against y’all. Kash overheard Knox meeting with Dane, boss of the Hollows—"
“Fuck,” I grunted, instantly recognizing the name.
“They’ve been planning to make a move against the Street Kings and take back territory y’all took over.”
A few months ago, we had taken over a neighborhood over east that used to belong to the Hollows, Dane Hollow’s crew, but it wasn’t because we were out here picking on weak niggas for sport.
Dane was wasting the real estate. His product was weak, workers weren’t being paid, corners were unprotected, and innocent people were getting caught up in their trigger-happy bullshit.
The block was making the wrong noise without making real money, so we stepped in.
If you can’t control what you claim, somebody with more discipline eventually will.
“We can send you the evidence we have,” Legend spoke over my silent shock.
“Yeah, do that.”
“You know what we gotta do, right?” Icon asked.
The Cartiers were real businessmen. I knew that they wouldn’t have told me this information unless they knew it was rock solid.
Knox was my brother. So, knowing that the Cartiers were about to kill him truly hurt my soul.
The world started to spin as I drove. My heart started to thud with regret.
But it was also beating with rage because my best friend had been plotting against me.
“Do what you gotta do,” I finally told them.
“Bet,” Icon replied, sounding relieved.
“Thanks for the heads up. Respect.”
“No doubt,” Legend and Icon said simultaneously.
Just as I was hanging up, my other line rang. I cringed because I really couldn’t take anymore that night. I just wanted to get home and hide out in the darkness.
But it was Jamir.
I answered. “What up?”
“I handled that other thing you asked me to do.”
My focus returned to the road. “You found her?”
“Yeah. Arielle never left Illinois.”
My grip shifted around the steering wheel. “What?”
“She’s still in the suburbs.”
I released a bitter laugh. Of course she was. Apparently, everybody in my life had decided the truth was optional.
Jamir sent an address while we were still on the phone.
“You sure she’s there?” I asked.
“I’m sure.”
“Bet. Thanks, Jamir.”
Then I ended the call.
I stared at the route on my navigation when it appeared. The address was only twenty minutes away if I turned off at the next exit.
I should’ve gone home. I’d already learned enough betrayal for one day. I didn’t know if I could take another lie.
“Fuck it.”
I switched lanes and took the exit. The drive took me farther into the suburbs, past rows of newer homes with trimmed lawns and cars parked inside wide driveways. Arielle had been living this close while letting me think she’d packed her life up and moved away.
I pulled up across from the address Jamir sent and killed the engine. As I got out and crossed the street, I stared at the two-story home, wondering how long Arielle had been here. Before she’d supposedly relocated, she had a condo in the South Loop.
I took long, angry strides towards the walkway. But as I approached the porch, the front door opened. My eyes darted towards it to see Arielle stepping outside.
She was smiling at something said behind her. I could hear the deep voice talking. She had one hand resting over a stomach that pushed clearly against her fitted dress.
I immediately stopped walking. She had to be around four months pregnant.
Finally, she noticed the large figure standing in front of her porch and gasped, clutching her chest. Then she realized it was me, but she still appeared to be just as terrified.
For a second, Knox froze. The smile left his mouth first, then his eyes widened.
But he quickly recovered. He forced the surprise expression off of his face and replaced it with an unfazed one.
Beneath all that forced calm, I saw pride and satisfaction in his eyes.
Knox didn’t just look caught. He looked like part of him was glad the lie was finally over because now he could stop hiding how badly he wanted this shit to hurt me.
Finally, I found my voice. “The fuck is this?”