Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
SETH
“Good morning, Mama,” I said, stepping into the kitchen with that old familiar warmth I’d been missin’. I kissed her cheek like I used to, back when the world felt simple and I still felt like her little boy.
She didn’t stop stirring the eggs, just kept humming that same church hymn she always went to when she needed peace or when she was mad as hell and trying to keep from saying the wrong thing.
I knew this version of her. Quiet, distant, and cold with a hint of holy. It meant I’d done something she hadn’t forgiven yet.
“Shiloh was fussy last night?” she asked without turning around.
“Yeah,” I nodded, easing into the conversation, “for some reason, he only wanted Stormi.”
She finally glanced over her shoulder. “She’s a good mother.”
“She’s a good wife too,” I added, watching her face tighten just enough to know she didn’t like that answer.
I sighed. “You’re upset with me. I can feel it, Mama. But why take it out on her? The slick comments? The silent treatment? Making her feel like she’s a stranger in her own home?”
That got her. She stiffened for a second, then turned the stove off.
“I didn’t know I was doing that,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. Trying to lie to herself more than me.
“You are,” I said calmly. “I get that things moved fast. We went from you, me, and quiet nights… to a house full of cries, bottles, loud voices, and loved ones you probably didn’t ask for.
But this house may be big, Mama, but it ain’t big enough for attitude and disrespect.
Not when it comes to my wife. Not when it comes to the woman who risked everything to bring our son into this world. ”
She spun to face me. “Your wife got you out here killin’, Seth. You walkin’ ‘round like death don’t live close no more. You think that’s normal?”
I clenched my jaw.
“With all due respect, Mama… Stormi didn’t make me a killer. Life did. The streets did. You know that. If it was up to her, we’d be somewhere in the damn suburbs far away from this life. But I chose this. Me. Because I don’t let nobody breathe after threatening what’s mine.”
Her eyes shimmered, but she blinked it back. Pride and pain lived in my mother like roommates who never left.
“If you need a break from this life, say the word. I’ll fly you wherever you want.
Book you a place somewhere warm and safe.
Hell, you can go to church three times a day and call me in between services.
But what you not gonna do is keep treating Stormi like she ain’t family.
Like she didn’t damn near die for this family. ”
Her lip trembled before she bit it. “So, you kicking me out now?” she asked, softer this time. Not angry. Just hurt.
I stepped closer. “No. Never. We want you here. You mean the world to us. But I see you, Mama. I see how heavy all this is on you. You’ve lost so much. And now you’re watching me walk a path that you prayed every night I’d avoid.”
She didn’t speak, but her energy shifted. That wall of hers cracked just a little.
“So, I’m asking you really asking what do you need?”
She paused. Looked down. Her voice broke when she finally said, “I’m a part of your village, right?”
My throat got tight. We hadn’t been acting like a village. Not lately. But God knows I wanted to.
“We want you to be,” I told her honestly. “This family ain’t whole without you. But it can’t survive if we’re fighting each other inside while fighting enemies outside.”
She nodded slowly, then opened her arms. I stepped into them without hesitation. Held her like the little boy she raised and the man I became.
“Look at the love this morning,” Jo said, walking into the kitchen with Mama and me. Her voice carried that teasing warmth only she could pull off, like she was soaking in a sight she hadn’t seen in a while.
Stormi followed, cradling half asleep Shiloh against her chest. Without hesitation, I reached out, taking my son from her arms, planting a quick kiss on Stormi’s cheek.
Mama’s eyes softened as she looked at Stormi. “Morning, Stormi. I want to say I’m sorry for how I acted this week. I love you, and I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”
Stormi’s smile was tired but genuine as she stepped forward and wrapped my mama in a hug. “It’s okay. I understand. And I love you too.”
Jo walked up, giving a quick smirk that broke the tension. “Glad we got that out the way ’cause I swear, I was about to have to beat your ass over my daughter.”
We all busted out laughing this moment reminds you what family really is.
I caught Stormi’s eye and saw something there, relief, acceptance, and a flicker of hope.
“I’ll be back later,” I said, pressing a rough kiss to Stormi’s lips, my fingers lingering on her cheek as I handed her Shiloh. The way she held him so damn gentle always hit me in a place I didn’t want to admit existed.
Keys in hand, I stepped out the door. Rich was already outside, chatting with the soldiers posted around my crib when I was gone. Loyal as hell. I nodded at him as I approached.
“Yo, you ready?” I asked, dapping him up.
Rich grinned, tossing a joint my way. “Damn, nigga, you rushin’ out before I even get to say bye to my godsons?”
I laughed, sliding into the driver’s seat beside him. “You know I gotta handle business.”
We pulled off into the city, the joint burning between us, the music loud enough to drown the silence but not enough to kill the heaviness hanging in the air. Rich scrolled through his phone, and I kept my eyes locked on the road, but my mind was miles away.
Today, I had one stop on my list before the rest of the chaos: my pops’ grave.
The good and bad in my life felt like they were playing ping pong inside my chest. One moment the memories cut sharp, the next I felt like I was drowning in the weight of it all.
When we finally rolled up to the cemetery, the heavy gate swung open like it was waiting for me like it knew I was coming.
“I’ll be back,” I said to Rich, climbing out the truck and heading toward my pops’ headstone.
My boots hit the grass, each step heavy. When I finally stood in front of his stone, my breath caught.
Beloved husband, father, and friend
Seth Curtis Greene
A family picture was carved right into the stone of me, him, and moms. The smiles frozen in time cut deep.
It was a reminder that once, I could just walk into a room and talk to my dad when he was still here.
Now I was standing over a grave, hoping the phone line to heaven wasn’t dead. Hoping he could hear me.
“You and God must be tight up there. Two powerful men watching over my family.” I swallowed hard. “Thank you for her. Stormi... she’s everything you told me a wife should be. I’m taking care of her, just like you taught me. Just like you showed me.”
I ran my fingers over the stone, tracing the carved faces. “Two sons now. One carrying our name, both carrying our legacy and blood. Damn, they need their Papa.”
I paused, eyes closing, imagining my boys running up to him, throwing themselves into his arms, screaming “Papa” and seeing him like I once did, my hero.
“But I get it now, Pop... the weight that comes with that title.”
I dropped to my knees, chest heaving as the tears I’d held back for years clawed at the corners of my eyes.
“I disappointed Mom,” I admitted, voice cracking.
“I love her to death, but I had to separate the son from the husband and father. She had it all planned. Seth the doctor, the lawyer, the firefighter the ‘perfect’ son. I took a different path. Who’s to say it’s the wrong one It just shaped me into the man I am today. ”
I lifted my face to the sun beating down on me, the heat like fire on my skin.
“Loyalty ain’t the same. Hell, maybe it never was. I’m thinking about walking away from this game; these streets always need a body. But this redemption, this one’s personal. It touched my wife. It tore my family apart. Divided my home.”
My fists clenched at my sides. “How the hell does that nigga think he can just take what I earned? Protect me and mine while I end this war one last time.”
The silence settled around me just as I heard Rich’s footsteps. He was quiet, eyes low. The only time he wasn’t high or tipsy was when he was around Shiloh and S3. This life was weighing on us all, and it was time for peace...
“Seth Sr,” Rich called out, dabbing me up again before pulling me into a tight hug.
“He supposed to be here. Lia supposed to be here. Shiloh supposed to come into this world with his mama crying and ready to hold him,” I said, my eyes locked on my pops’ headstone like maybe he’d answer back.
“These streets they play dirty. But we? We played dirtier. Got eyes on Dre. Looks like he’s headed back in town.”
“Right into the devil’s den like the dumb nigga he is,” I spat, already turning to walk off.
Rich caught my attention before I got too far. “After this, I’m leaving for a bit.”
“Leaving?”
“Yeah. For a while. Not long.”
“That’s what you think you need?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Dutchess been telling me about this resort I gotta try out.”
“Dutchess?” I repeated, confused at him calling Dee by her full name...
“Chill, man. It’s not even like that with her,” he cleared up quickly, he already knew what I was thinking.
Dutchess or Dee King’s baby sister. She ran the family empire tight with her grandfather and brother. We all saw her like one of our own, so it wasn’t wild, she’d be giving Rich advice about taking a break.
“If that’s what you need, then I ain’t got no choice but to respect it. Just don’t stay gone too long. Cause me and those godsons of yours. We’ll come find you.”
I dapped him up again, the weight of everything sitting heavy between us as we started walking back to the truck.
“I’ll come looking for y’all before y’all gotta come looking for me,” Rich spoke with that sly grin before we climbed in and peeled off, heading to the warehouse.
Dre had dipped off to Utah. My people traced the call that came through his mama’s phone. Finding him wasn’t hard. Could’ve hopped on a plane, put an end to it right there. But I needed to know if he had backup, if he was running with anyone else in my city.
I’m taking them out, one by one. Every last one. This war. It’s personal now. My family, my peace, that’s what’s on the line. And the only way to get there is to wipe out every enemy in my path.
Let him hide for now, thinking he’s safe. But just like I predicted. He’s coming back. And when he does. Ain’t no mercy coming with me.