Prologue #2
“You heard what the fuck I said. Either you die today, or take this seventy-seven thousand dollars I’m prepared to give you, and get the fuck out of my son’s life.
He’s too distracted with you around, and I need his head completely in the game.
This is the only way,” Macie stated, getting straight to the point.
There was no time to pussy foot around. Time was of the essence.
“We just want to be together. We love each other, Macie. Why… Why are you doing this?” Sienna struggled to speak. “He will resent you if you hurt me.”
“Bitch, he’ll never find out the truth about what happened today, or the conversation we’re having right now.
Everyone assigned to your case, and all these doctors are on my fucking payroll.
Now, I’m only gonna ask your ass one more time.
If you don’t answer, I’m gonna kill your pretty ass right now, and my son will be told that the bullets that riddled your body hit a major vein, and they were unable to stop the bleeding. They did all they could do.”
It wasn’t the threat that scared Sienna most, it was the underlying promise in Macie’s voice that made her a believer. She’d gone through all this trouble to make her disappear, there was no doubt that she’d follow through one way or another.
“You have ten seconds to decide,” Macie surmised.
Tears slid down the corners of Sienna’s eyes nonstop, and suddenly the ache in her heart and soul trumped the physical pain spreading like wildfire through her body.
Sienna didn’t understand how her life had gone from bliss to bullshit in the blink of an eye, but this shit was really happening, and at an accelerated rate.
She didn’t wanna die, and she didn’t wanna leave Monroe; but in her mind she didn’t really have a choice.
“I’m pregnant, Macie. I planned on telling Monroe tonight when he came home,” Sienna revealed with a shaky voice. “Are you really that evil that you’d kill your grandchild?” she tried one last time to save her life, relationship, and unborn child.
“Is fat meat greasy?” Macie returned. “In this lifestyle sometimes we gotta sacrifice for the greater good. What’s it gonna be?”
“Okay,” Sienna cried. “Okay, I’ll do what you say. I’ll take the money, but where will I go? I’m wounded.”
That’s all Macie needed was her answer, and the rest was history. “It’s showtime. Y’all know what to do.”
As soon as Macie walked out the side exit and entered her car, she texted Abel.
You can stop holding up traffic now.
Abel: Alright.
Macie tossed her phone into the passenger seat, ignited her engine, then pulled out like she hadn’t shaken her son’s world in the most heinously and intentional way.
She had meant every word when she said to Sienna about sacrificing for the greater good.
She’s made her decision, and was beyond prepared to live with it.
As Monroe pulled up to the hospital, he didn’t even bother parking, or killing his engine for that matter.
He simply didn’t give a fuck. He could get another car.
But there was only one Sienna Davis, and Monroe loved her more than the air he breathed.
She was his everything, and he showed her every day in every way imaginable.
“Sienna Davis! He barked at the receptionist. “I’m here to see… I need to see Sienna Davis,” Monroe told the receptionist sitting behind the desk.
The receptionist looked up, startled by the urgency in his voice, then quickly turned to her screen.“Just a second. Let me look that name up, and see where she is,” she replied.
Monroe paced the floor, his body buzzing, his chest tight, every second stretching longer than the last. He waited for directions that would lead him to Sienna’s side.
“Sir,” the receptionist said softly, standing now. “The doctor will be out to speak with you soon. You can have a seat in the waiting area if you’d like,” she suggested.
“Nah,” Monroe snapped. “I been sittin’ too long already. I need some fuckin’ answers immediately. Is she okay? Tell me somethin’.”
The desperation, love, and anger in Monroe’s eyes penetrated the receptionist's heart. It had been a while since she’d seen a man who’d loved a woman to that capacity, but she couldn’t be the one to break his heart.
“I’m calling the doctor right now. Just give me a second, please,” she calmly replied, dialing a direct extension instead of sending a message.
“Thank you,” Monroe said, continuing as he continued to pace the floor.
Seconds later, Truth and Syncere walked through the emergency sliding doors.
“There he go,” Syn muttered, his eyes quickly scanning the room.
“Aye’, Roe! What’s good, my nigga,” Truth greeted as soon as he saw Roe.
Quickly, they embraced like brothers, then got straight to the reason for their appearance.
“G called and told us what went down at yo’ spot, so we caught the first flight up here to see how you wanted to proceed,” Syn stated.
“Mu’fucka’s fuckin’ with the wrong ones today,” Truth blurted, ready to fuck some shit up as they spoke.
Monroe nodded, jaw tight, eyes fixed on the hallway as if staring hard enough might pull Sienna back to him.
“Everything a’ight wit’, sis?” Truth asked.
“I ain’t heard nothin’ yet. I’m still waitin’, man. My ass was caught in traffic for close to a fuckin’ hour and couldn’t move,” Roe told them, still pissed off about it.
“Sienna Davis,” The doctor called, his voice calm… Too calm.“Is the family of Sienna Davis here?” He looked around and waited patiently.
“Yes, that’s me,” Monroe answered, rushing towards the doctor.
“I’m Dr. Collins. Do you happen to know where Sienna’s parents are, or–”
“Nah, it’s just us doc,” Syncere spoke up because he knew Monroe didn’t have many more words left. He just needed to see his lady.
Dr. Vaughn took a deep breath, his expression heavy.
“I’m grieved to inform you this evening that Sienna didn’t make it.
She was shot eight times, and we were able to remove six of the bullets, but one struck a major artery.
We were unable to stop the bleeding. She also lost the baby. She was seven weeks pregnant.”
Monroe’s heart fell out of his chest and shattered on the ground like bricks.
He loved his father, and had experienced heartbreak when he died.
But this… made his heart beat different.
A piece of Monroe’s soul died in that moment.
How the fuck could the day he found out he was going to be a father, be the day he was told his baby had died along with the love of his life?
That was it. The world tilted, and the rest of Dr. Collins' words faded, and suddenly Monroe struggled to breathe.
Struggled to move. He blacked out, but Truth and Syncere caught him before he could hit the ground. The damage was already set.
Sienna was gone.
Their baby was gone.
The life he’d promised her…the one he swore nothing could touch was gone. And in its place, something dark began to rise from the void created in this moment.