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CHAPTER ONE :
INTERROGATIONS

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NEXT DAY

ROYALTY AND SIMONE were engaging in some outdoor dining because Royalty needed an escape from the crazy shit that had been going on this week. Anika was missing, Kingsley died, Hakeem got shot, and Bella fired a gun! It was too much!

A pretty waitress walked over to their table, setting their plates in front of them. Simone instantly indulged in her food, but Royalty wasn't as hasty. She grabbed the fork and played with her meal with her elbow on the table, hand on cheek. Simone noticed. "You okay?"

Royalty's eyes stayed focused on her food. "Is this the part where I lie, or...?"

"No, because I hate liars."

"Well no, I'm not okay." Royalty sighed, removing her hand from her cheek and sitting up straight. "Too much shit has been going on."

"Like Hakeem getting shot," Simone mentioned before sticking more food into her mouth.

"Yeah, but it's more than that. My niece was going berserk, my half-brother died-"

Royalty got cut off by Simone. She didn't know anything about a half-brother. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah. His name was Kingsley. He killed himself." But that wasn't true. Lucious killed him, but suicide was the story they were sticking with, and Royalty didn't even care. He shouldn't have tried to kill her mother.

That news made the corner of her girlfriend's mouth turn downwards into a deep frown. She gave her condolences. "I'm so sorry, babe. Mental health is no joke. But at least Hakeem didn't die too."

"Yeah, I'm thankful for that. He was bold for taking the bullet for Tiana."

Simone nodded, putting her fork down to focus on conversing, not eating. The conversation was getting serious. "Yeah, he was. Star's brushing it off, but I know she's not okay with Hakeem almost dying for his ex."

Royalty's perfectly shaped eyebrows knitted together in question, not understanding that. "What was he supposed to do? Let the mother of his child get shot? Bella would've hated him."

"She was there?"

"Yeah, she saw everything."

Simone frowned all over again. She dipped her head and gave it a shake. "Damn. I'm really sorry. She must be traumatized."

She should be, but she wasn't. Bella was a tough five-year-old. Nothing scared her. Not even death. It was alarming. "She's fine. Bella's stronger than you know."

Simone lifted her head, meeting her gaze again. Those words brightened her spirits a little. "That's good. And I may hate Tiana, but I'm glad she's unharmed."

"Yeah. I didn't care for Tiana before, but she's family now. But I'm also cool with Star, so..." Royalty released a conflicted sigh, knowing she was stuck in the middle.

"Cotton is in the same boat as you. You just have to stay neutral," Simone told her. Royalty had a feeling that was going to be hard though.

She changed the topic. "Anyway, enough of the sad shit. Let's talk about us."

Simone ate some more of her food. "What about us?"

"We've been dating for three weeks, Simone. What are we going to do for our one month anniversary?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Simone's words were wrapped in mischief as a smirk tugged a corner of her mouth upwards.

"Let me guess. Clubbing."

"Duh!" Simone exclaimed. "I mean, come on, that's our favorite thing to do!"

"Yes it is, and we shut it down every time, baby."

"We sure do. Those thirsty guys can't take their eyes off us." Simone laughed at the thought.

"They better stop because you're off limits," Royalty flirted.

"So are you." Simone matched her flirtations with a romantic gesture. She scooped up her food and leaned forward to feed Royalty. Some of the food didn't make it into her mouth. It fell onto the table in front of them, making them laugh as Royalty cleaned it up. Then they heard someone say her name.

"Royalty Lyon?"

Royalty's hand paused from cleaning the table as she looked up to see a cop staring at her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to suppress her rising panic. "Uh, yes?"

"You need to come with me. I'm bringing you in for questioning."

-

Inside, Royalty was smoking with anger because she had just gotten interrogated for Diana Dubois's murder. She didn't even know Diana was dead, which proved her innocence! Secondly, how the hell was Diana dead? She didn't know, but she was about to find out.

She barged into her house and saw her mother, Hakeem, and Jamal already there. They seemed like they had just gotten home too. "Does someone want to tell me why I got interrogated for Diana Dubois murder?!"

Jamal wondered the same. "I'd like to know the same thing because I just got questioned too!"

Their mother said, "We all got interrogated."

"Why?!"

"Because Diana didn't trust this family!" their mother explained in a shout. "She wanted us to go down for Angelo's death, so surely she told the cops to look into us. Now she's dead and we're prime suspects."

"But we're innocent!" Hakeem exclaimed.

"Then who's guilty?!" Royalty questioned.

Their mother knew who. "Lucious is. He killed Diana."

Jamal was pacing before, but that bombshell made him halt and face their mother. Something resembling shock raced across his face before he scoffed with a shake of his head. "Why am I not surprised the devil struck again?" He let out an annoyed breath.

Their mother dropped her gaze down to her fingers as she played with them. She hesitated to say her following words. "It's...it's my fault. I told him to kill Diana."

Royalty snapped her head onto her. "You what? Why are you conspiring with the devil?!"

Hakeem butted in, standing beside their mother, looking between his siblings with grave eyes. "She's not the only one. I made a deal with him too."

"What deal?"

"I told him to kill the man who shot me."

Royalty stared at them wordlessly, not trying to hide the disapproval painted on her face. She didn't know what to say anymore. Jamal had a lot to say though. He was livid. "What the hell is wrong with y'all? You can't make deals with the devil!"

"Well we did, Jamal! And I regret it because I lost my daughter because of it!" Hakeem said with a tone full of emotion.

Royalty finally noted Bella's absence. "Wait, where's Bella?"

"Tiana and I sent her away."

"Sent her away?!" Royalty repeated before putting her hands on her head and pacing around. Her mind couldn't process all of these bombshells at once. "Okay, I'm so confused. I feel like I don't know what's going on with my family!"

Hakeem explained everything to them. "Look, y'all missed a lot. This entire thing started when I got shot. I told Lucious to kill the guy who shot me because I didn't want him coming back to finish the job. But Lucious didn't kill him. Bella did."

"What?!" Royalty and Jamal shrieked.

Hakeem nodded with shame. "Yeah. My daughter is a killer. I saw the video and everything. So Tiana and I sent her away to get help, and we don't know when she's coming back."

Jamal was even more disturbed now, and Royalty couldn't blame him. Their family was nuts. "This is absolutely ridiculous. I'm angry with Lucious, but I'm more angry with y'all! I can't believe you joined the dark side! You gave him more power!"

Their mother said, "I had to do it, Jamal! Diana kidnapped Bella, and she then escaped police custody! She was coming for us, so she had to go!"

Jamal didn't shy away from raising his voice at her. It seemed like his respect for her was gone. "Then let her come back for more, Ma! You can't let Lucious kill people for you! You're no better than him now!"

Hakeem didn't like the way he was talking to her. He stepped forward. "Chill out, Mal. Trust me, there's gonna be a time when you'll need that man to protect you and your loved ones too."

Jamal shook his head vigorously, letting them know that was never happening. "Na. I ain't selling my soul to him. He tried to be my hitter before and I shut him down, and it's staying that way. I can handle shit myself, but clearly you can't and it's disappointing."

Hakeem and Cookie heaved a sigh as Royalty's eyes darted around the room. She noticed someone else was missing. Her oldest brother. "Where's Andre? He's never around!"

"He's probably making his own deals with the devil," Jamal retorted before rolling his eyes. "I'mma go."

Their mother tried to stop him. "Jamal-"

"No! I'm going, Ma! I can't look at y'all right now!" And he left. He stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him so aggressively that it shook the place. Their mother rubbed her hand over her face in distress, knowing Jamal more than likely just disowned them, as Hakeem focused on Royalty with dismay flashing in his eyes.

"You mad at us too, Ro?"

She wasn't. "I'm not mad at you guys. You needed protection. I get it." But she knew that she was never joining the dark side.