"many men
many, many, many men
wish death pon' me, lord I don't cry no more
don't look to the sky no more
have mercy on me, have mercy on my soul,
somewhere my heart turned cold
have mercy on many men
many, many, many men
wish death pon' me" .

roman was looking at victor right in the eye as he had a large smirk on his face, waving his gun around as jianni was sobbing in the chair in front of the both of them.

"let her go" roman said sternly.

"no" victor chuckled.

"you fucking bastard...." roman said, then he took out his own gun and pointed it at victor's head. "LET HER GO!".

"don't play with me roman, you ain't the only one that can point guns at people's heads...." victor warned him, and that's when he pointed HIS gun at jianni's head. "make one more step and she gets it, I have no problem killing a child".

"DADDY!" jianni cried out.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" victor yelled at her.

"it's your pick roman, you gonna let me kill your daughter or are you gonna kill me? let's see if you really the father that you think you are".

for once in his life, roman was stuck. for once in his life roman didn't completely rebel against someone's words and do whatever he wanted. he stood still, not wanting to make a step due to his fear of victor actually killing jianni. the gun was dangerously close to her head, and if he was to make one type of body movement, jianni would no longer be on this earth. the pressure was on and he had no idea what to do. if it was one thing or person that he would be vulnerable with, it would be his daughter.

and that vulnerability was real apparent right now.

at the teaneck house, iman was here with naomi and takecia along with their kids. iman didn't want to be alone as everyone in her household was gone so the wives of the twins and their kids were here keeping her company. iman was still a wreck emotionally and mentally, today has taken a huge toll on her and she couldn't handle it at all.

"in all of the years that i've been with jey... I have never been through this shit" takecia said as they were in iman's bedroom. "i've been with jey since they were selling in the bronx and they have never gotten caught up, and now years later they are and we have to hide away. that shit is crazy to me".

"whoever is coming for roman isn't joking around, he came for julianne, the cartel, and now jianni...." naomi added.

iman sniffled, trying to hold back her tears at the mention of her daughter's name. naomi then realized what she had done and hugged iman tight, tears were falling down iman's face in the process.

"he's gonna get her back. if there's one thing I know roman will do is kill those bastards and bring jianni back home safe and sound" naomi told her.

oh iman could only hope...

"sometimes I just think about what if I just left him when I found out about this" iman mumbled. "would I even be in this predicament? would I always have to watch my back and my daughter's back? have this anxiety of something happening to the ones that I love?".

"I was so bent on never putting myself in a situation like this with him, I didn't want anyone harming jianni or even me. but then he saved my life when I was in my own danger and ever since then i've seen him as a hero, my hero. he saved me and I wanted to give him my life because of what he did for me. I love roman, I really do.... but now because of his position and because of my decision to spend the rest of my life with him, my daughter is somewhere unsafe and in the hands of an evil man, and I feel like it's my fault".

"don't blame yourself iman, it is definitely not your fault" naomi assured her.

"I just wish that roman wasn't doing this shit anymore" iman sobbed. "I don't wanna live in fear, I don't want anything happening to him or my daughter or anyone else that I love. the thought of anything happening to them is driving me crazy. I don't wanna wake up everyday on this earth and be without them".

"nothing is going to happen to them" takecia reassured her. "roman is the toughest man I know, he's hardcore. he's gonna come back to you with your daughter and with the knowledge that the man that took her is dead".

"and don't stress yourself too much, especially because you're pregnant. stress will harm the baby and you don't want to hurt it okay?" naomi reminded her.

".... honestly I just wanna go to sleep right now. i'm so overwhelmed and I need to... just chill right now" iman sighed. "i'm trying so hard to think on the bright side and it's still not working so I need to get some rest so I won't completely lose my mind".

"okay... we'll grab the kids and go back to our houses, if you need anything just call and we'll be right over" takecia said, iman nodded.

"we love you girl, be well okay?" naomi told her, giving her a weary smile.

takecia and naomi walked out of the bedroom and got their kids together to go back to their own teaneck houses, and iman was left in the house all alone. she snuggled up in her bed and attempted to fall asleep. she felt so alone at this moment, without julianne, jianni, and roman in the house to keep her company. all three of them were in their own scary situations and it left iman stressed.

julianne was jumped brutally and was in the hospital recovering, jianni had been kidnapped by men that have it out for roman, and roman had to save her while also getting his revenge on the man that's been trying to ruin his life. the cartel was also raided by the feds and roman could possibly be arrested for it. so much was happening, it was way too much.

so many thoughts were running through iman's head at this moment. the main thought in her head was the day that roman became her hero.

and the day that she made her decision to stay with him forever...

April 25th, 2016

iman opened her eyes and found herself at the red carpet inn in irvington, new jersey, motel room 302. she was sitting on the couch in the room and was surrounded by a bunch of men wearing all black. once she saw where she was and who had her, she immediately became terrified for her life.

she remembers leaving her friend's house in brooklyn and walking to get into her car and go home, but before she could a man came from behind her, put a bag over her eyes, forced her into a vehicle, and took her away. next thing you know she was knocked out and about an hour later, she was in this motel room surrounded by the men that took her. her heart was pounding and she was about to break down in tears. why would someone do this to her? WHO would do this to her?

"so you're anoa'i's bitch huh...." one of the men said.

"... what?!" iman wondered. why would they mention roman's last name? how would they even know roman?!

that's when a dark cloud hovered over iman's mind, and she realized why and how they knew roman. she began to burst out into tears as she knew what was going on. the reason why she even left roman in the first place.

his drug life was catching up to him, and now her.

speaking of, the man that questioned her slapped her in her face. she couldn't even retaliate or hold her face from the pain throbbing from her cheek as her hands was tied up. all she was left to do was cry and remain scared for her life.

"bitch you know WHO THE FUCK I'M TALKING ABOUT! YOU ANOA'I'S BITCH RIGHT?!" the man yelled in her face, some spit even going on it.

"yes" she sobbed.

"stop fucking crying before I give you something to cry about" the man spat at her and then put a gun to her head. her breathing was becoming more rapid and she was beginning to feel like she couldn't breathe.

"now... all I want you to do is tell us where anoa'i keeps the drugs and the money and we'll let you go" he told her.

"I-I-I I don't know what you're talking about" iman said.

"... excuse me?!" the man exclaimed.

"I don't know I-I have nothing to do with that I don't know what's happening I-" iman began to ramble. she really had no idea what he did, when she did find out about him she left as soon as possible.

unfortunately, that didn't matter to these guys. they felt like she was lying and that was bound for consequences. so the man backhanded iman in her face which left a large red bruise across her face.

"TELL ME WHERE HE KEEPS HIS SHIT! TELL ME NOW!" he yelled at her again.

"I DON'T KNOW! I really don't know" she sobbed. "I don't know, I don't know".

"oh bitch yes you do" he said, and he cocked his gun, ready to shoot her with it.

"please don't- don't kill me" iman pleaded. " I have a baby, I have a baby on the way. please don't kill me and my baby. I don't know what's happening or with him please don't hurt me please".

maybe it wasn't too smart to plead to a clear killer but iman was fighting for her life the best she could. she didn't wanna lose her life like this. out of all of the ways to die, she didn't want this to be her way. the men in the room were just staring at her crying and they actually noticed her twenty nine week belly poking out of her white blouse, so she wasn't lying about a baby.

"imma spare you one, I don't kill babies" the man said, putting his gun on the nightstand. "it's clear you ain't lying about that".

"however... I know you're lying to cover that bitch nigga anoa'i, so tell me now.... WHERE ARE THE DRUGS AND WHERE IS THE MONEY?!".

"I'M NOT LYING!" iman cried out. "I DON'T KNOW!".

"YES YOU ARE! STOP PLAYING WITH ME BITCH!" he yelled at her, hitting her again.

"you know what.... you're playing way too many games with me, and that shit is about to end now. get on the bed".

"what?!" iman gasped.

"bitch get on the fucking bed!" he demanded, and iman realized what was about to happen and she didn't move at all.

"GET ON THE FUCKING BED!".

"no please- please don't" iman sobbed. the man slapped her again.

"put this useless bitch on the bed" the man told his goons, and they listened.

they picked iman up from the couch and laid her on the twin bed in the motel room. the man got on top of her and began to take his clothes off. iman was trying to fight out of the bed but she was still restrained. tears were rushing through her face as she realized that the worse thing possible was about to happen to her. she was pregnant and helpless, and there was nothing she could do.

the man straightened her out on the bed and he ripped apart her white blouse. it showed her black bra and the man liked what her boobs were looked like, which were nice due to her pregnancy.

"anoa'i got a fine ass wife" he chuckled. "look at you, all merciful for me".

she was not merciful for him, she was TERRIFIED of him. once he put his hands on her legs to take her pants off, she began to kick her legs to be free and those legs kicked the man right in his face. now he was livid.

"bitch I swear to fucking god..." the man said, grabbing his gun and pointing at her head. he didn't care to kill a baby after all.

"fuck this".

a gunshot ran through the room, but instead of it hitting iman, it hit the man. the gunshot hit the man in his head and he fell off of the bed. iman screamed in terror and when she turned around to see who did it, she was astonished, but she also felt like she had been saved.

she had been saved by roman.

the goons began to shoot at roman but roman was shooting back. he was hitting all of the men and they were all going down. iman was still tied up on the bed but while roman was killing the goons, one of them took her off of the bed and took her away to the bathroom.

"ROMAN!" iman screamed out. she was screaming again but her screams became muffled as the man that took her covered her mouth so she wouldn't be heard.

roman was killing off the remaining goons as all of the dead bodies hit the floor. they were everywhere, all of the men that had came for him for the past few months and that had took his girl were gone. but there was still one more thing left to do.

roman ran into the bathroom and saw that the man had a gun to iman's head in the tub. she was sobbing again as the gun was dangerously close to her head, one shot and she was done for.

"make one step and your bitch is gone" he said to roman, cocking the gun as it was loaded to shoot.

roman stood still for a second to think of what to do, if this man actually would've killed iman AND his baby, he would never be the same again. he was thinking and thinking, but luckily he's been doing this for a while now, so he has a bit of a quick reflex when it comes to handling a gun...

so he quickly shot the man in the chest multiple times, having him drop dead in the tub. blood was all over iman's white blouse and she was very shook up, screaming and crying at what just happened right in front of her. roman picked iman up out of the tub and untied her hands, leaving her free.

"roman" iman sobbed, hugging him tight and crying in his arms. roman soothed her back and rocked her back and forth to keep her sane despite the fact that she was traumatized.

"i'm here baby okay, they ain't gonna get you, they ain't gonna get you" roman reassured her, holding her so tight as he never wanted to let her go.

they left the hotel from the back and roman drove them back to his penthouse. when they got there, roman ran iman a bath and gave her some pajamas so she can be comfortable and safe, he also gave her medical care from the bruises she had on her face. once everyone was washed up, they got into bed and iman was cuddled into roman's arms, as that's where she felt the most safe.

"you saved my life" iman whispered to him.

"i'm so sorry this happened to you, you were right about my shit catching up. i'm so sorry that they hurt you" roman told her. "I should've protected you more".

"you saved my life roman, I would've been dead, raped, or both if it wasn't for you... but you stopped all of that" iman told him. "you saved me and our baby, you're a hero".

"I don't know what i'd do without you iman, I love you so much. i've missed you too..." roman said.

"well I can assure you that i'm not going anywhere" iman told him. "you got me forever".

"and you got me forever" roman said back, giving iman a passionate kiss. "I love you, and I got you always".

"I love you too" iman said, giving him a big hug.

and from that day on iman knew where she stood, and who was the love of her life.

that day truly changed her life because roman became so much more protective of her after that incident. she officially stopped working, she moved in with roman not even a month later, no more deliveries to the house (even though she's broken that rule in later years), and he had his guard up with her at all times. he wanted to keep his loved ones safe at all times, as suffocating as it got, it's what he wanted after the danger iman was put in.

now that danger was coming back to them, and unfortunately it was targeting their pride and joy, jianni.

roman was still staring victor down as he held the gun to jianni's head, it was closer now, and it only left roman more terrified of what he was going to do to her.

"I guess you wanna be the dad of the year right now.... or maybe you're just a pussy" victor chuckled. "all that shit you be doing and yet you scared to pull the trigger?! you ain't gangsta at all you bitch. you're just the scared ass lil boy I always knew you were".

roman's blood was boiling. if he wasn't actually scared for some shit to happen to his daughter, he would've been blew this place up, but he was. however he also wasn't here for victor's little insults, especially when the last thing that roman was, was a pussy. EVERYBODY and they mama already know what kinda time roman be on, and it definitely wasn't no pussy shit.

"roman i've always been better than you. not only am I older and wiser, but I also have the better cartel and business. you can't do a damn thing without acting out and being a hothead, and yet we were supposed to take you seriously as a drug lord?! we supposed to fear you? be scared? kiss your feet and bow down?! i'm pushing fifty anyways, I definitely wasn't cracking my knees to bow down to you...." victor continued to rant.

"you killed a man just because of me, I live that rent free in your mind that you commiting murders?! you're pathetic. you've killed so many people because I remain in your mind. you can't function and it's because of me! it makes me laugh honestly, you're such a bitch! your daughter don't deserve a bitch for a father, and neither does your wife for a husband".

yeah, roman was about to go feral in a minute.

"I mean here we are and you're allowing me to basically kill your daughter because you don't wanna make a move... don't you know how crazy that is?! you don't wanna step to me! I won! I got it all! I stopped the biggest bitch in the game and all I had to do was take this little bitch of a daughter!" victor laughed, and roman was done from that end on.

roman quickly shot victor in his shoulder, taking him down. jianni screamed out loud at the loud gunshot noise and seeing victor down on the ground bleeding. roman immediately ducked and grabbed jianni, covering her as gunshots were starting to run out.

roman used his gun and began to shoot at the people shooting at him. he released jianni from her restraint and ran out of the warehouse with her and his arms, and with him shooting at victor's goons. luckily, he was able to kill them all and was able to make it all the way to the end to the warehouse safe and with jianni.

"daddy" jianni sobbed as she held her father tight. roman held her tight as well and the two shared an emotional moment, one that drove roman to tears.

"daddy's here now okay? daddy's got you, daddy's got you" roman cooed as his daughter was crying in his arms.

jimmy and jey were right outside of the warehouse and roman quickly put jianni in the car with them so they could go back to teaneck. he knew victor was still alive, and he had one more job to do to end this for good.

"go back to teaneck and stay there, I still gotta kill that son of a bitch" roman told them. "tell iman that jianni is safe and sound and that i'll be home soon".

"bet... you sure you don't need us?" jey asked him.

"nah, I got this. this is my war, and i'm gonna win" roman said. "y'all be safe".

"you too uce, we love you man" jimmy told him.

and with that the twins drove off from the warehouse. as roman was about to head back into the warehouse to kill victor off, he felt a hit to the back of his head. blood was now gushing out as he had a blow to the back, and it was from victor.

victor was standing over roman, holding the gun that he used to hit roman in his hand. his right shoulder was bleeding out and he was holding it up so that he wouldn't collapse. he had vengeance in his eyes, and all he wanted to do now is kill roman once and for all. roman also wanted to kill victor once and for all.

they were finally about to go to war.

right before victor could pull the trigger on roman, roman grabbed victor's gun and took out of his hand, throwing it to the ground. roman then got up and punched victor in the face, leaving his face with a broken nose, bleeding out on his face.

the two began to physically fight, punching and hitting each other to take one another down. victor was trying to get ahold of roman's gun since his gun wasn't on him but roman made sure that didn't happen, constantly punching him away from him. when roman was able to get a hold of his gun, victor punched roman in his jaw and grabbed the gun, preparing to shoot.

roman was holding his jaw as his mouth was bleeding due to the hit, signaling that it was broken. roman couldn't even focus on that right now because victor was pointing his gun at him. roman ducked under the gun aim and SPEARED victor to the ground, smacking his head dead on the floor leaving him with a major blow to the head.

roman got the gun back but victor grabbed roman by his throat, beginning to choke him. victor had massive hands so those hands were strangling roman at the moment. roman was still powering through it, grabbing onto victor's arms to get him off of him. he was using his body strength to get the man off of him. that body strength and attempt happened to be a bit of distraction for him, as victor was able to get the gun back.

the two began to wrestle for the gun again and it was getting more and more intense. a trigger was close to be pulled and it was about to be a fatal scene for either man. punches and hits were still being given, and both man were bloody and bruised up from all of the violence that they had given to each other. they fought in the war that they wanted with each other, and they weren't giving up until someone was dead.

but then fatality hit...

a gunshot went off and a body soon hit the floor. a man was hit right in the chest, right by the heart. blood was running through the body instantly as everything was becoming real grim. reality was hitting, and an hourglass on life was beginning to run out.

meanwhile the man that was able to shoot the other was beaming with joy as their enemy had been taken down. they won the war, the years long war of competition and who was the better lord was over and they won. they could rule the world forever now.

however they wouldn't be able to. cop car sirens began to grow near the warehouse, and they growing louder and louder. then suddenly, police and swat men came rushing into the warehouse with the guns up, yelling at the man that was up, meanwhile another man was down. it was the beginning of the end for them as well.

no one won in the end after all.

one man was being escorted into a police car handcuffed and looking remorseful. he thought that he was going to rule the world as the undisputed lord kingpin of all of new york but instead, he was getting his cartel raided and he was being arrested to possibly spend the rest of his life in jail. years and years of dominance was coming to an end, right when he thought that it was about to go to a new height. the man knew what he was about to be in for, and he was not pleased about it.

that man was victor marshall.

meanwhile the other man had to have the ambulance called for him as he had been shot in the chest and was bleeding out heavily. the ambulance did come, and they immediately put the man on the stretcher and put a bvm (bag valve mask) on his mouth so he could breathe. the paramedics were rushing him into the ambulance so that they could transport him to the mercy hospital of buffalo. the paramedics didn't know how much time they had left with this man, but they were going to do the best that they could for this man to make it.

and that man was roman anoa'i.

jimmy and jey safely brought jianni back to the house in teaneck. they had their own keys so they let themselves into the house and led jianni back to their mother. iman was in the bedroom and when she saw jianni, she immediately began to cry and she went over to her daughter and gave her the tightest hug.

"my baby" iman cried, holding her tight and kissing her on the cheek. "I love you okay? i'm never gonna lose you again".

they were having their very emotional moment as iman was so grateful that her daughter was safe and okay. she was glad that nothing happened to her and that she wasn't hurt (physically) in any way. however, while she was happy that her daughter was safe, she was worried about someone else's safety. roman's.

"where's roman?" iman asked the twins.

"he's still in buffalo killing the one that was behind all of this, his name is victor marshall" jey told her. "at this point he should be on his way back soon".

iman's phone began to ring and she went to get it. she was confused as it was a number that she didn't have saved or was familiar with but the phone number was coming from buffalo, so she assumed that maybe it was roman on another phone trying to contact her. that's what she hoped it was.

"hello?" iman said on the phone.

"hi is this iman anoa'i?" a lady asked on the phone.

"yes this is she..." iman said, beginning to grow anxiety as it wasn't roman at all. now she was nervous as to who this woman was and why she was calling, and why she asked for her name in such a professional manner...

"hi this is trish harbour of the mercy hospital of buffalo. we're calling to inform you that your husband roman anoa'i has been shot in the chest and is currently at our hospital fighting for his life. we ask-".

those words caused iman to drop her phone on the ground, not even hearing the rest of the message. she went into immediate shock and her whole body went numb. tears were flowing down her face even more now as she was hearing the news that her husband has been shot.

her husband has been shot...

iman, jimmy, and jey rushed through the doors of the mercy hospital, trying to get to roman as soon as possible. iman's head was spinning and her emotions were at an all time high. her husband was fighting for his life right now and all of her biggest fears were hitting her like a truck right now. if anything were to happen to him, she doesn't know how she will react, and that was just as scary.

"hi how may I-" the receptionist, who was trish harbour began to say before she was cut off.

"I need to see my husband! where is my husband?!" iman exclaimed.

".... mrs. anoa'i you have to wait they're currently in surgery with hi-" trish told her as she realized who it was.

"no I need to see him NOW I can't wait, I can't wait, I can-" iman stressed before the twins grabbed her from the front desk to calm her down.

"iman we gotta wait, just calm down" jimmy told her.

"I can't calm down jimmy! I need him, I don't wanna lose him" iman cried out in sobs. "I need to see him, I wanna make sure he's okay".

"he'll be okay" jimmy said, hugging iman as she was in tears. she was seconds from a breakdown, and it might happen in this waiting room.

"don't stress iman, it's gonna hurt the baby" jey told her. "just relax okay? relax until someone tells us an update on him".

if only she could.

an hour passed by and iman and the twins were still in the waiting room. iman had stopped crying but she was still in distress, her bloodshot tears from all the crying she's done were showing that. she was trying to stay optimistic throughout it all but her emotional cracks were still showing. she just needed a doctor to come out and tell her something.

she finally got her wish as a doctor came out of the room that roman was in and looked at the three. the look in his eyes however looked very remorseful, and it was like he was about to break some heartbreaking news.

"family of roman anoa'i?" the doctor called out and the three went up to him, awaiting for some news on roman's condition.

"we did the best that we could, we tried everything to get him back to stability. however, the gunshot wound to the chest happened to hit the heart as well, and the blood loss was extremely significant. i'm sorry to say this but... he didn't make it" the doctor told them.

those words caused for jey to let out a loud "fuck" in the waiting room and he began to cry, walking away from the doctor as he let his emotions out. jimmy put his hands on his face and also began to cry. their cousin, basically their brother was gone. despite all the drama and the bullshit that they've been through, that was still family. they lost their family, and the hurt was unbearable.

meanwhile iman was still standing in the doctor's face. she was shaking, she was once again numb, but she didn't want to believe the words that she just heard. she couldn't believe it, she was in such denial at this moment that she didn't want to actually think that her husband, the love of her life, the father of her kids was gone.

"no... he's not gone, he's okay" iman said, denial coming out of her mouth. "he's okay".

"mrs. anoa'i i'm so sorry, your husband has passed away" the doctor said again.

"no no no, he's okay, my husband is okay" iman continued to deny.

"ma'am-" the doctor said trying to help her come to terms with what was going on.

"no he's okay" iman interrupted, not wanting to hear anything else. she walked away from the doctor and concern was beginning to grow from the man as iman's first stage of grief was happening in front of him.

"he's okay, he's okay, he's okay, he's okay, he's okay, he's ok-".

the grief was building up at each "he's okay" and by the last one, her emotions, already built up were let out and she just broke down. she fell on the ground and let out a scream that was heard throughout the entire hospital. her scream transitioned into her sobbing, sobbing the hardest she ever has. she was sobbing uncontrollably as every single emotion that she's had throughout the entire day was out on her sleeve. her face was entirely filled with tears coming down. her eyes were even more bloodshot red, her cheeks were puddles of emotions, not even wiping her tears on her hoodie sleeve could stop them from pouring out like a rainstorm.

she was shaking, she was crying, and she was screaming to the point where hospital clientele had to come and get her, even jimmy and jey had to pause their own grieving to console their cousin's wife as she was in worse shape than they were. they were trying to calm her down as she was uncontrollable and especially because she was pregnant and they didn't want her to lose the baby due to distress, but iman continued on and no one could stop her.

her biggest fear had came true. the things that she NEVER wanted to happen all happened in the span of a few hours. her daughter was put in danger and was kidnapped by grown men that wanted to hurt her husband over drug ploys.

then her husband... she's told roman countless times that she was worried for him, that she wanted him to stop. he constantly told her that he was okay and that "no one would touch him". someone did touch him, and that touch marked the end of his life. she lost the love of her life, her husband. she lost the father of her kids and now one kid would grow up the rest of her life without having her daddy to protect her and the other kid would now grow up without never knowing his father. she never wished for this to happen, she never wanted this to happen, but it did.

and now he was gone.