Nicole and Tee Tee are sisters, not cousins. My bad.

Victoria

Teddy and I stood over what we thought was Milan's lifeless body. Unfortunately, the wicked bitch wasn't dead and she wasn't even close to being dead either. I wish she would've died, so then she'd just be the hell out of mine and my family's life but things didn't work that way. By the time we got down the steps to see the damage we'd done, she was just laying on the landing with blood gushing out of her forehead but she was alive. It's like annoying hoes never die. They're like a rash; they stick around forever.

Teddy looked over at me and I could tell he was just as annoyed as I was. I'm sure he figured she'd be dead, we'd dump her body and then move on with our lives but her being alive was halting our plans. "So, what the fuck we gon' do about this bitch? It was you who pushed her down the damn steps."

My eyes widened. "Me?" I shoved him. "You're the one that threw a damn table at her and you were the one fighting her on the steps. You were choking the bitch."

Teddy chuckled. "The bitch made me mad. I wish you would've killed her."

"I know," I sucked my teeth. "She's your problem now. That's your wife."

"And you pushed her down the steps like you always do. What are we gonna do?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know but she can't stay here."

"Should we kill her?" Teddy whispered. "I mean, I got my gun upstairs or we can just get a knife from the kitchen or I got my chainsaw int he garage outside."

"Teddy!" Milan groaned. "After everything I'd done for you, how could you think about killing me?"

"No the fuck you don't!" I yelled. "Because if you did love him, you wouldn't have been cheating on him with some random nigga. What you need to do is take your divorce like a woman and just move on with the little bit of pride you have left. You need to move on with your life and leave Teddy alone and leave my son out of this. He doesn't want you Milan."

I know Milan's been sleeping with Theodore, and he's partially to blame for Milan and Teddy's relationship failing but I'd never out my son in a million years, and especially not to Teddy. Teddy's put him through so much the past few years and it's karma for what Teddy's done to him. Regardless of how Theodore and I's relationship is, I'm always going to have his back. I'm going to have my kids back over Teddy's, any day.

"Theodore loves me," she cried.

"That's funny. My son would never touch anybody like you Milan," Teddy told her, sounding like a true dumb ass but I just kept my mouth closed. I'll let shit hit the fan on its own. "You're disgusting Milan."

"And you're a fool to think he wouldn't touch me. Theodore and I have been together for years. He loved me more than you ever did. He was more of a man than you ever were. You need to learn and take lessons from your son," Milan spat. "You're a horrible husband!"

"And you're a stupid ass bitch to be blaming your wrong doings on my son," I spoke up. "Theodore would never hurt his father."

"Victoria!" Milan yelled. "Stop lying!"

"I'm not, you are and you need to stop lying on my son. Look Milan, I know you know nothing about family values since you broke mine up but you don't need to disrespect my family to make yourself feel better. You're a hoe and even though Teddy married you, he couldn't turn a hoe into a housewife. Face it Milan, you're going to be a low class, dirty hoe for the rest of your life."

"I hate you bitch. Fuck you! That's why Jayvion broke up with your old wrinkled ass! You're pathetic to still be living with your ex-husband and his wife. Since you think I'm so much of a hoe, I should have fucked Jayvion instead of taking your filthy ass Chanel ba--"

Just the thought of Milan being the person to feed Jayvion lies about me makes me sick to my stomach. I've been so busy trying to blackmail Milan and make sure Teddy got his karma that I didn't even notice she was stabbing me in my back. I thought it was strange that Jayvion knew all of this stuff about me, I just didn't think Milan's stupid ass was the one feeding him lies. I should've known though. She's crazy, that's why I kicked her stupid ass in the mouth, finally shutting her wide mouthed ass up.

Blood gushed out of Milan's mouth, as well as a few of her teeth that fell out. Milan deserved it. She ruined my relationship...for the second time. I should've known she was being devious this entire time because she's been too quiet lately. Usually, she's one to start an argument with me or keep one going but lately, she's been avoiding me, keeping her head low and her mouth closed and I was suspicious. I just didn't think she'd stoop this low and ruin my relationship with my fiancee.

But it all makes sense. She hasn't been around Teddy much lately and I know she hasn't been around Theodore either since he's with Mya and realized how filthy she is. I knew she had to be getting dick from somewhere because six months without sex just isn't logical. If she was so quick to sleep with my son then I know she doesn't have any issue sleeping with Jayvion, since she just loves stealing my leftovers.

"Aw got damn," Teddy shook his head. "You done knocked the broad unconscious."

I shrugged my shoulders. "So, what? She was lying to Jayvion about me and broke us up."

"Good."

I scrunched up my face. "You're just as dumb as she is."

"And you talk too damn much Victoria! I know you care about your little relationship with Jason but he isn't important right now, and quite frankly, I don't give a damn. What you need to be worried about is how we gon' get her ass up outta here. What are we gonna do?"

"Tie her up somewhere."

"Where?"

"I don't know. The basement? Do you have any rope?"

"No, but I do have handcuffs."

I scrunched up my face again. "For what?"

Teddy chuckled as he bent down and picked Milan up and threw her over his shoulder as if she weighed a pound. "See, Milan was a little freak at the beginning of our relationship," he began as he walked upstairs with her body. I followed right behind him. "She liked to be handcuffed, tied up and whipped and shit. We never really did shit like that, so I was curious. That went on for about a year before she got bored with it. That's probably when that new nigga came around and started distracting her, so we stopped and all of her S&M shit has been in our closet for years. I'm thinking, we handcuff her to the pipes under the bathroom sink. She won't be able to break free and if we gag her, nobody will hear her scream."

Even though his story disgusted me, it did sound like a good way to momentarily keep her locked up. "But will the handcuffs be sturdy enough to hold up to what she might do with them on? Because if they break and she gets loose, we're fucked."

"Nah, we're good. They're real handcuffs. Now, the gag might break because it's cheap but the handcuffs can't be taken off without a key. Once we cuff her, she can't go anywhere."

"You sure?" I sighed.

"Positive."

Teddy and I were silent once we walked upstairs with an unconscious Milan. She hung off of his shoulder as I led the way to their bedroom. I pushed the doors to the master bedroom open and immediately ran over to the closet to start looking for the sex trinkets. I eventually found them in one of Milan's shoe boxes in the back of the closet. I took out the handcuffs and gag and raced to the bathroom, where Teddy was at with Milan. She was laying on the floor in front of the sink.

"Hurry up before she wakes up," I told Teddy as I handed him the handcuffs. I placed the gag around her head and tightened it while Teddy handcuffed her hands to the pipes under the sink. Hopefully these restraints will keep her locked up until we can think of a better way to deal with her. As soon as Teddy snapped the handcuffs on her wrist, the lights in the bathroom were shut off, the bathroom door was locked and so was the door to the master bedroom. Even if Milan wanted to leave, she wouldn't be able to get out. "I know you're gonna want to spare her," I told Teddy as we walked back down the steps. "But the best thing to do would be to kill her. She knows too much about the family and the things we do and I can't run the risk of any of my family members being locked up on account of something we could've handled before it got out of control."

"I completely agree with you, except there's one problem."

"And that is?"

"I just filed for divorce. If Milan mysteriously disappears and pops up dead around the same time I handed her the divorce papers, a judge is gonna think the whole ordeal is suspect."

"Damn, you're right," I mumbled. "What if we lied and said she was dead before you even got a chance to give her the papers?"

"Nah, because a medical examiner will be able to pinpoint her time of death. Even though killing her would get her off of our hands, that's probably the worst thing we can do right because it's gonna come back to bite us in the ass eventually," Teddy spoke some sense for the first time in his life. He was right. Killing Milan wasn't the best option right now, I just couldn't think of another way to easily shut her up. "What if we wrote her off and made her leave the country?"

I scrunched up my face. "And give that whore my family's money? No fucking way. There's gotta be a better option than that."

"Nah, that seems like the best option right now. She can sign the divorce papers and the court system will think we went out separate ways in a clean divorce. No money, no settlements. Nothing. We'll give Milan money under the table so it can't be traced and that can be enough for her to get out of the country and never come back. We'll know that happened but the courts will just think she's trying to move on with her life when she makes the move."

I sighed. That was a damn good idea that I'm sure Milan's gold digging ass would fall for. I just can't get with giving out money to a gold digger that doesn't have my family's bast interest at heart. How is it all right for her to wreak havoc on my family for five years and then just get away with everything scot-free and get broken off with money? It seems like Milan deserves some type of punishment so that she'll be too scared to go to the police about my family. Because if we give her the money, she doesn't have to leave the country and comply with our orders. She could just as well take the money and still go snitch to the police about us.

"She needs some type of punishment if she's gonna get written off. Something to scare her if she ever thinks about going to the police."

Teddy nodded his head. "I agree. Milan loves her parents to death. We can threaten them. If Milan does one thing out of the plan, both of her parents are dead. That's simple."

"Something more Teddy. What's a threat? She needs to experience some pain."

"And she's going to when she wakes up, don't worry about trying to make her life a living hell. It's not a good look."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. How much are you talking about breaking her off with?"

"I don't know. Five mil. a piece."

My eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"You acting like we ain't got it," Teddy chuckled. "Five million from both of us will suffice. She'll get the hell out of the country for ten million dollars. She'll be set for the rest of her life if she handles her money properly."

"That's a hell of a lot of money," I hesitantly replied. Ten million dollars is a hell of a lot of money for a trick that stepped out of line.

"I know it is and once we're in the clear then none of that will matter. So, what do you say? And this stays between you and I. Nobody else, not even your Dad, can know about this because the less people knowing the better. You gotta make your decision now because this plan needs to happen immediately. What do you say Victoria?"

I took a deep breath, hesitant about this whole plan but it was the only way to get Milan out of our hair without killing her, so I agreed. "I'm in."

Teddy and I shook on the plan, just as my phone started ringing. I picked up my purse that I'd thrown on the floor right before I beat Milan's ass and grabbed my phone out of my bag. It was Lindsey. I sighed. I'm busy right now, I'll have to call her back. I hit ignore and just as I was about to put my phone back in my purse, I got a text from her instead.

Lindsey: Theodore got shot.

Isaiah

We were all in the hospital room, well most of us were. It was only me, Daniel, Adonis, King and Princess here. We had been sitting here for almost two hours waiting on news about Theodore and we still haven't heard anything yet. I know he can't be dead, or else they would've told us awhile ago.

I can't believe those hood rats got past security with a gun and had the audacity to use it in the club to try to threaten Theodore. That shit's wack and so is the two of them surviving. Nicole didn't get shot. She had a few bruises from fighting with Mya, but Mya took most of the hits from Nicole and Tee Tee. I didn't see her but I heard she was pretty fucked up and it didn't help that she was shot too. Now, Tee Tee, she's still alive. It's like these bitches never die. How do you get shot three times and still survive? I wish Daniel would've just off'd that bitch and her sister.

I looked over at Daniel, who was sitting beside me, sweating bullets and rocking back and forth in his chair. See, I was trying to be the good uncle and have Daniel save the day. I could've easily taken out my gun and killed Tee Tee but I decided to let Daniel do it since he's still practicing. He's the one that shot her three times, but he shot her in the shoulder, in the arm and the last bullet almost got the bitch. The last bullet grazed the side of her head but none of the bullets did any real damage to her, they only stopped her from killing Theodore.

Part of me is pissed at him for letting those bitches sneak him the way they did and for letting his girl handle his business for him. I get he can't physically do anything about Tee Tee and Nicole because they'll try to use that against him to take Princess but he should've done something because now he and Mya are in the hospital, while Tee Tee and Nicole are walking around as if nothing happened to them.

"You good nephew?" I asked Daniel, who looked like he was about to shit his pants, if he hadn't already.

"What if I get caught?"

I sucked my teeth. "You saw the police when they came to the club and they left the situation alone because they're on our payroll. They can't do shit since they're getting paid to keep their mouths closed and to look in the other direction. They didn't even ask about a shooter when they got to the club. They only asked if one of their bosses got hit," I whispered, "because without their three bosses around, me, you and Prince, they don't get paid. You gotta learn the family business."

"I know about the police. What about my Mama? She's gonna ask what happened and she's gonna find out I was at the club."

"Not if you don't tell her you were at the club. Look, tell her me and you were chilling at the house. Prince went to the club on his own to check shit out and that's when we got the call about him getting shot. Lindsey won't know unless you tell her."

I hate making him lie to my sister but what else can we tell him to do? Lindsey would kill Theodore and I if she found out we were teaching him the family business or that he was at the club tonight or if she found out he was the one that shot Tee Tee. There's no amount of apologies that can be made if Lindsey found out we were corrupting her son, but Grandpa said we needed to do this. I was against teaching Daniel this early, Theodore too, but it was Grandpa's decision once he heard about Cashmere. He wanted Daniel to be prepared, which is a good thing. But he never even gave Daniel the option to go the legal route like we all were presented. It's like going into the family business wasn't an option for him, it was a guarantee.

"Look, I don't want you lying to your Mama and thinking it's all right but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to protect the people you love and cherish the most. But just because you're covering up the things you're doing now, doesn't mean you have to make a habit out of it because then she won't trust you. Only guard her from things that involve the business and keep her out of everything because the less she knows, the better when the police come asking questions. But be truthful to her about everything else so she trusts you. You feel me?"

Daniel nodded his head. "Yeah. Did you have to do that with your Mom?"

I sighed. "Not exactly."

My Mama's been nonexistent for the majority of my life. Yes, she was around when my Dad wasn't when we lived in Ohio but she never showed me any love and affection like a real mother is supposed to. I know the real reason my Mama had me was so that she could be connected to my Dad and always be financially set, as long as I was young enough to not be able to provide for myself. But as soon as I turned 18 and those child support checks stopped coming in, she became irrelevant to me.

Now, I really don't even talk to my Mama. When we moved out here to California when I was in high school is when she really started to distance herself. She left me with my Dad and his family. Ultimately, she thought that would bring us all closer, which it did but she pushed herself further away and found a new man to keep herself even more occupied. In the long run, it bought me closer to my Dad and his other kids because for years, I resented him and his perfect little family. They all seemed perfect until I came to live with them and saw how they truly were. They were just as fucked up as me and my Mama were.

I fucking hated Lindsey growing up. Everybody always made it seem like I was the problem child and I was shunned away. Everybody always took Lindsey in with open arms and it pissed me off. I wasn't the cause of the situation I was born into. If anything, my parents should've been shunned for sleeping together just for the publicity they were getting. They didn't even like each other as much as they put on and shouldn't have had me if it was gonna be an issue. And it didn't help that my Moms was putting a whole bunch of shit in my head growing up about my Dad and his family.

But after staying there with them for a few months, I began to open up to them.I still don't have the best relationship with my Dad for a number of reasons. I know he and my Mama never really got along, but I would have liked for him to be there for me because no bitch is supposed to stop you from seeing your seed. He was there for me financially, which is good, but I needed some physical love and support from my Dad. I needed my Dad to teach me how to be a man because my Mama couldn't.

I hated Victoria for always fighting with my Mama, but the more I got to know her, the better our relationship got. I guess I can consider her to be like a second Mom to me since she reaches out to me more than my real Mama does. Lindsey and I are tight. We got tight in high school, been tight ever since and gon' be tight until the day we die. King and Sincere, regardless of my relation to them, took me in like I was one of their grandchildren and always made sure I was good. That's why I got so much love for the both of them.

And regardless of all the shit that went down between all of us, Theodore always welcomed me with open arms. Theodore's the little brother I wish I grew up with in Ohio. My Mama never had any other kids, so I was always alone growing up. I like having a little brother and sister. I like being the one to protect them, that's why I hate being in this hospital right now. My little brother's in pain and I can't do shit about it. That irks me the most.

The noisy emergency room quieted down when a doctor came from out of the back. "Mya Golding?" he called out, making two people sitting in the back of the room stand up. They must have been her parents because the lady looked just like her. They approached the doctor while I sat back and listened to their conversation. I knew Theodore would want to know how she's doing.

"Is my daughter all right?" the man asked.

The doctor nodded his head. "Yes, she's fine. She's got a few scratches and a lot of bruising and swelling from the fight. She did get shot b--"

"Oh my God!" Her mother gasped.

"But she only got shot in her arm," the doctor continued. "She's already out of surgery and she's expected to make a full recovery. She's awake right now. I can take you all to see her but I need to speak with another family really quick."

Mya's Mom nodded her head. "Alright, just please make it quick."

"Theodore Reed the third?" The doctor called out. We all got up and walked over to the doctor, who was standing beside Mya's parents. "Alright, Mr. Reed was fortunate enough to survive because if the bullet had hit just a few centimeters more to the right, he could've been paralyzed. But luckily, the bullet went clean through his abdomen and straight out of his back. He just got out of surgery so he might be a little drowsy from the pain killers."

I took a deep breath. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, of course, but only two at a time."

I looked back at King, who was holding Princess. "I'll take her with me and we can all switch out when me and her get back," I told everybody.

I took Princess and the doctor led us and Mya's parents to the back.

"What happened to Daddy?" Princess asked as we passed by open rooms where people with similar issues to Mya and Theodore were.

"He got hurt at his club tonight. Some hood rat girls came in and hurt him."

"Why?"

"Because they're thots Princess. Remember what I told you. You don't associate with thots because all they do is bring trouble where ever they go. A'ight? But your Dad's fine. I got hurt but he's fine."

Princess nodded her head as the doctor stopped in front of the room Mya was in. As soon as the doctor opened the door and revealed what she looked like, I was surprised. Nicole and Tee Tee really fucked her up and when Theodore sees what they did to her, he's gonna be pissed. Her face was fucked up, to say the least. Getting shot should have been the least of her concerns because it looked like she got attacked by two wild animals.

"Mya!" Princess yelled, getting attention from her parents. Princess jumped out of my arms and ran right into the room, passing by Mya's parents. Princess walked up to her bed and Mya grabbed her hand. "Mya, are you okay?"

Even though Mya had stitches across her forehead, a swollen eye, a busted lip and numerous scratches across her face, she still smiled for Princess. "Princess, I'm so glad you came to see me. I'm doing better now that you're here. Where's your Daddy?"

Princess shrugged her shoulders, but I spoke up. "He's fine," I told her.

"What about those girls?"

"They're fine too," I sighed.

Mya rolled her eyes. "Great," she sarcastically replied.

"Mya, baby, who are all of these people?" Her mother spoke up.

"Oh Mama, remember I told you about Theodore and Princess? Well this is his daughter Princess and that's his brother Isaiah."

Her father walked up to me and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Matthew, Mya's father."

I shook his hand. "Isaiah," I said before I turned to her Mom and stuck my hand out but she pushed it away and hugged me.

"Shaking hands is so formal. As highly as Mya talks about Theodore and his family, I consider you all to be apart of our family. I'm Mariah. Where are you and Theodore's parents? I need to speak with them."

"They're not here yet but they should be back here soon. I'll have them come in here when they get here though but Princess and I need to check on Theodore. It was nice meeting you all."

"You too young man," Her father said as he gave me some dap and her mother hugged me before walking out.

The doctor took us further down the hall to Theodore's room. When we got to his room, he was sitting on the edge of his bed trying to put his clothes on but he was in too much pain to even do it.

"Excuse me, sir," The doctor frantically announced as soon as he walked into Theodore's room. "You need to stay here tonight."

"I can't. I got shit to do and I can't stay in this hospital. I'm fine. All I gotta do is pop some Tylenol and I'll be good."

The doctor took his clothes out of his hands and laid him back down in the bed. "No, you're going to stay right here sir so we can monitor your vitals. I don't want to put the restraints on your bed but I will if I catch you getting out of this bed again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Theodore mumbled. The doctor eventually walked out of the room, leaving us alone. Theodore looked over at Princess, who was standing beside me crying. "Damn. Baby girl, you just gon' leave Daddy like this? I'm gonna cry too unless you come over here and see me."

"I don't wanna hurt you Daddy."

Theodore smiled. "I promise you wont."

Princess reluctantly walked over to Theodore's bed and climbed inside with him before laying her head back on his chest. "Daddy, what happened to you? Why would somebody wanna hurt you? I thought you were the good guy."

Theodore smirked. "I am the good guy."

"Then how come somebody shot you?"

"Because the people who shot me are jealous of me and our relationship Princess. You know I love you, right?" Princess nodded her head. "And you know I wouldn't let anybody hurt you, right?" Princess nodded her head again. "I swear I want you to have a relationship with your Mom and Aunt Tee Tee but they're the ones that hurt me tonight because they want to harm our relationship. Your Aunt Tee Tee shot me and her and your mother beat up Mya and shot her. I want you to be around your mother but I can't have her or her family hurting me and my family, especially you. I don't want your mother around you Princess."

I could tell it was hard for Theodore to say that to Princess because, even though everybody's been against Nicole being in Princess' life, he was steady trying to make things work with her. He always had her back and he always made sure she was good, even though she's fucked him over tenfold. I wouldn't have had Nicole in Princess' life to begin with. She's fucked him and our family over for too long. She should've been dead. The only thing that's stopped one of us from popping her is that she's Princess' Mama.

"But...I don't understand," Princess mumbled. "Why would she and Aunty Tee Tee try to hurt you and Mya?"

"I don't know baby girl but I don't want them to hurt you either. I'm trying to protect you, so if you see them anywhere, avoid them. Don't let them take you anywhere, don't even talk to them or Dylan. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Princess nodded her head.

Mya

"I can't believe some hood rat bitches would do that to you," My Mama said as she shook her head. "Do you know why somebody would do something like this to you? I mean, did you know the girls or something?"

I was hesitant about answering her but I knew I had to tell her the truth. "I don't know them personally but I think one of them is Princess' mother. Her and her sister came into the club, picking at Theodore and putting their hands on him. He can't fight them back, so he was just sitting there letting them beat on him and I had to step in because what they were doing was wrong. They got pissed because I checked them and they both jumped me."

My Mom shook her head. "Bitches like that deserve to get their asses beat. You know, they better be glad your father went the legal route or their asses would be through right now," she whispered before gasping. "I wonder if your father still talks to some of his old friends. Maybe they can handle this little situation for us."

I sighed. "Mama, it's not that big of a deal. I can handle them."

"No you can't sweetie. Look at what they did to your beautiful face," she said as she ran her finger across the stitches on my nose. "I spent all of those years putting you in beauty pageants and making sure you had the best of everything, just for some jealous bitches to ruin it within a matter of a few hours. You know, they probably jumped you because they're jealous of me."

I scrunched up my face. "Why would they be jealous of me?"

"Because you're beautiful, you're smart, hell, you're my daughter," she gassed me up, making me laugh. "Bottom line is, you've got too much to offer to be mingling with the likes of the help. Those bitches ain't shit and wait until I get my hands on them! They're gonna wish they didn't fuck with you. Do they know who your father is?"

I sighed. "Mama, no. Nobody does because I'm trying to make a name for myself."

You see, I'm not so different from Theodore and his family. My Grandpa was a big kingpin down here in Atlanta back during his time. He ruled the streets down here for years, and once he got old, he passed the family business down to his oldest son, who's my father. My father managed the business for years, and even though he claims he's retired from the street life, I know he's still got his hand in a lot of the shit that goes on around here. But on the outside, he settled down to a modest living. Well, modern in comparison to how we used to live when I was growing up.

We've always had money, cars, clothes and jewelry and I could've went into the family business like my sisters and brothers did but I wanted to live an honest life. I didn't want to get over on my family's name or constantly be looking over my shoulders in case somebody tries to hurt me or the police are watching me. I don't want to be uprooted from my family and have to go to prison like my Dad had to. He was gone for seven years for a gun charge when I was a kid. And even though he still took care of us from the inside, I just can't imagine leaving my family for seven years. I just wanted to do things differently without the help of my family and our legacy.

I'm so comfortable around Theodore and what he does because I grew up around the same things. I know he has the clubs and that's where he claims he gets all of his money from but I know that's how he cleans his money. I'm more than positive he isn't selling, but I know he's doing something illegal, quite like what my family does.

"Why? You better let these bitches know who you are!" she said as she shoved me. "I didn't raise no bitch, now, did I?"

"No," I mumbled.

"I know I didn't, that's why you need to boss your shit up Goldie," Mama announced, calling me by my childhood nickname. "Don't let these bitches around here treat you like you aren't shit. You're a fucking Golding and that name comes with a lot of weight in this city."

"But it's dead weight I don't want Mama. I just want to be Mya."

"But you can't just be Mya. You're Mya Golding. I don't give a damn what everybody else around here is doing or how they're getting their money, but you're different. You're better than this and you're a hell of a lot better than those bitches that attacked you. Now, do you have a way to protect yourself?"

"No but Theodore said he'd protect me."

"I loved your father sweetie but you can never depend on a man for anything. Look where you're at right now. You need your own protection and I'll get you some tomorrow. I can't have you out here in these streets unprotected."

I was just about to respond when I heard a woman yelling down the hall. "Where's my son at? I need to see my son! Theodore! Theodore!"

Mama and I both looked towards the door as Theodore's parents passed by our room. I recognized his father from the dinner we all had and I'm sure the woman with the long ponytail and floor length mink coat was his mother.

"You know they got his crippled ass up in here somewhere! That nigga is always getting hurt!" I heard another man yell as he walked down the hallway, but when he passed the door, I realized it was just King, Theodore's Grandpa. I figured he'd walk right past my room but he came back and stood in the doorway. "I see those bitches got you too, huh?"

"Yeah but I'm good though."

"My baby can handle it," Mama spoke up. "Hi, I'm Mya's Mom. I'm S--"

"Star Golding," King finished for her, making me scrunch up my face. How did they know each other? "I remember you from back in the day. You and Matt used to run the streets way back when I used to. I remember y'all coming out to California to expand the business but you got into it w--"

"With your wife!" Mama gasped before she began laughing. "The lady with the blonde hair, Sincere. You know, there's no hard feelings. I was just protecting my husband and I'm sure she was doing the same thing."

King nodded his head. "Yeah, I get it. I was just down the hall talking to Matt and we cleared some shit up, so it's all good. Mya, I didn't know this was your family."

"Wait, how do you know my daughter?"

"I'm Theodore's Grandpa."

Mama's eyes widened. "Oh, I see. Mya, here, wanted to go the clean route."

"And there's nothing wrong with that. My two children with the clean route as well and turned out just fine, well, at least I think they did. My daughter's a teacher with a family and my son used to play ball and he has a family too. They don't have their hands in the same shit we used to dabble in, but either way it goes, they're always gonna be connected to the family business whether they want to be or not. Since all of my kids went the clean route, my Grandsons stepped up and decided to run the business."

"Well, I'm going to have to meet this Theodore boy. I keep hearing so much ab--"

"No," I cut her off. "Not right now. I don't want him to know about my family until I'm ready to tell him myself."

I don't want anybody talking to Theodore about my family or else he'll think I lied to him like the other girls in the past. I'd eventually tell Theodore about my family, I just don't want to right now. I don't want our relationship mixed up with our families and everything they have going on and I don't it to seem like I've been taking money from Theodore as if I couldn't afford to live on my own. I have money. I just didn't want to keep getting money from my family. I wanted to make it on my own.

Theodore III

"Oh, my baby!" Mama gasped as soon as she walked into my room.

My body was aching and I was drowsy but I couldn't help but to laugh at her when I saw her. "Mama, why you got on a mink coat in June? It's hot."

Mama shrugged her shoulders. "I just threw something on." She passed by everyone else in my room and walked right over to my bed. I thought she was going to bend down to hug me, but instead, she picked up Princess. "Princess, baby, I missed you. How have you been?"

Princess smiled. "Good Grandma."

"That's great Princess," Mama smiled as she handed Princess off to King. "Now, I love you all but I'm gonna need for all of you to get the hell out so I can speak with my son. Please and Teddy, you need to stay too."

I glanced at the door and saw my Dad standing there. I'm surprised he even showed up. The last time I saw or spoke to him was the day I got out of court and he basically played my parenting down as if I was a dead beat like him. I know I might not be the best father in the world but I'm trying and learning from my mistakes since I was bought up by two parents who really didn't know how to raise their children either.

Eventually, my family fled the room, leaving Mama and Pops alone with me.

"Now, I need to know what the hell happened tonight," Mama began. "I thought you carried a gun or a knife or some form of protection. How did you let those gutter bitches sneak you the way they did? If Tee Tee had shot you just a few centimeters over, you'd be paralyzed for the rest of your life. Why weren't you protected?"

"I was, I just didn't get a chance to reload my gun. I was handling some business right before it happened and my gun was empty. I was at the bar with Mya when Tee Tee and Nicole walked up to us picking a fight. Mya started arguing with them to defend me, they jumped her, I jumped in and Tee Tee shot me. I wasn't expecting her to shoot me and I wasn't expecting the two of them to be there tonight. They're not allowed to be in the club."

"Well somebody let them in. Any idea who?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no clue but I'm going to find out as soon as I get out of this bed and they're going to be fired immediately."

"And what about those bitches?" Mama asked. "You know they have to go, right?"

"Yes," I replied, making her take a deep breath.

"Good, as long as you know, the better."

"I know," I mumbled. "But what happened to your face? You been in a fight?"

Mama rolled her eyes. "Yes, I got into a little scuffle with the child your Dad's baby sitting. She jumped on me Theodore."

My eyes widened. "Milan jumped on you?"

"Mhmm," Mama nodded her head.

"And she even made up a lie about you," Pops spoke up.

"O-Oh, really?" I asked.

"Yeah, she said the two of y'all been fucking the past few years."

"That's bull shit," I told him. "I would never touch Milan. She's your wife."

"I know. I didn't believe her at all. I know she's a lying ass bitch, that's why I'm divorcing her ass. I just want you to protect yourself from her too. There's no telling what she's going to do to drag you and the rest of the family down once this divorce is finalized."

"If you wouldn't have married her, we wouldn't be trying to protect ourselves from her in the first place," Mama commented.

"Well we can't change what's in the past now, so just shut up."

Mama rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Milan might be upset but I know she won't do anything," I told them. I've been around Milan long enough to know that she wont do anything to physically hurt anybody in our family. "Although Milan and I weren't doing anything together, we did spend a lot of time together and we got to know each other. I really don't think Milan is a threat and I don't think she'll do anything to our family. You guys just drive people to the edge and make them do crazy shit but Milan wouldn't act out of character. Milan's a nice person."

That's one thing about Milan that I can't lie about. Milan isn't a mean or vindictive person. She wouldn't hurt anybody in our family. She might yell and scream and curse somebody out but Milan wouldn't put her hands on anybody. She's a genuinely nice person but my parents have driven her to do crazy things, and I can't lie and say I haven't had a helping hand in destroying her too. Milan's too nice for our family. We corrupted her.

"Yeah, well Milan put her hands on me tonight and she tried to drag me down the steps," Mama told me.

"But I'm sure you were pretty successful in pulling her down the steps, right?"

Mama rolled her eyes as she stood up from my bed. "You know what, I'm not even gonna deal with you right now. Clearly you've got your head shoved too far up her ass to listen to anything we're telling you. Stop putting up for that girl because she's gonna drag you down with her. Look, I'll be at your father's house but give me a call if you need me," she said as she leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

And with that, she walked out of my room and my Dad followed behind her without saying anything. I know she's pissed off about me taking up for Milan because she thinks I still want her, but I don't. I just feel bad for Milan and how my family corrupted her. I have a soft spot for Milan because the way she's acting now, isn't her. It's somebody else and I don't want Milan to go crazy all because my father divorced her. My father isn't worth losing your mind over. He's a bitch.

I knew my family would be back soon, so I reached across my lap and grabbed my phone off of the nightstand so I could call up Milan and see what's going on with her. I scrolled down my call log and called her number. The number rang and rang and rang until it finally went to voicemail. I sucked my teeth. Milan always answers my phone. I can't even imagine what my parents did to her for her to have disappeared on me but I'm going to find out what happened to her whether my parents like it or not.

~~~

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How do you guys feel about this chapter? How do you guys feel about Victoria and Teddy's plan? Will it work? Will Milan take the money and disappear or does she have too many ties to the family? Will she leave Theodore? How do you guys feel about Isaiah's relationship with Charlotte? Are Isaiah and Theodore wrong to bring Daniel into the family business? How do you guys feel about Mya and her family? Was she wrong to go the right way? Should she tell Theodore the truth about her family? How do you guys feel about Theodore not believing his parents about Milan? Is Milan a bad person? Will she try to sabotage the family?