Her pulse beat loud in her ears. She was in too deep, and it wasn’t until this very moment that she realized how deeply she’d fallin’ in love with Silas. “Is that all?”
“I’m a Billionaire baby. If you rock out wit’cha boy, you ain’t never gon’ have to want for nothin’ for the rest of your life.”
“Too bad I don’t give a damn about your money,” Nuri told him straight up. “I’m staying in this,” Nuri stepped closer. “Withyou because I want you. The real you. We can always make money.”
A slow grin tugged at Silas’ lips. He loved her more in that moment than he ever had. “I already knew all that, baby. That’s why I’ma crash out behind you every fuckin’ time. You belong to me, and I need you to stay close, Nuri. No more secrets.”
She nodded, sealing the pact between them.
Outside the office, the world continued on, but inside, a war was brewing, and they were ready.
Silas sat in the dim glow of his study, the weight of everything he’d discovered pressing heavy on his chest. His phone rested on the desk, screen dark, but his finger hovered over the contact he’d memorized a decade ago. Ali was more than a mentor. He was a blueprint. The kind of man who’d taught him how to play the game and how to bend it when necessary. Unlike times past, Silas needed more than lessons. He needed answers.Fuck it,he thought as he pressed the button.
Ali was a legend in the game. Not just to the streets, but to Silas. A mentor. A man who’d taught him how to move silent, talk loud with his money, and keep his enemies guessing.Fuck it,he thought as he pressed the button, each ring felt like a countdown.
On the second ring, Ali’s deep voice came through, calm but laced with an edge that never dulled. “What’s happenin’, Silas?”
“Ali,” Silas started, his voice steady even though his pulse danced. “It’s me. Silas.”
“Been a minute since you hit my line. Everything good?”
Silas swallowed. “Not even close.” He leaned back, staring at the ceiling like it might offer a solution.
“Talk to me.”
Silas stood, pacing, that familiar restlessness filling his bones. “It’s about Nuri Sinclair.”
There was a short pause.
“Say that name again,” Ali finally replied.
“Nuri Sinclair.”
Ali’s exhale came ragged, like he’d been holding his breath for years. “That’s my daughter.”
Silas’s heart thumped hard in his chest. “What?”
Ali sighed, and the weight of years rolled off his shoulders in that single exhale. “Nuri’s mine, Silas. She’s the child I used to talk about—the one I never got to hold. Nova and I made a pact all those years ago. She was scared. Thought my life was too dangerous, too unstable. She wanted to raise Nuri on her own terms. I respected that—respected her.” His voice cracked. “But it don’t make it right.”
Silas’s mind reeled, the puzzle pieces snapping together so violently they cut him. Boyd’s betrayal ran deeper than he’d thought. “Ali, there’s more.”
Ali’s silence confirmed he was listening. Silas knew because he’d adapted this mannerism from him.
Silas leaned against the wall, his whole world tilting. “Ali, you need to know somethin’. Boyd… he’s been movin’ foul. He’s got Nuri’s name all tied up in some bullshit—money, shell companies, fake accounts. He’s settin’ her up, OG. Tryin’ to bury her.”
Ali went silent again, but the energy in the air shifted. When he finally spoke, his voice was cold as a killer’s promise. “That nigga already took ten years from me, Silas. Ten years behind bars off some shit he orchestrated. Now he tryna ruin my baby’s life?” He let out a slow, controlled laugh that dripped with venom. “Boyd’s livin’ on borrowed time.”
Silas felt his anger rise. “I got receipts, Ali. Paper trails. Flash drives. Everything.”
Ali’s tone dropped even lower, laced with a fury that could torch a city. “I’m on the next flight to Atlanta. I let that muthafucka breathe too fuckin’ long. Nova gon’ have to find a way to forgive a nigga, ‘cause I’m comin’ back for her ass too. Boyd crossed the line for too fuckin’ long. Nigga ain’t got no more fuckin’ passes to give.”
Silas felt a shiver run down his spine. “Ali, you sure? This ain’t no small shit. Once you make this move?—”
“—Ain’t no goin’ back. I’m knowin’. I gave up everything once, thinkin’ it was for the best. I let Nova convince me that distance was love, and I let that shit burn… but look what that got us. That nigga played in both our fuckin’ faces. Nah, I’m done sittin’ on the sidelines. He gon’ bleed for this. Shit.”
Silas nodded, even though Ali couldn’t see him. He understood his perspective and agreed wholeheartedly. Boyd was a grimy muthafucka, and he had to be stopped for good.
“I swear on everything I love… he gon’ pay with his last breath.”
