He spat on the floor. “You think I’d risk my life over a couple of thousands?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Funny… nobody ever mentioned the amount. But disloyalty is disloyalty. It doesn’t matter if it was five dollars, five bands, or five million… you steal from this family, you die for it.”
“Nigga, fuck you!” Kalvon barked. “I’ve been loyal—”
I chuckled, cutting his sentence short. “You've been greedy. Don’t get it twisted.”
Kalvon’s chest rose with anger.
My father raised his hand slightly. He turned toward one of the soldiers and nodded. The man stepped forward and dropped a thick black folder in front of Kalvon.
Pops squatted, opened it, and flipped the pages. “Kalvon, these are the wire transfers, the coded accounts,andthe missing funds. You signed checks that led to shell companies, funneled money through fake charities, and sent funds to accounts in your mama’s maiden name.”
Kalvon’s face shifted from denial, to realization, to fury. His lil’ performance died the second truth walked in.
I smirked. “Yeah… didn’t think we’d find that last one, huh?”
Kalvon laughed bitterly and recklessly. “You think you’re untouchable because of your last name? Nigga, you ain’t earnedshit. You walk around like royalty, but everything got handed to you!”
He shook his head with a twisted grin. “So, what if I did do it?”
“Is that a confession?” my father asked with raised brows.
Kalvon shrugged like a man who’d already accepted death.
“Fuck it! I did it! And I enjoyed every dime, every transfer, and every lie. You wanna know why?”
His eyes flicked around the room, wild and brazen.
“Because I earned this shit just as much as you. You and your son have been eating for years! Y’all think y’all are the only ones allowed to have power? While yo’ son was off being the golden boy, I was grinding, doing dirty work, and holding this shit down in ways y’all ain’t even recognize!”
Kalvon kept going like he was proud.
“So yeah, I took what I wanted—owed or not—just like every boss does when nobody’s watching. And watching the money move under y’all noses?” He grinned at me. “That shit was better than sex.”
My father nodded once. “You’re right about one thing.Bossesdo what they want.” Then he turned to me. “But sons of this family? They do what theymust.Merge.”
That was my cue.
Kalvon’s grin faltered.
I turned my back for a moment, then slowly pulled on a pair of black leather gloves.
The room watched in perfect stillness.
“This is a family of order… of honor,” I said, aloud with my back to everyone. “We don’t forgive betrayal, we bury it.”
I pivoted then stepped forward, my shoes echoing like a countdown.
The black swan chain around my neck felt heavier than usual, as if it already knew traitor’s blood was about to spill.
I circled Kalvon slowly, stalking him the way predators do before the kill.
“I told you,” I murmured. “I don’t kneel, and I don’t share thrones. You wanted my spot so bad… now you get to see what comes with it.”
I gave a slow nod.
Two men grabbed Kalvon by the arms, forcing him to his feet. His chain gleamed under the cellar light, catching every ounce of his last bit of pride. The guards shoved him forward, down to his knees again, right in front of the wooden block. He tried to fight, jerk his shoulders, and spit curses, but the men held him still.
