Page 171 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 2

My head snapped up. “Outside of his brother, I don’t know.”

“So, you don’t know anything about who these people are for real?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

“You don’t know,” Mama repeated slowly, like she was trying to process the words. “You don’t know what Amai does. Youdon’t know what his father does. You don’t know who these people are. But you carrying a baby that might be theirs, and you caught up in some kind of war between two brothers.”

When she laid it out like that, it sounded insane.

“Mama, I?—”

“And this other one,” Mama continued, leaning forward. “Kaisen. The one you been seeing. The one who took you to the clinic. What do you know about him?”

“I thought I knew him,” I said, my voice cracking. “I thought he was different. He was consistent. He was there when I needed someone. He made me feel safe.”

“And now?”

“Now I don’t know if any of it was real.” The words came out broken, raw. “Amai said Kaisen knew about the baby. He said Kaisen knew everything and pursued me anyway. He said it was all calculated.”

Mama was quiet for a long moment, her eyes searching my face. Then she leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath.

“Truth, baby, listen to me,” she said, her voice softer now but still firm. “These men—these Landry men—they ain’t like regular men. You understand that, right?”

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I fully understood.

“Regular men, they got jobs. They got problems. They got bills to pay and lives to live. But men like this?” Mama shook her head. “Men like this, they operate on a different level. They got power. They got money. They got people who do things for them. And they don’t play by the same rules as the rest of us.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“Do you?” Mama’s gaze was sharp again. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you been moving through this blind. You don’t know what Amai does. You don’t know what his family is capable of. You don’t know if Kaisen was playing youor if he really cared. You don’t know anything, Truth. And that’s dangerous.”

“I’m trying to figure it out,” I said, my voice shaking. “I’m trying to?—”

“Trying ain’t enough,” Mama interrupted. “You need to know. You need information. You need leverage. Because right now, you just a pawn in their game. And pawns get sacrificed.”

The words hit me like a punch to the chest.

“You think I don’t know that?” I asked, my voice rising. “You think I don’t know I’m caught in the middle of something I don’t understand? I’m trying, Mama. I’m trying to figure out who to trust and what’s real and how to protect myself and this baby. But I don’t know how.”

Mama stood and crossed the small space between us, sitting on the couch beside me. She took my hands in hers, her grip firm and warm.

“Then you start asking questions,” she said, her voice steady. “You start demanding answers. You stop letting these men tell you what you need to know, and you start finding out for yourself. You understand me?”

I nodded, tears spilling down my cheeks now.

“You my daughter,” Mama continued, her voice fierce. “You strong. You smart. You survived Phillip and his bullshit. You survived losing everything and starting over. You can survive this too. But you gotta be smart about it. You gotta stop being passive and start taking control.”

“How?” I asked, my voice breaking. “How do I take control when I don’t even know what I’m dealing with?”

“You find out,” Mama said simply. “You ask questions. You pay attention. You watch how they move, how they talk, who they call, where they go. You learn everything you can about these men and their family. And then you use that information to protect yourself.”

“What if I can’t?” I whispered.

“You can,” Mama said, squeezing my hands. “You will. Because you got something they don’t.”

“What?”

“You got nothing to lose,” Mama said, her eyes locked on mine. “They got empires. They got reputations. They got power they trying to hold onto. But you? You already lost everything once. You know what it’s like to start from nothing. And that makes you dangerous, baby. Because you ain’t afraid to burn it all down if you have to.”