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Instead of immediately driving away, Lei allowed herself to memorialize his gruff voice and handsome face. A slow smile spread her lips as she started her SUV. Now that she’d seen Londen and heard his voice, there was no doubt in her mind that things were about to progress like a whirlwind.
sixteen
When Londenand Lei progressed to handwritten letters, they agreed to finally start sharing the facts about each other. Hearing her admit Royalty wasn’t her real name meant a lot to Londen, because it proved even with her desire to protect herself, she still wanted to be open and honest with him. He’d been anxious to receive her letter, and as soon as he got it, he left the card table and returned to his cell to read it alone.
Londen,
I can admit,I’m a little hesitant to write this. I know you said you have a certain amount of power that allows you more freedom than most men in your position, and that no one will read the contents of this letter before it’s given to you, and I appreciate that. That’s not the only reason I’m unsure about sharing the facts about myself with you. While I don’t think you have impure intentions toward me, I have enough experience from my past to know thinking that does nothing for me. I want to be honest with you about who I am, because I believe we can have a true friendship, but that’s a hell of a lot easier said than done.
Even with me expressing my fears, I’m going to try.
You said you wanted me to start from the beginning of my life. I can, but it’ll probably seem like you’re talking to two different women by the time I get done.
I was born on May 7thin Rose Valley Hills, but I was raised in Memphis. When I was five, my parents had my baby sister. I had… a fairly normal childhood, I suppose. Financially, I was taken care of. I did well in school. My relationship with my parents and sister was strained, and it only got worse with time. It felt like my sister and I were always pitted against each other, and I was never good enough.
My mother stopped being as loving, nurturing, and affectionate as she used to be. My father tried to give what I lacked, but they argued a lot because of it and eventually he started treating me like she did. For years, I thought it was because they just loved my sister more than me. Turns out, my mother treated me differently because she resented me. I wasn’t her child. I wasn’t my father’s child either. He had kidnapped me from my real parents in Rose Valley Hills.
I found out the truth days after my wedding was canceled because my fiancé slept with my sister and got her pregnant. So… yeah. My name used to be Royalty, but after going through all of that, I wanted nothing to do with that part of my life anymore. As soon as I got settled here in Rose Valley, I changed it to what my mother named me. I’ve been here with my real family for ten years now, and the life I have here is… like a reward for the bullshit I went through in Memphis. I feel like I’m finally where I belong, and I’m so grateful for that.
One day I’ll tell you my name and who I come from, but I fear if you know, that will end this between us and honestly… I don’t want it to end. This was a lot, so I need a break. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Londen staredat the letter for a while before setting it on the bed beside him. He wanted to tell Lei he knew who she was, but did he really? He knew her name and that she was Ace’s daughter. He knew she had been kidnapped because Ace paid him to murder the man that had done it. But did he really know her? Londen couldn’t say, but he could say he hoped he had the chance to experience her in all ways.
seventeen
Baby,
First,thank you for sharing that part of your past with me. I can admit I’m the kind of man that can find out anything I want to know. The connections and resources I have make very little unavailable to me. With that being said, I prefer to know what you want me to know and have what you want me to have, in the same way you’ve patiently waited for me to tell you why I’m in here instead of paying to get my records yourself.
I imagine going through something like that would make anyone have an identity crisis, so I’m not surprised you changed your name. I apologize for what your first set of parental figures did to you and your sister and fiancé. No one deserves to experience anything like that. I am happy that you made your way back to Rose Valley for more selfish reasons though. If you would have stayed in Memphis, even though that’s where I’m passing this time, I don’t think we would have met.
I like to think all things happen as they should within God’s reason, so if all that comes out of that fucked up situation is you being exactly where you are right now living the life you are, I pray it’s a good enough life for you to think it was worth it.
We agreed our next three letters would cover our past, present, and future, but after hearing your origin story… mine sounds boring as hell. Out of fairness, I’ll tell you, anyway.
I was born on October 29thin Rose Valley Hills, like you. My parents are still alive and married. I have one sister and one brother who’s serving a life sentence in Mississippi. As fucked up as that sounds for both of us to be in prison, it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone that this would happen. Even with all the money, power, and freedom we gained, the seeds that were sown in our younger days were bound to yield this kind of harvest.
Before I got locked down, I was given the chance to go legit, but I didn’t appreciate it, so it was taken from me. I can honestly say that passing this time for the last ten years has opened my eyes to what’s most important in life, though, and when I do get out, I intend to take full advantage of my second chance.
But anyway… my parents. They were a normal couple, I suppose. Both were raised in the ghetto and wanted better for their children. By the time my siblings and I were old enough to realize we were poor, my father had started trying to find ways to make us rich. Naturally, selling drugs was the easiest way to get to the riches in that environment. Pops ended up having an accident on the job at the workhouse he slaved at for twelve hours a day, six days a week. Instead of using that money to get us out of the ghetto, he used it to invest in a few corner boys in exchange for 50 percent of their profit.
Quickly, he went from making a few hundred a week to a few thousand. Then tens of thousands. Then hundreds of thousands. He ended up opening his own importing and exporting warehouse, where he moved both legal and illegal products. Eventually, my parents stopped working and my brother and I took over. While I handled the illegal side, Matthew ran the legal dealings. Fast forward years later, people wanted in on our business because it became a safe hub for suppliers to export their drugs to dealers without risk and consequence.
We were used to people trying to muscle their way into our business, but my brother handled things differently from me. While I was the logical, cool headed brother who weighed all possibilities and handled my business privately, Matthew was the reckless wild card who would shoot a nigga in broad daylight. He did that in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and he left me to handle the business alone. I ran things for a couple of years before ending up in a cell just like him, but with a shorter sentence.
I was charged with murder like him, but instead of life, I was given twenty-five years. If it makes you feel safer conversing with me, I didn’t commit the murder I’m serving time for. Ironically, I’d done a lot of dirt and gotten away with it. I suppose me being here was karma’s way of balancing the scale, and I’ve made peace with that. I don’t think we have too much in common as far as our pasts and childhoods are concerned, but I can say that you’ve intrigued me from the moment I saw your profile. While I can’t say exactly what it is about you that has me enamored, I can only hope the more you learn about me doesn’t make you want to reveal yourself less.
eighteen
Londen,
First,I feel led to make clear… nothing you said in your letter changes how I’m starting to feel about you, nor does it make me want to talk to you less. You aren’t the first drug dealer I’ve talked to, but you are the first man that I’ve talked to that has taken another life. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I have no room to judge. Given the right set of circumstances, I think anyone can take a life. The version of you I’m speaking to doesn’t fill me with fear, and right now, that’s enough for me.
So we’re on to the present. Okay, this is where things get tricky. My dad wanted me to keep everything about myself a secret when I told him I was doing this pen pal program but I don’t know. It’s something about you that makes me feel safe with you. I trust that whatever I tell you stays between us and that you won’t try to use it against me or my family. If you do, they’ll fuck you up.
My real name is Lei. Lei Armani Fifer. I took my mother’s maiden name when I came to Rose Valley because that’s what it was when I was born. My parents were married when they had my brother, then they divorced, then had me. They say I was what brought them back together again so for me to have been taken, I can’t imagine how devastating that was.
My father is Ace Lew, and my brother is Cade Lew. It would surprise me more if you didn’t know who they were than if you did. I’m a defense attorney. I do some work for the secret society but I’m not an actual member of it. No kids, never been married, and I don’t even have any pets. I want that to change really soon though.
