In "Family Ties," the Moretti family is everything, or so they thought. But beneath the surface of loyalty lies a web of betrayal and lies. In the heart of this tangled mess, the Morettis struggle to find their footing, torn apart by secrets and dec...
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What was I doing? I've never been so confused in my life. The emotions I was feeling made me lightheaded, that or the loss of blood. I can't understand why she won't let me go.
"Lelani, put it down," Athena said, walking up to me slowly.
"You don't get it. I barely made it out last time," I said, shaking my head.
"What happened?" she asked.
"It was him or me, and I chose me. And I will always choose me. So move before someone gets hurt," I said, raising the knife.
"Lelani, where are you going to go?" she asked me.
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," I said, my grip tightening on the knife.
"You don't have to do this alone," she said, her voice gentle but firm.
"Yeah, I do. It's kinda funny, my first day here you told me not to bring my problems to your door. I'm trying to avoid that, and you won't let me," I said, my voice breaking.
"Lelani, whether you like it or not, I'm still your mother. Your problems will always be mine. And take it from someone who knows, running will not solve it. Looking over your shoulder 24/7 is no way to live," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Goodbye, Athena," I said, my heart pounding.
"Lelani, I'm not letting you leave here," she said, stepping closer.
"You won't have a choice, Mama Bear," Adriano said, knocking her out. I caught her before she fell to the ground.
"Thanks for the save," I said to Adriano as I laid Athena down slowly.
"Anything for my sister, or is it cousin?" he said, laughing.
"Yeah, whatever. Let's go," I said, pushing him toward the door.
"You know Dad's gonna kill me for hitting your mom in the head. I hope you know I'm telling him this was your idea. I'm not dying alone," he said, a smirk on his face.
"I'm not scared of him," I said, walking out of the building.
"Well, you should be. You've never seen him lose it. But I have. Dad may not be as ruthless as Stefan, but don't get it twisted, he's still a Moretti," he said, shaking his head.
"Look, here's your money as promised," I said, handing him the money and walking off.
"Were you really going to do it?" he asked, stopping me in my tracks.
"What?" I asked, turning to face him.
"Your mom. If I didn't show up, would you have killed her?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.
"Go home, kid," I said, my voice cold, and continued walking, leaving him standing there.
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"Come on, Athena, pick up," I muttered to myself, pacing back and forth in my living room.
Nobody had been answering my calls—not Athena or Caesar. The waiting was starting to get to me.
Knock Knock
"Caesar, where the hell have you—" I stopped mid-sentence when I realized it wasn't Caesar.
"Not who you were expecting?" the cop from the other day said, standing in my doorway.
"What the hell are you doing at my house?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes at him.
"This is a warrant for the information on your company's financials, foreign and domestic," he said, handing me the paper. I snatched it out of his hand.
"You do not want to make an enemy out of me, boy," I said, glaring at him.
"Call me 'boy' again," he said, placing his hand on his weapon.
"You come to my house with this bullshit and expect to be respected? You're just a rookie cop off his training wheels, Mr. Williams," I said, glancing at his name tag.
"Well, this rookie is about to put you and your family in jail. I look forward to seeing those reports. Have a good day now," he said with a smirk, leaving. I waited until he pulled out of the driveway to close the door. A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door. When I opened it, it was Shanice and Caesar.
"Where the hell have you two been? I've been calling you nonstop," I said, noticing Shanice looked like she had seen a ghost.
"We have a problem, Pops," Caesar said, but I didn't take my eyes off Shanice. She was staring at the ground, avoiding my gaze.
"Start from the beginning," I said, finally looking at Caesar. Shanice took a seat on the couch.
"We went to Club Apex looking for Lelani, and we ran into the guy who runs the southside territory, Devon Jackson. Lelani must have found out Stefan and Devon have been doing business together, and she went to find out information. Once Shanice and I got there, Lelani was already gone," he said.
"Yeah, she ended up at Athena's bar. She had been stabbed and beaten up," I said. Shanice looked up at me, worried, but still didn't say a word.
"She's fine. She's a little spooked, but she's with Athena right now," I added.
"Devon's looking for her, and it seems like the beef he has with her is personal," he said.
"They have history. I don't know what it is, but my guess is he's the reason she's down here in the first place," Shanice finally spoke.
"I know that can't be it. What else happened tonight?" I asked.
"We gave Devon permission to use the ports for his shipments," he said.
"What the hell? Who made that call?" I asked.
"It was my decision," he said.
"Elias, I'm sorry. They were hurting him, and I didn't know what else to do—" she said, getting emotional.
"Dad, it's not her fault," he interjected.
"I know it's not her fault, it's yours. She should have never been in that position to make a call like that anyway," I said, frustration seeping into my voice.
"That's not all," he said.
"There's more?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Shanice and I raided this local stash spot because we thought maybe they took Lelani. We were able to get the drugs and the money, but we were seen by someone," he said.
"Well, did you take care of it?" I asked.
"I was gonna, but—" he began, and I cut him off.
"What do you mean 'but'? You know better than anyone—no witnesses," I yelled at him.
"It was me," Shanice said, standing up.
"Why in the hell would you do something like that?" I asked, getting more frustrated.
"It was a kid," she said.
* * * * Do y'all think Lelani would have killed Athena??
