𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 ²

fifty eight.

CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT
justice has been served

Lucious

next day

The family was gathered around Lucious' computer this morning, including Tiana. She was too scared to stay alone at her own house, so she asked to stay there for a while. Of course they let her. She was family, and she was good to his son.

Why were they gathered around the computer? Because Freda had made a diss song about Hakeem and it was trending. And not in a good way. Hakeem's fans were pissed and they wanted war.

Lucious didn't understand why Freda had made the song. Just the other day she was saying she wanted to turn her life around, so where'd that energy go?

"Daddy's little girl? Oh, that trick has some nerve disrespecting my son!" Cookie raged.

"It was a little funny though," Lucious commented. They all glared at him. "But you know I'm on your side, Hakeem. Freda had no business doing this."

Tiana didn't understand why this happened. "Why did she do this? I thought she was in love with you?"

"I cut her off and that made her blow up. I clearly hurt her feelings," Hakeem answered.

"Obviously, if she's saying that I'm better than you," Jamal agreed. "But y'all, that's not all."

"What else is there?" Cookie demanded to know.

Jamal blurted it out. "Freda shot me."

Did he just say what Lucious thought he said? "What are you talking about, Jamal?"

Jamal took a deep breath and laid it all out in the open. "Okay, remember when I told you guys the person who shot me had stood over me and said, 'This is for Hakeem, motherfucker?" They nodded. "Well, after listening to the song, I instantly recognized Freda's voice. She's the one who was standing over me."

Tiana couldn't believe it. "Hold on, you're telling me your shooter was in our faces and we never knew?"

"And at our company?!" Cookie raged.

Hakeem nodded angrily. "That's what he's saying, and it makes sense. Freda was always calling herself my biggest fan, like the texts said."

So Lucious had welcomed Freda into his company, and she smiled in his face, knowing she shot his son? Now he was fucking angry because he felt played! "I knew I should've fired her ass when I had the chance!"

Cookie argued with him. "I knew you shouldn't have signed her at all! She's a street girl, Lucious! You should've known she was no good!"

"Gram is a street dude too, but he's not doing crazy shit!" he argued back.

"This isn't about Gram! This is about Freda! She needs to be fired right now!"

Lucious agreed. She was getting the hell out of his company. So he called Becky and she quickly answered. "Becky, is Freda at Empire right now?"

"No, she hasn't come in yet."

"Can you call her and tell her to come in? I need to talk to her." And it wasn't gonna be a nice talk.