Empire: HAKEEM & SASHA

Chapter 16: Ghosts of the Past

I stared at the hospital room ceiling, the soft sound of Sasha's breathing filling the quiet space. Modesty was sleeping peacefully in her crib, and for once, life felt... steady. I should've been content, relieved even, that everything was falling into place. But in the stillness, my phone buzzed, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I grabbed it, expecting something routine—maybe a message from Andre or a producer. But when I saw the name flash across the screen, my blood ran cold.

Camilla.

No. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. She was dead. I'd seen her lifeless body myself. This had to be some kind of sick joke. My heart pounded in my chest as I hesitated, my thumb hovering over the message.

I finally tapped it, the screen lighting up with a single line that made my entire world shift.

"Hakeem, you need to know the truth about what happened that night. Lucious framed me."

I sat up straight, glancing at Sasha to make sure she was still sleeping. Her face was peaceful, unaware of the chaos about to unfold. My stomach twisted as I read on, Camilla's words filling the screen with a story I had never expected.

"I didn't kill Myself, Hakeem. Lucious tried to off me for putting you in as CEO. He staged the whole thing. He's been lying to you for years, just like he lied about Bunkie, Freda's dad, and everything else. I was forced to drink that vodka shot, but it wasn't poison. It was all apart of my Mimi setup. I've been living under a different name, watching everything from the shadows. I'm alive. Meet me."

Attached to the message was a video file. I hesitated before hitting play. The footage was grainy, but clear enough. It was taken in the hotel room where Camilla was suppose to drink poison. The camera showed Lucious—cold, calculating as ever—standing over Camilla, a smirk on his face. He handed her the vodka shot, his words muffled, but I could hear the threat laced in them.

I watched, stunned, as Camilla hesitated, then downed the shot. Lucious leaned in, whispering something into her ear, something I couldn't make out, but whatever it was made Camilla's face go pale. She wasn't dead in that moment; she was terrified.

My chest tightened as the video ended. It all made sense now—Lucious had set the entire thing up, just like he always did. He had manipulated everyone, and once again, I was a pawn in his twisted game.

Camilla was alive.

And she wanted me.

I clenched my fists, anger flooding my veins. After everything, Lucious was still pulling strings, controlling every piece of my life like a damn puppet master. I thought I'd escaped his shadow, but here it was, looming over me again.

Sasha stirred in her sleep, oblivious to the storm building inside me. I loved her, and our kids were everything I had ever wanted, but this—this changed everything. The rage, the betrayal, it all came rushing back, and suddenly, I wasn't that mature, grounded father anymore. I was Hakeem Lyon—angry, impulsive, ready to burn the whole world down.

I stood up quietly, careful not to wake Sasha, my mind racing. The warmth, the happiness I'd felt just hours ago, vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold, familiar emptiness. I needed to see Camilla, to hear her side of the story, to know how deep this deception went.

Lucious had taken so much from me already—my music, my pride, my trust—and now I found out he had manipulated the one woman who had ever truly challenged me, pushed me to be more than just the son of a legend. Camilla had been my weakness and my strength, and now she was back, pulling me in all over again.

I grabbed my jacket, the fury building with every step. I couldn't stay here, not like this. Not knowing that Camilla was out there, waiting. I had to confront her, and more than that, I had to confront the part of myself that still wanted her after all this time.