Because Truth Renois wasn’t looking to negotiate.
She was looking for a way out.
And I was giving her one.
Raymond exhaled. “Aight. I’ll have it drawn up. You want me to deliver it or you handling that?”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Copy. Anything else?”
“No. That’s it.”
“Then I’m going back to sleep.”
He hung up.
I sat in the dark, the city quiet outside my windows, the weight of the decision settling into my bones.
Truth Renois was about to carry my child.
She was about to become the most important person in my world.
And Rahsaan Boudreaux was circling like a man who smelled blood in the water. Before it was all said and done, I knew I’d have to slime his ass out. I’d grown tired of his shit. He needed to be neutralized before the world found out about Truth, and I had no doubt that despite my efforts, he would.
I finished the bourbon in one swallow.
Let the burn settle.
Rahsaan wanted a war?
Fine.
He could have one.
But he wasn’t touching what was mine.
And Truth Renois was mine now.
She just didn’t know it yet.
The next morning, I walked into Landry Enterprises at 8:47 AM.
The building sat on Poydras Street—six stories of glass and steel that reflected the morning sun like a blade. Our legitimate family business. High-end construction projects that rebuilt historic properties, renovated Garden District estates, and turned condemned warehouses into luxury lofts.
The money was clean.
The reputation was spotless.
And nobody who walked through those doors had any idea what I did after hours.
My assistant, Alexandria, looked up from her desk when I stepped off the elevator. “Morning, Mr. Landry. Coffee’s already in your office. Raymond’s waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Alexandria.”
I walked past her desk, through the glass doors, and into my corner office overlooking the city.
Raymond was sitting in one of the leather chairs across from my desk, a manila folder in his lap, and reading glasses perched on his nose.
