Page 135

“He was abusing him, you stupid bitch!”

“You don’t know how to love him,” she sobbed. “You never did. Roman needed somebody who wasn’t always fighting him.”

I stared at her. Even bleeding on the floor, she was still defending that man.

I spat at her before Justice could turn me away.

“Just so you know, Aria. Roman admitted to killing Mommy and Daddy. Yeah, the man you love so much set the fire that killed our parents. But don’t worry, he’s paying for that in hell.” I smirked.

“Melody. We got Keenan. Let’s go,” Justice said firmly.

My son stood beside the couch, watching us. I hated that he had seen me lose control, but I couldn’t take back the punch.

“What about my stuff?” he asked as if he wanted to run upstairs.

“Anything you need, I’ll buy. Everything will be new. Let’s go,” Justice demanded.

I tightened my grip on my son and led him toward the door. Justice opened it, keeping his body between my sister and us until we were outside.

Aria was still on the floor crying when he shut the door behind us.

42

Aria

There I sat in the beautiful home that my husband provided for me. Since we were only going to be in the DMV temporarily, this home didn’t match the grandiose house in Atlanta. This one was a bit smaller but still lavish.

I’d earned this shit with every punch, kick and strangling. Roman just needed someone he could confide in. He didn’t beat me as much as he beat her. That’s because she didn’t know how to defuse him. A powerful man like that had to let off steam. He meant well though. But she did something to him. I knew she did.

How was I supposed to move on without him in my life, especially with this baby coming? I never finished school. I wasn’t the smart one. Melody was. I couldn’t believe she did this to me.

The phone hadn’t stopped ringing since Roman disappeared. Bill collectors called about the house and the cars. The loan sharks were worse. They never left a name, but they always said Roman owed them, and now they wanted it from me.

Blood was smeared on my phone because I was struggling to get my nose to stop bleeding. I think that bitch broke my nose. The blood made it difficult to swipe on my phone and I was in a panic. I used my shirt to clear it and tried calling Julian.

I called him six times and there was no response. What the hell was he doing? He knew that we were in a crisis. And now I’d gotten Keenan taken away. He told me to keep an eye on him but I failed.

My face was throbbing. Every time I touched my nose, pain spread beneath my eyes. Melody hit just as hard as Roman. At least Roman would avoid my face. He knew not to hurt me there. He thought I was beautiful and would have never done permanent damage. I might need surgery after what my sister did to me.

I had met Justice Banks before, but I still couldn’t understand what he was doing with my sister. Roman did business with his family. How the hell had Melody gotten close enough to bring him here?

I tried Julian again as I lowered myself onto the couch. He needed to get out of that meeting and come back. He needed to fix this. He was meeting with the Banks family right now. Was it a setup?

When the call finally connected, I started talking before he could greet me.

“Julian! Where are you? Melody and Justice Banks just came and took Keenan. They got him. I’m pretty sure they’re behind Roman’s disappearance.”

There was a pause. I pulled the phone away from my ear to make sure we were still connected.

“Did you hear me? She punched me in the face! Isn’t Banks the name of the family y’all are doing that building for?”

“That would be correct,” a deep voice said.

I stopped pressing the tissue against my nose.

The voice was clear now, and it was definitely not Justice’s. What the fuck was going on?

“Who is this?” I questioned.