𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 ²

twenty seven.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
the job is done

Cookie

next day

Juanita had made them a nice breakfast, and they sure needed it after finding out Rhonda died. Cookie still found it hard to believe she had killed herself, but Lucious had promised Andre was innocent, so she believed him. She shouldn't assume the worst of her child anyway.

The whole family was sitting around the table except for Jamal, which was weird. "Has anyone heard from Jamal? He should be here. We need to stick together as a family right now."

Hakeem said, "I tried to call him, but he ain't answer."

"Hm. That ain't like him. He always answers," Cookie replied. "We might have to stop by the condo and see what's going on with him."

"He's probably mourning. Our sister in law did just die," Royalty commented.

Lucious agreed. "Ro is probably right. You know how emotional Jamal is."

"Which is strange on Andre's part because his wife died, but the rest of us are more emotional than him," Hakeem accused.

Cookie hit the table. "That's enough, boy. Your brother is innocent. Now, eat your damn food."

They all ate. Cookie got a call from a number she didn't recognize. "Hello?"

"Is this Cookie Lyon?"

"Yes, this is she."

The lady said, "I'm calling to inform you that your son Jamal Lyon is in the hospital."

Cookie's heart stopped beating. "The hospital?!"

The family looked confused now. The lady said, "Yes. He was shot last night around 2 AM."

Now Cookie stood up. "Shot?! Why am I just now finding out?!"

"We couldn't reach any of you."

"Well, is he okay?!"

"He's not okay at all, so I think it's best if you and your family get down here. Goodbyes might be in order," the lady said as gently as she could. She hung up, and Cookie felt like she was about to faint. She didn't even think her heart was beating anymore because Jamal was her heart! He'd always been her baby, and the one who had shown her the most love since she got back. Now he was gonna die, and-

Cookie held on to the table for balance because she was about to faint for real. Her baby was on the brink of death?!

Lucious was concerned. "What's going on, baby?"

"Jamal got shot last night!"

"What the fuck?" Hakeem said angrily.

Lucious couldn't believe it either. "Wait, wait. What do you mean he got shot?"

"Jamal is in the hospital, on the brink of death because he was out at 2 am for some reason! He got shot!"

"By who?!"

Hakeem knew who. "I know who! My biggest fan! They've been after Jamal since day one, and they finally got him!"

"That's why we hired bodyguards for him, so where were they?" Lucious said angrily.

"Obviously nowhere to be found," Hakeem said.

Lucious was pissed. "Why are all of these bodyguards slacking?!"

"Don't tell me they're snakes too," Royalty said in an annoyed tone.

Cookie shut them up. "I don't care about any of that! My baby is dying right now! And the nurse said we should get to the hospital asap because we might have to say goodbye to him."