Epilogue

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•Nolani•

6 Months Later...

I'm nervously playing with my engagement ring, spinning it around and around my finger. I glance down at it and straighten it back up, the diamond gleaming under the harsh lighting above me. I shift in the plastic chair and take a deep breath trying to calm my nerves, not that it does much help. I'm more nervous now than I was when I met my mom after she 'died'. The table is cold beneath my hands, the top rough and scratched. I glance around at the others waiting and then to Giovanni who's leaned against the wall chatting with the guard as if they're old friends. My guess is he's a made man. When he guided us into the room he bowed his head at me as if I were a queen and refused to look me in the eye. After Giovanni kneeled at my feet in front of his men in Italy I became royalty in their eyes according to Nico.

Finally the doors open and the prisoners are lead into the room in a line and then I see him. He favors one leg as he walks and I know it's because a bullet wound he got to the thigh that shattered his femur a few months before he was locked up.

My heart is in my throat as he takes the seat across from me and flashes me a friendly smile. "Hello, Kiyana."

His voice is deep, his Chicago accent thick and it's crazy hearing someone casually call me Kiyana after all these years. He's tall, shorter than Giovanni but still taller than me. His arms, neck, and hands are decorated in tattoos and his gray hair is cut close to his scalp. When I had Toni look more into Amari he showed me a picture of him so I knew what he looked liked prior to today, his face so similar to Angelo's it made my heart ache, but seeing him in person has me fighting tears. Angelo's entire facial structure came from the man in front of me.

I clear my throat and finally reply to him, "I go by Nolani."

All the questions I wanted to ask him disappeared now that he's in front of me, I desperately dig through my mind for them.

"I know." He nods.

My brow furrows. "I'm a little confused, I thought you'd be more surprised to see me."

Instead he acts as if he knows exactly who I am.

He lets out a light chuckle, shifting his cuffed hands on the table. His hands are large, the dark brown skin tone even deeper than my own.

"I've known who you were since your rise to fame, you look so much like my Mom it would be hard not to." He admits.

Mom said I looked like Amari's Mom so at least I know she was truthful about one thing.

I frown. "But you never came after me."

He arches an eyebrow at me. "Why would I come after you? Your Mom was the one I wanted. She took off with you and a shit ton of product. My men hunted her for years until her death."

"She said you would so she sent Angelo to look over me."

He nods. "Angelo was a good boy, I tried to stay away from him for his sake. He was better at staying out of trouble than the rest of my kids."

When Toni looked more into Amari I learned exactly how big my family tree is. I have four brothers Darius, Colby, Angelo, and Xavier. Darius is 33, Colby is 31, Angelo was 29 when he passed and Xavier is 20. I have Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Amari's Mom, my grandmother, is alive but his father died a couple years ago.

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