𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 ²

66 | cold case

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX
cold case

Royalty

next day

Hakeem was at the hospital with Royalty and they were so bored. There was absolutely nothing for her to do but lay in bed all day, and she hated it. She couldn't wait to get released tomorrow.

Hakeem complained some more. "Man, Ro, when are you getting out of here? It's boring as hell!"

"First thing tomorrow, thank god. I need some air."

Hakeem looked at the hospital food in disgust. "And some real food."

She chuckled. "Yeah. But what's going on with you?"

He sighed. "You're gonna be sad about this, but Tiana and I broke up."

"What?! Why?!" Was it because she kissed Gram like Royalty had seen in the vision?

Hakeem told her why. "Because I told her the truth. That I killed Blake."

Was he stupid? "Why the hell would you do that?"

"Gram got into her head first! He was suspecting me right to my face!"

"But how the hell does he know?"

Hakeem slouched in the chair in annoyance. "I don't know, man. I guess it really is that obvious. And if it's obvious to regular people, it's definitely obvious to those cops. I really am getting arrested, and Tiana doesn't want to be with someone who's gonna be locked up."

Royalty furrowed her eyebrows. "But dad said he's gonna get you out."

"What if he can't? Something can always go wrong because us Lyons are hated. I know those cops are gonna do everything they can to make sure I do a lot of time. Especially that Giuliana bitch."

"Giuliana?"

"Yeah. She's a female cop that came to Empire to interrogate me. Jamal saved me though."

This was all so horrible. "I'm really sorry about Tiana. I loved you two together."

"Do you think we'll ever get back together?" Hakeem asked.

"I don't know."

"You can always find out." He held his arm out again.

She put his arm down. "Actually, there's no need for that because I do have some information for you. I saw Tiana's future, and you weren't in it."

"Who was?"

"Gram. I saw them performing together, and they kissed on stage in front of everyone. Now y'all broke up, and I'm scared that vision is gonna become a reality. I know I shouldn't be telling you this-"

Hakeem stopped her. "It's cool. My life is already going to shit, so why not? I'm gonna get arrested anyway. so Tiana probably will get with Gram. They're already buddy buddy."

Ro sighed because that was the last thing she wanted. Tiana didn't belong with anyone but her brother. "I really wish you didn't kill Blake, Hakeem."

"Yeah, I'm starting to wish I didn't either. I didn't know it'd fuck up my life this bad," Hakeem admitted. "And honestly, having blood on your hands isn't a good feeling. But I know I did the right thing because Blake was never gonna stop hunting us down. It was us or him."

Yeah, it sure was them or him. And thanks to Hakeem, he was no longer a problem. They came out on top and she was thankful for that. So Tiana and everyone else could switch up on Hakeem all they wanted, but Ro never would. She'd always have his back because he had hers.

Hakeem

After he visited Ro, Hakeem went back to the mansion because he didn't want to be at Empire. He might see Tiana and Gram kissing each other like Ro said, and he'd definitely lose it after that. He might go to jail for murdering Gram next.

He walked into the mansion all irritated. Cookie, Lucious, and Jamal were there. Jamal noticed his foul mood. "What's wrong with you?"

"Don't tell me that Giuliana bitch interrogated you again," Cookie said angrily.

"Nope. Tiana did. She and I broke up because she can't be with a killer, so."

"A killer?" Lucious repeated. "Hold up, you out here telling people what you did?"

"Only Tiana. Gram somehow knows what I did too, but I didn't confirm it. But Ro just told me she had a vision of Gram and Tiana kissing, so they're probably gossiping about me right now for all I know." He plopped down on the couch with a huff.

Jamal shook his head angrily. "This is all bad, and I'm sick of it. If the cops are gonna arrest us, can they just do it already?"

Hakeem agreed. "That's what I'm saying. This waiting game is killing me."

"I don't think we're waiting for anything anymore," Cookie commented.

"Why you say that?"

"Because, look." She pointed at the tv and they saw that the news was on again. There was a cop talking to the camera, saying they had no leads, so Blake's murder might be a cold case.

Hakeem slowly stood up in shock. "Hold up, what he just say?"

"They have no leads, and they might not ever have any," Cookie said.

"Then why the hell was Giuliana grilling us so hard like she had something on us?"

Jamal was suspicious now. "Was she even a real cop?"

Lucious shrugged. "I don't know, but you two shouldn't be seeing her anymore."

"Or any cops for that matter. It's gonna be an unsolved case!" Cookie exclaimed.

Jamal and Hakeem laughed happily and hugged each other. Then Jamal said, "I guess we can start sleeping peacefully, huh?"

"I guess so. Good shit!" Hakeem praised.

"Na, it was all you."

"Yeah, but you stayed by my side since that night. You ain't switch up on me like other people, and I appreciate that," Hakeem told him.

Jamal grinned. "I'mma always have your back. It's us over everything, remember?"

Hakeem grinned back. "Yeah, it is."

Cookie clapped happily. "Well, isn't this the happy ending none of us were expecting?"

Jamal chuckled. "I wasn't expecting a happy ending period."

The both of them hugged Cookie after that, but Lucious wasn't as happy. "Why aren't you happy, Lucious?!"

"Because Ro had the vision of Hakeem getting arrested. Is he really in the clear?"

Jamal said, "You heard what they said, dad. It's gonna be a cold case. We're good."

Yeah, they were good. The cops had no leads whatsoever, so Hakeem didn't have shit to fear anymore. The nightmares and the paranoia could finally come to an end.

Because he got away with murder.