Chapter 4: My Mother's Voice
For twenty years, I had believed my mother died knowing exactly who had murdered my father.
Now her voice was coming through a speaker in a storage facility, telling me not to believe my own brother.
I stood frozen, staring at the metal door.
Trey was holding Renee's hand. His face had gone pale, and the recorder was still resting in my palm.
"Mom?"" I whispered.
The recording crackled.
"Andre, if you're hearing this, then Malik has probably already told you about the night your father died. But there's something he never knew.""
I moved closer to the speaker.
"Where are you?""
No answer.
Instead, my mother's voice continued.
"Raymond wasn't killed because he wanted to expose Victor. He was killed because he discovered what Victor had been hiding for years. And the person who helped him uncover it was someone he trusted more than anyone.""
The recording stopped.
I pressed the PLAY button again.
Nothing.
Renee grabbed my arm.
"Andre, we need to get out.""
I pulled at the door again.
"Who recorded this?""
"I don't know.""
"You knew my mother had something to do with this?""
Renee shook her head.
"Malik told me your mother left him a message. He never told me what was on it.""
I turned toward her.
"Why does everybody know something except me?""
Trey suddenly pointed toward the metal box.
"Uncle Andre, there's another envelope.""
I looked down.
A small white envelope had been taped underneath the box. My name was written across it in my mother's handwriting.
I tore it open.
Inside was a photograph of my parents standing outside their old house. My mother was holding a baby.
Me.
On the back, she had written:
*THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN, YOUR FATHER MADE A PROMISE TO PROTECT YOU FROM HIS OWN BLOOD.*
I read it twice.
"What does that mean?""
Renee looked at the photograph.
Then she quietly said, "Your father had a brother.""
I stared at her.
"No. He didn't.""
"Malik found out six months ago.""
"You're telling me my father had a brother nobody ever mentioned?""
Renee nodded.
"His name was Samuel Carter. He disappeared before you were born.""
I remembered an old family photograph in my mother's bedroom. There had been a man standing beside my father, but the picture had been cut down the middle.
My mother always said it was an old friend.
I suddenly understood why Malik had been asking questions about our family history.
Before I could say anything, we heard footsteps outside.
Heavy footsteps.
Someone was approaching the locker.
Trey stepped behind me.
I placed the recorder inside my jacket and moved Renee and Trey behind the storage shelves.
A key turned in the lock.
The door rolled upward.
A man in a dark jacket entered.
He wasn't Victor.
It was Curtis.
I immediately stepped out.
"What the hell are you doing here?""
Curtis nearly dropped the flashlight in his hand.
"Thank God. You're alive.""
I grabbed his jacket.
"Did you lock us in?""
"No!""
"Then how did you get in?""
Curtis looked toward the hallway.
"Because I have the master access code. And because somebody just sent me a photograph of you entering this building.""
He pulled out his phone.
The picture showed us standing outside the storage facility less than an hour earlier.
Beneath it was a message:
*GET THE BOY. LEAVE THE OTHERS.*
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Who sent this?""
Curtis swallowed.
"An unknown number.""
"Why should I believe you?""
"Because I know who Samuel Carter was.""
I released his jacket.
"Tell me.""
Curtis looked at Trey.
"Your father's brother wasn't just another member of Black Crown. He was the original founder. Raymond took over after Samuel disappeared.""
Renee shook her head.
"That's impossible.""
Curtis nodded slowly.
"Samuel was presumed dead. But Malik found bank records proving someone had been sending him money for years.""
"Who?"" I asked.
Curtis looked down.
"Your mother.""
The room went silent.
I felt as if the floor had shifted beneath me.
"My mother was sending money to a man she claimed didn't exist?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
Curtis hesitated.
"Because Samuel was alive.""
Trey stepped forward.
"Then where is he?""
Curtis looked directly at him.
"That's the question your father died trying to answer.""
Suddenly, a vehicle engine roared outside.
Curtis rushed toward the entrance.
"Someone's here!""
I grabbed the folders and pushed Trey toward Renee.
We hurried into the hallway.
At the far end, a security camera rotated toward us.
Then every light in the facility went out.
A gunshot exploded somewhere near the entrance.
Renee screamed.
I pulled Trey against me and dropped behind a row of lockers.
Another shot followed.
Curtis shouted, "RUN!""
We moved through a side exit and stumbled into the parking area.
A black SUV was speeding away.
I recognized the driver.
Victor Shaw.
But he wasn't alone.
The passenger turned toward us just before the vehicle disappeared around the corner.
It was Darius.
I reached for my phone.
Before I could call him, a message arrived from an unknown number.
May you like
It contained one sentence.
*Your mother is alive, Andre. And she's been waiting for you.*
