Page 176 of Riot

Creed sat back, that paper trembling now in his hands. “Another brother,” he whispered, more to himself than me.

I didn’t say anything right away. Couldn’t.

My mind was caught in a slow-motion slide. Mama. Silas. A baby. Given away. Buried truth under years of silence. AndCannon... locked up like an animal for something our father orchestrated?

I didn’t even know what part hurt worse, that he existed, that she didn’t tell us, or that Silas had done that to hurt her.

And somehow, I knew Mama had been holding this for years. Carrying it around like a stone in her gut. And now that she was gone, she was handing it to us. Not just to know. But to fix.

“Where is he?” I finally asked, my voice rough like gravel.

Denise reached into her drawer and handed over a manila folder.

“Greene Correctional in Maryland. Been there going on five years. In and out of solitary. Refuses most visits. Doesn’t speak much to the staff. But he’s sharp. Angry, but not reckless. Smart enough to stay alive in there.”

I flipped open the folder and saw his face.

Cannon Price.

My brother.

He looked like light skinned blue eyed version of us. Did Mama cheat on Silas with a white man? He looked rugged but he had familiar features. Not just in the nose or the shape of his jaw, but in the eyes. Same haunted stare. Same battle-born stillness. A man who’d survived things he never asked for.

Creed leaned over and studied the file. “Where in the hell do we even begin with this?”

“We show up. We tell him who we are. And we let him tell us the rest.”

Creed turned toward me, brow furrowed. “You think he’ll want anything to do with us?”

I shrugged. “Maybe not. But Mama asked us to protect him. That’s what we’re gonna do.”

I folded the letter again, tucking it back into the envelope like it was a sacred thing.

Because in a way, it was.

This wasn’t just about blood anymore. This was about redemption. About righting what Silas poisoned. About fulfilling the last thing my mother ever asked me to do.

We’d buried her yesterday.

Today?

We dig up a brother.

Chapter 60

ALLURE

After trying for hours, Jasir was finally asleep. It took a warm bath, a lullaby I half remembered from my childhood, and two readings ofBrown Bear, Brown Bear, but he was out. Curled up in the guest room bed like peace had finally found a place to rest in his body.

I stood over him for a while, watching his chest rise and fall. Something about toddlers always looked like grace. Even after all they’d been through. He still kicked in his sleep like he was running toward something better.

Maybe now… he was.

The sound of the sewing machine filled the room, rhythmic and steady, even though my thoughts weren’t. I’d spent the afternoon stitching together new pieces for a collection I wasn’t sure anyone would ever see. Loose silhouettes, bold colors, softer fabric. I’d traded leather for linen, cutouts for comfort. I wanted women to feel free in my designs. To feel the opposite of how I had for ten years.

Caged. Owned. Forgotten.

Not only was I forgotten, but simply sold like I was nothing. And thankfully the man that sold me was dead. But my complicit mother was still alive and wanted to talk to me.

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