Chapter 7: The Enemy We Invited Inside
For twenty-seven years, my mother lived with the fear that someone would come back.
I used to think she was being paranoid.
I used to think the locks on our doors, the curtains she kept closed at night, and the way she always looked over her shoulder were just habits from a difficult past.
I didn’t understand.
Fear changes people.
It teaches them to listen for footsteps that aren’t there.
It teaches them to memorize every exit in every room.
It teaches them that peace can disappear without warning.
And standing inside that abandoned church, watching Derrick Vale walk toward us like he owned the place, I finally understood my mother.
She had never been afraid of the past.
She had been afraid the past would find us.
Derrick stopped a few feet away.
He looked older than the man in the photograph.
His hair was grayer.
His face had more lines.
But his eyes were the same.
Calm.
Controlled.
The eyes of someone who believed he was always the smartest person in the room.
“Malik,” he said.
Malik didn’t move.
“You’re supposed to be dead.””
Derrick smiled slightly.
“That’s what everyone wanted you to believe.””
My mother stepped closer to me.
I felt her hand wrap around mine.
A small movement.
But I knew what it meant.
She was protecting me.
Even now.
Even after everything.
“You ruined our lives,” Renee whispered.
Derrick looked at her.
And for a moment, I saw something unexpected.
Regret.
But it disappeared quickly.
“No, Renee.””
His voice was calm.
“I gave you a chance to disappear.””
My stomach turned.
“A chance?””
My voice came out before I could stop it.
“You tried to kill my mother.””
Derrick looked at me.
Really looked at me.
And I hated that he recognized something.
“You look like her.””
I stepped back.
“Don’t talk about her.””
He tilted his head.
“Do you know how many years I spent wondering if you survived?””
Malik moved forward.
“Don’t say another word to my daughter.””
The way he said my daughter made something inside me break.
Because only a day ago, those words belonged to someone else.
Now they were mine.
Derrick laughed quietly.
“There it is.””
“What?””
“The weakness.””
Malik’s expression hardened.
“You never understood me.””
“No,” Derrick said.
“I understood you better than anyone.””
He looked around the church.
“At least I thought I did.””
The security team positioned themselves around us.
Derrick noticed.
“You brought protection.””
“You broke into a private location.””
Derrick shrugged.
“You say that like I’m the only person here who knows how to find things.””
Everyone went silent.
Malik’s eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?””
Derrick smiled.
And that was when I knew.
He wasn’t here because he had found us.
He was here because he wanted us to know he could.
“There are people inside your organization who still answer to me.””
A cold feeling moved through the room.
Malik didn’t react.
But I saw it.
The smallest change.
The realization.
Someone had betrayed him.
Again.
My mother squeezed my hand.
“Nia, stay behind me.””
I almost laughed.
My mother was five feet four inches tall.
She had spent twenty-seven years hiding.
And she was still trying to stand between me and danger.
“No,” I whispered.
She looked at me.
“I’m done hiding behind you.””
Her eyes filled.
For a moment, she looked less afraid.
Proud, maybe.
Then Derrick spoke.
“That’s the problem with family.””
Everyone looked at him.
“It makes smart people do stupid things.””
Malik stepped forward.
“You want me. Leave them out of this.””
Derrick’s smile faded.
“I did want you.””
The words hung in the air.
“But then I realized something.””
He looked at me.
“You had something I could never take from you.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What?””
“An heir.””
The room went silent.
Derrick continued.
“You spent your whole life building something. Money. Influence. Power.””
He looked at Malik.
“And all it took was one child to make you vulnerable.””
Malik’s voice became dangerous.
“Choose your next words carefully.””
Derrick ignored him.
“The funny thing is, I almost succeeded.””
My mother’s face changed.
“Almost?””
Derrick looked at her.
“Yes.””
The way he said it made my blood freeze.
“You survived the fire.””
A pause.
“But you made one mistake.””
“What?””
“You kept the child.””
I felt Malik move.
Like he was about to attack.
Security stepped closer.
But Renee grabbed his arm.
“No.””
Malik looked at her.
She shook her head.
“He wants you angry.””
Derrick smiled.
“She always was the smart one.””
My mother stared at him.
“You were never going to let us live.””
“No.””
The honesty was terrifying.
“I was never going to let Malik have a family.””
The words hit harder than any threat.
Because this wasn’t about business.
It was personal.
Derrick had spent years trying to destroy something he couldn’t have.
Love.
Family.
A life.
Then suddenly, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
A small smile appeared.
“What?””
He listened.
Then looked at Malik.
“You might want to answer yours.””
Malik’s phone rang immediately.
He picked it up.
The person on the other end spoke quickly.
I watched his face change.
“What happened?””
A pause.
Then:
“Get Zion out of there.””
My heart stopped.
“Zion?””
Malik looked at Derrick.
Derrick smiled.
And that smile told me everything.
The attack wasn’t here.
It was never here.
He wanted us distracted.
He wanted us all in one place.
While someone else went after the baby.
My brother.
Malik’s voice became ice.
“If anything happens to my son…”
Derrick interrupted.
“You see?””
He smiled.
“That’s exactly what I mean.””
Malik stared at him.
“You made yourself weak.””
Malik stepped closer.
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
“You made the mistake of thinking love makes me weak.””
For the first time, Derrick’s expression changed.
Because he realized something.
He hadn’t created a weakness.
He had created a reason.
May you like
And Malik Drayton was no longer fighting for himself.
He was fighting for all of us.
