Haywood Millionaire Series: Box Set Books 1-5

by Zi'ere

  We all had gotten comfortable with me caring for the children even when Ced was away from the house conducting business. We had even begun discussing merging into either one of our homes, putting the other on the market to sell or even selling both properties and settling into a brand new home. More than likely I would end up selling my home because it was the smaller of the two but I was not too keen on the idea of living in the same house he and Leslie had once shared. It wouldn’t be long before the need to move our family out of Ced’s home was realized.

  Ced and I had gotten the kids fed and off to bed without incident. We were sitting in the family room both on our ipads looking at potential properties and homes that would be big enough for our family to grow throughout the years. We disagreed on a few things, nothing major but there was one thing that was desired by us both wholeheartedly. We had to have what would be our ‘big house’. We wanted a haven that would stay in our family for generations to come and enough room for our future grandchildren to be spoiled rotten. My man was intent on being out in the thick of it like my parents. I was trying to convince him on city life. I had no desire to live an hour away from a grocery store. Ced’s rebuttal was that I wouldn’t be going to the grocery store in the first place, what difference did it make. The buzzer from the front gate sounded abruptly and the security camera footage popped up onto the television screen. A frail looking, light skinned woman I recognized as Leslie angrily stared into the screen while leaning into the buzzer deliberately. She sat behind the wheel of an older model Tahoe truck.

  “I know damn well she is not trying to cause a scene this time of night! She knows the kids are sleeping!” Ced jumped up from his seat, and marched over to the intercom placed inside the wall.

  “Why is she here Ced?”

  “Don’t worry Baby, I will handle this.” That was the end of his calm and charming voice.

  The next words that came out of his mouth were laced with venom.

  “What the fuck are you doing at my gate on a Wednesday night Leslie? I don’t feel like your bullshit tonight!”

  My eyes bucked at the choice words he had for the mother of his children. I’d never heard Ced use that type of language before.

  “I want to see my gotdamn kids! I don’t care what night of the week it is or how fucking late it is!” Leslie’s choice of words were equally disrespectful.

  “You are not going to keep dropping by whenever you remember you have kids with your trifling ass! We’ve been through this before and I swear you are pushing me to the limit!” Ced’s words were still direct.

  “You think I don’t know you have that rich bitch in there trying to take my place in my kids life? Tell that bitch to have her own kids, because she cannot have mine! I will kill both of you before I let ya’ll live happily ever after with my gotdamn kids!”

  Even though the circus act had only been going on three minutes, I was tired of if already. I stood to my feet and moved closer to the intercom. I intended on letting Ms. Leslie know exactly what the rich bitch thought about her antics. Ced turned to face me and halted me with a hand gesture. I moved back to my seat on the couch and began to put my shoes on. I’d placed one foot out of the room when Ced grabbed my arm. He held a tight grip on me but wasn’t holding me tight enough to hurt me but only to keep me from going out the door.

  “Leslie you have until the count of three to get your ghetto ass from in front of my gate before I shorten your life!”

  “I’m not going anywhere without my gotdamn kids! This shit ends tonight! Ever since you got that bitch my kids don’t want anything to do with me! I’m not going to sit back and take this! You promised me that we would always be a family and that is exactly what we are going to be dammit!”

  Yes, Leslie needed to have her head examined I thought to myself. Surely she did not know exactly who she was dealing with. I had only been what her children needed me to be in her absence. Granted I didn’t know the entire story of why she did not have custody of the children, but it was clear that she had some serious issues. I knew I would not trust her to take care of a pet mouse.

  “One!” Ced spoke into the intercom then turned to me, “baby, I’m not going to let you go outside. Please just go back and sit down while I handle this psycho.”

  “Fuck you Cedric!” Leslie shouted into the box.

  I reclaimed a seat on the couch soaking up all the drama taking place around me. I looked up at the screen to see the truck back away from the gate. Thinking the ordeal was over, I called out to Ced.

  “Oh, this bird has lost her damn mind!” I looked up at Ced’s eyes and followed his gave back to the tv screen. The truck had just slammed into the gates and was now making its way to the house. I felt my neck jerk to do a double take, I could not believe the sight before me. When I turned back to face Ced I only saw his shirt tail as he ran out of the room. “Stay in the house Stephanie, I don’t care what happens do not come outside and I mean it!” He didn’t even hesitate to wait on an answer,

  The security screen switched to the action now taking place on the circular driveway. Leslie jumped out of the truck and went to the back door and pulled out a gas can.

  “You’ve moved that bitch into my house! Nobody will live in my shit but me, I will show you how serious I am since you didn’t believe me when I left!” Leslie spat as she began to pour a clear liquid around the steps and along the front side of the house. Ced never said a word as he ran after her in an attempt to catch her. Eventually he grabbed her by her hair and held on as she still was slanging the liquid all over.

  “You’re about to burn my house down? Your children are in that house asleep and this is what you want to do? You’re going to kill everybody I love?” Ced was talking directly into her ear.

  But his voice was still picked up by the audio recorder on the security system.

  He was obviously not trying to wake the children a thought Leslie obviously didn’t have in her psyche. I saw Leslie bite Ced’s arm and he returned the favor with a blow to her head. That blow was followed by a right hand slap to her face followed by a left hand blow to her stomach. Ced began to consistently land blow after blow to Leslie’s upper body. I was parlayed in my seat.

  “Ohmigod, he is going to kill her!” I jumped to my feet and just as I was about to move out of the room I saw Leslie’s body fall to the ground. Ced hock spat on her body and turned to come back into the house. Even as I heard the front door close I was transfixed with watching Leslie’s body for any signs of movement. After a few silent moments I heard Ced on the phone.

  “I need you and Tony to get out to my house right now! I need some carpet pulled up so you’re going to need the van to haul it away.”

  Suddenly Ced appeared in the doorway of the den. “Baby I’m going to need you to spend the night here. I can go to your house for you and get anything you may need, just make a list for me.”

  “Uh, I have a bag packed in my trunk. I think I have everything that I need in there, let me go get it.” I made a move towards the door when Ced stopped me.

  “Go ahead and get settled upstairs and I will bring it up to you.” He made a move closer to me and the strong smell of gasoline hit me in the face.

  He kissed me on the forehead and moved aside so that I could exit the room. I felt his eyes on me as I climbed the stairs and went into the master bedroom. I was absolutely mortified to ask him what his plan was for Leslie. In the bedroom I turned on the television and changed the output to show the security screens. I stole another glance of the tv screen to see Leslie’s body still on the ground. I sat on the ottoman to take off my shoes. It suddenly hit me that this night would possibly mark last time I would lay eyes on Leslie. I moved into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I took a less than five minute shower and I opened the bathroom door to find my duffle bag sitting just outside the door frame. The bed was empty. I dressed in pj’s and settled under the covers. I turned the tv back on to see Leslie’s body was no longer on the ground. Ced was walk
ing in circles in the driveway in a different set of clothing. I got a chill over my body and the hair stood up on the back of my neck and arms. I knew in my head and heart that Leslie wouldn’t be a problem for anyone else ever. I was marrying a cold killer. Even though I should have been afraid, I wasn’t. Sleep did not come easy or fast, that’s how I was sure Ced never came to bed that night.

  35

  Several weeks later I spent only half a day in the office on Friday. I’d taken off early to prepare for the monthly poker game and family time that would last over a long weekend. All of the budding relationships in the family were still in the honeymoon phases and flowing really well. Because of the closeness of all the couples for the first time ever, my mom was going to sit in on the fun of poker night. I knew that she was really enjoying the new size of her family. She’d tried several times to get me to allow her to cook but I blatantly refused. Not that I was planning to cook, I’d already contacted a chef to whip up the best finger foods known to man. The poker table was pulled to the middle of the floor in my game room and the pool table had been pushed to the side. I’d even purchased a new poker table and chairs to accommodate all of the new players we had.

  After a Sunday dinner at the big house we’d settled on teams for poker night complete with tournament brackets. My parents were especially excited about the comradely of good old fashioned family fun between us all. Couples began to arrive one after the other just as the sun was setting. As usual the group of wealthy, educated, and beautiful people was transparent by our style of dress. Although the attire had not been discussed beforehand each player was stylishly dressed for comfort. I made a note that this was the first gathering all of the women had and none of us had on heels. After hugs and kisses were exchanged as if we hadn’t seen each other in days, each of us traded in cash money for chips. Mom served as the bank and voiced her ignorance of not knowing we actually played for money.

  “Anna, you’re talking about our kids now, you know they like money! They like to make it and spend it! We don’t play for bragging rights baby, ain’t nobody got time for that!” Daddy was eager to school mom on how real we were about poker night.

  “I have stacks of hundred dollar bills with the tape still on them. I count one hundred thousand dollars, everybody got time for that!” My mom moved closer to the tables as she spoke.

  “I hear you Mama Anna, I would’ve joined in the games a long time ago if I knew they were playing for that kind of money!” Ced offered mama a chair, which she declined and moved over to the bar.

  “Anybody want a drink?”

  “I have a bottle of white and red chilling in the wine fridge for you. Your choice Mama, let me know and I will open it for you.” Ced spoke as he handed my mom a wine glass.

  I absolutely adored the way Ced treated my mom.

  “Thanks baby, I think I will do white tonight.”

  After drinks were made per our request, the players got down to business. After the first round was complete we decided take a break and eat before we started the second. Darrell seemed to be having a bad night at his table, I noticed his chips dwindling fast. But between his date, Emani and dad there was a winning streak. At my table Ced and Simone were kicking butts and taking our money. Ced’s knowledge of poker was simply chalked up to the time he’d spent in the streets, he was able to read people to a fault. Simone was a seasoned veteran at poker. Since she had been my roommate in college she’d spent those years getting accustomed to playing with the Haywood kids.

  The games ended with some of our pockets considerably lighter than they were when we came into the room and some heavier. We all hung around talking, drinking, and enjoying each other’s company when the topic came up about how we would spend the rest of the long weekend. I’d stepped away to call the nanny to check on our kids and when I returned the room was noticeably quiet.

  “What’s going on?” The faces of my family looked grim. I knew that whatever was wrong had nothing to do with our kids and since all of my family members were present I had no clue what could be wrong.

  “Baby, I just got a call from the district attorney.” Terrell’s words were calm and did not match the look of anger on his face.

  “Ok, and? You talk to Jack all the time, what does that have to do us?”

  “Leslie’s body was found earlier today. He was calling out of respect for our last name to give us a heads up. They want to bring Ced in for questioning.” Terrell made a move towards me but was sideswiped by dad.

  My head began to spin and I could hear my heart beat. I looked down to see dad’s hands holding my right arm while Darrell held my left. The two were moving me over to the recliner and although I couldn’t hear his words, Ced was looking at me with his lips moving. As I sat in the chair, Ced kneeled in front of me. He took my hands and gathered them into his bigger hands. He kissed my forehead, then cheek, then neck. He held me out so he could look in my face and then embraced me into a tight hug. I was suddenly able to heart his words in my ear.

  “I love you and my kids Steph, I would never do anything to jeopardize the stability of our family. I am going to go to the police station but I promise you have nothing to worry about. I will be back as soon as I can.”

  “Lord have mercy!” I could hear my mom beginning her prayers to herself.

  I could not form words to speak, I was frozen in place. The image of Leslie lying on the ground in front of Ced’s house popped into my head. Images of him striking her over and over flashed. I looked into his eyes for some sign that he was incapable of murdering Leslie, the mother of his children. I did not see a look of ignorance about the circumstances or sorrow in his eyes. Instead I saw arrogant cockiness.

  “Ced, we need to get going before they go to your home or even come here to get you.” Terrell was in high power attorney mode.

  “Ohmigod, my babies!” My hand immediately went to my forehead.

  “I’m going to call Serita and have her bring them here. There is no telling who knows I’m wanted at the police station right now.” Ced stood to his feet and walked out of the room to make the phone call.

  I could hear several mini conversations around me but I could only make out every other word from each person. I bowed my head and placed my face in my palms. Tears were sliding out of my eyes rapidly. I felt as if my world was coming to an end. My fiancé was obviously not completely innocent when it came to whatever had happened to Leslie. Our children had officially lost their birth mother. If nothing else, I was being put at risk of accepting responsibility for children I’d only known a few weeks.

  “THEY DID WHAT? WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN? ARE THEY OKAY? BRING THEM TO STEPHANIE’S HOUSE RIGHT NOW! DON’T TAKE YOUR CAR. TAKE MY CAR, THE KEYS ARE ON THE HOOK IN THE GARAGE AND LEAVE OUT FROM THE REAR EXIT. BE CAREFUL SERITA, PLEASE.” Ced was screaming into the phone and his voice was getting closer to the den.

  “T, I thought you said your district attorney friend was calling as a courtesy? They just raided my house and my children were there! They tore my home up in a matter minutes even after the nanny told them where I was!”

  “That means that they are on their way here next!” Darrell picked up the remote and changed the input to show the outside views of my home.

  “Baby, I am so sorry that all of this is happening right now. I promise I am going to straighten everything out, please don’t be upset. Serita is going to bring the kids here, she says they are very shaken up.” Ced was kneeling in front of me again.

  “Son, we will make sure that everything is okay here. You go make sure this mess is cleared up and finalized today. My daughter and grandchildren will not live a life of confusion!”

  I looked around the room at the faces of those I loved. They showed concern and shock as they tried to comfort me with their stares.

  “Ced, we need to leave now!” Terrell fished his car keys from his pocket and embraced Simone before he waited for Ced to join in.

  “No need to rush now, they’re here.” Carlos nodde
d toward the television screen.

  Sure enough black SWAT tanks had hapharzdly pulled up and were scattered all over my front yard and the street in front of my home. With the number of cars and police men and women unloading from those cars, I wasn’t expecting them to ring the doorbell. Daddy sprinted to make it to the door first, Ced and Terrell were on his heels. John and Carlos were closely behind them.

  36

  Mama sprung to life and commanded that the twins help me to my bedroom while Samantha went to retrieve her medical bag. I declined the physical help and began to leave the room when I saw Ced being lead to a police cruiser in handcuffs. As I walked down the hall all the ladies were quietly on my heels. Once inside the bedroom I sat on the side of the bed. I felt as if I was having an out of body experience as Samantha took my blood pressure. I felt my legs being lifted and my shoes and socks were removed. My shirt was pulled over my head and an oversized night shirt replaced it. Mama took my pants off and went to put the clothing away in the closet. Samantha handed me a small blue pill and a glass of water. Without asking questions I put the pill in my mouth and swallowed it. As I got under the covers all of my girls began to make themselves comfortable in different areas of my bedroom, no one spoke a single word.

  In what seemed like an instant I was being awakened from sleep by movements in my bed. I rolled over to find Chyna and Chloe’ dressed in their night clothes getting settled beside me. I immediately reached out to them, hugged them and kissed their faces.

  “Mom Steph, CJ says he is coming in here to sleep with us when he gets done having a snack.” Chloe’ delivered her brother’s message.

  “Alright baby. Are you two okay?” I looked at the contently as I spoke.

  “I’m okay but I’m really, really scared.” Chyna whimpered.

  “I know that Ms. Serita talked to our daddy but he hasn’t answered any of our calls. He always answers for us.” Chloe’ was truly wise beyond her years.