Chapter 22: I Know You
Mari's voice dropped to a whisper so that no one else but her two best friends would hear her. "So, last night I go talking with my Dad and I asked my dad some more questions about my biological mom and how she died."
"But you said he told you she died while giving birth to you," Emily pointed out.
"Well, yeah. But that wasn't the entire truth. Or let's say I didn't think it was. It especially doesn't make sense how he always has to go out in disguise," Mari said, and Emily nodded in agreement, remembering the first time she had seen Mari's dad without his usual disguise on, during a sleepover.
"Yeah. I've always wondered about that but didn't ask since you didn't seem to know why either and my parents have no clue either," Emily said with a shrug.
"I remember asking my Mom back when we were younger and she said it was because he was hiding from some bad men," Jamal said, and Mari bobbed her head.
"Yeah. Well, it's all connected. He told me she was murdered," Mari whispered.
Silence hung between them.
Emily's eyes widened and she paled a little. "Murdered?"
Mari nodded. "She was pregnant with me when it happened. She was shot severally and there were lots of complication. That's why my eyesight is the way it is."
Jamal's chest tightened. "Did he tell you the details?"
Mari looked down at her hands. "Yeah. The most shocking part? My grandfather—my dad's father— was behind it."