by Miss KP
“Really? Now isn’t that something. I know that Rich never got it right with Juan, but he has a weakness for girls. To not be there for Carlie concerns me a great deal. What’s going on with him? Do you think it’s about Carlos?” Uncle Renzo stared at her with great concern.
At that moment, I decided to interrupt them because I could definitely see my mother getting emotional. “You know how Rich is. Lately he’s just been on edge and mad at the world. He’s always been selfish, only caring about himself. This isn’t anything new for us Unc. This has been the life we’ve always known since I can remember.”
Taking a look at my mother, her eyes were wtery and she was about to tear up. It scared me that she could put us all at risk.
“Lisa, why don’t we go and get some lunch before I head out of town?” Uncle Renzo suggested. From that question, I knew he was suspicious.
“Umm, well…”
“Ma, why don’t you go on upstairs and get some rest. You’ve had a rough morning,” I quickly intervened.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” my mother replied then looked back at the two men. “I’m sorry you guys. Renzo, maybe we can do lunch another time.”
“Okay Lisa, take care of yourself,” he replied. We all watched her go upstairs before Uncle Renzo continued. “Juan, we need to head out. We have some business to take care of before we leave, but I’ll be in touch. My only project for you right now is to help me find Carlos’ killer. Once you’ve accomplished that, then I can trust you and we can move on to making you real dollars.”
“I hear you loud and clear, a hundred percent.”
As I walked them out, I noticed my mother at the top of the stairs.
“By Renzo, I’m sorry about Carlos,” she said with a tissue in her hand.
“Lisa, it was nice seeing you. Call me anytime,” Uncle Renzo responded.
“See y’all later,” I replied before closing the door. When I looked up at my mother, I was ready to go off on her. What was the point of Rich killing Jade if my mother was going to be the one to let the cat out of the fucking bag?
“Ma, have you lost your mind? All I’ve asked you to do was be easy and keep it together. Anytime someone mentions Carlos’ name, you fall apart. I’m tired of it!”
“Juan, you will never understand my guilt for why Carlos isn’t here anymore. I know Rich killed him, but it’s my fault he’s dead. I was persistent that night. Carlos told me he had business to take care of, but I just had to see him. I should’ve waited to see him the next day. That’s what he wanted.”
“Ma, he’s dead. Get over it. You can’t keep blaming yourself. You didn’t pull the trigger. Move on with your life. This shit is getting on my fucking nerves!”
The angrier I got, the more I raised my voice at my mother letting her know how disappointed I was. Suddenly, I was interrupted by the call I’d been waiting on since yesterday. It was the Feds. My mind began to wonder. Had they been tailing me when I followed Jade that day? Did they know she was dead? My mind raced as the phone rang for the third time. I knew I had to answer.
“Hello, this is Juan.”
“Hey Juan, this is Agent Patterson, how are you?”
“I’m good.”
“Well, I’m calling because we need to have a status meeting. Can you meet with us around three p.m. today?”
I was hesitant for a second. “Yeah.”
“I’ll text you the location around two. Does that work?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
As soon as I hung up, the doorbell rang. Who the fuck can that be, I thought to myself as I walked toward the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s your Uncle.”
My eyes became two sizes bigger and my heart rate increased as I slowly opened the door. I was puzzled why Uncle Renzo was back.
“I forgot my cell phone in the living room,” he stated.
“Oh, okay I’ll grab it for you,” I said, nervous as hell. I wondered how long he was at the door and how much of my conversation he heard with my mother. “Here you go, Unc.” I handed him the phone. I tried my best not to let him see how edgy I was.
“Thanks, Juan. We’ll be in touch.”
“No problem. Have a safe flight back home.”
When he finally left, my stomach couldn’t stop doing flips. The Feds stressing me because I wasn’t giving them evidence against Rich fast enough was only the start of my problems. Now, I wondered if they knew about Jade. I risked being in deeper trouble with them if they were following me or Rich. I had no idea what the meeting was about, and hoped like hell it wasn’t more bad news.
At that moment, I started to ask myself if it was worth being in business with Uncle Renzo, especially with the fact that I knew what happened to Carlos. All this shit was starting to drive me crazy. I picked up my keys off the table in the foyer and told my mother I had to go. I needed some air.
*****
While I drove to meet up with Agent Patterson, my anxiety started to kick into overdrive. The more I thought about meeting those pigs, the more my mind wanted to be done with this situation. All these years I’d been able to get through different types of situations in the streets, but now that I’d officially become a snitch, my choice of being in the game was obviously a bad idea. When the Feds came to me and offered me a deal when I got locked up, my first reaction was for them to get the fuck away from me with that hot shit. I’d never been a snitch and was raised with the motto snitches got stitches. My get out of jail free card for me to become an informant and take Rich down was absolutely ludicrous.
Howevere mor my mother slipped away and needed me to be there for her, the more I knew I had to do what I had to do. When I think back on it, my break down was when I found out she had started using drugs. On top of that blow, my lawyer let me know that I was facing five to twenty years. It really killed me that I went against everything I believed in to be turned out by the Feds, but my mother needed me. I wasn’t about to leave her and let Rich be on top. It was time for his ass to go down.
As I pulled up and paid for parking, I couldn’t believe those bastards wanted to meet them at the National Zoo. It was cold as hell outside. Who the hell went to the zoo in the winter? But I guess that was the idea of it. I’d even made sure I drove my low key Nissan Maxima to the meeting. Once I saw Agent Patterson walking toward my car, butterflies instantly filled my stomach. He was a middle aged white man, probably in his late forties with freckles spread across his nose. Usually he was dressed in a suit and a trench coat, but today he was in sweats with a Patagonia ski coat. I unlocked the door and he got in. Maybe that’s how they dressed for snitch meetings.
“Well hello, Mr. Sanchez. How are you feeling today?”
This muthafucka acting like I’m on a job interview or something, I thought. “I’m good, what’s up?”
“Well, this investigation isn’t going as fast as we intended and my superiors feel that you’re dragging your feet with getting information on your father. You remember our agreement, right?”
“Yeah, but I can’t give you information that I don’t have,” I shot back.
“We need to gather some evidence or you’re gonna have to wear a wire.”
I looked at his ass like he was on crack. “Man, I told y’all before that I wasn’t wearing no fucking wire. That was part of the deal as well, am I correct?”
“Now Juan, don’t get snippy with me buddy. We need to close this case before the end of the year. And if not, then, well there will be consequences. Now, I have a couple of questions for you. Have you seen Rich involved in any transactions since we last met?”
“To be honest, Rich is broke and hasn’t really been doing much lately. I think he lost his connect or something, and to sum it all up, he’s been quite distant.”
“Has he been to Baltimore lately?”
My heart sunk in my stomach. Did they know about Jade?
“Juan, has your father been to Baltimore?” the agent repeated.
“Umm, not that I k
now of. Look, Agent Patterson, I’ll do my best at trying to get Rich to give me something within the next two weeks.”
“You better. We’re counting on you. If you want to be on the streets, then you need to get us Rich. Are we clear?”
I nodded and he smiled as he got out of the car without a care in the world for my feelings. He didn’t care that he was asking me to hand my father over to them like he was some random nigga in the street. After all that shit, I needed a drink. And fast.
Chapter Sixteen
LISA
I walked into the courtroom two minutes before ten. Surprisingly, Rich and his lawyer were already there. He smiled like he had one up on me, which made me hate his ass even more. I tried to take my mind off of the inevitable, but within minutes I knew I would be humiliated when the test results were announced. Why Rich would expose my affair after all that I’d been through with him? He was lucky that I wanted to protect my son, because if not I would’ve exposed his worthless-ass to Renzo a long time ago.
Trying again to maintain my composure, I sat beside my lawyer as I prepared for one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. With my emerald green Diane Von Furstenberg silk blouse and BCBG pencil skirt, I even tried to dress as tasteful as possible so that the judge wouldn’t think I was some type of slut or hoochie. At least when I was exposed, my appearance would be as professional as possible.
Five minutes later, the judge walked in the courtroom with a manila envelope in hand. Shit, that’s probably the test results, I thought to myself.
“All rise,” the bailiff announced just before the judge took her seat.
“Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez, I have made my decision on your divorce and I would just like to say that I’m very disappointed at the time that was wasted.”
Glancing over at Rich, I was about to throw my pen at him from the way he taunted me. His ass was having a field day smiling and nudging his lawyer as this was all a joke. The judge was also annoyed with Rich’s immaturity and started directing her attention to his behavior.
“Mr. Sanchez, I don’t know why you think the welfare of this child is a joke. Is it something that you find funny?”
“Not at all, Your Honor. Not at all,” Rich responded.
“You know what, I’m not gonna waist any more time on this. Before I go any further, counselors, do either of you have any more you want to add before I rule and reveal the DNA results of Carlie Sanchez?”
“No, Your Honor,” they both said as she pulled the results out of the envelope.
“The DNA test results that I have before me states that Juan Michael Sanchez Sr. is the father of Carlie Gabrielle Sanchez with a paternity match of 99.5%.”
The entire courtroom was filled with silence before Rich yelled out. “How the fuck is that possible? That baby can’t be mine. Lisa was cheatin’! She cheated wit’ my own damn brother!” He stood up like we were on the Maury Povich show. “There’s gotta be a mistake!”
“Oh my goodness, he can’t be my baby’s father,” I whispered in a state of shock.
“Order! Order! Mr. Sanchez, you have worked my last nerve and if you even think that you’re going to disrespect my courtroom again then you’re sadly mistaken. One more outburst and you’re going to find yourself in lock up. I don’t have a problem with holding you in contempt. Have I made myself clear?” the judge asked.
Rich nodded his head. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Sanchez, I’m ordering you to pay Mrs. Sanchez $1,400 a month in child support and $1,000 in spousal support. You will also be responsible for any medical care that the child is receiving now and in the future.”
I was still in a state of shock and stared into space as the judge continued.
“Now, as far as assets go, Mrs. Sanchez you will remain at your current residence. I’m granting you sole ownership over that home. You will be responsible for all financial obligations. As far as the businesses are concerned, I’m granting all retail businesses to Mrs. Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez, since you have contracts on both establishments, and since you thought it was smart to try and close before I ruled, the funds from those sales will go directly to Mrs. Sanchez as well. I’ll allow you to remain owner of your bar, Bottoms Up.” The judge went on and on, but I couldn’t seem to get pass her first announcement.
“Your Honor, may I say somethin’?” Rich asked.
“What do you have to say Mr. Sanchez, because I’m so tired of your shananigans?”
“Since I just learned that Carlie is my daughter, is it possible for you to discuss custody. Lisa has a drug problem and I don’t want my child growin’ up in that environment.”
I looked at him like he was the devil. “What? You will never get custody of my fucking daughter!” I yelled.
The judge banged her gavel twice. “Mr. Sanchez, you’ve waisted enough of the court’s time and money. You didn’t even want anything to do with this child at first and now you want custody. Save the games for the playground. What I will do is honor you visitation. You’re able to visit the baby while she’s in the hospital, but only under supervision of hospital staff or Mrs. Sanchez. Once she’s home, you can have visitation on weekends for the first three months. After that we can review granting joint custody as long as there’s no sign of abuse or neglect. Do you have any objections, Mrs. Sanchez? Mrs. Sanchez.”
“Yes, I do. Iy chit ever want him to see my baby,” I quickly answered.
“Well, I’m afraid it’s his baby too, Mrs. Sanchez so it’s no way of getting around that. I’m sure you all will be able to work something out,” the judge said. “Your divorce is final. Court is adjourned.”
I was in complete shock when I heard her bang the gavel again.
“Oh my goodness, Lisa aren’t you happy?” my lawyer asked happily, ready to celebrate. “The divorce is finally over. All the nonsense is over.”
“No it’s not, it just begun,” I said as I walked out of the courtroom in a hurry.
“Bitch, I’ma get my daughter from your coke head ass! You think you gonna leave me with nothing and it’s gonna be all good!” Rich blurted out.
Not giving a damn about anything he had to say, I made my way out of the courtroom. It was a must that I got out of there before I threw up. I felt faint…nauseous and needed some air. What do I do now, I thought to myself. I couldn’t believe Carlie wasn’t Carlos’ daughter. As thoughts of how this could’ve happened, suddenly it hit me. The day Rich came into the house and raped me had to be the day I’d conceived. I couldn’t believe it. Tears began to well up in my eyes as I stormed out of the court building.
When I finally made it to my car, I quickly got in and peeled out of the parking garage. I had no idea where I was going, and didn’t care as long as it was far away from downtown D.C. Times like this I needed a friend; someone to talk to; someone who was willing to listen to my problems. As bad as I wanted to call Cornell, I quickly decided against it. It was too soon for me to bring any drama into the equation, so I decided to call my hair stylist Jermaine. He always had a way of cheering me up. Even though he didn’t know all I was going through, at least he always found a way to make me laugh somehow. Just as I picked up the phone to call him, I had an incoming call. It was Juan.
“Hello.”
“Rich just called me. Is what he said the truth?”
I let out a huge sigh. “I guess. That’s what the results said.”
“Well, now maybe you can put this whole Carlos thing behind you. Carlie was what made it hard for you, Ma. Now, maybe you can let all that go.”
“Juan, I gotta go.” I wasn’t in the mood for another one of his Carlos lecturing sessions.
“Hold up. Where are you?”
“I’m driving. You don’t understand, Juan. I gotta go.”
“Ma, maybe this is a good thing. You know how I feel about Rich, but now with Carlie not being Carlos’ baby, it’s less of a chance that Uncle Renzo will find out about your affair with him. We’re closer to being in the clear with his death.”
>
“Juan, I don’t give a fuck about none of that shit right now, okay? All that was peaceful in my life has just been turned upside down and you think that I’m worried about Renzo. Fuck him!” I yelled as I hung up. I didn’t know how I felt about it all. All the feelings I had were all a lie.
My emotions were a mess and I felt numb. Minutes later, I pulled up around 4th Street and as soon as I turned around, my supplier Black Moe walked up. By the look in my eyes he knew what I came for. I needed to slip away from my problems.
“What’s up pretty lady? I ain’t seen you in a while. Where you been?”
“Around.”
He smiled. “You need something?”
“Yeah, I’m going through some things,” I said, wiping my runny nose with my left hand.
After we did business, I pulled into a nearby parking lot and got straight to it. Pulling out my compact mirror along with the rest of my tools from my handbag, I took a line and instantly felt like I was on cloud nine. By the time I did the second line, all my problems had seemed to disappear. Laying back on the seat, I closed my eyes as the drugs took effect. At that moment, I could care less who Carlie’s father was. All I wanted was another hit.
*****
An hour later, I drove around until I found myself at Holy Cross Hospital. The more I thought back to Carlie’s birth, the more I thought about how much she really did look like Rich. Had I been in denial this whole time, I asked myself? As I got out of the car and made my way inside the hospital, I kept shaking my head over and over. Even though I was still a bit high, I had to see my daughter. I had to look at her to confirm that she really was Rich’s daughter.
“Fuck that DNA shit,” I said, just before peering at Carlie through the NICU glass.
“Hi, Mrs. Sanchez,” one of the younger nurses greeted me.
“It’s Ms. Sanchez,” I corrected her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I can get you set up for your visit in your private room, Nurse Brooks is off today. My name is Tanya and I’m one of the NICU nurses on duty. Nurse Brooks told me that if you came by today to take great care of you.”
