Family Business

Man, Trey was everything to me. My twin. My mirror, my shadow, the other half of me that made life feel lighter, faster, like the court was ours no matter who was watching. State championship. The buzzer sounded. The ball left his hands and the whole gym went crazy like we owned the city. And for fifteen seconds? We did. I remember the way the ball kissed the rim, the roar of the crowd, the taste of victory in my mouth. Trey laughed so loud he nearly fell outta my arms. He said, “We made it, Spazz.” I grinned, thinking he was right. For a second, the world felt like ours.

Two nights later, that world ended.

A car at 2 a.m., three shots, and Trey was gone. Just like that. No warning. No mercy. Just the cold, heavy silence of a funeral that made my chest feel like it was filled with rocks. I walked the line past people paying their respects, shaking hands like everything was normal, pretending the city didn’t feel smaller now.

Ray found me that night. My cousin, my ride-or-die, eyes sharp like he swallowed a storm. “Boss made a call,” he said, low, serious. “They wanted you both gone. But they picked wrong.”

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw a fist through something solid. But I stayed still, listening.

“The boss,” Ray continued, “Marquez… he had a problem with Trey. Said he was a symbol, a threat. That shot? That game? It wasn’t just a win. It was a statement. And he couldn’t have that.”

I let the words sink in, bitter like cheap whiskey. That motherfucker took my brother because of jealousy. Because a kid in high-tops dared to make the city cheer louder than he could control.

Ray put a hand on my shoulder. “We handle it different. We move smart. One by one. Family business, Spazz. You feel me?”

I nodded, though my stomach turned. Family business. Ain’t nothing pretty about it. Ain’t nothing fair. But I felt the fire build in me, slow and steady, like a match lit in the dark. I’d be damned if Trey’s death went unanswered.

We started small. Took out the first lieutenant—quiet, no one saw it coming. Then the driver, then the accountant, people who moved for the boss without thinking twice. Every name we checked off felt heavy, but necessary. You don’t get revenge without cost, and I was learning that fast.

The last one… the boss’s hideout. A house that smelled too clean, curtains too fake. I remember the light through the windows, warm and domestic. Like the world was ordinary, even as my hands shook on the doorknob. He opened the door, calm as ever.

I didn’t hesitate. I gave him the same choice Trey never got. None. And when it was done, I set fire to that house. Flames curling up like the smoke of all my anger and grief. I stood there and watched it burn, feeling the hollow punch of victory. It tasted like ash.

Ray clapped me on the back. “It’s over,” he said.

I shook my head. “Nah… it ain’t over. Not even close. It just got real.”

Family business, I’d learn, never ends. It only moves from one hand to another. And now, it was in mine.