Page 1 of Welcome to the Table
Chapter 1
Calliope Black
10 YEARS AGO
“You already know what you gotta do to protect the family.” My father’s voice rang in my head like bells. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t.
The abandoned warehouse in Uptown New Orleans was where we were standing. I was sixteen years old, and he snatched me out of my bed without my mother’s knowledge for his own personal reasons, and now I knew why. There were eight of his men in every corner of the house with rifles and the drum, ready to kill. This was a first for me, but I never displayed fear. That was taught by Melph, my father. In the middle of the room, there were three badly beaten people: two men and a woman. I could smell the fear in their souls, and I was drawn to it.
Blood leaked from their bodies and seeped down the drain that was built into the floor beneath us. Their cries could be heard, but not from the outside because the warehouse was soundproof. My father made sure of that when he bought the place. Skin was damn near falling off the bone from Melphstinging their bodies with a leather whip. Their cries fell on deaf ears. I had long ago tuned the shit out. I wiped the sleep from my eyes as I watched them hang upside down and scream for their lives.
“Do you know why the fuck you all are here?” Melph stepped up after putting the whip down. His eyes calmly scanned the three bodies.
“I told you that I would have your money. There was no need to bring my wife into this shit.” Blood spewed from his mouth as his face swelled. It would explode at any minute. Melph ignored that shit.
My eyes looked at the chains that cut through their skin, almost severing their limbs. Their ankles were barely hanging on by the chains that were wrapped around their bodies. Shit looked like a scene from a horror movie.
“You brought yo’ fucking family into this shit when you decided to not pay me my fucking money. You thought I wouldn’t figure this shit out? Don’t shit move without my permission or without me knowing, good or bad, but this shit is too much fucking talking. Clearly, you ain’t got my fucking money, and we all know what the fuck that means,” he said and walked back over to his surgery table.
Melph was a calm man and always held his composure. He was a man of power and stature. He never displayed emotion unless it was to my mother, which was rare. He scratched his head as he stood in front of his surgery table, like he was trying to figure out what tool he would use to finish the deed. He couldn’t see it, but I was about to piss my pants because this was a first. He decided on his baby power saw, and I knew it was about to be a blood bath. He snapped his fingers.
“Suit,” he directed to one of his men, and he walked over with his garments to put on. Gloves, overalls, and boots. Heput the shit on my father without him moving. Then, he walked back over to the body. Melph smiled as the man screamed.
“Imma ask you one more fucking time. Where is my money? You gon’ die anyway, but I still need that from you.” He clicked the button, and the power saw roared to life.
I almost jumped out of my skin.
“Please, man, don’t kill us. My wife is pregnant. I can give you the combination to the safe, but please don’t kill us.” The man’s speech was slurred.
My eyes got big because I didn’t know his wife was pregnant. Melph was breaking his golden rule: never kill kids and women. He always said they were innocent and didn’t deserve their lives to be taken because it wasn’t their debt to be paid.
“Nigga, I know all about that, but I don’t give a fuck about nothing but my money. You should have thought about that when you thought about playing with it. All bets are fucking off.” Melph was cool as a cucumber. He walked over to the man and brought the machete down on his right leg, cutting through the skin. Blood splattered everywhere as the man screamed.
“That’s not what the fuck I asked you.” He cut the other leg off, and it fell with a thud to the floor. The man was in and out of consciousness by then as his head fell back in agony.
“In my pocket is the address and combination to where your money is. Please don’t kill my wife.” His breaths were labored, and Melph nodded his head for me to get the paper out of his pocket.
I was hesitant at first, but he didn’t notice it. I grabbed the paper, and one of his hitters took it from my hand.
“You’re right. I will not kill your pregnant wife,” Melph told him, and I saw almost instant relief in his eyes. “But she will be killed.” With that, he shot two to his dome and went to the nextman. One shot to the other man’s dome, and they were both done.
The woman’s screams could be heard throughout the area because she was the only one left. Her belly protruded through the thin white gown she had on. I stood there, taking the entire scene in, processing it in my mind because the shit looked like a fucking slaughterhouse. Melph turned to me and nodded his head toward the hanging woman.
“You know what you gotta do, and hurry up so we can get back home,” he told me, but I was confused.
I knew some of what my father did. I wasn’t blind to it, but he always had one rule that I would never forget?no women and kids. They were off limits. When the fuck did that change? I didn’t question it. I pulled my gun from my back and aimed it at the woman. My father nodded. I emptied my clip into the lady. Blood matter splashed all over my face, and I wasn’t ready for that. The stickiness and warmth of the blood and brain tissue. I watched as the men put their guns down and walked over with black gloves on and let the bodies fall to the ground. They began to dispose of them like they were trash and not human beings. They gathered the thick black bags. That shit haunted me every time I closed my eyes.
I hated to relive my first kill, but a lot followed. Panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, I even hated to touch and show love toward the people I cared about. In my younger years, I would mop and clean the floors in the fucking house, although we had maids. All I saw was blood, and it made me mop harder. Melph had broken his golden rule, and that night was when all trust that I had in him vanished.
After school, I would spend my time cleaning the house until I went to college. I even kept my dorm room spotless until it became too much, and my father came and got me. I graduated with my master's in cybersecurity and business administration.My mind was too fucked up to pledge, and I didn’t fuck with anyone while I was at LSU. I did my work, and that was it. I fucked a few bitches, but only one held my heart.
I jumped in my sleep as I felt some shit crawling on my skin. Knots formed in my chest; anxiety had my mind running wild because I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. I blinked my eyes several times before I realized where the fuck I was. My eyes focused on my mirrored ceiling, and I noticed two bitches on each of my arms with their hair falling all over. I knew I wasn’t in my private home, but my penthouse that I had purchased in the Lower Garden District. I didn’t know how I got there and who the fuck these bitches were.
I jumped to my feet. They slowly started to move, and I pulled the covers from their bodies. My mind was fucked up, and I didn’t remember where the fuck they came from. I knew I had gone to Club Dreams with my brother, Hellcat, and this had his name written all over it. He was the only nigga who would pull some shit like that. The nigga probably put something in my fucking drink and brought these bitches to my penthouse.
I’m the oldest of us two, but I was the more quiet one. I dipped in and out, collecting money where I was needed. I stayed out of my father’s eyesight because we hadn’t had the best relationship since that night ten years ago. He didn’t understand the fucking depth of how that shit traumatized me when I was a young nigga, or he just didn’t give a fuck. He always called me when he needed a little dirty work done. Other than that, I stayed out of the way and in my own lane. My mind went back to the two bitches who were still trying to sleep in my shit.
“Aye, y’all gotta get the fuck outta here.”
