Chapter 25: RAYA - A Street King's Widow

My mornings were the same since Ryleigh was in school. I would get up and get her dressed, fix her something to eat, and drop her off. Then I would bring my ass back and try to search for a job. Because I didn’t have experience in the jobs that I wanted, no one would hire me. I refused to take my ass and be anyone’s waitress or cashier. Not after carrying Rah’s fucking baby for nine months. After I put applications in, I would start cleaning up for the day. Ryleigh’s room was always the messiest because she would have dolls and toys everywhere. The place wasn’t decorated the way I wanted, but at least it looked like somebody actually lived here. If someone was to come over, they would think I had my shit together. That was the point. Nobody needed to know I had been moving money around every month trying to make it stretch.

The house was more expensive than I thought once everything started hitting at the same time. Mortgage, lights, water, internet, lawn service, groceries, Ryleigh’s school, my car, insurance, and all the other little shit that didn’t sound like much until it piled up. The monthly money Rah left for Ryleigh was more than enough had I stayed my ass at the condo. It just wasn’t enough to live the way I wanted to when I first heard the numbers that day at the reading. I had one bad assumption. Shit, I had a few. The biggest one was thinking that trust was somehow going to become accessible once I did the test. I thought that shit was going to unlock the millions. Instead, I got told the trust was strictly Ryleigh’s when she came of age. The shit made no fucking sense to me.

I was at the island and going through the mail. Most of it was junk. Then there was a thick envelope with my name on it. I almost threw it away.

“What the fuck is this?”

I opened it right away. By the time I got to the second paragraph, my stomach dropped to my ass. Notice of Default and Demand for Payment hit my ass as I sat there and read it over and over again. Then the last line: potential foreclosure proceedings if the past-due balance isn’t resolved. I stared at the paper like maybe reading it again would make the fucking words change.

“Are you fucking serious right now? I don’t need this right now.”

I flipped the page, and the amount I owed wasn’t impossible, but it was enough to fuck me up. I had been behind and I knew it. I was sending in partial payments, thinking it would give me more time. Apparently, the bank did not care about my assumptions. I snatched my phone up and opened my banking app. The number sitting there looked even worse after seeing the amount on the notice. I could pay some of it. I could probably borrow a little something from Kam, but I already knew what she was going to say. She had been telling me to get a job or downgrade. All the responsible shit I didn’t want to hear. I looked around the kitchen and immediately got pissed. The house was supposed to be proof that I could give my daughter the same kind of life everybody else in Rah’s family had. Averie and Kyenna had nice shit. The Kings had houses lined up behind that damn gate like they lived in their own city. And here the fuck I was getting letters threatening to take mine. I grabbed the notice and went straight to my contacts. Lloyd answered after a few rings.

“Good afternoon, Raya. Is everything okay?”

“I need you to tell me how I can get money released from Ryleigh’s trust.”

“You can’t. I thought I explained that,” he said.

“I’m not asking if I can just go take money out for shopping. I have something serious going on, and I need more money.”

“What is the situation?”

“I’m behind on the house.”

“The condo? I thought Rah had paid that off.”

“No, I moved. I’m sure I told you that.”

I could hear clicking on his computer. “No, I wasn’t aware. How far behind are you?”

“That’s not the point.”

“It is if you’re asking whether the trust can cover an expense.”

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the paperwork.

“They sent me some foreclosure bullshit.”

“Raya, the trust was not created to maintain a lifestyle you personally cannot afford. It exists for Ryleigh’s long-term benefit.”

“She lives here, nigga. How the fuck is housing not for her benefit?”

“That’s the thing, housing is included in the monthly stipend you receive. The trust could assist depending on circumstances, but that doesn’t mean the trust automatically pays your mortgage because you purchased a home beyond your budget.”

“Beyond my budget? You don’t even know what my budget is.”

“I know the monthly amount Rah directed for her care. If your mortgage is consuming most of that by itself, then yes, the house is likely beyond what that distribution was intended to support.”

“So basically, I’m supposed to have my daughter living in some cheap ass apartment while she got money sitting somewhere that nobody will let me touch?”

“That is not what I said. Ryleigh has access to housing, education, medical care, and other needs through the structure that Rah created. What she does not have is a trust designed to subsidize every financial decision you make.”

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I paced the floor.

“Who the fuck decides what counts?”

“The trustee and the estate structure.”

“Who is the trustee?”

He paused, and that let me know everything I needed to know.

“Kyenna has approval authority over certain distributions connected to the estate.”

I stopped walking. Of course, he made that bitch over our child’s shit. That bitch had her hands in everything.

“So, Kyenna can release the money?”

“She can review requests. That is not the same as giving you unrestricted access.”

“But she can approve it.”

“Raya, listen to what I’m telling you. If you submit documentation showing a legitimate need directly tied to Ryleigh’s welfare, it can be reviewed. That does not mean Kyenna can simply wire you whatever amount you demand.”

“Wow.” I laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just think it’s funny how that bitch somehow ended up controlling every damn thing Rah left.”

“This is not personal. Usually, the spouse gets a say so.”

“Oh, this shit is personal.”

“It really isn’t. She inherited according to his wishes.”

“Yeah, and everybody keeps hiding behind what Rah wanted like he was some muthafuckin’ saint.”

“I’ve sat on the phone being professional long enough. Do not call me asking for legal help and then turn the conversation into disrespecting a dead man who made sure his child was provided for.”

I laughed again.

“Submit the paperwork and Kyenna will look over it,” he said.

“I ain’t got time for all that.”

“Looks like you should’ve handled this before it got this far.”

I went quiet for a second because I knew he wasn’t wrong.

“Send me the forms I need,” I said before hanging up.

The nerve of Rah for playing in my face. This shit was embarrassing and now I had to submit paperwork to the same bitch that didn’t like me. Before I knew it, I was pacing again. I wasn’t about to lose this house. Lloyd had sent the forms to my email, so I opened them to look them over. I had to explain my hardship, send proof of arrears, my mortgage statements, and send bank statements. I thought that shit was a little too personal for them to release a small portion of money. I could fill the shit out and wait for Kyenna bitch ass to sit behind a desk and decide if she wanted to approve it or not. I thought of a better idea. I could go to her personally.

I wasn’t about to sit around and wait for someone to approve something for me. I grabbed the foreclosure notice, folded it, and shoved it in my purse. Then I went upstairs and changed into something decent. If Kyenna wanted to play gatekeeper with money that should’ve never been hers to control. I wasn’t filling shit out before I talked to Kyenna. If she wanted all my statements before she released money that belonged to Rah’s daughter, she could look me in my face and tell me why. Royal Flush was only twenty minutes away. I had already called to see if she was in today.