1 Prologue: Where it all Began......

No one's pov: Kassidy is on the lower deck, practicing her dance routine for school. Being in a specialized high school had its perks but also had its pains as well. Like right now....Kass should be enjoying the sun rays instead she's dancing her life away while a party is going on the upper deck! To be clear; Kassidy didn't want to come to this event but her father insisted. Unfortunately they had to bring his girlfriend as well as a tag along. Taking a break from dancing, Kassidy admired her natural beauty in the mirror. Her naturally tanned skin glistened with sweat from a hardcore dance practice. Kassidy was a gorgeous girl with medium length brown hair and chocolate eyes. She stood at 5'3, somewhat petite despite both of her parents being tall. She had curves that complimented her small body. On top of her being an amazing dancer, she was also a straight A student. A girl like Kassidy with the brains, beauty, and talent should be popular, right? Wrong! At school she's shy and an introvert, she has a handful of friends who values her friendship. So at school she wasn't lonely and neither at home. Kassidy isn't an only child for her father. He had three sons before her with his ex-wife who isn't around. If you asked Kass, she'll tell you that she adores her brothers, Jamal and Hakeem, but she can't stand Andre or his dumb blonde wife, Rhonda. To her, they always tote themselves as if they were better than Jamal, Hakeem and Kassidy. She decides to take a quick shower and change into her bikini, so she can go party.

20 minutes later...Kassidy waltzes out of the bathroom while tying her bikini top. She's about to check her phone when somebody comes barreling towards her. "AAAHHH!!! Hakeem! What is wrong with you?!" Kass exclaims.

"HA HA HA HA!! You should see your face! You looked so scared!" He laughed.

"Ugh!" She rolled her eyes and shoved him off the couch.

"Ow! Mean." He pouts.

"That's what you get for scaring me! Now what did you come down here for? Besides giving me a heart attack?" She said.

"Oh! I wasn't looking for nothing. I just wanted to know where'd you disappear to?" Hakeem shrugs.

"I was dancing my ass off to my ballet routine for school. Like your father told me to." She reminds him.

"Oh yeah! Why is Dad making you practice so much? Especially since we're having a party...on a yacht." Hakeem points out.

His sister shrugs. "Look I don't know and I don't care. As long as I get home and he sees this routine and it's perfect. I'm straight to head to Savannah and Sierra's house this weekend."

"He's doing too much, like I know he wants us to be the best but we are tired. We need to relax and chill out." Hakeem complains.

"Why are you complaining? You've been 'chilling out' for days. Don't you have to head back into the studio tomorrow?" She asked him.

"Ugh! Yeah." He groans. Kassidy spies the drink in his hand and takes it. "Hey!" He protested.

"The last thing we need is: you being so hungover tomorrow that you yak all over Daddy's freshly cleaned carpet....again. I'm doing you a favor." She told him. He pouts but allows his sister to throw out the drink.

"If I can't drink then what am I gon' do?" He asked. Kassidy gives him a smile and opens the door. Music wafted up from another room down the hall.

"Mal!" Hakeem exclaimed happily. The two smile and run down the hall and into the room where their favorite brother is playing the piano. Kassidy takes a seat and lets the boys do their thing.....

Hakeem (rapping): Empire state of mind

Let's go!

Jamal: Things are lookin' up, I'm ready for the night

I feel good, real good, can't nobody hold me down

Gonna take advantage of all these flashin' lights

Cause it's the best time the best time for it

We can do it all right now

Can't nobody tie me down

If you want it, I got it

Tomorrow's not promised

So live inside the moment

Tell me, what are we waiting for?

"Look at 'em. Your brothers are showing off again." Rhonda said. She's Andre's wife.

"That's what they do, babe." Andre sighs.

He envies his younger brothers for their musical abilities. He envies his little sister, because she was their father's precious one. Her and Hakeem were Lucious' babies. It also didn't help that Lucious could relate to Jamal on some level because of their love for music. Andre always felt left out. Like the odd one of the family. The other three gelled so well together. Which made Andre even more jealous of their bond.

Jamal: I wanna live inside the moment

Hakeem (rapping): Yo, Ma

Yo, when I was five years old

I realized there was a road at the end

Pretty girls, cars, and big Rolls

Gold and platinum plaques, a couple million sold....

"Surprised Hakeem is performing now. He likes to save it for when Dad's around. Let's go find Dad." Andre says to Rhonda. They leave and go to find the head Lyon.

The next day.....Kassidy walks downstairs to find her favorite brothers in the dining room.

Kassidy........

"Hi, boys! What's up?" She greets them, taking a seat at the dining table. Rita the maid, comes in with breakfast for the littlest Lyon: a plate of freshly baked breakfast pastries and a cup of hot cocoa along with a plate of fresh fruit.

"Thank you, Rita." She thanked her. "Hakeem Lyon, get your feet off of the table before Dad comes in here hollering." She warns him.

"He'll be alright. My shoes are brand new." Hakeem said.

"Yeah but you were outside fool. He gon' be pissed." Jamal said. Hakeem brushes them off. They shake their heads at their brother's stubbornness.

"Jamal, did you bring it?" Kassy asked him.

"Oh yeah!" Jamal said, he hands over an iPhone to Kassidy. She has two phones, her iPhone 6s in gold that her parents paid for and the second iPhone 6s in space gray that Jamal paid for. She stuck her second phone in her purse. Hakeem and Jamal shared a curious look. They didn't understand why she needed two phones or why she didn't want her parents to know about it.

"So did Andre give a proper reason on why he was a no show at dinner?" Kassy asks Jamal.

"No he didn't." Jamal said.

"Cause there ain't no reason why he skipped dinner, Mal!" Hakeem interjects. Jamal and his boyfriend, hosted dinner for the siblings last week. Both Hakeem and Kassidy made an appearance while Andre was a no show. Rita walks in with a plate of vegetables and hummus.

"Who the hell eats hummus?" Kassidy asked.

"Not me. Probably Frankenstein." Hakeem sneers.

"Stop it." Jamal scolds him while Kassidy snorts a laugh.

Hakeem rolls eyes before eyeing his sister's plate. "Kassy, can I have some of your food?" Hakeem asked nicely.

"No! You have a chef at home! Why didn't you have them cook you breakfast before you came over?" She questioned him.

"Because it slipped my mind. C'mon Kassidy! You have a whole plate of pastries and fruit. Let me have something." Hakeem huffs irritatedly.

"No and that's my final answer." She said sternly.

"But KaSsIdY!!!! Please!!" Hakeem begs.

Kassidy rolls her eyes. "Go get a fork. You get on my nerves with that shit!" She hisses. He smiles and runs to get a fork from the kitchen.

"Y'all are some children." Jamal said, chuckling.

"Not me. He's the child. Hurry yo' ass on, Hakeem!!!" Kassidy protests. Hakeem runs into the dining room and starts taking his portion from his little sister's plate. A conversation starts up and the three are so engrossed in it that they pay Andre no mind when he breezes in shortly after.

"Thank you for the hummus, Rita. Good day everyone." He thanked the maid before greeting his brothers and sister.

Rita walked in with napkins for Hakeem. "Who're the napkins for?" Hakeem asks.

"You, dummy! You eat like a child!" Jamal snorted. Keem flips him off which makes him and Kassidy laugh.

"Uh...hello? I am not invisible." Andre growls.

"Y'all hear something? 'Cause I don't." Kassidy sneers.

"You think you're cute huh, little sister." Andre said testily.

"I know I'm cute, big brother." Kass claps back. He shakes his head before taking a seat at the head of the table.

"Jamal, how's that friend of yours?" He asked him.

"Good. Why did you flake on dinner last Tuesday?" Jamal wants to know.

"Schedule was crazy." Andre lies.

"You know damn well you didn't forget." Hakeem interjected.

"Don't believe him, Mal. He's a bold faced liar. He just didn't want to come." Kassidy told him.

"I'm not lying!" Andre objects.

"Then why didn't you show up?" Hakeem questions him.

"I forgot." He insisted.

"Look, I'm just saying, if you didn't want to come then you should've called to give me a heads up. We cooked and everything for you guys. That was so rude." Jamal told him.

Before Andre could defend himself, their father, the legend himself, Lucious Lyon waltzes in. "I'm glad you all are here and get your big ass feet off my $40,000 table. We eat there!" Lucious said. He slaps Hakeem's feet with the newspaper in his hand. Hakeem takes his feet down. "Now why can I hear y'all from all the way upstairs?" He asked his children.

"Your son's a liar." Kassidy shrugged. Lucious looks at Andre, wanting to know what she's talking about.

"She's being dramatic as always, Pop. I'm not lying and I'm not going to defend my actions to a child." Andre snaps at her.

"A child who can and will whoop your ass in a heartbeat." Kassidy said with a sickeningly sweet smile. Andre's eyes narrow at her.

"Alright, both of you. Cut it out! Andre, stop provoking your sister. Kassidy, watch your mouth and stop threatening your brother." Lucious orders. "Now the reason why I called your brothers is because Andre and I have been working hard to turn Empire into a publicly traded company. Now part of us going public means ensuring a legacy for this company, and right now it seems none of you are prepared to take over after I'm gone." He told Jamal and Hakeem.

"What do you mean, 'when you're gone?'" Kassidy demands to know.

"Relax Kassy, I'm not going anywhere. Anytime soon." Lucious assures her. He knows she hates it when he talks about potentially dying.

"What is this, we King Lear now?" Mal jokes.

"Call it what you want smart ass, but over the next several months..." Lucious starts before being interrupted by Andre.

"Wait, wait! What are you saying? We're all in competition to be future head of the company?" Andre asks, trying to clarify.

"In order for it to survive, I need one of you Negroes to man up and lead it and nothing or no one is going to tear it down, hear me?" Lucious told the boys.

"Well this is not my cup of tea. I'm leaving." Kassidy announced. She grabs her purse and shades.

"Where you think you going? You have practice!" Lucious reminds her.

"Uh....no I don't. Today's my day off, ciao." Kassidy smirks, walking out the door. "Have fun tearing each other apart. I'll be cheering from the sidelines."

"KASSIDY!!! KASSIDY MELODY!!!" Lucious calls for her but she ignores him. She leaves the house and slam the door behind her. Once she's out, she dials up her man.

"Hey babe, I'm outta that hellhole. You on your way? Perfect. We got work to do before Lucious goes public with the Empire..." Kassidy says seriously. Time for this ballerina to clock in with her second life.