I inhaled, then exhaled so that I could relax a bit. If there was anyone in this group I respected, it was Sonya Douglas. She never contributed to the gossip, though she never backed away from it either. Still, I wanted to hear what she had to say.

Sonya said, "The Bradley's church is on the cusp of great things happening.” She took Rena's hand. "Didn't you just get a five-hundred-thousand dollar grant from the Family First Foundation?"

Rena nodded.

"And what do you think the Family First Foundation would do if this ever became public?" Sonya asked.

Before she could answer, Cecily jumped in, “And let me break it down so that it’s clear for all of us. If it ever became public that your husband was in bed with a man.”

Sonya shot Cecily a look, but she didn’t back down.

Rena sobbed before she muttered, “They’d rescind the grant.” Then, she groaned as if this was her first time thinking about this.

"And all the good work that you and your husband had planned for that money will be gone," Cecily said. "And what would happen to Knotting Hill Missionary Baptist then?” She didn’t give Rena room to respond. “You'd lose members, probably the whole church, really, and everything the two of you have built will go down in flames. And speaking of flames, I already told you what to do with those pictures.”

“Cecily,” Sonya said her name as if she were making her weary. “It may not be that simple.” Turning back to Rena, she said. “Was there a note or anything with those photos?”

I frowned. That was an interesting question. Not something I would have thought about. Why was First Lady Sonya asking her that?

But then, Rena said, “There was a note.”

Gasps filled the space.

She continued, “A note and a demand for fifty-thousand dollars.”

And then, there was a collective relief of breath. That made my frown deeper until in the next moment, my eyes widened when Sonya waved her hand. “Pay them. Better yet, make Monty pay it.”

“That’s right,” Cecily said. “Yes, now that you told us that part, keep the pictures, show them to Monty and make him pay!”

“Amen!”

Sonya continued, “And get the transaction on tape,” she told her as if this were a business transaction. “Tell whoever is blackmailing you you’ll play with them this time, but if they come back for more money or if they go public, you will release the video and have them arrested for extortion.”

"That is perfect, First Lady Sonya,” Cecily said and the rest of the women nodded and mumbled their agreement. “So it’s settled.” Cecily clapped her hands together and looked around. “Rena is staying with her husband and what we’ve heard here today, stays right here.”

“Amen!”

I rolled my eyes.

“And Rena,” Sonya said, “you make sure you get something out of this. Like didn’t you tell me you wanted to go to Dubai?”