The Diamond Syndicate

Dante lowered his head and thought. He had so many things running through his mind, he didn’t know what to think anymore.

“Your mother loves you, but your mother is controlling. Just the small amount that you have told me about her since you’ve been here led me to believe that. Your mother has always been controlling of men, and you are no different.” He stood and sat back down on his cot across from Dante. “Tell me about your case.”

Dante looked at him with unsure eyes.

“I’m gonna help you, young brother,” Preacher assured him.

“How? You’re not a lawyer.”

“I know, but I do a lot of reading about the law. I’m gonna do the best I can in giving you advice.”

The two talked for hours about what really went down the night of Dr. Ricci’s murder. They also talked about Diamond. At first Dante didn’t want to tell Preacher anything. He didn’t trust telling his business to a stranger, especially since his lawyers had told him on several occasions not to speak to anyone but them about the case. But Preacher was such an easy dude to talk to, and the knowledge he held helped to make Dante feel comfortable talking with him.

“So you see what I’m saying? I’m gonna do a lot of time, man.” Dante shook his head.

Preacher lay on his back, looking up at the same ceiling Dante had been staring at earlier. “Yeah, I see what you’re saying, but let me tell you this. You need to call your lawyers and have a private conversation with them to let them know what really happened. Listen, young brother, you got yourself a chance to get away with minimal time.”

Dante looked over at him. “How you figure?”

“Simple.” Preacher turned on his side and rose up on his elbow, looking at Dante. “Your mother had complete control over a minor. She premeditated the murder and manipulated you.”

“But I ain’t no minor.”

“Not now you aren’t, but your mother has manipulated, controlled, and trained you to be her personal slave since you were a child. She used you for her personal gain. Son, you can plead insanity and get off with a lot less time than what you’re facing now.”

Dante let Preacher’s words process in his mind. He battled with himself. He thought about the love and loyalty he had for his mother. His mother wouldn’t do that to him. She had raised him by herself, and besides the abuse, she did a good job giving him the things he always wanted. Even though they were on welfare at one point, it didn’t seem as if they were, because Diamond made sure he had what he needed. So to his knowledge, they lived well. His mother always seemed to have more money than the average single mother raising children on welfare did. Although she only attended his games, his plays, and anything else they had at school while he was growing up to flirt with men in the school, sh

e was still there. She wouldn’t betray him, would she?

But, then again, maybe she would. There was that other side of her that he had to deal with. The side that always told him what to do, even though he was old enough to make his own decisions and do for himself. That side where she always rode his back about how he’d ruined her single life by coming into the world, and that if he wasn’t there, she would be rich and living the good life.

Then there was the physical abuse side of her. He thought about how she controlled him and his friends, making them do things that they sometimes didn’t want to do. He realized that she always got the biggest part of the cut on anything they did, even though he and his friends were the ones doing all the legwork while she lay back and counted the dough.

Dante decided he would arrange a meeting with his attorneys in the morning to go over the case again in a different light. Trey was the one still handling all of their money and taking care of business while they were locked down, but he wasn’t so sure if he would give Dante any money for his own attorney without telling his mother. So, talking to the brother attorneys would be his only option.

“Yeah, man, you’re right,” Dante said to Preacher. “I think I’m gonna call them cats in the morning and set up a meeting.”

When Preacher didn’t respond, Dante looked over at him and could hear him snoring lightly. He went back to staring at the ceiling, processing his thoughts about how he was gonna present the information he had to the attorneys.

TWENTY-SEVEN

The Meeting

Dante sat in a waiting room handcuffed to the metal ring attached to the table. He was waiting for his attorneys to arrive. It was Friday, and they would all be back in court on Monday.

The doors opened, and a police officer led in Kendall.

Kendall looked distraught, and Kyle wasn’t with him.

Dante watched as the handsome attorney set his briefcase on the table and sat in the chair in front of him. Kendall kept his gaze on Dante as he folded his hands in front of him.

Dante started to feel uncomfortable. He couldn’t understand why Kendall seemed so upset.

“What’s up, Dante?” Kendall said in a monotone voice.

“What’s up? Where your brother?”

“He doesn’t need to be here. I can relay to him anything that we discuss.”