The Diamond Syndicate

Part One

ONE

Diamonds in the Rough

1956

Diamond Reed was raised by her father Chester after her mother Betty walked out on them when Diamond was a child. After putting up with Chester’s cheating, manipulation, and physical and mental abuse, not to mention Diamond’s vindictive ways, Betty had finally had enough.

Betty was raised in a household with fourteen brothers and sisters, and had to fight and work hard for anything she wanted, so she believed that people should work hard for what they want. In her eyes, Chester was raising Diamond all wrong, spoiling her and never making her take responsibility for her actions. When she tried to teach Diamond how to cook and clean, Chester simply objected and reprimanded her for trying to make a slave out of his only daughter.

Diamond was a daddy’s girl, and nothing her father did would change the love she had for him. Chester gave her everything she ever wanted and worshipped the ground she walked on, and she, in turn, worshipped him.

Diamond learned at an early age how to manipulate her parents, always going against her mother because she knew her father would give in to her. She became quite the little schemer at getting what she wanted. One time she asked her mother for a new doll she saw on television, but Betty said no.

“But why can’t I have it, Mommy?”

“Because, Diamond, you have a closet full of dolls and toys that you don’t even play with. Your father just bought you a brand-new dollhouse with two dolls two days ago. Go play with that,” Betty told her without taking her eyes off the television.

Betty was a full figured woman, with unwanted extra weight that stayed with her after giving birth to Diamond. Her beautiful doll-like eyes sat perfectly behind her long eyelashes.

“But, Mommy that is the best doll ever.” Diamond pleaded with the same baby-doll eyes as her mother. She wore two ponytail braids that reached her shoulders with ribbons tied to each end.

“Diamond, please go somewhere and sit down. Let you tell it, every toy on TV is the best ever.” Betty wrinkled her wide nose, which sat over a pair of full lips. Her chin came to a point, making her cheekbones look high.

Diamond stood there fuming, her bushy brows furrowed, and the little wheels in her head began to spin as she plotted a way to get the doll. The dimples deepened in her pecan-colored cheeks, and the nostrils in her button nose began to flare. She stomped off to her room and slammed the door.

Betty simply ignored her temper tantrum.

Not even twenty minutes later, Diamond reappeared in the living room with her Barbie suitcase in her hand. She’d decided to run away.

Betty looked over at her, and a smile crept across her face. “What are you doing?”

“I’m running away. Now give me some money to catch the bus,” Diamond demanded.

Betty fell out in laughter so hard her D-cup breasts jiggled. “You’re kidding me, right? Where do you think your little butt is going? You aren’t old enough to do anything.”

“I’m leaving because you don’t love me. You won’t buy me the doll.” Diamond stood there pouting and crying.

“Diamond, get your behind back upstairs before I give you something to really cry about.” Betty folded her arms the best she could over her large breasts and refocused her attention on her stories.

Diamond wasn’t satisfied with her mother’s reaction. She’d expected her mother to run to her crying and then buy the doll for her. Mad that her plan hadn’t worked, she stomped off to the kitchen.

She whipped her head around and her shoulder length hair swung. “And you better stop all that stomping before I get up for real and whup your behind!”

“No, you won’t!” a fresh Diamond sassed her.

“What did you say?” Betty yelled narrowing her eyes.

“I’m leaving because you don’t love me. Now give me some money!” Diamond continued to scream while standing in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Betty appeared in the doorway with a belt, having heard enough, and began to give Diamond a spanking she would never forget. She snatched her up and dragged her kicking and screaming to the front door. In the other hand she held Diamond’s suitcase. “You want to run away, go right ahead, but I’m not giving you any money. You think you’re grown, then fend for yourself.” She put Diamond on the front porch. She was only going to leave her in the enclosed porch for a few minutes to teach her a lesson.

Betty closed the front door and peeked out the window. Diamond sat on the floor crying. She then got up, sat on the porch sofa, and pouted. Happy with the results of her punishment, Betty sat down to catch up on her stories, knowing Diamond would be knocking on the door in due time.

About an hour and a half later, Chester came walking through the door. “Hey, baby,” he greeted her. He stood at six feet three inches of pure gorgeousness. The soft black curls in his short afro fit his narrow head perfectly. He had German in his bloodline, from which he acquired his soft hair.

Betty immediately became tense. She was so wrapped up in her stories, she’d forgotten to get Diamond off the porch before Chester came home. “Hi, honey, h-how was your day?” she asked.

“I had a good day! Where’s my pumpkin? I want to take her to the store with me.” He looked around. His caramel complexion was even-toned, and he bore the same deep dimples as Diamond.

Betty began to shake. Hadn’t he seen Diamond sitting on the porch when he came in? Maybe she was hiding, but where? She walked over to the door and stepped out onto the porch. She looked around, puzzled.

Chester stood at the door watching her. “What are you looking for?” His bushy eyebrows now rose with suspicion.

“Diamond,” she said, fearing the worst.

“What do you mean, Diamond? Where is she, Betty?” His voice deepened. The muscles in his slim but muscular arms began to flex.

“Well, she was sassing me earlier and told me she was running away. Chester, she was really being disrespectful, so I thought I would teach her a lesson and let her sit on the porch for a while.” Betty was more petrified of Chester beating her than of her own child going missing.

“Wait a minute, you what? You put my daughter on the porch alone because of what?” he yelled, moving closer to her with his hands now balled into fists and his already deep dimples appearing like two drilled holes in his cheeks.

“She was right here, Chester.” Betty pointed toward the porch sofa in a panic as she backed up a little.

His button nose had become red. “With all the child molesters and kidnappers in the world today, you hand a sick rapist my daughter on a platter!”

Before Betty could react, she felt a blow on the side of her head. She immediately saw stars and couldn’t keep her balance. Falling to the floor hard, she curled up in a fetal position, waiting for the kicks she knew would come. But there were no kicks. Instead Chester grabbed her by her legs and dragged her across the shag carpet, giving her rug burns on her back and buttocks. Then he dragged her up the stairs, letting her head hit each step, causing her to become dizzy.

He pulled her into the bathroom and made her stand. Betty didn’t know what Chester was going to do to her, but she was gonna fight him with all her strength. She tried to defend herself, but each time she fought against him, the next punch was even more brutal. She heard her nose crack, and then he punched her in the eye, and she heard the bones crack. She was barely conscious when he stripped off her clothes and tied her wrists to the showerhead in the bathtub, where she hung like a side of beef in a freezer.

Chester turned on the shower, and Betty began to regain consciousness. Her head felt like it was going to explode from the broken nose and broken eye socket. With swollen eyes, she looked over at Chester and saw a look on his face that she’d never seen before. He turned off the water and left the bathroom. She wondered what he was going to do next, because she knew he wasn’t finished with her. She also wondered why he wasn’t out looking for Diamond, instead of torturing her to death.