Page 4 of When It’s All Said And Done

“You’re probably wonderin’ why my mom lied to you, but it was for your safety Nas,” she explained as if she could read my mind. “You were a target from the day you were conceived. Even had an attempt on your life while inside of me. So, your dad, Javier Santiago, suggested that I return to Miami when we both survived, that way I could safely give birth to you. Which I did successfully twenty-six years ago, happy birthday by the way.”

“Uh huh. Who would want to kill a kid?” I questioned as I looked up from the picture.

“I’ll explain that to you shortly, but I need you to know that your parents wanted you. It hurt us to leave you here to grow up but we needed you to be safe. You were to return to Puerto Rico when you turned twenty-one, but yo’ ass got locked up.”

“How you know I was locked up?”

“Because you were working for us while inside. You were protected rather you did that or not, but you were a true hustla and wasn’t passin’ up a chance to make money. You moved a lot smarter than older prisoners we had workin’ for us.”

“I wasn’t goin’ to move how I did that landed me inside, so I had to make sure I could make my money and not get caught.”

“We’ll you’ve accomplished a lot and that’s actually the reason I’m here.”

“You’re not here to reunite?”

“We’re doin’ that too, but the way you handled business in prison landed you on the higher ups radar. Which is great for us because it helps us as we plot yo’ takeover.”

“And what exactly am I takin’ over?”

“The Santiago Cartel. It’s rightfully yours but someone stands in yo’ way.”

“Who’s that?”

“Your uncle, Juan Santiago. He killed yo’ dad for the throne and thinks he was successful in killin’ you. Now, I’m not goin’ to force you into this plan. And I know this is all a lot to take in but I need to know now if you’re in or out?”

“I’m in,” I answered after looking up from the picture.

“Great! Let’s take a ride.”

We loaded up in the back of an all-black Escalade that was parked down from Mama Eva’s house. As we rode to our destination, Nina gave me more information on the past. She informed me that Javier, or Javi as she likes to call him, stayed in Puerto Rico and continued to run the Santiago Cartel. Once I was born and safely with Mama Eva, she returned to Puerto Rico, and they started looking into what had happened. For Nina’s safety her and Javi got married, so that way if anything ever happened to him, she was set for life.

Their marriage also solidified Nina’s position and allowed him to bring her into the fold of the business more. A few months after their marriage they figured out that Juan and his bodyguard, who happened to be his secret lover, were behind the attempt on me and my mother’s life. The night they planned to reveal everything to my grandfather, Rafael Santiago, my father was murdered. My mom couldn’t prove that it was Juan because he was with her and Rafael. Instead, she decided to plot my takeover for when I turned twenty-one like my dad wanted.

“Every day I live with the pain of feelin’ like had I just stayed in Miami with you, your dad would still be alive,” she dropped her head in defeat.

“None of that on you,” I assured shocking the hell out of me and her because her head popped up so quick. “This Juan nigga gotta muthafuckin’ go. What’s the plan?”

“That’s my boy. I don’t want no outsider to kill him. It’ll be either me or you that actually pull the fuckin’ trigga that way it’s avenged for your dad properly. It’s three phases of this plan. Phase one, you’ll show him that you are an asset. Do what you did in jail and keep makin’ that money. Phase two, earn his trust. With you makin’ money he’s goin’ to want to keep you happy and close. So, when opportunity presents itself for you to show your loyalty make sure you step up to the plate. No matter what it is. Phase three, we plot to steal everything from him. With you having his trust, get him to admit to your father’s death. But I need you to keep your composure when he does. You cannot kill him because we have to make him suffer before puttin’ a bullet in his head.”

“How we do that?”

“First, we’ll tell Rafael, who everyone calls Rafi, that you’re his grandson. Once we confirm all that with the DNA, we’ll tell him that it was Juan that tried to do everything. That’s where the evidence you gathered will be revealed. Rafi will then dethrone Juan and make you the head of the Santiago Cartel. Once that happens then you can take out Juan. I feel like it’ll be more symbolic if you do it, so you can execute that however you want.”

“Ok, so all I’ll need is the position of head nigga in charge from Rafi then I can kill Juan?”

“Yep.”

“Bet.”

When the private jet landed in Puerto Rico, I was stunned by how beautiful it was. I was used to the concrete jungle of Miami, but to see an actual jungle with trees and shit was nice. During the ride over to the ranch, Nina explained that Juan will assign a bodyguard to me. The bodyguard will also act as eyes and ears for Juan, but I’ll be given the man driving us, Fernando, who was loyal to my dad. She stressed that Fernando was someone that I could trust and he’ll relay all our communications regarding our plan.

I was confused about that part until she broke it down that once we got to the Ranch, we didn’t know each other. We weren’t to see each other if it wasn’t passed through Fernando at her request. When pulled into the ranch, the questions I wanted to ask would go unanswered for now until our next meetings. A man was standing at the bottom of the steps when we made it to the house. Nina hopped out without a word and walked past the man and went into the house.

“Your mother will meet us back at the hangar,” Fernando whispered loud enough for me to hear before getting out to open my door. “Sir, this is Nasir.”

“It is nice to finally meet the man that made me a lot of money in prison,” he praised in his thick accent before clapping his hands together. “Let’s see if we can keep that up now that you’re a free man.”

I gave a head nod instead of speaking because if I was trying my best to keep my anger at bay. This was the man that altered the life that I was meant to live. As I followed behind him, I couldn’t help but picture me putting a bullet in his head. Although I never got the opportunity to get to know my parents, that still didn’t change the fact that if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. Once this shit was over, I’d be able to get to know Nina, but I’d only hear of the man my dad was.