Syndicate

They were just kids when Claudette McPhearson took them all in. Eight of them all together. All different races and ethnic make ups, but she loved them as her own. One woman taught them how to love, trust, and respect one another. She was the only glue that kept them together, the only one who they wanted to please and never let down. She had been their light at the end of a long troublesome tunnel--it shined so bright. Then, one dreadful day, it all came to a crashing halt. She was walking to the bus stop from the juvenile correction center where she volunteered her time, and someone gunned her down in a drive-by shooting. It was a seemingly random murder. The culprit snatched her away from her family in the blink of an eye. Her kids were back to being the orphans no one wanted, even those of who had aged out of the system. As they stood around Claudette's grave, holding hands and trying to choke back many tears, each of them knew their lives would change forever. They now owned a house, and a five-hundred-thousand-dollar insurance policy was to be split between eight kids. In conjunction with that, they soon discovered that they were left with enemies no one knew existed in Claudette's world. Their Uncle Snap was well aware of those enemies, and after one of the children embarked upon a lockbox with keys, codes, and monetary figures, Uncle Snap presented them with a video Mama had left, telling them who to trust and explaining her nefarious activities. A secret bunker underneath the house opened their eyes. It was filled with money, drugs and specific directions from Claudette who had built an empire from the ground up. A syndicate is what Uncle Snap called it, and since Claudette was dead, it was up to the kids to keep it going. Somebody had to step up to be the leader. One of them had to take her place, and they had to do so swiftly. The Syndicate waited for no one, and it was a criminal enterprise that trafficked in millions of dollars of drugs throughout the United States yearly. From the Port of Miami to the border of Canada, the Syndicate was a force to be reckoned with. Unbeknownst to every child, Claudette had been training them for this moment . . . this time. She had honed in on each of their skills, knowing that they would one day step up and run this f**king city.

All hell has broken loose, and the McPhearson clan is right in the middle of the chaos. After finding out their beloved foster mother, Claudette McPhearson, was anything but the sweet old woman they thought her to be, Javon, Shanelle, and the rest of their siblings hit the ground running in order to keep the Syndicate operating and to keep themselves alive. That also means they have to lose some of the people they love the most. With the legacy of their mother and her plans for them in motion, the McPhearson children are operating on a broken foundation. Attacked on all fronts, Javon and Shanelle are struggling to keep the family normal, while following the criminal plans of their dead mother. The Syndicate is growing, and Javon is determined to bring in new blood while looking for those who killed Claudette. Not to mention, something odd is going on with all of his siblings that threatens to rock the family to the core. Will the McPhearson clan fall in order for the Syndicate to rise, or will the truth end the legacy before it can even begin?

When Claudette McPhearson died, she left eight foster children to fend for themselves after they discovered the truth about her secret life. She was the leader of the Syndicate, a criminal enterprise that had a stronghold on the underworld. Much to her children's chagrin, it was up to one of them to step up and take the lead. Javon, her oldest and most trusted son, took on that mantle. It was a role he had never wanted, but with threats to his family coming from every direction, he had no choice. One year later, Javon has taken the Syndicate to the next level. Javon seems untouchable, and the Syndicate can't be stopped, but as it grows, it draws attention. This time, it's from the Commission, the ruling body of the world's most dangerous mafias. "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" comes into play as the Old Italian needs Javon's help. The Commission has been threatened, and they call on the Syndicate for reinforcements. The Syndicate aims to help its allies, but the past comes knocking at the McPhearsons' door. With everything coming full circle, Javon will find that not everyone can be trusted, and ghosts from the past always have a way of coming back to haunt you.