Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“In this folder, you will see statements about the accounts you have the right to. Further information about them is in the box.”
He handed me the folder, and I opened it. The first page showed the total amount of money I would have access to from different accounts. My eyes widened. “There must be a mistake.”
Cathal shook his head. “There’s no mistake. Your father was a very valuable associate.”
There was over four million dollars in the various accounts. All I had ever wanted was enough money for a reasonably comfortable life for me and my sister. A tenth of this amount, even far less would have been enough. This was more than I’ve ever dreamed of.
I closed the folder. “Thank you, sir.”
“It’s not a gift. Your father earned it.”
Was this really the life I had now? Was I going to marry Valentino Marchesi? Did I really have more money than I’d ever dreamed of? It was too much. It seemed like more than I deserved.
You’ve been a good person your whole life. You were cheated out of what you should’ve had when your parents died. They were taken from you by their enemies. You deserve everything good.
Maybe it was time I listened to that voice instead of the ones that wanted to drag me down.
43
VALENTINO
After I’d taken the time to thank Lucien and properly introduce Liam to him, Angelo, and Devil, I took Liam’s hand and led him to my car. Neither of us spoke as we got settled and I started to drive back to my apartment. We were both in shock.
“Tell me I’m not dreaming,” Liam said.
I reached over and laid a hand on his thigh. “I don’t think you are. If you are, we’re both in the dream, and I hope it never ends.”
“Me too. Did you know how much money my father left me?”
“No. I assumed it was a large amount, knowing what I do about the life he led before he went into hiding.”
“Large isn’t a good enough word. I’ve got four million dollars. Million. Not thousand. Not even hundred thousand.”
I glanced at him, letting him see how happy I was for him. “Look at you, Mr. Richie Rich.”
“I’ve never even conceived of having this kind of money. I’ve got to tell Ava, but first I’m going to have to explain everything to her.”
I could hear how overwhelmed he was. “Maybe it would be better if we went to see her together. We could do that tomorrow if you wanted.”
“You want to come with me?”
Could he really question that? “She’s about to be my sister-in-law, so I think it’s time I met her.”
“Yeah. It is but….”
I looked over at him and saw how his nose was scrunched with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“It might be best if I told her about our family by myself, then introduced you.”
“I’ll give you as much privacy as you need. I just want you to know that I’m with you. I’m always going to be with you.”
He put his hand on top of mine. “That is the best thing about all of this. It’s better than any amount of money I could’ve gotten from my father. You have changed my life in so many ways.”
“I’ve made it more dangerous.”
“No, those men would’ve come after me eventually, even if I hadn’t been with you. I might never have known I had other family out there, even if I’m not sure I like them or their spooky ass headquarters.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Cathal does have a thing for Gothic atmosphere.”
“I do need to see Ava, but I’ve also got to get to my father’s bank and figure out exactly how to claim all this money.”
I honked at the driver in front of us, then swerved around him, feeling Liam tense under my hand. “We’ll do that tomorrow morning, then we’ll go see your sister.”
“Won’t you have work to do?”
“I think my father will allow his newly-engaged son to take a day off.”
Liam laughed. “You think so?”
“Yes, especially since my fiancé just saved his life.”
“I didn’t want to ask him too many questions, but who’s after him.”
I huffed. “Who isn’t?”
Liam frowned, and I took his hand in mine. “My father has a long list of enemies. Various pieces of his past surface every once in a while. He always manages to deal with it.”
“Is that all the detail I’m going to get?”
“For now. We have our plans for tomorrow. But what do you want to do tonight?” I looked over at Liam and saw a devious smile on his face.
“I want you to take me home, and I want us to get naked and get in bed. Then I want you to fuck me for the rest of the night.”
His blatant request surprised me, and I swerved, narrowly missing a parked car. “Jesus! Driving with you is dangerous.”