Chapter 10 #3
He didn’t look up. “Okay, I’ll make it five. Also, right now, Emilie Blake is getting twenty thousand a month from the trust. Do you want to keep that going?”
Emilie Blake? “I don’t know who that is.”
He scrolled, frowning. “This goes back nearly two decades. She’s receiving dividends from the trust.”
Two decades. Since before my mom died.
“Do you know who set it up originally?”
“It would have had to be Molly. This was after her father died. Her executor isn’t authorized to spend the money.”
Emilie Blake.
“Do you have contact info for her?” I wondered. Maybe it was a close friend she was helping out.
“No, but the branch address is out of Spokane, Washington. Do you want me to write that down?”
Spokane. A chill crept up my arms, and I nodded.
Another thread in the tangled story of my mother.
If Molly had set it up, I didn’t want to stop the payments. But giving a stranger twenty thousand a month for two decades felt like something I needed to understand…fast.
I thought about it for a second. If my mom did want me to keep paying this person, she would have mentioned it in her letter, right?
“You know what? Let’s stop it. See if anyone reaches out about it?” I asked him.
He nodded, clicking away at some buttons before there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he called.
His assistant, who’d been at the front desk before, entered the room carrying a small shopping bag and set it on the counter.
“Thank you, Jaqueline,” Steven told her.
“You’re welcome, sir.”
She left the room, and I craned my neck to peek in the red shopping bag. My eyes widened.
It was a smaller stack than I expected, sitting compactly inside of a fat envelope.
“In the bag you will find your ten thousand cash, plus two bank cards. One is for the mortal realm. One is for Veil Haven Bank.”
“Thanks.” I grasped the bag, shocked that this was actually happening. I never thought I’d be holding ten grand.
“Can I help you with anything else today, Stella?” He peered up at me with a kind smile.
I nodded. “Yeah, can you donate fifty percent of my money to Angel House? They are a charity that builds orphanages in India and Africa.”
I’d read about them once in the Spokane Spokesman-Review and dreamed about one day being able to build an orphanage for a bunch of kids who had no place to call home.
Steven sat very still for a moment. Then he laughed. When I said nothing and didn’t return his laughter, he sobered.
“Stella, that would be over five million dollars.”
I nodded. “You know what? Let’s do seventy percent.” I could think of nothing worse than being an orphan and homeless. At least this would give these kids a warm bed and a roof over their heads if they didn’t have a mother to hug them good night.
“Stella, I would counsel you in your young years not to make a decision?—”
“It’s my money to do with what I wish, right?” I asked.
He cleared his throat. “Yes. But right now, you would never need to work for the rest of your life if you didn’t want to.”
“I like working. I’d get bored sitting around. I want you to donate the money in my mother’s name.”
His bottom lip shook, and his brown eyes suddenly grew misty. “Okay, Stella. I will, if you’re sure.”
I stood, grabbing my little bag of ten grand and officially feeling like a drug dealer.
“I’m sure. It was a pleasure to meet you.” I extended my hand, and he shook it.
“You too.” He seemed a little perplexed.
I peered down at the real estate card. “Does your real estate agent friend know about hunters and all that?”
He shook his head. “No. Humans that know of your kind are very rare.”
That was probably for the best.
“Do you mind giving me your office while I make a private call?”
He stood. “Of course.”
He left the room, and I called the real estate agent, Krista, who was very warm and welcoming and spoke volumes of Steven’s character and what a nice guy he was.
After telling her I’d just inherited family money and wanted to buy an apartment in Paris for my best friend, she was more than happy to have her Paris agent meet Rae in a few days and hunt for places.
I told her I was out of town and hard to reach a lot, and she said that Steven could sign everything for me and transfer the money if I signed some paperwork giving him power of attorney just for this real estate deal.
I called Steven back in, and he quickly printed the power of attorney forms. I told him I was buying a place in Paris for my bestie, and he smiled. “That’s very sweet of you.”
I also needed to think about what my mom said in the letter about me getting my own hideout and not telling anyone. But I was too overwhelmed for that now.
After I left his office, Celia and I portaled to Spokane.
She said Asher and Silex would head back to campus later.
One second, we were in the train, and the next, we were in the SkyRide back in Riverfront Park.
The portal system was incredible, but it did seem like Celia had to get permission and was controlling it from her phone.
I could imagine that too many people trying to use the portal at once would cause an issue.
It was daytime in Spokane, and the SkyRide was running, so when we reached the bottom, a guy opened the door for us without a second glance.
“Thanks, hope you enjoyed the ride,” he told us.
Celia nodded to him as I led her to Atticus Coffee and Gifts. I needed to grab something. This was my last time to say goodbye to the mortal world, and I wanted to do it right.
After I got what I needed from Atticus, Celia led me down to a parking garage and walked over to a large blacked-out SUV and beeped the keys.
“Hunter-issued ride for the day.” She winked at me.
I grinned, buckling into the front seat as she headed for my apartment with Rae.
My mind spun in tight, anxious circles. Modeling gig?
Why had I said that? It wasn’t even believable.
I was pretty, sure, but not that pretty.
I was normal pretty, the kind that blended into a crowd.
Dark circles lived permanently under my eyes without makeup, and my lips were thinner than what was currently trending.
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the apartment I’d spent all of zero nights in.
Celia leaned against the wall beside me. “I’ll be right out here,” she said.
I nodded, used my key, and let myself inside.
Rae jumped off the couch. “You’re a horrible roommate. I’ve been worried sick!” she snapped.
Her eyes were rimmed red, her hair slicked back like she’d dragged her hands through it too many times. She looked exhausted, and my heart sank.
“I’m so sorry.” I stepped closer to hug her, but she crossed her arms instead of opening them. I stopped short.
Understandable. I didn’t trust easily either. If someone broke my trust, they were dead to me.
Foster kid problems.
“I won the lottery!” I blurted out.
Her eyebrows shot up, skepticism written all over her face.
What was I doing? These lies didn’t even line up anymore.
“What? You expect me to believe?—”
I pulled out the ten-grand stack and handed it to her. “I won five million, and this is for you to leave and go to Paris. I have a real estate agent waiting there to show you apartments.”
She stood there frozen for a whole thirty seconds.
“Holy crap, Stella.” Her eyes locked on the money. “I can’t take that.”
“Yes, you can.” I pushed it toward her.
She hesitated and then grinned. “Okay, maybe I can.” She hugged it to her chest. “Why cash? This feels like drug money.”
I laughed, the sound brittle. “I promise it’s not drug money. I needed to get it to you quick because I’m leaving…”
“For New York?” she asked. “To model?” She sounded unconvinced.
“Yeah. I gotta get my stuff. Our plane leaves in a few hours.” I rocked on my heels, suddenly unsure how to say goodbye.
Rae softened, stepping closer. “Are you in trouble, Stella?”
“No,” I lied. I wasn’t exactly, but I was drowning in things I didn’t understand.
“You have to leave now? Why can’t I meet this guy?” She eyed the doorway like she expected him to materialize.
The guy. Right. The model scout. “He’s busy.”
“Stella, this all sounds like total crap. You know that, right?”
Emotion slammed into me then, fast and overwhelming. I knew this was the last time I’d see her.
I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her.
She clutched me back like I might disappear.
“I’ll never forget how you stuck up for me in the group home when Penny called me an annoying brat,” I told her.
“I’ll never forget your inventive kitchen creations or the way you reached out, knowing I was going to age out and offering me a place to stay. I’ll never forget you, Rae.”
I didn’t have a family.
I had Rae.
I had Linda.
That was it.
Her chest rattled with a sob. “Stella. Are you saying goodbye?”
She held on to me like a lifeline as tears burned behind my eyes. After a moment, I pulled back, cleared my throat, and wiped my face.
“I gotta go.” I grabbed my duffel bag from the couch. “But you better book that flight to Paris. My real estate agent is waiting to show you properties.”
“This is crazy! The lottery?” She looked at the money in her hand.
I smiled, committing her face to memory. “You deserve it. Au revoir.”
“Au revoir,” she said softly, frowning.
I opened the door and stepped out before I could change my mind.
Somehow, losing Rae made me feel more alone than I ever had in my life.
“One more stop, and we can get back,” I told Celia.
She nodded, checking her phone, eyes scanning the hallway like she was tracking invisible threats.
Ten minutes later, we pulled up to Linda’s place. Celia parked a few houses down like I’d asked. I walked to the blue door, set the Atticus gift bag down, knocked loudly, and ran back to the car.
The second I shut the car door, Linda opened hers. She looked down at the bag, then up and down the street.
My heart hammered as she pushed aside the tissue paper and lifted the mug.