"Nitro, please don't," Andrea snaps.
Prez looks at her, I can't see his face, but I know he's giving her a death stare before turning back to Nova. "Nova, sweetheart, your uncle kept you and your brother around for your money. You're worth millions."
The room falls into complete silence. Everyone seems to be in shock from the news, apart from Wrath, Andrea, and Arthur. As I look down at my girl, I see her eyes fill with tears. "Baby?" I question.
"Money," she states. "They wanted the money. He could have had it all, he just had to ask." She drops her head in her hands. None of us move or say anything, giving her a minute to process the information. My hand rubs up and down her back as my gaze moves to Nitro, and he mouths, 'I'm sorry,' but I shake my head. She needed to know, and she'd be more upset if he kept it from her.
I'm thrown when she stands abruptly.
"Baby?" I stand with her.
But she holds out a hand, stopping me. "I want to go talk to Mason. I’m okay, babe, I promise." She leans down and gives me a kiss before turning and leaving.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
I've been sat staring at the climbing frame in the back of the compound for the last hour. I had to get out of the building, out of Church after Nitro dropped the bombshell about my parents having so much money and leaving it to my brother and me. I knew they had some money, but I never knew how much. And after they died, my uncle said everything they had was used to pay the funeral expenses and any debts that they had. I shouldn't be surprised that he lied to me, but I am. I can't work out how he thought he was going to get the money. Apparently, I have to sign for the money, even if it was being managed by another, I still have to sign, it was a stipulation my parents had put in place.
"Tea." Georgia takes a seat next to me and hands me a hot drink. I'm usually always on edge, listening for anything, but I didn't even hear her coming. The fact that I didn't get a fright when she appeared makes me smile. I've never felt this relaxed before.
"Thank you," I tell her, taking the cup from her and wrapping my hands around it.
"Are you okay?" she asks, her eyes trained on my face, waiting for a reaction.
"Do you know?" I ask her. "About my parents, the money, the custody?"
"I know about the custody, don't know about the rest. It has nothing to do with me. Are you going to tell Mason about the custody and the money?" she asks.
I nod then take a sip of my drink. "Yeah, we made a promise after we got to our uncle’s that we'd always be honest with each other. He has a right to know that Andrea is his guardian, and that he's rich." I laugh when I think about that money.
"What’s funny?" she asks.
"Just thinking about his reaction when I tell him he's rich. The first thing he's going to ask me for is drawing supplies.”
She laughs along with me, before we fall into general chat for the next thirty minutes.
"Nova," I hear my brother call my name. I turn around and see him walking toward me, with Prospect right beside him.
"Hi, Georgia. Nova, Prez asked me to bring Mason up here," Prospect tells me. He stops walking and folds his arms over his chest as Mason takes a seat next to me.
Georgia ruffles his hair and stands. "I’ll leave you guys to it,” she tells us before heading back toward the clubhouse. Prospect, however, doesn't move. He stands about ten feet away from us, his eyes locked above our heads, letting me know he’s watching us but not listening to anything we say.
"Nova, is everything okay?" Mason asks me, a little worried.
"Yeah, everything is fine. But I have a couple of things to tell you." I grab his hands in mine and give them a squeeze.
"Okay," he says quietly.
"So, Mum and Dad changed their wills before they died. That will, for whatever reason, was hidden, and that’s how we ended up with Uncle Roger and Aunt June. The updated will has been found, and it says that Andrea is our guardian. Well, yours, really, I'm now too old for one." As I tell him about the will, he blinks up at me, confused.
"You never have to go back to Uncle Roger’s house ever again. And Nitro has arranged for a restraining order, which means him and Aunt June are never allowed to come near you anymore. You're safe, buddy." I smile at him as tears run down his face.
"But are you safe?" he asks.
He's nine years old and he's never not worried about me. "I am, buddy. We're both safe." I lick my lips and blow out a breath. "There's something else, Mase."
He furrows his eyebrows. "What else?" he asks.
"It looks like Mum and Dad have left us a lot of money. And that was why Uncle Roger and Aunt June kept us around. We think they wanted the money from us."
