“Thepotential.”
Roland picked up his fork. Drummed the table. Once. Twice. A third time, then, “How sure are you that this works?”
“I’ve been doing it. For three and a half months.”
“Using a sham account.”
“Right.”
“You started with a theoretical …”
“Ten thousand dollar investment.”
“And you’ve made …”
“Two hundred and nineteen thousand dollars.”
“In a hundred days.”
“After paying out standard stock commissions. Right.”
There were soft gasps from some of the others. But Colin couldn’t be bothered to see who. Nor, did it seem, could Roland. “You have records of all this?”
“I kept dated notations of every move.”
“How often did you lose money?”
“Twice,” Colin replied.
“Out of …”
“Eleven,” Colin replied. “Eleven investments.”
The night and the silence settled in comfortably around him. Colin felt exhausted from the telling. So drained hewasn’t even certain he could stand. He used both hands to lift his glass. His throat was so dry it was hard to swallow the water.
Alexi asked, “Why are you doing this, Colin?”
“Did you hear what he just said?” This from Mira. “Two hundred and nineteen thousand dollars in three months?”
Colin nodded agreement. “I’m through being poor.”
CHAPTER14
Mira and her father drove him back to the academy, only this time the journey was made in silence. No one spoke until Ethan pulled the Honda into the academy’s semicircular drive. He cut the motor and sat there. Staring at the night like Colin’s own father had done. Only there was no rancor here. No sense of fear. None.
When Ethan finally spoke, it was to say, “My daughter never speaks about her beginnings.” He looked at Mira in the rearview mirror. “When you started in about Kabul, you shocked me right out of my skin.”
“I don’t know why I did. It just seemed …”
She let it trail off in a way that left Colin sensing a vulnerability. As if she had exposed a secret part of herself on a whim. And now was what? Afraid? Of him? He couldn’t let the evening end on such a note. No matter what happened next. He knew there was every likelihood they would turn him down, and he would have no choice but to go to the people who would hear him out, then make all the wrong and dangerous moves. But that was not the issue here. Hepushed the concerns aside and said what came first into his head. “My mother died when I was four. I don’t know anything about her. I don’t even know her maiden name. Her family basically disowned her when she married my father. It feels, I don’t know …”
He stopped because he realized Ethan was staring at him. Mouth slightly open. The streetlights revealed a man in a state of utter astonishment.
Softly, so quietly it was little more than a whisper, Mira said, “Oh. My. God.”
“Mira.”
“Did you just hear what he said, Daddy?” She leaned forward. “What did it make you feel like, Colin?”
