There was no jealousy in that for Octavius; he knew how hard Fola worked to be the perfect daughter, how tirelessly she fought to always be number one, to be the best, and she had finally done it.
Octavius smiled at her, taking her hand in his and squeezing.
He wasn’t surprised to hear about his reduced inheritance either. It had been something he’d agreed to just before he’d left to go to boarding school. His father had said that moving out of the Manor meant Octavius had irrevocably tampered withhis experimentand there was a literal price to pay for that. They were the same terms Bilal and Perdita had agreed to when they left too. Moving out meant they were only entitled to half of their original inheritance. He didn’t care much for the inheritance though, what he cared about was being free.
“ ‘Lastly, to my daughter Perdita Florizel Button,’ ” the executor continued, slowly flipping the page as Octavius began to zone out, his mind filling with all of the opportunities he would have now that his dad’s watchful eye was no longer peering over his shoulder, pecking at the list of accolades Octavius had collected in his short life and it never being enough. Was it bad that Octavius felt some relief in that? A weight sliding from his shoulders… freedom.
A flash of images washed behind his eyes once again and the unease creptback into the empty crevices left in the wake of his relief.A scream, a thud, and so much blood.Octavius felt his bones rattle beneath his flesh, drawing his attention back to the room. When he did, he found himself briefly locking eyes with the officer that was posted by the window, feeling a sudden jolt at the realization that the officer seemed to be watching him. Octavius quickly averted his gaze, refocusing on Mr. Fowley.
“ ‘… an inheritance of one point five billion dollars, the main family residence, all the holiday homes, the private jet and helicopter, the registered cars, the yachts, and lastly, Button Games Ltd.’ ”
There was an edging silence as the final words from the will settled over the room.
Did they just hear that right? Their father had left Perdita…everything.
Octavius hesitated before slowly turning to look at his youngest sister.
It seemed as though Perdita had stopped breathing. She was deathly pale and sickly, like she could throw up any moment now. Octavius hoped she didn’t; he couldn’t stand the sight.
The executor began tucking the pages back into the briefcase. Octavius heard the sound of the leather couch moving as Fola finally stood. “Sorry, Mr. Fowley, there has to be some mistake—”
Mr. Fowley shook his head sharply twice, once left and then right. “No mistakes were made here, Miss Button. The will was checked over meticulously.”
Octavius’s eyes scanned the room, searching for the reactions of the others. Henry sported a neutral expression; Bilal’s mouth was pressed in a thin line; Romeo stared at Perdita with worry; and Perdita was staring off into the ether in abject disbelief.
Fola looked much like Perdita, like she was also on the verge of collapse. “But you said it was only just amended three days ago,” she pressed on. “There could have been an error made to one of the more sizable changes—”
“I assure you, Miss Button, no such error exists. The bulk of this will has been set in stone for quite some time now. The only significant revision madewas to Henry’s portion of the will; everything else is exactly as it has been for many years.”
Years, Octavius repeated in his mind. Their father had known exactly how he’d split their inheritance foryears.
Octavius thought he could smell something burning—but then, it might have been the steam blowing from Fola’s ears.
“But—” Fola began again.
“Miss Button, I’m sorry, but there will be no contesting this will. What I need now is for you all to sign some forms. The board will be in touch with Miss Perdita Button soon to prepare her for her role as the new head of the Button Estate.” Mr. Fowley paused. “There is one complication, however, stipulated in section D paragraph F.” He looked across at them all. “In the event that Mr. Button is murdered, all assets are to be frozen until his killer’s arrest.”
“It’s just like Father to plan ahead for his own potential assassination,” Octavius muttered, and everyone in the room turned to glare at him once again, even Jimothy.
A look of betrayal bloomed across Fola’s features as the Buttons were each passed forms to sign, the room cloaked with an uncomfortable, heavy feeling.
Once the forms were signed, and they were dismissed, Perdita bolted out of Eden with such quickness she was barely a blur in Octavius’s peripheral vision.
His head shot up as he watched Fola go after her, followed by Romeo stalking after them both.
Across the room, Octavius locked eyes with Bilal, and it was clear, in that moment, that the two brothers were thinking the exact same thing.
This is not going to end well.
2:14P.M.—THE BUTTON MANOR
When Octavius and Bilal exited their father’s office, Octavius expected to find his sisters in the middle of hand-to-hand combat like when they used to physically fight as kids. But what he walked into was somehow even more disturbing than anything he could have imagined.
Perdita was staring helplessly at Fola, who seemed to be… crying. And not in a way that would indicate that she was furious, but more like tears of shock. Fola looked as lost as Perdita, tears clinging to her cheeks as she fiercely stared the other girl down.
“I’m so sorry, Fola—”
“Why?” Fola interrupted.
