Stand Aside, the Billionaire Is Here novel · Chapter 14 of 24
Chapter 14: The Shed
"Joaquin," I said. "Let me tell you."
"Was he here?"
His voice was very quiet.
"Lionel. Your uncle's glass is on the island, and the whiskey smells like his."
"Yes. He left five minutes ago."
"He brought a picture of you at sixteen."
"I know the picture." Joaquin laid the receipt on the marble, carefully.
"I have seen it in my head every night for fifteen years."
He looked at the letter again.
"Your father paid for my father's funeral."
"Yes."
"In cash. I remember a man I had never seen, in a good coat, standing at the back. I thought he was from the union."
"Joaquin, I found this tonight. Grandma gave me the key an hour ago."
"And you knew nothing before that."
"Nothing."
"Your family knew."
It was not a question, and it was not loud.
"My father knew," I said. "My grandmother suspected. I did not know."
"Fifteen years," Joaquin said. "And he still said nothing."
"My father had the rigging report in his hand, and nobody read it."
I reached for his sleeve, and he stepped back without meaning to.
I had never seen him step back from anything.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Stand Aside, the Billionaire Is Here are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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