All I Know So Far

Chapter 15. Family Heirlooms

Noella

I drove my car up the dirt road to my old house. It was far and secluded and a place that burned with memories at every turn. This was my parent's property before everything got handed down to me. It was forty-two acres of pure land, not including my remodeled home. It was also the property where many brave people had fallen, including my mother.

My father tried to sell it when I was a child, but he couldn't out of grief. And once I got older, I begged him for a slice of my inheritance. But it's time for a change and with the heat on my back, there's just some history that needs to be let go.

I stepped out of my SUV to be met with nothing but pure California air. I didn't change much on the land except for the house and Ava's personal playground. Besides that, everything on this land remained the same. My dad was supposed to be meeting me here with the buyer, a retired millionaire who wants the land for his horses. I didn't care what he did with it, I just had to clean up a few things.

I walked to the backyard to find the underground shed that saved my life as a child. It was the only place where I truly felt close to my mom after she died. She put everything of value we had in here and then hid the door by placing a wooden shed on top. She put all my dad's tools in there for camouflage and then hid the floor with a tacky carpet from the eighties.

I couldn't help the involuntary coughing fit I had when I threw the carpet to the side. I normally don't come in the shed because I always managed to never need to, until now of course. I lifted the heavy wooden door and made my way into the humid underground room. Inside of the room was mostly guns and first aid emergency necessities. There were also some nonperishable items as well, but they were all mostly expired. I took a blanket from off the shelf and wrapped the guns inside of it. I then looked around for the most important thing of all.

In the corner, hidden in a small safe was what my mother left for me. I should have taken it out of here, but I didn't see how I could empty the contents without drawing attention. Inside the box withholds a bag filled with gold nuggets, a hunk of a kimberlite filled with diamonds, and of course the rare California gemstone the benitoite. The benitoite itself is worth between $6500 to $8000 dollars per carat. I currently had a rare faceted benitoite that stood a whopping six carats and was worth at least a million.

It was found by my great grandfather in the prime of his mining career. It has since become a family heirloom and I have left these jewels untouched for years. But since the property is getting sold I'd figured I'd take what belongs to me.

Once emptied of anything valuable I stepped out of the hot shed. I placed the blanket in my trunk and covered it with an extra blanket I had in my car. Then I stuffed the jewels in my purse. I could see two cars pulling up to the property and I knew one of them to be my father. I dusted off my suit and looked at the house one last time. There was no turning back, once it's gone, it's gone for good.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Bianchi," I walked up to greet the older gentleman. He exuded wealth and status as he shook my hand. He was dressed in an Armani suit with a Rolex that shined on his wrist. "Its nice to meet you as well Ms. Williams, I hope you have been brought up to speed with the contacts. I made sure to make my assistant fax them to you."

"Why of course, I received them just fine thank you, and I'm grateful we were able to come to an agreement on the price of the property. I've brought the paperwork so we can finish off the deal."

He seemed surprised, "are you sure you don't want to say goodbye, women always get so attached to their homes," he nudged my father who let out a forced laugh.

"No, that won't be necessary," I flashed a smile that made my cheeks burn and handed him a pen with the contracts. My father was handling all the real estate ends which worked in my favor. I watched as he signed the papers with ease, each without hesitation. A part of me did wonder what he would do with it now, but I've learned that the less I knew, the better.

Once he was done signing, we handed the papers to my father who then handed Mr. Bianchi the keys, and then he handed me a check for 1.2 million dollars for my forty-two-acre property. I tried not to happy dance but I felt really good about this. Once Mr. Bianchi was out of earshot my father leaned over, "that's quite a check you got there young lady, let me hold twenty dollars," he busted it out in a booming laugh. I couldn't help but laugh at his silliness, "I guess I have to go deposit my big girl check now." I did a little dance on the way to my vehicle and waved goodbye to my father.

I drove all the way to the bank in Charming. I knew I still had an account there that I hadn't bothered closing. I used it to transfer money for the kids or Donna when she was alive. I made sure to call the bank about my big purchase and everything was going fine until I realized one stupid fact.

"Just so you are made aware Mrs. Teller, we have to notify the IRS of large cash deposits that exceed ten thousand dollars," the blonde at the counter notified me. I plastered a fake smile on my face as my mind raced. Two things wrong with this, one being that Jax has the ability to access this account. Two, notifying the government will only make matters worse with Potter. But I can't withdraw my request now because that will only lead to suspicion. My mind raced for answers, "has Mr. Teller used this account recently?"

The bank teller looked at me, "no, Mr. Teller actively uses his separate account." I nodded my head in relief, as long as Jax didn't notice the money I could handle Potter.