British Bird - Complete

British Bird - Chapter Twenty Four

"I'm not sure," I say, turning my head in his direction. "I'm unsure what to believe, yet I still feel an immense amount of betrayal. At the same time, so many other things are making sense; the things Michelle has said over the years, the way she's done things." I shake my head. "Everything is just a mess."

"But it'll all work out in the end, trust me, Sang." I do, I trust him with my life and my heart. It's me he shouldn't trust; I'm just going to end up breaking them. "Everything has a way of coming out."

"I just don't understand why; why would Michelle do something like this?" I muse out loud. "What have I ever done to her to deserve this?"

"Control. She wanted to control you as much as she could. She had the best kind of control over you by being your social worker," Owen says. His fingers still haven't stopped their slow gentle strokes on my stomach. "We also think that there's something she wants from you."

I frown at him. "What could she possibly want from me? I have nothing to give her."

Owen's fingers pause for all of a second before continuing their movements. "Sang, we know about the money," he says quietly.

It takes me a moment to register what he said, and when I do, my whole body tenses. "How do you know?" I sit up in bed and flick the lamp on, needing to see his face as he explains how he knows.

When I look back at him, I watch as he pushes himself up into a sitting position and puts his glasses on. His steel grey eyes peer over at me. "Corey Henshaw has been doing some digging on Johnny's behalf."

That name, I know that name. "Axel Toma's brother?" I only had the pleasure of meeting the rest of the Toma family once, and that was the night before we left to return back to the UK. It was at the party Cara decided to have.

Owen nods his head, pushing a stray hair off of his forehead. "Yes, Sang. Corey has found a lot that we couldn't. One being the money that you inherited from your grandmother."

It's in that moment Sean walks back into the room. His mouth is open, as if he's about to say something. When he see's that myself and Owen seem to be in a serious standoff, his mouth closes and he looks to Owen and then to me. "What's going on?"

"I don't want that money. I never have," I tell Owen, and Sean as he's here. "When the lawyer showed up the day before my birthday, telling me I was entitled to an inheritance from a grandmother I couldn't even remember, I told him I didn't want it, but it was left to me and me only," I explain. "I signed the paperwork the next day before going to change my name. It was in my account within a week. I immediately transferred it to another account in my new name and that's where it has stayed. I haven't touched it because I don't want it."

I get off the bed and start pacing the room. "Legally, my social worker, Michelle, had to be notified about the inheritance. She knew about it two days before I did. She knew I had signed for it and that it went into my account because I told her that." I pause and stop my pacing, looking at each of them. "I also told her I donated it to different charities across the country, leaving a small amount to myself for my future—ten grand, maybe a little more with the money I save myself each month."

"Michelle thinks you only have ten grand of your inheritance left, plus what you save each month?" Sean asks.

I nod my head. "I save a lot of money after paying my rent, bills, and the little shopping I buy myself each month. I don't buy anything for myself unless I'm absolutely desperate. Money isn't everything."

"Does Michelle know the exact figures of what you save each month?" Owen asks.

I shake my head. "No, I've never told her." Which is why I don't believe she wants money. Why would she when she has her own money. That five grand a month since she's been my social worker adds up to a lot in the end.