Page 90 of Nothing to Lose: Lost Trilogy: Part 1
“You should know by now that Bricks lied his way through everything,” Devereaux reminds me.
“But he had nothing to gain by lying to me about this,” I point out.
“Quite the opposite, Mr. Puck. He had you where he wanted you. He had your loyalty because he saved your life. He already took all your money, a considerable amount I might add. He hid it well, and he invested it well. That money grew tenfold.”
All this information is making me so angry, I wish I could just grab my gun and go on a rampage.
“Did he kill Blake?” I ask through clenched teeth. Blake had been my only hope at some point. The only human on this planet who tried to save me from the nightmare of a life with Kenneth and Elaine Adams.
“He did,” Devereaux confirms my suspicions. “As a matter of fact, they were in the middle of negotiating,” he continues. “Blake promised to sign all his businesses and funds over to his brother in exchange for full custody of you.”
My heart is beating out of my chest at hearing this. I know it’s too late and there’s nothing to be done about it now, but knowing my biological father was ready to sacrifice everything for me shows me there’s still good out in the world.
“I have a hard time believing my mother and Kenny said no to that…”
“They didn’t,” Devereaux assures me. “However, they did get greedy.”
“In what way?”
“They not only wanted all the wealth your father accumulated over the years on his own, but they also wanted him to sign over all the rights to any future inheritance from their parents.”
“He said no.” I am disappointed, but I understand.
“He didn’t say no, but he tried to be sneaky and hide some assets. To give the two of you a small nest egg to fall back on. I get it,” Devereaux shrugs. “I would’ve done the same if I had to run away like that with my daughter.”
“Is that why they killed him?”
“It was more of a murder done in anger, possible self defense. Hard to tell,” he explains to me. “Kenneth found out about the hidden money. He wanted your father left with absolutely nothing. Elaine didn’t care. But when Kenneth confronted Blake, it got physical.”
I am so enthralled in his story, I’m not sure I’m even breathing.
“Unfortunately, in her efforts to help, Elaine bashed Blake in the back of his head with a candle stick. He just dropped dead.”
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
“By that time, Kenneth was buying drugs off Bricks. That’s who he called to clean everything up, make it look like an accident, then use his connections to cover it all up.”
I am stunned into silence.
“How do you know all this?”
Now it is Devereaux’s turn to clench his teeth and stare into nothing. It is almost as if he is seeing everything in his mind right now, playing each scene with calculated precision.
“I was in contact with Bricks at the time.”
I don’t ask for any other details on that. It is obvious that he is not into sharing more than he already has.
“Is Emily aware of your business dealings?” I ask him even though I already know the answer just from my previous conversation with her.
“She is not,” Devereaux confirms without flinching.
“What about this thing with Arlene? Will it come back to haunt you?”
Devereaux’s face breaks into a smile, the first sincere one I ever witnessed from him.
“It will most definitely come back. No haunting. It will be a good thing.”
“Will Emily be okay with it?” Because I have a feeling this entire story is more than what he’s told me.
