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They’d helped keep my wife alive and my daughter happy. I owed them the biggest debt of gratitude. What right did I have to swoop in and steal them?
The part of me so used to having no money and no ability to put down roots flared. I wanted to do something for them, but what—
You know what.
I stiffened.
I was a Kara now.
I was obscenely fucking wealthy—
“What is it you wanted to tell us?” Neri asked quietly, cutting off my thoughts.
“Ah, yes, well.” Teddy shrugged. “I applied for a job opening at a local architect firm in Brisbane. I can work remotely, so I don’t have to move down there, but...I was offered the job, and I’m gonna take it.”
“Oh.” Neri’s face plummeted.
Eddie flinched. “But what about Lunamare? We’re so close.”
“We’re bankrupt,” Teddy muttered, taking a swig of his beer. “We have all the theory done, but we have no way of building it. Not past leaky prototypes anyway. We don’t even have the money to get planning permission to build on the reef that Jack and Anna have been planting out for us.”
“I understand,” Neri said. “I can’t expect you to work for nothing. We all need money to survive. Bills don’t stop just because we’re trying to change the world on a shoestring.”
“It’s only temporary.” Teddy dug his bare feet into the sand. “I promise. I’ll only work there until we can get another investment injection.”
“I have two podcasts next week.” Neri grinned, optimistic and bright-eyed. “I’m sure the more we get the name and our mission out there, the more people will be intrigued enough to—”
“I’ll invest,” I said, taking a sip of ice-cold beer.
Three sets of eyes shot to me. “Say what?” Teddy asked. “How on earth would you do that? You’re as penniless as we are.” He laughed under his breath. “Unless you’re going to get your old job back working for your previous landlord, Griffen Yule, in Townsville?”
“No. They’re not allowed to leave yet, remember?” Eddie said, shuddering. “I need time to say goodbye to our little moonbeam. Not sure how I’m gonna cope not hearing her darling voice in the morning.”
Neri gave him a hug. “We’re not going anywhere yet, Ed. You have my word. Aslan can move in with us and—”
“Reject the job, Theodore,” I cut in. “Stay with Lunamare.” I tried to fight my smile but couldn’t. “How much did you say you needed? To start breaking ground on building whatever pods or bubbles you’ve designed?”
Eddie and Teddy shared a frown before bursting into laughter. “Why? You got a spare couple of million lying around, Aslan?”
“Ha, good one.” Eddie snickered and tapped his bottle with Teddy’s. “Wait...don’t you mean ten million? It’s easily gonna be north of—”
“Done.” I crossed my arms. “Ten million to start with. More when you need it. I’ll have the funds transferred in the morning.”
“Wait...” Neri froze. “What...what do you mean? How...how is that possible?” She swayed on the spot and tripped toward me. “Aslan...?”
Chuckling under my breath, I pulled out my phone from my borrowed shorts, pulled up the app for Cem’s bank accounts—my bank accounts—and put in the password I had yet to change.
Cem had been nothing but nostalgic and had used my birthday as the log-in. Hardly secure and it was on my very long list of things to change but it was also rather...sweet.
For all his short-comings and all the pain he’d put me through, he’d given me everything he’d ever created, and in a way, that made my forgiveness far easier to give.
“It’s not dirty money. Actually, that’s a lie.” I passed my phone to Neri, the blue light of the screen etching her face. “It’s laundered, sure. But it can’t be traced back to the illegal ways he got it. And you have my word the rest will be clean because I’m not running the same business he was. I understand if you’d rather not touch it—considering where it came from, but I’d like it to be used for good, even if it came from something bad.”
I shot Neri a look, making sure she remembered not to say what shady businesses I meant or what I’d promised to do in return for my visa to be granted and access to Australia reinstated.
Her eyes dropped from mine, glued to the phone, then snapped closed as if she’d pass out. “Holy shit, I-I can’t breathe.”
I shot forward and scooped her into my arms. Taking the phone, I chuckled. “Did you think I’d returned to you like you’d first found me? Shipwrecked with nothing in his pockets?”
