Page 54 of The Tempo of Truth (The Monsters Duet #3)

“What do you want?” I didn’t ask how he found me.

Anyone who followed the society pages knew I was there to pick up Lowe from school every day.

There were often pictures of the two of us walking or riding back to the brownstone.

There were even entire articles written about my newfound bond with Win, since we were frequently photographed together waiting for the kids.

No one knew that in those moments, Win was reminding me he could make me disappear if I ever hurt Winnie and Lowe.

He was scarier than any overprotective father, but I appreciated how much he cared for my small family.

“As I said, we received an anonymous letter postmarked from Russia at my office a few weeks ago. Since I’m Russian, I didn’t think much of it until I opened it and found a list of instructions.

I had no intention of going on a wild goose chase for a client whom I can’t give billable hours to, but my curiosity got the better of me.

I ended up at a security box kept in a Russian-owned bank.

The box belonged to Lev Petrov, and inside was his last wishes, and a fat check to cover the expenses of the damn scavenger hunt.

” The older man smirked. “It seems like he was checking in with someone back in the homeland, and as soon as he missed one update, his contact in Russia put things in motion to settle his estate stateside. The reason I tracked you down today is simple. You’re the sole beneficiary of Lev’s estate.

He left everything he had to you, Mr. Kent.

I tried other ways to reach out, but you’re shrouded in the Halliday’s security vortex.

I couldn’t even get my hands on a real contact number for you. You’re very well insulated, Mr. Kent.”

Lowe bopped his head around and squirmed in my arms. I looked down at him, trying to process what the stranger was talking about.

“Lev didn’t have shit. What could he possibly have left for me?

” I chuckled with no humor. “Was he in debt and expected me to pay it off? The gym burned down, but he didn’t own the building or have insurance.

He was always on the lookout for a way to make a quick buck. ”

The other man’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“I didn’t know Mr. Petrov, but I can assure you, anyone who went to the lengths he did to protect his assets and make sure they couldn’t be accessed by anyone but those he specified after his passing had a lot to protect.

My view is that Mr. Petrov went out of his way to keep you in the dark because his estate is worth millions .

I can’t give you the specifics until we formally meet and go through the legality of verifying your identity and all the paperwork attached to probate.

” The older man grinned at me, and I felt a shiver of shock and delight skate up my spine.

“You’re about to be an extremely wealthy man, Mr. Kent. ”

I shook my head, numbness spreading from the center of my chest to my extremities, making my fingers tingle.

“How is this possible? Are you sure you have the right person?” The Lev I knew barely made ends meet and griped over the smallest cent.

How could a guy like that be a Russian oligarch, and I never realized it?

I felt like I had stepped into The Twilight Zone.

“This is one of those hidden camera pranks, right? Mino set this up because I bailed the last time he asked me to help out at the restaurant, right?” I couldn’t believe what the man in the leather jacket was telling me.

A business card was shoved into my hand.

Lowe had to grab it because I was too slow to respond.

“Come by the office when you’re free. Mr. Petrov has accounts spread widely across the globe.

Gaining access to them all will take some time.

It’s obvious he was very cautious and extremely secretive with his wealth.

Maybe he had something to hide.” The older man chuckled.

“You’re a fortunate man, Mr. Kent. Few people can say they are favored by this type of good fortune.

You are truly blessed.” He gave a jaunty wave and stepped off the curb, jogging across the street and climbing into a sleek supercar before disappearing into traffic.

I was still in shock and nearly dropped Lowe when he started to impatiently squirm. The lawyer said Lev was a millionaire, which meant I was going to be a millionaire once I inherited his estate.

Considering I had maybe two hundred and fifty bucks in my bank account at the moment, I felt like I lost my balance.

The entire world shifted when I thought about all those zeros.

I’d never been on equal footing with Winnie financially.

I’d gotten used to being loved for who I was and not what I had.

But now I had SO FUCKING MUCH, I couldn’t think straight.

I put Lowe back on his skateboard and watched him start to kick the ground and roll forward. He looked over his shoulder at me and asked, “Your friend left you a gift?”

I cleared my throat and followed behind him.

“It sounds like it.” A gift like that would change the course of my entire life.

I watched my carbon copy skate in front of me and called out, “Lowe.” Once the little boy turned to look at me, I told him, “Do you know that you’re the best gift I’ve ever gotten?

Nothing compares to you, little man. I owe your mom more than I can ever say for giving you to me. ”

Bright eyes and a toothy grin were followed by the self-assured, “Of course. I’m the best. I’m way better than a million dollars. Let’s go get ice cream. We can take Mommy some since we have a lot of time.”

Life had a weird way of balancing the scales. When I was greedy and wanted too much, I lost everything. When I finally learned to be happy with nothing extra, everything fell into my lap and mocked my pathetic struggles.

I was about to be the worst millionaire on the block. A guy like me was never meant to have an unlimited amount of money. I never appreciated it when I had it.

I couldn’t wait to take what Lev left me and use it to make him proud. He probably wanted me to live large and show the rich jerks in Winnie’s world that money didn’t make the man. I could see him funding the ultimate fuck you.

And while I now had enough to buy my way onto a new team—hell, I might have enough to start my own—the pitch didn’t hold as much appeal as it had previously.

I was much more interested in giving guys like me a second chance when they needed it most. Even losers needed someone to believe in them, and with Lev’s money, I could carry on his mission of taking in strays and turning them into dogs who could fight for themselves.

And maybe I could start an inner-city football club.

That was something I would’ve loved when I was a poor kid playing my heart out and going nowhere.

I had enough money to make a difference, and I was practically giddy with all the options swirling through my head.

I’d always been a guy who hurt. I couldn’t contain my excitement about being a guy who could heal for once.

Whatever I didn’t spend trying to improve the lives of others, I’d leave for Lowe.

He could run Halliday Inc. if he wanted to take after his mom, or own his own football team if he decided to follow in my footsteps.

Whatever he decided, I knew Winnie and I would be there to support him fully in the future.

“Your mom is working hard; she definitely deserves a treat. Let’s go.”

The End