Page 65 of Grumpy Sunshine

“When I found out where you were, I felt like I might need a hand,” Cakes replied, his eyes zeroing in on Trini.

When his gaze caught hers, his lip curled.

Trini’s face went paler, if that was even possible, seeing as it’d gone ghostly white the moment Cakes walked through the door.

“What’s going on?”Cakes asked, sounding deadly.

“Well, she decided to break into Aella’s place again while I was here, and I’m fuckin’ exhausted fightin’ off the flu.Figured you could do the honors, seeing as you’ve got some questions you want to ask anyway,” I informed him quietly, taking a seat on the couch and lying back on it.

I could see everything from my position, which was good because I didn’t want to miss the show, sick or not.

“Trini,” Cakes said.“Long time no see.What’s it been?Twenty-five years?”

Trini, unsurprisingly, didn’t answer.

“I have questions, and you’re going to answer them,” Cakes said as he took the chair across the table from Trini.

Trini glared hard.

“I know about your operation,” he said.“I know that you’re a con artist.I know that you’ve been stealing from your daughters their entire life.I know that you’ve taken out multiple loans in their names, ruined their credit, and done countless other atrocities to them that makes it near impossible to live their lives.”

Trini still stayed silent, even though there was a burn solidifying in my chest that had nothing to do with the flu.

“I know that you’re doing something else with their information, like something that’s going to blow back on them and really fuck them over.That’s why you keep going to their houses looking for something, but you haven’t found it yet.What is it that you’re looking for?”

Trini remained silent.

“Let’s start with the easy questions then,” Cakes said when she kept her mouth shut.“Is she mine?”

Trini grinned.“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Cakes crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back.

“Hush, could you give Apollo a call?”Cakes asked casually.“I think I need to go ahead and show her what happens when she doesn’t answer a question.”

Jasper pulled out his phone and rang Apollo, who answered sounding very chipper.

“Holy shit, Hush.You’re calling me?Is the world ending?”Apollo cried.

“It’s actually me,” Cakes said.“Hey, you know that account you got into a few days ago for me?”

“Sure do,” Apollo replied.

“I need you to get into it again.Drain everything,” Cakes said.

“Like, all million dollars?”he asked.“Where do you want it to go?”

“Put it in Chevy’s account for now.He can transfer it over when she gets her own bank account,” he said.“It’s her money anyway, seeing as her mother kept taking out loans in her name.”

That had anger once again churning in my gut.

Was she still doing it?

“I haven’t touched their shit in years.They have a freeze on their credit,” Trini tried.“That’s actually my money.”

“It’s interest and repayment for the loans you took out when Aella was nine,” Cakes replied.“Or, possibly, the one that you took out in her name when she was fifteen.”

“I had to keep the lights on and the bills paid.”Trini rolled her eyes, as if she couldn’t care less that she’d ruined her daughter’s life.

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