Page 12 of Ruthless Legacy

Chapter Five

When I reach the kitchen, my brother is already tucking into a full English breakfast. He looks so grown-up and handsome in his new school uniform.

“Look at you,” I tease as I take a seat beside him at the giant kitchen island. I run my hands along the white marble work top. “All smart and handsome.”

Kit rolls his eyes at me. “Shut up.” He looks over at me and grins. “Look at you, all cute and girly.”

I sweep a quick glance over to make sure Edith isn’t looking and then I give him the finger.

“Here you go, Eliza.” She comes bustling over with a plate loaded with sausages, bacon, eggs, beans and even hash browns.

“Woah, Edith, this is way too much food for me.” I stare at the full plate before me. “In future, poached eggs on toast will do me just fine, please.”

Edith shakes her head at me. “Young girls today, so obsessed with their figures.”

I go to protest that I’m not obsessed with my figure, I just like to lead a healthy lifestyle and feed my body with good food, but I decide not to bother. It would seem Edith likes to mother us, so I’m best leaving her to it.

I eat around half of what she’s given me and grab a second cup of coffee. I can’t function in the morning without coffee.

Calvin arrives to take us to school and Edith sees us off at the door, telling us to have a great day and to make sure we eat a good lunch. The woman is clearly a feeder.

We set off down the long driveway and I look over to Kit. “You ready for this?’

He nods his head. “Yeah, I can’t wait to see the sports facilities.”

I nod my head and smile enthusiastically, but secretly I’m pessimistic about how this will go. Not only are we new, but we haven’t grown up with money. We come from a working-class are and our accents give that away. I’m not convinced that there will red carpet roll out for us, or a warm welcome.

I look to the front of our car, to our driver, Calvin. Time to pick his brains about this place.

“Hey, Calvin, what do you know about the Aces?”

Calvin looks at me in surprise through his front mirror. “How have you heard about them already?”

Ah shit. “Social media,” I reply, thinking on the hoof. “I’ve been doing some snooping and saw some kid mentioned the Aces like it’s some sort of elusive boys’ club.”

Calvin chuckles. “Yes, the Aces is a bit of an age-old tradition round here. It’s the four founding families of the Bay. The Alderman’s, the Colling’s, the Ellsworth’s, and the Savage’s. The four families are the powerhouse of this bay. One of the four families has built or owns everything you see.”

Kit chuckles. “The Savage’s; they don’t sound friendly.”

Calvin shrugs his shoulders. “The Savage’s are a very wealthy family. They own a large chain of well-known restaurants and clubs, and some health spa resorts. For as long as I can remember, everyone has held the Aces in revere, all wanting to be a part of their group.”

“Did you know our dad?” Kit asks him, and I see Calvin visibly stiffen.

“Yes, I knew your dad. We grew up together. He was a good few years older than me, though.”

I lean forward in my seat, eager to ask more questions about our father, but Calvin turns on the radio and turns his attention back to the road.

“Why does it feel like this place is full of secrets?” Kit whispers to me, a frown etched on his face.

“Probably because it is,” I reply. Why does everyone shut down when we ask about our dad? At least at school, I may be able to do some snooping and find out more about why our dad ran away from this place and never looked back.

We pass through a grand entrance of two large gate pillars that have twin huge stone hawks standing on stone spheres, their wings spread like they are ready to take flight. The long driveway gradually reveals and very gothic, old looking building, complete with stone gargoyles and turrets. I feel like I’m stepping into a scene from HP. I mean who goes to school in a place like this?

Calvin waits behind other cars that pull up in front of the school, dropping off children at the front. It’s a far cry from what we’re used to. At some of our foster homes the local authorities paid a taxi firm to take us to school; nothing shouts ‘children in care’ louder than going to school in a taxi every day. Here, however, all the kids are being dropped off in a Mercedes or Range Rover. There are definitely no taxis here.

Calvin pulls up outside the grand school entrance, then opens my brother’s door for him to climb out. I open my door before he can get round to my side, and step out. I look up at the large, imposing building — this place is enormous. I hope the map is easy to follow because finding our way around this vast place will not be easy. Calvin hands me my bag.

“Have a good day, both of you. I’ll be here at the end of the day to pick you up.” We both nod our heads and turn our attention to the school. People are already noticing us. I imagine around here, new people stick out like a sore thumb, especially new, poor people.

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