Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 30: Filthy RiChapter

James didn't say anything as the car continued down the road. Charlotte sat beside him, her small hands resting on her lap, eyes fixed on the moving city outside the window.

"What happens next?" She asked, her voice quiet.

"The funeral." James said. "But before that, we need to claim what's yours."

She finally turned to look at him. "What does that mean?"

"We're going to the central bank." He explained. "Your father had a safe there. I've known about it for a while. If we show the right documents, they should give us access to it."

"And the funeral?" She asked.

"They first need to..." James trailed off.

Charlotte tilted her head slightly. "Need to what?"

He exhaled. "There's a law," he said finally, keeping his voice steady. "People like your father can't be buried only cremated."

Charlotte didn't say anything, her expression unreadable.

"And his grave?" She asked after a moment.

"Only an empty coffin, ceremonial thing." James admitted. "The headstone will have nothing on it."

She was silent for a long time.

Then, in a voice too calm for a child, she said. "That's okay."

James glanced at her, but she had already turned back to the window.

The rest of the drive was silent. James kept glancing at Charlotte, but she didn't move, didn't fidget, didn't ask any more questions.

When they arrived she held onto James coat as they entered the massive building.

Inside, the air smelled of paper and polished wood.

Everything was too big for her, the counters, the chairs, even the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. She didn't look nervous, though. Just quiet.

Before they could even say anything, a man stepped in front of them.

"Nice to meet you. I assume you are James Bellini and Augustus Charlotte?" The man said.

James nodded. "Yeah, that's us."

"Please, follow me."

They did as instructed, walking behind him through a series of hallways until they reached an area with nothing but guards and a massive vault.

"This is our main safety deposit vault." The man explained, gesturing toward the enormous structure. "But this isn't what you're looking for."

He turned to the right, where a reinforced safe stood alone.

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"This is the vault belonging to Lucian."

James's mouth parted slightly in shock. The sheer size of the safe was unlike anything he had expected.

The man continued. "Lucian informed me some time ago that James Bellini would come with a girl. He gave clear instructions."

Stepping forward, he began inputting a long passcode into the security panel. After a moment, there was a loud clank, followed by the slow, heavy groaning of the massive door unlocking.

"I'll handle the paperwork in the meantime." The man added. "The contents will be registered under your name, sir." He gave a short nod before stepping away, closing a barred door behind him to give them privacy.

"So... should we step in?" James asked.

"Yeah." Charlotte said without hesitation.

With that, they entered.

"Oh my God... Lucian." James muttered, letting go of Charlotte's hand in shock.

Before them, in the center of the vault, was a massive pile of gold bars. To the right, stacks of bundled cash.

But what truly caught James's attention was on the left, a giant portrait of Lucian himself, seated on a grand throne, dressed like a king.

"Are you shocked?" Charlotte asked, tilting her head.

James exhaled. "Yeah... I knew he was a narcissist, but not this much."

"Narcis-what?"

"Nothing..." James sighed, rubbing his head. "Just go look around."

Charlotte didn't hesitate, stepping forward into the vault, her small figure barely a shadow among the overwhelming wealth surrounding them.

James stepped toward the pile of gold bars and squatted down, counting. There were 30, 1 kilo bars in one column. He stood up, did a quick count and counted 50 columns in total.

He pulled out his phone to check the gold price.

"94 thousand a kilo..."

"What?" Charlotte asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing." He smiled and put his phone away before stepping over to the stacks of cash.

The top bundle had a piece of paper on the top.

50 million.

James ran a hand through his hair.

Lucian, you bastard...

Why the hell are they all in five hundred dollar bills? The most obvious sign that this is illegal... Ahh, I need to clean this fast...

Charlotte was already eyeing the pile with curiosity. "Can I take a note?" she asked.

"No." James said quickly. "I need to... you know, write some papers to make it official first, but let's check out the safety boxes. Come on." James said, picking up Charlotte and stepping toward the wall where the safety deposit boxes were located.

"Open one." He said.

Charlotte reached for the left one, opening in. She pulled out a small box and slowly opened it.

"So pretty..." She whispered, mesmerized by the diamonds inside.

They gleamed under the vault light, each one cut to perfection.

James stared, stunned.

I've never seen diamonds this big... just how much money did you leave this girl?

"Aren't they pretty?" Charlotte asked, looking up at him.

"Yes, they are. But open the other one too."

Charlotte carefully placed the diamond box back, then turned to unlock the next safety deposit box.

"Nothing.."

"What?" James bent down to check for himself, but she was right, there was really nothing inside.

"Well then, open the last one."

Charlotte reached for the final box. She pulled out a small pouch, her fingers hesitating before she opened it. Inside was a single folded piece of paper.

She unfolded it carefully, her brows furrowing.

"There's writing." she whispered, then turned to James and handed it to him. "Read it."

James took the paper, his eyes scanning the simple yet heavy words.

"Our blood binds us, for life."

"What does it mean?"

James forced a smirk. "It means Lucian was dramatic as hell."

Charlotte giggled, but James couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this message than it seemed.

He put down Charlotte and gave her the box with diamonds closing back the safety boxes.

"How much money is this?" Charlotte asked, her voice filled with curiosity looking at the gold.

"So much money that you will never need a job in your life."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "That much?"

"Yeah."

Charlotte kept stared at the gold bars, the stacks of cash, and the diamonds. "So... what do we do with it?"

James sighed, kneeling down so they were at eye level. "Because this bank is under government control. If they start asking questions about where all this came from, things could get complicated."

Charlotte blinked. "Oh... So where are we taking it?"

"A private bank." James said, pulling out his phone. "Somewhere with no questions asked, no records leaked, and people who know how to keep their mouths shut."

Charlotte nodded. "So...we just put it in another bank?"

"Not exactly. We'll spread it out, different places, different names. And some of it won't go into banks at all."

Charlotte frowned. "Then where will it go...?"

Should I really explain it to a kid?

"Somewhere safe."

"That's not an answer."

James chuckled. "It's the only answer you need for now."

Charlotte grinned but didn't argue. Instead, she looked at the piles of gold and money again.

"How do we even move all this? It's heavy."

"That's why I've got people." He tapped a few things on his phone and sent a message. "They'll handle the transfer. Trucks, security, everything."

Before she could ask more, a knock echoed from the barred door. The same bank official from earlier returned, holding a folder.

"Mr. Bellini, everything has been processed. The assets are now officially under the designated name."

James took the folder, flipping through the papers. He nodded in satisfaction before handing it to Charlotte.

She blinked, confused. "What name?"

James looked down at her. "Yours."

Charlotte's eyes widened as she stared at the folder, then at him. "Mine?"

"Yeah. This isn't just some stash of money, kid. It's your inheritance now."

Charlotte held the folder tighter. "So... I'm really rich?"

James smirked. "Filthy rich." She hesitated, looking at the gold again.

"Then... what do I do now?"

"Nothing really, if you need something ask and I buy it."

"I want a horse."

James blinked. "A... horse?"

Charlotte nodded seriously. "A big one."

A horse where do I put a horse?

"A fast one." She continued.

Why not a barbie or something else...

"Okay I will buy you a horse that can outrun the IRS.."

She tilted her head. "What's the IRS?"

"Something scarier than your dad was"

Charlotte gasped. "Scarier?"

"Way scarier."

"Okay. Then I want two horses, just in case one gets tired running from them."

James laughed and they stepped out of the vault and Charlotte was marching ahead with all the confidence of a tiny warlord.

As they hopped into the car, James realized that Charlotte was serious, dead serious about these horses.

"Wait, so it wasn't a joke? The horses?" James asked.

Her expression suddenly changed.

"In that big house where I lived, Dad bought horses. I liked them, but when he was imprisoned, the horses were sold."

So the horses somewhat connected them.

Charlotte looked out the window, her small fingers gripping the edge of her seat. "They were mine... but they took them away. Just like everything else."

"Alright we'll get you some horses."

Charlotte turned to him, her eyes searching his face. "Really?"

James smirked. "Yeah. Fast ones. Ones that can outrun the IRS and anyone else who tries to take them from you."

As they drove off, James found himself wondering not for the first time just how far he'd go to keep that smile on her face.