Page 56 of Booked for Theft

The government had succeeded, and only luck and knowing when to start looking had revealed secrets those in power wanted to remain hidden. I realized that, if I could pull it off, I could steal something: the government’s ability to govern. The theft would take place in front of everyone, and I would transform myself from an exsanguinator into a magician.

I held the first key in my hand. Knowledge of the past might unite everyone for the common cause, much like the country had united during the American Revolution. Division would happen; it was the nature of humans to conflict with one another and the world around them. Could the truth of why the calendar had split, all so the government and its corrupt politicians could divide the nation sufficiently to form a dictatorship, change our future?

When I viewed the country through the lens of a dictator, one who wanted only the loyal to remain in his country, everything made sense.

The purge would have left many loyalists behind, and there would have been an exodus of Americans who wished to remain with their families and loved ones. Had they fled to Europe? Canada? Mexico? That I couldn’t tell from the sea of paperwork in front of me. What had happened to the millions of Americans stripped of their home and citizenship?

I feared the answers were where I couldn’t access them, overseas where the population likely had a healthier concept of the past. Or did they?

Had the United States, in its effort to crush its own people, changed the entire planet? I considered the situation and the steps we needed to take to get our friends and family abroad for a trip.

At ten thousand a person, only the rich could afford to go—and would the rich really spend any of their time looking into the history of their government’s treachery? Or would they be enjoying the sights and doing as tourists did?

Most Americans didn’t need to travel abroad in order to take a vacation. The United States of America had plenty of land to trick people into thinking they escaped to somewhere new and interesting. Those in New York could visit Los Angeles. Those living in the vast spaces between the coasts could—and did—visit the ocean.

Add in a cultural preference for avoiding travel, and the government could keep everyone close to home. With a growing sense of horror, I realized most likely had no idea they needed to pay the equivalent of bond to escape.

That Bradley could afford the bill made me wonder just how much he’d worked while I’d been missing.

Sighing, I leaned in the direction of the kitchen and hollered, “Hey, Bradley?”

He strolled in, and the kittens chased after him, attacking his feet. “What is it?”

“I’m feeling brave enough to ask for more information on our practical financial situation. How badly in debt are we after paying for that cruise and everyone’s travel fees? You also bought the music and the books.”

“We aren’t in debt.”

I scowled. “How is that even possible, Mr. Hampton? I was gone nine months, not nine years!”

“Shortly after you disappeared, I invested three million dollars into a risky stock. I bought in at approximately ten cents a share.”

“You spent three million dollars on shares that cost ten cents each? How is that even possible?”

Bradley picked the chair closest to me and sat down. “The company is old, they did a lot of splits when they first had their financial woes, and it was a coin toss if they would go bankrupt. I decided to gamble. A month before you showed up, the stock surged, and I sold close to peak. Since the time between purchase and sale was longer than six months, I was able to sell as long-term stocks. The company is doing decently now, but it has settled to a sensible cost per stock, and it looks like they’ll continue to survive, which is good. It’s a computer system manufacturer. Apparently, they won a big government contract six months after I bought.”

“And you have no political aspirations, so there was no risk of inside trading,” I murmured.

“Correct. Anyway, when I bought my thirty billion shares in the company, the company had a hundred billion shares. I invested a hundred thousand on behalf of your parents, and at my encouragement, my parents invested half a million. We all sold at the peak, and that’s that.”

“All right. I’m ready. How much did they sell for per share?”

“Sixty-two dollars. The stock settled at forty a share.”

I sucked in a breath, and my eyes widened. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”

“I lost twenty-five percent to taxes.”

Grabbing my purse, I got out my phone and made use of the calculator. “And you said you weren’t anywhere near as wealthy as the political junkies?”

“Well, I’m not! Most of those assholes are trillionaires.”

“Are you telling me that you’re a literal billionaire?”

“And as soon as we are married, you will also be one, yes. I had no problem buying the books and music because I’d rather that money exist in a tangible fashion. It makes me feel a little better about the situation. I also donated a bunch to various charities. Honestly, and I probably should have told you this earlier, the reason the shelter let me just pick kittens is because I pay for their operations. I know how important Ajani is for you, so I just wiped out the shelter’s debt, bought their building, and handle all their basic costs to exist. All they worry about is rescuing animals and finding good homes for them. I will also be donating the salaries of the workers there. It’s a non-profit, so it’s tax deductible. I just marked the entire building off my taxes as a charitable donation. That was a lot of paperwork. Ren didn’t like me for a solid week over that, because I had to write the leasing documentation to pull that off. They have an eternal free lease on the place for as long as they’re using it to rescue animals and find homes for the furred, feathered, and scaled residents. The downside? The government checks to make certain they’re doing their rescue work.”

I spluttered. “You made it seem like the money would be a problem.”

“Janette, think about it. You and the others are all librarians. You work hard for the money, and you’re proud of getting by without handouts. I wasn’t entirely honest with our parents over how much I invested. I removed more than a few zeros from the amount I told them I invested. Everyone else thinks they got the lion’s share of the stock purchase. And my parents? Dad’s busy with the security company. Mom’s locked on to the government. All I did was buy and sell from their stock account on their behalf. Mom keeps offering to buy our new sports car because she thinks I wiped out most of my money. In reality? That’s not the case. But I am doing something that you might become upset with me over.”