Only a Millionaire (The Sinclairs #6.5)(27)

“Have they?” I questioned.

“Not for the most part. I admit that I had to give them all some time to digest the information, but we eventually saw eye to eye. It wasn’t our fault, but it sure as hell wasn’t theirs, either. The people responsible are dead, and we were all victims of circumstance. My siblings and I had the money, but all of us put up with our father’s abuse. Brooke’s family had an actual bond that money could never take away, but they struggled because they were poor. I’m not sure which was worse or better. It’s taken years for my sister and brothers to be this close. Brooke’s siblings have never known what it’s like to not protect each other.”

“So all of them are suddenly wealthy?” That had to be a shock for the California Sinclairs.

“Billionaires,” Evan said. “I worked their share of the inheritance as hard as I did my own. They all received over a billion dollars once I’d separated the funds.”

I’d been raised in a middle-class family, and I still wasn’t used to being a millionaire. I could only imagine how Brooke and her siblings must feel.

“Did they all accept it?” I asked curiously.

“Not right away. It took them a while to realize they were entitled to it. They were heirs, even though their mother’s marriage to my father wasn’t legal. He was already married with children when he decided to become a bigamist, but they’re all blood children.”

“Are you sure there are no more families?”

Evan took a drink from his glass and swallowed before he answered, “As sure as I can be. I think by now, I’d probably know. The pictures I saw were definitely of Noah, Seth, and Aiden. They verified it.”

“What kind of person does something like that?” I wondered aloud.

“You never knew my father,” Evan replied drily. “Be glad you didn’t. He should have never been a father at all. He was not only psychotic, but a sadist as well. Life wasn’t easy in our household, and every one of us lived in fear of his tirades. It was a relief for us when he was out of town.”

“Do Hope and your brothers know?” I asked, wondering if anyone except Evan had been informed.

“Not yet. I couldn’t risk any of them slipping up with Brooke, but we’re getting together over the weekend. I’ll tell them when they’re all here. I can happily say that I doubt a single one of them will have anything but love to give to our half siblings.”

Evan sounded proud of that, and I couldn’t blame him. I knew he was right. Xander would love having more family, and I was willing to bet that Hope would want to meet her newfound sisters and other family. The only Sinclair sister had been outnumbered for years. “Hope will love Brooke,” I said without thinking.

“I know she will,” Evan drawled. “She’ll finally have females on her side.”

“I think it will destroy Brooke that all of her family kept this from her,” I warned.

“She’ll eventually understand that we were put in a bad situation. It was either lie, or dump all of this on her when she couldn’t emotionally handle any more. None of us liked lying to her or keeping things from her.”

“So did she go back to California to check on her family?”

“More like confront them,” he explained. “She had plenty of choice words for me, and I’m sure she has many left for her family. She’s angry. And obviously hurt. Everything has changed in Citrus Beach. I think she needed to see if everyone was still the same.”

“Changed . . . how?”

Evan threw back the rest of his drink before he answered, “Her siblings started putting their money to work months ago. Noah left his computer-programming job to pursue his own business. He’d developed a dating app that’s actually quite clever. Now he finally has the resources to launch his own ideas. Seth and Aiden left their regular jobs, too. Seth was in construction, and Aiden fished commercially. They’re doing start-ups in their fields of interest now. Jade can do much more than work for other people now that she’s earned her doctorate. Owen is still in his residency, but he no longer has to worry about how to pay his student loans.”

How many people wished they could get the same break in life? Not that I didn’t think all of Brooke’s siblings deserved it, but it must have completely blown their minds. “Why do I have a feeling that you’re hands-on in all of their businesses?” I said suspiciously.

“I’m not,” he stated. “I help them when they need me, and I’m happy to do it. But I have no financial interest in any of them. I’m pretty sure my brothers and Hope will jump in to offer them their expertise as well.”

I never doubted that Evan wasn’t trying to profit from what his new siblings were doing. I was just certain that they weren’t doing it without some of the best business advice. “I knew you’d help them,” I clarified.

Having assistance from Evan Sinclair was probably every entrepreneur’s dream.

He was solemn as he replied, “All I want for them is to be able to have the life they should have had.”

I stood up, no longer able to sit without trying to reach Brooke again. “I have to go throw some stuff together so I can leave for California. I have to see Brooke.”

“I wanted to protect her from anything that could hurt her after all she’s been through, but we didn’t end on a good note,” Evan said with an uncharacteristic remorsefulness.