We Want Mommy Not You Daddy (Cedar) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Oliver’s POV

Mommy went straight to her desk. I climbed onto the small sofa with Sir Fluffy and watched as she picked up her phone. She took a deep breath before dialing.

“Hello, Mr. Abernathy? This is Cedar Wright… Yes, regarding the investment opportunity we discussed…” Her voice changed when she talked business–all grown–up and professional.

1 hugged Sir Fluffy closer as the person on the other end talked for a long time. Mommy’s face fell a little.

“I understand your concerns… Yes, of course… Thank you for your consideration.”

She hung up and immediately dialed another number. Then another. And another. Each call ended the same way–with Mommy’s smile getting smaller and her shoulders dropping lower.

After the fifth call, she put down the phone and rubbed her eyes. I could see she was trying not to cry. My chest felt all tight watching her. At home, Daddy never looks sad about money. He just makes phone calls and problems go away.

Mommy noticed me watching and quickly put on a smile. “How about some dinner, sweetie? I think we have pasta and—*

“I’ll be happy with anything you make!” I jumped up, wanting to make her happy again.

While Mommy chopped vegetables in the kitchen, I sneaked out my tablet from my backpack. Daddy had set up a special account for me with a little money

for emergencies. Maybe I could give it to Mommy for her eight million dollars!

I tapped the screen and entered my password (it’s “cookiemonster‘-don’t tell Daddy). But when I tried to open the money app, a message popped up:

[Account access temporarily restricted. Please contact your guardian.]

“No, no, no!” I whispered, stomping my foot quietly on the carpet. “Stupid Daddy and his stupid rules!” Of course, he’d frozen my account after I

disappeared. He controls EVERYTHING.

I needed to help Mommy get that eight million dollars so the mean Wright people would leave her alone. But how? I’m just a kid with a frozen bank

account.

Wait–maybe Aria has money! She gets paid for her dancing shows!

I pulled out my special phone and video called Aria. After a few rings, her face appeared on the screen. She was sitting in her pink bedroom, carefully

brushing her favorite doll’s hair.

“Ari, do you have any money?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

She looked up, suspicious. “Why?”

“Just wondering.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “All my money goes into my trust fund that Aiden manages. I only get my allowance.”

“But you’re on TV! Don’t you get paid lots?”

1/3

3:50 pm D M

Chapter 17

“Duh, Oliver. But Aiden says I’m not fiscally responsible yet. She made air quotes with her fingers. ‘I asked for money to buy the new dress and he said no.

He’s so mean about money.”

1 sighed. ‘Aiden controls everything.”

“Why do you need money anyway? Did you break something? Aria narrowed her eyes.

“No! I just… need it.”

“Whatever. Ask Aiden if you’re desperate. He has access to everything.” She went back to brushing her doll’s hair, clearly done with me.

Back in my room, I started thinking about all the ways I could get money. I could ask Daddy, but he’d definitely say no and get super suspicious about why I needed it. Breaking open my piggy bank wouldn’t help much, as it only had $ 556.20 inside. I thought about selling my toys, but that would take forever and probably wouldn’t make enough money anyway. Finally, I realized my only real option was to ask Aiden, since he had access to all our accounts and trust

funds.

Aiden was my only hope. My big brother might be strict, but he’d always looked out for me, even when I was being a “pain in his posterior” (his words).

1 grabbed my special phone that only calls family members and hid in the bathroom. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears as I pressed

Aiden’s picture.

“Oliver?” Aiden answered on the second ring. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Addie,” I said, using my special nickname for him. “I need a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” His voice was immediately suspicious.

I took a deep breath. “I need eight million dollars.”

Silence. Then: “What?”

“Eight million dollars. I need it. It’s important.”

“Oliver, what are you talking about? Where are you? Does this have something to do with why you ran away?”

“I can’t tell you,” I said firmly. “But I really, really need it. And if you don’t help me, I… I won’t recognize you as my big brother anymore!”

“Oliver-

“Please, Addie! It’s for someone really important who needs help!”

Just then, Mommy’s voice floated down the hall. ‘Oliver? Mommy made dinner. Come eat, sweetie!

My blood turned to ice as Aiden’s voice sharpened. “Who was that? Oliver, who’s with you?”

‘Nobody! Just… a neighbor kid’s mom,‘ I lied, panicking. “So will you help me? Can you transfer the money?”

‘Oliver Sterling, you tell me exactly where-‘

“Gotta go! Love you! Please hurry with the money!” I hung up quickly, my hands shaking.

2/3

Chapter 17

I raced to the kitchen, where Mommy had set the table with pasta and garlic bread. She smiled when I appeared, and my heart felt all warm again.

“Everything okay? You look flushed,” she said, touching my forehead.

“Just hungry! I climbed into my chair, trying to act normal while my mind raced.

As we ate dinner, Mommy asked about my favorite rides at Navy Pier and laughed at my silly jokes. She even helped me to cut my garlic bread into little pieces. But I could see the tired lines around her eyes that weren’t there this morning. And sometimes when she thought I wasn’t looking, her smile would drop and she’d stare at nothing for a second before snapping back.

I pushed my pasta around my plate, not really hungry anymore. Grown–ups think kids don’t notice stuff, but we do. I notice everything. Like how Mommy’s voice gets all tight when she talks about money, or how she keeps checking her phone even though nobody’s calling.

Would Aiden help me? Maybe. He’s super strict about rules, but he always says Sterlings stick together no matter what. And Mommy is a Sterling too, even if

nobody else knows it yet.

I took a big bite of garlic bread and made a decision. I was going to fix this. I wasn’t going to let anyone take Mommy away from me–not those mean

Wright people, not Daddy, nobody.

Comments

✅ 2