The Money Counter: a Raw Coming-of-age Crime Novel Where Counting Money Means Losing Innocence—follow Shaq’s Descent Street Boys: Shaqs Origins Book

SHAQ’S ORIGIN: BOOK 5 – THE MONEY COUNTERTrust is currency. And one mistake could cost everything.Eleven-year-old Shaq Khan has learned to fight. He’s earned respect. He’s proven himself on the playground and in the streets. But now his brothers are asking him to do something far more dangerous than throw a punch.They’re asking him to become the keeper of secrets.Three weeks after a police raid forces the family into hiding, Zee promotes Shaq to money counter—the person responsible for tracking every pound that flows through their operation. Fifty thousand pounds. A network of dealers. Names that carry weight in the criminal underworld. And one small notebook that contains the map of everything his brothers have built.Shaq is eleven years old. He’s in Year 6 at Winston Primary. And he’s now the most essential person in a drug empire.By day, he’s a student. He goes to school, plays football, sits with his friends at lunch. By night, he counts money in his brother’s bedroom, learns the names of dealers, meets men with scars who command respect through fear. He’s earning money he can never spend, learning secrets he can never share, carrying responsibility that would crush most adults.But as the operation grows, so do the dangers. Rival crews are getting nervous. The police are active. And Shaq is beginning to understand that being trusted doesn’t just mean opportunity—it means liability. It means that if anything goes wrong, he’s the one who will pay the price.Because in this world, loyalty is everything. And betrayal—even accidental betrayal—is death.Part of the Drummond Street Boys UniverseThe Money Counter is Book 5 in Shaq’s Origin—the explosive prequel series that reveals how an eleven-year-old boy became the strategic mastermind behind the Drummond Street Boys empire. Set in parallel with the main Blood & Bottles saga, this is the untold story of Shaq’s transformation from bullied victim to trusted lieutenant to something far more dangerous.Each book in Shaq’s Origin stands alone as a complete story, but together they form an interconnected saga that explains how Shaq rose from the streets of North London to become a legend. Perfect for readers who want to understand the origins of power, the cost of trust, and the impossible choices made when survival demands sacrifice.Fans of Top Boy, The Wire, and gritty coming-of-age street lit will be hooked from page one.⚠️ Contains strong language, drug references, violence, and mature themes.Read Books 1-4 first for full context, or dive in and discover how legends are built—one pound at a time.Start reading now and find out what happens when a child becomes indispensable.