2025-08-08 16:19:31Connor Waratah stood outside the dingy Melbourne apartment building, tossing a garbage bag into the dumpster when a sleek black sedan pulled up. A well-dressed man in his fifties stepped out, bowing respectfully.
"Young Master Connor," Jimmy Coolabah said, his voice carrying years of servitude. "I've come to bring you home." Connor's face hardened. "Don't call me that. I'm nobody's young master." "Your mother, Mrs. Waratah, wishes to apologize for the past. The family needs you to return to Sydney and accept your rightful position as heir to the Waratah empire." "Apologize?" Connor laughed bitterly. "Where was this apology when I was trying to save the Billabong Elder Care Home? When I begged them for help and they branded me a thief instead?" Jimmy's expression remained patient. "The family made mistakes—" "Mistakes?" Connor's voice rose. "They threw me out like garbage when all I wanted was to help the place that raised me after they failed to protect me from being kidnapped! Now they want me back because it's convenient?" "Young Master, please reconsider—" "I said don't call me that!" Connor turned his back. "Go back to Sydney, Jimmy. Tell them Connor Waratah is dead to them, just like they were dead to me when I needed them most." Later that evening, Connor arrived at the Kuranda family mansion for Elder Dundarra's 70th birthday celebration. The grand ballroom buzzed with relatives presenting lavish gifts, but Connor stood empty-handed beside his wife Kirra. Elder Dundarra Kuranda, a stern man with silver hair, surveyed his family from the head table. "What a wonderful evening! My children and grandchildren have shown such generosity." Connor stepped forward, his heart pounding. "Elder Dundarra, if I may speak..." The room fell silent. Kirra grabbed his arm, whispering urgently, "Connor, what are you doing?" "I... I need to ask for a loan. Five hundred thousand dollars." The silence shattered into gasps and murmurs. Wonga Kuranda, Kirra's mother, shot to her feet. "Are you out of your mind, you worthless cockroach? Five hundred thousand dollars? Who do you think you are?" Bandicoot, Kirra's cousin, snorted with laughter. "The garbage collector wants to play with the big boys! That's rich!" "It's for the Billabong Elder Care and Children's Home," Connor pressed on desperately. "The place where I work needs rebuilding—" "Your little orphan playground?" Milla, another cousin, cackled. "You want us to throw away money on a bunch of unwanted old people and brats?" Elder Dundarra's face turned purple with rage. "You parasitic insect! You marry into our family and immediately try to steal from us? For an orphanage?" "Elder Dundarra, please, if you could just listen—" "Listen to what? A worthless maggot begging for scraps?" Wonga spat. "You're nothing but a bottom-feeder who crawled out of some gutter!" Bandicoot stood up, pointing at Connor mockingly. "Look at him! Standing there like a beaten dog, thinking he deserves our hard-earned money for his charity case!" "The children and elderly residents are suffering," Connor tried again, his voice breaking. "They have nowhere else to go—" "And that's our problem how, you pathetic worm?" Milla laughed coldly. "Go beg on the streets where you belong!" Elder Dundarra slammed his fist on the table. "Enough! You shameless leech, how dare you come to my birthday celebration and try to rob my family? Security!" "Father, please!" Kirra finally found her voice, stepping between Connor and the approaching guards. "Connor works at the care home—he's just trying to help people who have nothing!" "Help people?" Wonga shrieked. "He's trying to help himself to our money! This disgusting parasite has fooled you, Kirra!" "The boy clearly has no shame," Elder Dundarra growled. "Like a fly buzzing around filth, he's drawn to other people's wealth!" Bandicoot grinned maliciously. "Maybe we should check his pockets! This trash probably already stole something!" "I haven't stolen anything!" Connor protested. "No? Then why are you here begging like a mangy dog for handouts?" Milla sneered. "Next you'll be telling us you deserve respect too!" Elder Dundarra pointed toward the door. "Get this human garbage out of my sight! You are banned from all future family events, you worthless maggot!" Connor felt every eye in the room burning with contempt as the guards moved forward. "And Kirra," Elder Dundarra continued coldly, "if you ever bring this cockroach to another family gathering, you'll be thrown out with him!" Outside the mansion, Kirra walked ahead of Connor, her heels clicking angrily on the pavement. "Kirra, wait—" She spun around, her eyes blazing. "Wait? Wait for what, Connor? For you to humiliate me further?" "I was trying to help people who are suffering—" "You were trying to steal from my family!" she snapped. "Five hundred thousand dollars, Connor! Do you have any idea how that makes me look?" "The care home needs help—" "I don't care about your care home right now! I care about the fact that my husband just made me look like a fool in front of my entire family!" Connor's shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry, I just thought—" "You thought wrong! You want to make this right? Then help me secure the Jarrah Properties deal that they've been refusing to sign with us. That's the only way you can possibly redeem yourself." She turned and walked away, leaving Connor standing alone in the darkness. At the Billabong Elder Care and Children's Home, Connor found the usual heartbreaking scene: elderly residents sharing thin soup, children playing with broken toys, and staff stretching every dollar. The rebuilt facility was better than the burned ruins, but barely functional. Connor made his way to Nana Eucalyptus's office, preparing to confess his failure. "Nana, I need to tell you something—" The elderly woman looked up with a smile. "Oh, Connor dear! What perfect timing. We received the most wonderful news today!" "What news?" "A mysterious benefactor donated two million dollars and supplies! The children will finally have proper meals, and the elderly residents can get the care they deserve!" Connor stared in shock. "Who... who was the donor?" Before Nana Eucalyptus could answer, a familiar voice spoke from the doorway. "That would be me, Young Master Connor." Connor turned to see Jimmy Coolabah holding an elegant black briefcase. "You," Connor growled. "What are you doing here?" "Fulfilling my duties," Jimmy said calmly. "And bringing you two gifts." He opened the briefcase, revealing a sleek black card and an official document. "A World Bank black card with unlimited funds—one of only ten in the world. And a contract transferring full ownership of Jarrah Properties Company to you." Connor's face contorted with rage. "I told you I don't want anything from the Waratah family!" "Young Master—" "Stop calling me that! I don't want your blood money!" Jimmy gestured toward the main room where children were laughing and elderly residents were finally smiling. "Without this assistance, how many more will suffer? How long before this place closes again?" Connor's anger wavered as he watched a little girl hugging a teddy bear that had come with the supplies. "How... how much is on the card?" he asked quietly. Jimmy's smile was knowing. "One hundred billion dollars, Young Master. Enough to buy every property in Melbourne... including the ones that have been refusing to work with your wife's family."
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Ch. 75- Guarantee??
The chamber smelled faintly of polished timber and dust, and light fell through narrow windows, along the long semicircle of council seats where twelve elders and industry figures sat, each with their own ledger and pen, each pretending impartiality while their eyes betrayed their alliances. Connor entered with measured steps, boots clicking against the floor. Kirra followed some steps behind him, wearing a formal black dress and keeping her hair tied back. She held her chin up, but Connor could feel the tremor in her presence, like a string being pulled tough. At the center of the bench that was supposed to be interrogating Connor Waratah today, sat Elder Venn. His frame was thin, sharp cheekbones jutting out of his face, revealing a look of pinched disdain. His voice, when he spoke, cut through the murmurs like a blade. “Mr. Connor Waratah!” Venn began, lingering on the name as though tasting something sour, “if that is indeed your family name… this council questions yo
Ch. 74- Hope
Kirra froze, her eyes following the trembling finger. And when she saw who stood at the end of it, her stomach dropped.“Aunt Kakadu?” Her voice cracked with disbelief. She took a step forward, her expression hardening. “You? Of all people, you are the one framing me for theft? And that too—for things like cheese? Have you completely lost your mind?”Kakadu didn’t flinch. Her head lifted, chin pointed like a blade. “So what if I did?” she snapped, her tone imperious. “I saw you here and I immediately knew you had no business being in this store. Should I have stood by and let the place suffer because of you?”Kirra’s voice shot upward, a scream tearing through the hum of shocked murmurs. “How is the store suffering because of a paying customer?”Her aunt let out a harsh scoff, her rings glinting as she waved a dismissive hand. “Paying customer—or stealing customer? We all know which one you are, Kirra. Ever since you chose the side of that orphan, you’ve been nothing but a disgrace.”
Ch. 73- Stolen?
Kirra had spent half the day pacing around the flat, her mind buzzing with an idea. Connor had been her shield, her anchor, her strength these past weeks. He had taken every blow meant for her, shouldered every insult. She wanted to do something that wasn’t related to survival, that wasn’t dictated by their enemies. She wanted to make him smile.The thought struck her as she stood in the kitchen staring at the barren counter: a home-cooked dinner!Not just any dinner, but her special pasta that she learned in the six months of culinary academy, and a pineapple cake that she knew he liked. She tugged open cupboards, checked the fridge, searched every shelf, and decided to step out for shopping instead. But her enthusiasm was quickly deflated. The local shops she had visited earlier had none of the things she needed. No ricotta, no proper herbs, not even decent cocoa…Just dusty tins and basic staples. Her throat tightened with frustration. What good was it to dream of something nic
Ch. 72- Pretender or not!
The glow of Connor’s phone screen was the only light in the flat that morning, faint blue against his face as he scrolled through the latest industry newsletters and news feeds. A bitter taste rose in his mouth as the headline caught his eye:“Connor Kuranda: Pretender or Pawn?”His thumb froze over the glass. He opened it.The article unfurled in neat, polished paragraphs, the kind that cut with polite precision:For years, Connor was nothing more than a caretaker at the Billabong Care Orphanage, handling its modest accounts and daily management. Respectable, but ordinary. Then, suddenly, he married into the Kuranda family—heiress Kirra Kuranda, no less—and his fortune changed overnight. And yet, strangely, he continued to hold onto his old post, drawing income far beneath his new means. Why would a man with such newfound influence refuse to let go of such humble work?Connor’s jaw tightened. The next section chilled him more.Rumors now suggest he has been invoking the Waratah name
Ch. 71- Pawns
Connor didn't even realise that the dusk had worn the blanket of the night, and then discarded it in favour of the dawn, but he had remained seated at the dining table he had converted into a makeshift office for himself. Papers fanned around him like scattered leaves, his laptop screen glowing with spreadsheets, encrypted logs, and account statements. The early light caught the sharp angles of his face, highlighting the tension in his jaw, the tightness of his hands resting on the table.He was engrossed in the same work as before: tracing the trail over and over, each loop sinking deeper into frustration. Their funds were frozen. On the surface, the bank’s email was innocuous, almost perfunctory: “Compliance review in process.” Connor had read the fine print so many times that the phrasing had etched itself into his memory. Approval chains, department stamps, signatures… he could navigate them blindfolded. And yet, something here smelled of being rotten. He scrolled back three
Ch. 70- Frozen?
The blinds were half-drawn, letting morning sunlight spill in narrow stripes across the wooden floorboards. The street below carried the faint hum of the city, distant horns, a bus arriving at its stop, dogs barking. But Inside the little flat, the chaos of the past week finally seemed to loosen its grip. Connor stood in the kitchen, his sleeves rolled back, one hand steadying the kettle while the other stirred ground coffee into the French press. The earthy aroma rose warm and sharp, curling through the air, grounding him in the present. He inhaled deeply, savouring the process. Just behind him, Kirra sat curled in the window nook, sketchbook balanced across her knees. Her hair spilled loosely over one shoulder, catching the sunlight in strands of gold. She tapped her pencil lightly against the page in an absent rhythm, lost in concentration. For the first time since coming back from the hospital, she looked absorbed in something that belonged entirely to her.“Your coffee’s bur
You may also like
Invincible Billionaire Heir
Chanhlee80.2K viewsThe Ex-Billionaire Husband
Sunny Zylven77.1K viewsThe Return Of The God of War
Esther Writes368.3K viewsRise of Power: Return of The Pathetic Commoner
Iwaswiththestars73.1K viewsVengeance In His Veins
Sampson302 viewsThe Almighty Tom Sullivan
Cecilia Williams1.7K viewsTHE BILLIONAIRE'S HEIR UNCHAINED
I am Rohi 713 viewsBEHIND THE BILLIONS
Favour Adaeze Ejimkeonye452 views