RISE OF THE DISCARDED SON-IN-LAW

WELCOME TO TRUE WEALTH

After contemplating for a few minutes, Alarick decided to go with the man. Even if it turned out that the man was mistaken and he wasn’t truly the heir, at least he would have a roof over his head this night. It was better than sleeping outside in the cold. He could also try and convince them to give him a job, even if he had to be a janitor. Deep down, he wished it would be true that this trillionaire was his father, but at the same time, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. The man led him to where his car was parked and Alarick’s eyes widened. Jonathan chuckled when he saw Alarick’s expression.

“This car was a gift to me from my boss, your father.” Jonathan said.

The car was the latest model and only three had been produced in the world. Alarick knew this because his father-in-law, Bruce Blythe had been so angry when the car came out and he couldn’t afford it even though he was rich. Yet, this man who seemed to be a butler or driver was given this car as a gift. Wow!

They both got into the car, and Jonathan drove while Alarick sat beside him. Alarick was so embarrassed when his stomach growled loudly. He hadn’t eaten when he returned from the hotel the previous night because he didn’t have an appetite after catching his wife cheating. And he hadn’t had breakfast either because of his in-laws. He was supposed to eat after the meeting they had but he was thrown out before that.

“Would you like me to stop at a restaurant so you can eat? Or do you prefer to eat dinner at home?” Jonathan asked him.

“There’s no need to stop.” Alarick replied.

“As you wish, Sir.”

Alarick didn’t know how to tell Jonathan that he didn’t feel comfortable enough to let the man pay for his food when he had no dime to repay back in case he wasn’t truly the heir.

The car ride was spent in silence between both of them till the car came to a stop in front of a gate made of gold. Just the gate seemed more expensive than the entire Blythe mansion. As they approached the gate, Jonathan pressed a button to open the outer gate. As they got to the security post, it spoke. Only really wealthy people could afford an AI gate.

“Please identify yourself.” The gate said as Jonathan rolled down the window to speak.

“Jonathan Winlow.”

“Voice recognition, success. Welcome, Mr Winlow.”

The inner gates opened automatically and Alarick’s eyes widened . Calling it a mansion did not do it justice, it looked more like a luxury estate. How could one person own all this? Streetlights lined the driveway, and each of them were made of gold, not gold paint, real solid gold. It took almost ten minutes for them to drive up to the main house, even in a car as fast as this one, to show how big the compound was.

“It’s beautiful.” Alarick said, though calling it beautiful was a huge understatement.

It was just the only word he could think of at the moment.

”Trust me, it looks more beautiful in the daytime, especially when the sun is out. The house was built to utilise the light in the best way possible so at the best angles, the house literally sparkles. Your father had this built for your mother to try and make her happy.” Jonathan said to him.

Alarick could hear the sadness in Jonathan’s voice but he didn’t know if it would be offensive to Jonathan if he asked what was wrong. Maybe he would ask later when he was more comfortable around the man. He had grown wary of rich people, they always seemed to have crazy mood swings. If he asked a question that Jonathan didn’t like, Jonathan may decide to just throw him back out into the streets. He knew it was unfair to judge every rich person because of his experience with the Blythes, but he didn’t know much about Jonathan so he had to tread carefully even though the man claimed that he was a trillionaire’s heir.

“and all this belongs to you.” Jonathan said with a smile.

“Welcome home.”

The car finally stopped in front of the main building and the car door was opened by one of the house staff. The first thing he noticed was the fountain which had Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea poised atop a rock with his trident while the water moved like it was being controlled by him. It was a beautiful work of art and it looked so realistic, even the scales on his tail were basically glimmering and his eyes were as blue as the ocean, they were probably made of real blue sapphires. 

“There’s a sculpture garden with lifelike pieces like this one at the side of the house. I promise to give you a full tour of the grounds later so you can look around as much as you want, Mr Alarick. For now, please come with me. Your father will be so happy to see you, I didn’t tell him that I found you, I wanted to be sure before informing him. While looking for you, we have had so many near successes in the past, and every time each lead turned out to be false, we were always devastated. I didn’t want him to go through that again in case I couldn’t convince you to come. I know you may think I can’t be sure of your identity till a DNA test is done, but trust me, when you see him, you’ll know he’s your father.” Jonathan said to him.

Alarick followed Jonathan into the house, just the entrance of the house was opulent. There was a grand hall with various types of art displayed, from paintings to mini sculptures, to pottery like vases, mosaics and more, they all looked rare and expensive. Looking at everything, you would think you stepped into a castle with royalty instead of just one man’s house.

“Your father is an art collector. He has a lot of priceless art in his collection. He started it because he wanted to fill the house with beautiful things for your mother, then it became a hobby.” As he talked, he led Alarick to a double door with an arch over it.

“Come in.” The voice inside replied as Jonathan knocked.

The man was looking down at something he was writing on or signing when they both entered.

“I know what you’re going to say, Jon. ‘It’s late and I should be resting’, yes, but I just have one more thing left to do. Give me a few minutes before you try to force me to go to bed and rest.” The man said.

“Sir, I found him.”

The man’s head snapped up so fast, Alarick was afraid his neck would crack. Alarick was as surprised as the man when he saw the man’s face. There was no doubt about it, this man was definitely his father, Jonathan was right, the resemblance was uncanny.There were only a few differences, his father was older, and his hair was a darker shade of brown with silver streaks, and he had a neatly trimmed goatee.

His father shot up from his chair and moved immediately to hug Alarick with tears in his eyes. Alarick felt a little weird because of the hug but he didn’t show it. He didn’t know how to act now that he was confronted with the truth. Sure, he could still demand a DNA test for confirmation sake, but unless he had an older twin, this man was definitely his father.

“How?” His father asked Jonathan.

“Where did you find him?”

“There was a scandal earlier this morning and his picture was all over the news. It’s a good thing he looks so much like you or I would have never known it was him. We still need to do a paternity test to erase every doubt.” Jonathan replied.

“What is the use of a test? Look at him, he looks just like me, and he had Amelia’s eyes. How Ironic that you found him on the news when the same news couldn’t help me find him when he was taken.” His father said to Jonathan.

“I was taken? By who?” Alarick asked.