Revenge Of The Hidden Heir.

Chapter 4: Inheritance And Suspicion.

"How could Grandpa do this to us?" Leo lamented.

"That sly bastard, cunning till the end," Mr. Anderson said bitterly.

"Dad! It's Gramps you're talking about. We just laid him to rest yesterday," Sophia admonished.

Mr. Anderson's face contorted with anger. "Oh no, he will never get to rest wherever he goes. He will suffer for doing this to me. How could he, after all the sacrifices I made? I stood by him, gave up my dreams as a youngster, followed him like a fool."

Mrs. Anderson interjected, her voice laced with resentment, "Oh honey, I told you back then. You were busy running helter-skelter, doing errands for him like some errand boy. I warned you that this man didn't see you as his son, but you wouldn't listen. Now look at where your loyalty has led us." She glanced at Sophia, adding, "Now he's left you with nothing, not even his precious daughter."

Leo turned to Sophia, his eyes narrowing. "Sophia, you must be very happy now that the managing rights and ownership of everything owned by the Andersons for years have been given to that nobody you call a husband. I'm sure he must be planning on how to throw us out of this mansion."

"Jonathan would never do such a thing," Sophia replied, her voice lacking conviction.

Leo laughed mirthlessly. "I can hear the uncertainty in your voice. I'm sure you don't know what he'll do now that he has power."

"I know my husband. He wouldn't do that," Sophia said weakly.

"Do you?" Leo challenged.

Mrs. Anderson seized the opportunity. "Since you claim he's so nice, can you tell him to hand over the managing rights back to us? We are the rightful heirs to all this, left by your grandfather. Aren't you worried about why your grandfather didn't leave you anything? You were his most precious, Soph."

Leo's eyes glinted with suspicion. "What if he's been playing Grandpa all along, acting all good just so he could get everything from us? What if he made Gramps change his will under duress?"

"How can you think such a thing? Jonathan would never do that!" Sophia exclaimed.

"How can you be so sure, unless you both connived together to arrange this?" Leo accused.

"What?!" Sophia gasped.

"Yes, why would you trust someone you know nothing about? You don't know about his parents apart from the fact that they died in an accident, and we couldn't even confirm because Gramps wouldn't allow us to dig into his family," Leo pressed.

"Stop, stop, stop it!" Sophia cried out.

"Think about it, Soph. You're a smart girl," Leo said as he walked out of the gathering, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Anderson with Sophia.

Sophia turned to her father, desperation in her eyes. "Dad, are you going to just stand there and listen to all this gibberish Leo just spouted?"

Mr. Anderson sighed heavily. "Well, come to think of it, that theory isn't entirely implausible. For all I know, I don't know anything about Jonathan. Leo could be right. This is so unbelievable. Dad willed all his property to Jonathan, every single thing? Leaving us with nothing?"

Mrs. Anderson chimed in, her voice dripping with suspicion, "He probably had a hand in your grandpa's death. Why else would such a person agree to bear his wife's last name if he doesn't have ulterior motives?"

"Mom, you're going too far now. I don't like where this is going," Sophia protested.

"Oh, you foolish girl, blinded by what? Love? Or pity?" Mrs. Anderson scoffed. "What have I always told you when you were younger?"

Sophia grumbled, not wanting to answer, but her mother persisted.

Reluctantly, Sophia recited, "When dealing with a man, you deal with him using your head, not your heart."

"That's it, my daughter. You remember. So I tell you now, use your head to reason through the matter at hand," Mrs. Anderson said triumphantly.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson left the sitting room, leaving Sophia lost in thought.

"Babe! Babe! Sophia!" Jonathan called out, breaking her reverie.

"I'm sorry, Jo. I was lost in thought. Where are you going all dressed up?" Sophia replied, eyeing her husband's attire.

"I was called by the board. They have something important to discuss with me before I resume my work as the new CEO," Jonathan said happily.

"Can you give me a minute, Jo?" Sophia asked.

Jonathan glanced at his wristwatch. "Umm, I'm sorry, Soph. I have to run along now if I don't want to be late. You know being late to the board meeting is definitely not going to be a good sign for me as their new CEO."

Sophia could see the joy and happiness in his eyes. She had never seen him this happy since she married him. She knew she was supposed to be happy too; after all, it was her husband who now had managing rights. He was the new CEO of Anderson Corp. Even the house they lived in now was his.

She could say everything was hers as well because what belonged to her husband was supposed to belong to her too. But she couldn't help thinking about how he might treat her family. She couldn't bear to imagine Jonathan mistreating them.

"Soph, we'll talk when I get back," Jonathan said, pecking her on the forehead before leaving for the meeting.

"You see, he doesn't even want to talk to you anymore, Soph," Leo said, emerging from behind.

"How long have you been standing there?" Sophia asked, startled.

"Long enough to hear him turn down your offer for a minute's talk. Can't you see what's happening? He's beginning to take the company more seriously than you. It's just a matter of time before he comes with divorce papers, requesting you to sign, after which he's going to push us all out of the house," Leo said ominously.

"You can't be so sure if he's going to do that," Sophia argued weakly.

"How are you so sure he's not going to do that?" Leo countered.

Sophia sighed, at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, at the company, the board meeting was in full swing. Everyone was impressed by how fluently Jonathan spoke, as if he had been training to be a CEO all his life. They were all glad that Mr Aaron Anderson had made the right choice.

Suddenly, a knock was heard at the boardroom door. At first, no one answered. The knock came again, and everyone looked surprised because no one was expecting anyone.

Finally, someone called out, "Who's at the door?"

"It's the police," a voice responded.

"Police?!" Everyone was alarmed. "What do the police want here?" Murmurs filled the room.

"Please, let's maintain decorum and let the police come in so we can hear what they have to say," Jonathan said calmly.

The room fell silent as the security officers by the door allowed the police in.

"We're looking for a Jonathan Levi Anderson," one of the policemen announced.

Jonathan raised his hand, signifying that he was the person they sought.

"You're under arrest," the officer declared.

"What?! Under arrest? For what?" Jonathan exclaimed, shock evident on his face.

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