Rise of the Rich and Powerful Jamie Ashford

Chapter 20

Jamie shifted his focus to sightseeing as the car zoomed across the roads of the island city. Though the city was smaller, it was incredibly advanced. For one, the technology imbued into the daily lives of the island inhabitants was superior to that of the rest of the world.

It seems the civilization on this island is solely funded by the Ashford family's futuristic tech company, AS-Crows Tech Corp.

As the convoy proceeded forward, Jamie noticed that the road had become more private. There are barely any other vehicles on this elevated road. 

Each side of the surrounding path is filled with vibrant forest and even signs of wildlife.

Soon, the road opened up to a huge gate, held up by tall fences that stretched beyond the limits of his eyesight.

Tom Yates turned to Jamie as he gestured to the gates. “Young Master, welcome to the Michael Estate-123.”

Jamie figured out that the ‘-123’ came from the number assigned to his father's island. Since he had up to 150 islands, this must be no.123. Thus, it was possible that he had other estates on the other islands.

Jamie couldn't help but ask. “With so many properties under one person, how are they even maintained?”

Tom smirked with a cocky expression. “Maintenance is never an issue where there's money.”

Jamie nodded his head as he sighed. “That's true though. Maintenance is only a problem for those who make budgets for expenses.”

The Ashford clan must be filled with a lot of arrogant members. Even members from the subordinate families move with so much arrogance, not to mention blood-born members of the clan.

The massive gates were opened and the convoy of eleven cars bombed into the estate.

From the main gates to the main mansion here, it took about fifteen minutes to get to their destination. Jamie could only shake his head slightly at how ridiculously lavish everything is here.

Growing up in the Reynold estate with his mother, even though he wasn't treated well at all, he had always believed that there could be nothing more lavish than the $25 million Reynold estate that Bernard owned.

Yet, the reality was casually slapping him in the face. Compared to the Reynold family, the Ashford family's wealth was simply too vast.

The fact that this Micheal Estate-123  was only one of the many estates, outside the family, that his father owned, was insane.

In size alone, Micheal Estate-123 easily defeats the Reynold Estate he grew up in with his mother. This estate is at least twice the size of Bernard's home.

Then in terms of luxury, this estate easily overshadows the Reynold Estate.

They arrived at the main mansion, and as expected at this point, it screamed immense luxury. Merely looking from the outside, it was easy to see that this mansion had no less than twenty bedrooms and various other rooms besides the living area and kitchen.

Before Yates could even open the door for Jamie to step out of the Bugatti Chiron, the main doors of the huge mansion were opened, and men and women in housekeeping uniforms rushed out to line up a path that stretched from the car to the entrance of the mansion. 

These housekeepers faced each other.

Jamie took the lead, with Tom Yates and his nine Ashford bodyguards behind him.

“Welcome to the ME-123, Young Master Jamie.”

As Jamie walked along the path, each housekeeper he bypassed would bow with their heads facing the ground as they welcomed him.

So the greeting went on until he finally entered the mansion. This would be the first day Jamie would experience such a grand welcome. He didn't give much reaction though, despite how he was losing his mind internally.

This is why it's so easy for wealthy people to lose their morality. Getting this kind of treatment daily can make one forget that they're still as human as the subordinates who praise them, and a lot of these delusional people end up becoming horrible masters and bosses to the people who serve them.

He walked into the luxurious living room and found an old man in a formal suit, apparently waiting for him. 

The old man approached him with three other young men and women, bowing to him in a show of respect.

“I am the Head Butler of this estate, and these three people behind me are assistants. We humbly welcome you, Young Master Jamie, back to the Ashford family.”

Jamie stood with a straight back as he nodded at them. “Thank you for the warm welcome.”

The head butler glanced at Tom and nodded to him. “Assistant Yates, it's nice to see you again. It's been a while. The last time I saw you, you were a teenager learning the ways of being a chief subordinate within the clan. Now, you've grown quite well.”

Tom Yates smiled back at the head butler. “Hello to you too, Sir. I'm sure you're aware that we're here to see the great Master himself.”

The head butler composed himself. “Oh, right! Of course, please, come with me.”

He gestured up the stairs and led them to the upper floor. In a corridor, they find the wide doors leading to an office; the head butler leads them inside.

As Jamie stepped in, he couldn't help it as his heart began racing tremendously. This was it, he was finally going to meet the first face from a family he didn't even know he had until a couple of days ago - the head of the Ashford clan and his paternal grandfather - Raymond Ashford.

The office is lit up by the natural light shooting through a big oval floor-to-ceiling window in the wide office.

Situated at that Oval window is a raised floor that requires a short flight of stairs to get on. On that elevated floor is an old man seated behind a wide wooden desk, signing away at various documents.

The surroundings seemed to fade away as Jamie walked closer to him. Raymond Ashford, the patriarch of the $53 trillion clan. 

Jamie didn't know how much time had passed. Before he even realized it, he had boarded the short flight of concrete stairs and was now standing before the desk, looking at the old man.

“You look much frailer than I imagined you'd be.”

The surroundings had gone deathly silent as the old man finally stopped what he was doing and turned his head up.

“Well, that's what old age dies to a person, right?”

At that moment, Jamie suddenly felt a rush of fear surge through his heart the second he met the old man's gaze. He couldn't understand what just happened, but there was an unnaturally scary presence about this old man that made him want to cower in fear and admiration.

He quickly recognized it as the aura exuded by a man who has endured and survived countless tribulations in his lifetime.

Surely, the patriarch of the Ashford clan was such a man.

The old man suddenly smirked as he sharply got up, his movement hardly matching his old face.

“Kid, you are meeting me for the first time, and these are the first words you say to me? Wow, calling me frail is no different from stabbing my heart with a freaking dagger. You might as well just tell me to go fuck myself.”

Jamie suddenly felt a wave of anger hit him. This old man was trying to make light jokes with him. 

After abandoning him and his mother for so many years, he only returned following his mother's death, and yet, he's trying to act like everything is cool between them? No way?

Jamie balled his hands into fists as he yelled out the next words. “Oh, yeah?! Well then, I'll tell it to your face clearly! Old man, go fuck yourself!”

The crowd became immensely tensed as the subordinates in the office gasped in shock.

Tom Yates looked scared as he fell to his knees. “Great Master, please, forgive the long-lost young master's ignorance!”

The mansion's team of butlers and the other soldiers also fell straight to their knees.

“Great Master, please, forgive the long-lost young master's ignorance!!”

It was at this point that Jamie realized that he had made a grave mistake. The way he has spoken to his grandfather including the words themselves, was a crime he shouldn't have committed.

He's in big trouble.