THE SON-IN-LAW THEY LEFT TO DIE

CHAPTER 6

Johnson looked behind him immediately to see if the old man was speaking to someone else.

But to his surprise, there was nobody behind him.

The road was almost empty except for the black luxury cars and the men standing respectfully nearby.

Slowly, Johnson turned back toward the old man. His brows furrowed in sincere confusion.

“Are you talking to me?” he asked.

The old man immediately bowed slightly again.

“Yes, Young Master,” he replied respectfully. “I am speaking to you.”

A bitter laugh almost escaped Johnson's mouth. He shook his head tiredly.

“I am sorry sir, but there is definitely a mistake somewhere. You have the wrong person. My name is Johnson Harford and I am not anybody's young master.”

Without waiting for a response, Johnson walked past him and continued moving down the road.

But before he could take more than three steps, the old man quickly rushed to stand in his path again.

Johnson stopped abruptly. A deep frown appeared on his face.

 “What is this?”

The old man quickly bowed apologetically, “Please forgive me for not introducing myself, I am Samuel Briggs, the emissary to the CEO of McArthur Conglomerate. And your father, Mr. McArthur has sent me to bring you home”.

Father? Home?

Johnson couldn’t help but let out a humorless chuckle.  At first he had thought the man was mistaken him for someone else. But now he was beginning to actually think the old man was crazy.

Or maybe he was a prankster.

Whatever he was, his lies were not very convincing because Johnson did not have a father; he was an orphan.

Johnson folded his arms annoyingly, “Listen to me, sir, I just walked out from my wife getting married to another man.” His jaw tightened as he went on, “So if this is some kind of prank, then it had better end right now because I am not in the mood for any nonsense.”

Samuel looked at him quietly. Then without saying anything, he suddenly reached into his coat and pulled out a document.

He pointed it calmly at Johnson, “Please look at this first. Then maybe you will believe I am not joking”.

Johnson's eyes narrowed. He stared at the sheet of paper hesitatingly before lazily collecting it. 

But when he looked into it, his eyes widened slightly.

The document turned out to be a receipt. Not just any receipt, it was a hospital receipt that carried his name on it clearly showing a payment of twenty thousand dollars.

The same amount required for his surgery. And the hospital name was exactly the same one where he had been admitted.

Seeing his stunned expression, the old man spoke softly.

“May I ask you something, Young Master?”

Johnson remained silent.

“How do you think your hospital bill was cleared?”

Johnson continue to stare at the receipt. After a moment he answered honestly.

“I do not know.” His voice became quieter. “At first, I thought it was my wife. But now I know better than to assume that.”

Samuel nodded slowly.

“I was the one who paid that bill,” he disclosed pointing to the payer’s signature at the end of the receipt.

Johnson's eyes lifted immediately.

The old man continued, “I paid it under instructions from your father, who has sent me to bring you home. Please come with us”

Silence fell again.

Johnson lowered his gaze thoughtfully into the receipt. If this stranger had not paid the money... What would have happened to him?

He unconsciously rubbed his forehead as he already knew the response to his question.

If that payment had not been made, he would have become crippled for the rest of his life!

No matter how unbelievable everything this old man said sounded, one fact remained; this Mr. McArthur had saved his life from total ruin.

After several moments, Johnson let out a long breath.

“Fine, I will go with you”.

The old man’s face lit instantly.

Johnson went on, “But be aware that, I am going with you not because I believe I am your young master, but because your master paid for my surgery and the least I can do is meet him in person and thank him properly”.

The old man looked relieved. After all, his main aim was to get Johnson to come with him.

One of the men immediately opened the rear door of one of luxury cars and bowed at Johnson respectfully,

“Please get in, young master”

Johnson hesitated briefly before entering the vehicle. The old man followed after him. Soon, the convoy of black cars pulled away from the road.

As the car drove on, an awkward silence hung in the air.  Johnson spent most of it staring out of the window.

His mind was filled with confusion.

Who was this Mr. McArthur and why did he pay such a huge amount of money for his surgery despite being a stranger?

Not too long after, the convoy slowed down then finally stopped.

Johnson looked outside. The moment he did, his eyes widened.

Before him stood a massive golden gate. The walls stretched so far that he could barely see where the property ended.

Beyond the gates sat a gigantic mansion that looked more like a royal palace than a private residence.

Beautiful fountains sparkled beneath golden lights. Gardens stretched endlessly across the property.

Johnson found himself completely speechless.

The gates slowly opened and the cars drove inside. By the time the convoy finally stopped in front of the mansion itself, Johnson was still staring.

He had never seen anything so luxurious in his life.

He was about to ask where they were when Samuel smiled warmly, “Welcome home, Young Master.”

“Home?” A bitter smile appeared on Johnson’s face. He looked around the property, his eyes filled with admiration. “In as much as I dream of living in such a place like this, but I’ve come to understand one thing; this is life is not for me”.

He turned toward the old man, “I would be honest with you, I am not the person you’re looking for. Your young master is still somewhere out there”.

Samuel smiled softly, his convictions remained resolved.

Then he gestured toward the mansion.

“Please come with me, young master. It’s time you finally discover something that was stolen from you a very long time ago.”

Johnson blinked in confusion.

“What was stolen from me?”

Samuel’s expression became serious.

“Your true identity.”

Those words caused Johnson to freeze. For a brief moment, he simply stood there. Then slowly, he followed the old man towards the entrance of the mansion.

The giant doors opened and they entered the mansion. The moment Johnson stepped into the corridor, he stopped.

His eyes widened once more.

An entire assembly of staff members from security personnel to maids stood lined up on both sides of the large hallway.

Everyone stood perfectly at attention as if they had been waiting for someone important.

The moment their eyes landed on Johnson. Immediately, they all bowed in uniformity and bellowed,

“Welcome home, Young Master!”

Johnson nearly stumbled backward. This was no longer funny; a group of people nearly five dozen bowing before him and calling him young master?

Before he could recover, an elderly woman suddenly rushed forward.

She stopped directly in front of him. Tears streamed down her wrinkled face as she dropped to her knees.

Johnson was startled.

“Ma’am what are you doing? Please stand up,” he said as he helped her to her feet.

But the old woman only cried harder.

“My little master,” she sobbed as she raised her trembling hands toward his face. “It’s been decades you are now a man but to me, you look exactly the same.”

Johnson looked completely confused.

“Who are you?”

The woman wiped her tears.

“I was your nanny. The one who took care of you when you were little,”

His confusion deepened.

The old woman smiled through her tears, “Your mother was always busy, so I spent most of my time looking after you.”

Johnson remained silent. His mind struggled to process everything he was hearing.

Was this woman genuinely saying the truth?

If she was, then was he actually their young master like they were addressing him?

Samuel gently touched his shoulder.

“Come.” The old man nodded toward the staircase. “There is still more you need to know.”

Almost mechanically, Johnson followed.

They walked through several hallways before finally arriving at a pair of magnificent golden double doors with the inscription ‘CEO — McArthur Conglomerate’ boldly hanging on it.

Samuel gestured towards the door, “Behind these doors is everything you need to know about who you really are.”

Somehow, Johnson's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, “What exactly are you talking about?”

The old man said nothing. Instead, he slowly pushed the doors open for Johnson to walk in.

Behind the door laid an enormous office.

Bookshelves lined the walls. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire estate.

At the far end sat a sad-looking man behind a massive desk. His head was lowered as he read several documents.

For a moment, the room remained completely silent. Then the man sensed someone entering.

Slowly, he raised his head, the moment his eyes landed on Johnson, the pen slipped from his fingers.

His entire body froze.

The man stood up slowly from behind the desk. His eyes immediately became red.

Johnson felt his own heart pounding violently.

The room became deathly quiet. For several long seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then the man's lips trembled. A single tear escaped the corner of his eye. Finally, in a voice filled with emotion and regret, he spoke.

“My son...”