The Adopted Heir

Chapter 3

"Look who we have here, like what you see?" Cassandra mused.

"It took you so long to get here, what kept you?" Victor asked.

Alex was still dumbstruck. He was still finding it difficult to understand the scene in front of him. How could he have missed the hints? 

He had been fooled all these years. He thought Victor was his friend. He confided in this dude and he pretended all these while to be on his side not knowing that he had been sleeping with his supposed wife.

Alex felt the wetness on his face, he hadn't realized that he'd been crying. He wasn't even hurt that his wife was cheating, he was hurt by who she was cheating on him with 

"How long has this been going on?" He just wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

As if on cue, Clare walks into the room with some documents, "I see you've gotten your present. I don't know what gave you the idea that you could be with someone as influential as Cassandra for a long time."

"You should be happy that she even stooped so low to be with you for this long. I mean, take a good look at her, she's not your type in any way. You're way below the belt"

Clare's words sliced through his skin like a knife. He had an inkling that Cas was cheating but with whom she was cheating was a mystery that has now been uncovered.

"Clare my darling, did you come with the documents? I need to get this dude far away from me as soon as possible." 

Clare is Cassandra's lawyer. She drafted the divorce paper that they were about to sign.

"You know I would never let off on any opportunity to see you leave this loser. It was a long time coming anyway. Here is the document" She hands it over to Cassandra.

Cassandra collected the documents and signed them without wasting any time. Then, she threw the papers at Alex, "Go ahead and sign them. You should be grateful that I'm letting you off the hook. You no longer have to pay back the money you owe."

Oh wow, the universe was playing a trick on him. Alex knows that the errands he had run for the Kingston family over the years are already enough to pay up his debts. So, he wasn't having it when Cas made it seem like he was doing him a favor.

"I'll gladly sign these papers, but before then I have a few questions that I want answers to"

"The first question is directed to you Victor, were any of the kind gestures ever genuine?" He swiftly wiped the tears that wouldn't stop falling. His heart was bleeding.

Victor burst into a gleeful laughter, "My gosh, you're so clueless and naive. Why would I even want to befriend someone like you? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? You are way below me"

"And for the records, we've been seeing each other even before you both signed that nonsense marriage agreement. We wanted to see how far you could go" Victor spat out with no remorse at all. The whole room began cackling and wheezing with uncontrollable laughter.

At this point, Alex couldn't breathe, he was finding it hard to inhale and exhale. So he just held his chest trying so hard to stop himself from entering panic attack mode.

"What was my offense? Cassandra, it wasn't me who took the loan in the first place but I'm the one suffering this whole gang up." Then to Victor, "I thought you were genuine but I was wrong, I wish you and your lover a happy ever after." With that, he signed the divorce paper and rushed out of the damn building which was already becoming claustrophobic to him.

Alex quickly entered the old rickety vehicle that was given to him by his now ex-wife and drove out at a mind-numbing speed. He kept on driving around with no direction. He had nowhere to go to, he had no home, no friends, no nothing.

He was lost in thought with his focus directed on where he was driving to when his eyes caught an unusual scene. That was when he observed his surroundings and found out that this side of town was deserted.

There were some groups of boys harassing an elderly man. With what was unfolding before his eyes it was obvious that they wanted to kill the man.

Alex immediately rushed out of his car to the scene. He rushed at the boys attacking the man, there were three of them. Alex was a very skilled fighter, he lived in the slum where he had to fight for everything, ranging from food, clothes, and even bed space. So it was an added advantage to him.

Alex kicked down one of the boys and jammed the other two boys' heads together. They fought and fought, Alex had the upper hand. When the boys saw that their plan had backfired, they signaled one another and they rushed into the man's Bentley and zoomed off. Alex quickly helped the man to the hospital.

*****

"Doctor…please help me save this man's life" Alex was agitated as he rushed into the hospital with the man in his arms.

The nurses immediately brought out a stretcher and wheeled him into the emergency ward. Alex stood outside impatiently waiting for the doctors to come out and update him.

He stood there pacing to and fro for a very long time, he lost track of time. He was beginning to lose hope when he sighted a doctor.

He almost ran into the doctor, "Doctor, how is he doing?"

"Please calm your nerves, sir, he's out of danger for now. Though he has about two weeks to live" The doctor said professionally.

"What do you mean by that? You just said a few seconds ago that he was out of danger" 

The doctor was skeptical about disclosing a patient's medical information to a non-family member. After some deliberations, he decided to tell him since he was the one who brought the man to the hospital.

"I can see that you don't know anything about the man you rushed in. Anyway, he has stage three leukemia. From diagnosis, it seems he has had it for quite some time now, and with the way he was brutally beaten up, his health condition has seriously deteriorated, hence the reason he has only fourteen days to live" The doctor explained.

Alex for some reason was feeling extremely bad for this man whom he barely knew. "Can I at least see him?"

"Of course, follow me" he led Alex to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). "Please do not disturb the patient. He needs a lot of rest right now. And, make sure to deposit $1000 before leaving the hospital" The doctor left after that.

Alex doesn't have such an amount with him. His net worth is just $500. This was money he saved up from the little tips given to him when he ran errands for his ex-wife. He was going to deposit that one first, then he would go and find the other half.

Suddenly he heard someone move. He looked down to find the old man moving his fingers. He bent over "The almighty God be praised that you're awake sir"

"You were the young man who saved my life a few hours ago" He coughed. "I'm very grateful. I'm very much indebted to you"

"There's no need for that sir, I just want to see you get well soon" 

The old man smiled. "I'm sure that by now, the doctor must have told you that I have less time to live"

"No sir, you're not going anywhere. You will be alive to see your family again" Alex said, already feeling dejected.

"I have no family, Son, I lost my whole family in a plane crash a few years back. I have no one to go back to. I'm very happy that I met someone as kind-hearted as you" He coughed long and hard. This time, he coughed out blood.

Alex was diligently rubbing his chest to calm him down. "You may not have any family left, but I want you to know that I'm your new family now and I want you to live for me," Alex said, holding back his tears. His heart was constricting painfully in his chest. The tears he had shed today were enough to fill an ocean.

The man was happy to hear what he just said, "I'm happy to hear this. I know you don't know me, but I want to introduce myself to you"

"I'm Christopher Columbus from Los Angeles" Alex's eyes were as wide as saucers. Was it what he was thinking?

Chris chuckled when he saw how Alex reacted to his introduction. It wasn't everybody that knew him in person, they only heard of him and the type of power he commanded. He was the famous trillionaire who commanded almost all the companies and chains of businesses all over New York and beyond.

He barely made appearances. He had trusted people who reported to him weekly. His businesses are scattered all over the country and beyond ranging from here in Manhattan, New York City, Los Angeles, Manhattan, California, Mexico, Miami, and even Italy.

Alex just sat there finding it hard to believe what he just heard. Was this the famous Christopher whose wealth was second to none? He pondered.

This man had the most luxurious automobile companies that produced only luxury cars like Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghini, Bugattis, Porsche, Koenigseggs, and even limousines. 

Chris also owned 10-star hotels, wealthy districts, oil wells, and global luxury stores. And to crown it all up, most of the highest-earning companies in the country answered to him, even Mac & Cas. This man is a huge shot in the country.

Alex expected a man who controlled such an amount of wealth to be arrogant and pompous, to be so full of himself, but the reverse is the case. This intrigued him beyond comprehension.

"Alex, thank you for showing me that trustworthy people still exist and for that, from today onwards I adopt you as my son and the sole heir to all my empires."

"Huh…"