The All Powerful Jeremiah Steel

It was a cold Friday evening in Beethoven city and while other families sat around the dinner table, eating very delicious meals and enjoying each other’s company, the same could not be said about the Prescott family.

Instead of the dining room, they were all in the living room, having an important meeting and everyone’s focus was on the matriarch of the family, Lady Elizabeth Prescott.

Though she was sixty-four years old, her beauty was still ever present, transcending from a youthful allure to the regal elegance that came with age.

Lady Elizabeth sat gracefully in her opulent white and gold leather chair, with impressive designs that made it look almost like a throne, and in her presence were children and grandchildren,

“Grandmother, these are the records of profits we’ve made this year and if you take a look at these other documents, you’ll see our expected profit margins for the next five years.” Said Austin Prescott, Lady Elizabeth’s first grandson, as he gave her two files.

The moment Lady Elizabeth took the files from him, Austin wore a proud smirk.

“We’ve just entered our one million dollars a month phase but by the time we get to year five of our current trajectory, we should be making an estimated twenty times that”, Austin added as he and everyone watched the Matriarch scan through the contents of the documents and was impressed by what she saw.

“You have done well, my grandson. All the years you spent in those costly business schools was time well spent. I expect to see more from you in the future” Lady Elizabeth said, then set the documents Austin gave her to the side.

“What about you, Victor? What do you have to show me?” Lady Elizabeth asked her second grandson.

Victor, who had been waiting for that moment since the start of the meeting, grinned from ear to ear.

He stood up, walked up to his grandmother while reaching into his suit’s inner pocket, and took out a tiny envelope.

“Here you go, grandmother. Think of this as an early birthday present”, Victor said cockily, stretching the envelope to Lady Elizabeth.

Lady Elizabeth took the envelope and grimaced.

“What is this?” She asked.

“That right there is what I call crystal gold,” Victor said proudly, eliciting Lady Elizabeth’s intrigue.

“Crystal gold?” She asked, then opened the envelope and checked the inside.

Her eyebrows raised when she saw the sparkle of what the envelope was housing.

Wanting to see more, she turned the envelope over and poured the contents into her hand.

Everyone who saw what had come out of the envelope was mesmerized by the allure. It was like nothing they had ever seen before.

“Those are purple diamonds, the rarest type of diamond in the entire world, and I was able to acquire a moderate land site enriched with them.”

“Oh?” Lady Elizabeth was shocked.

A moderate land site? Purple diamonds were one of the rarest and most precious types of crystals known to man and Victor declaring that he had acquired a moderate land site of it was the equivalent of striking crude oil in the 1800s.

It was a truly remarkable feat.

“The locals of the land were more than happy to sell it to me and when compared with the value we are about to get from it, the idiots basically sold it for dirt cheap,” Victor said, then chuckled.

“What’s the price range for something like this?” Lady Elizabeth asked.

“Three times the price of a regular Diamond, grandmother. That tiny piece in your hand is worth at least fifty thousand dollars, and we have much more back at the site. Just wait until production fully starts. Our net worth will skyrocket.” Victor said, and Lady Elizabeth was pleased.

She returned the purple diamond to the envelope and placed it on the side.

“You have outdone yourself and exceeded all expectations, Victor. I was impressed by what your brother, Austin, had done, but I didn’t think you would outdo him like this. You really are a remarkable grandchild”, Lady Elizabeth praised.

Proud of the praise he had received, Victor looked at Austin, who was filled with jealousy, and he grinned from ear to ear.

From the looks of it, everyone in the family competed for Lazy Elizabeth’s love and the remaining family members who, at the start of the meeting, couldn’t wait to reveal what they had to the lady of the household, were now hesitant.

They didn’t think they could outdo what Victor had just done.

“Alright, who’s next? Victor has put me in an excellent mood, so the next person should—“ Lady Elizabeth said, but was interrupted when…

“Grandmother, I have a wonderful business proposal for you,” Said Jeremiah Steel, the good-for-nothing stain on the Prescott family tree.

He walked over to Lady Elizabeth, saying “This is a really good idea, Grandmother, and it will really help the community. My business idea is to open a free center where orphan kids can learn beneficial skills and trade so that they can fend for themselves—“

“Hey, bastard! Who permitted you to talk to grandmother like that?!” Victor yelled.

“Have you gone mad, boy?! How dare you interrupt our meeting to bring up your useless ideas?!” Yelled Malcolm, Lady Elizabeth’s only son, and father of Austin, Victor, Mirabel, and Gwen.

Jeremiah quickly looked at Malcolm.

“But, uncle, I think my idea is a good one. You know those kids don’t have anyone to look after them and, since our family is fortunate enough to have all we have, I think it’s only appropriate to—“ Jeremiah said, but was interrupted when, from behind, Lady Elizabeth grabbed the television remote and threw it at the back of his head.

Though she was sixty-four years old, the elderly woman was very strong and agile.

Her projectile was enough to injure Jeremiah on impact, and he could feel the wetness of the blood dripping down the back of his neck.

“Grandmother, why did you do that?” Jeremiah asked, turning around to see the hateful sneer the elderly woman had.

“You good-for-nothing monkey! It’s already bad enough that you’re the illegitimate child of my late husband, but you always try and put yourself in our dealings like you’re actually part of the family.”

“But grandmother—“

Lady Elizabeth slammed her fist on the chair, making a loud thud.

“I am not your grandmother and don’t you ever call me that again!” She warned, the veins on her neck making their presence known.

Lady Elizabeth was correct. Because Jeremiah was the child of the dead patriarch and his mistress, she was more like his stepmother than his grandmother.

Jeremiah only called her grandmother because he was the same age as her grandchildren, and it felt better, but she never appreciated it.

Just then, Jeremiah’s mother came rushing into the living room. The yelling from the family members had called her attention from her quarters and she knew it had to be about her son.