The Forgotten Grandson

Chapter 5

Renee’s face turned deep red. She could not believe what she had just heard. Some tired-looking man from the street had spoken to her like she was a child. Even worse, her own sister looked like she wanted to laugh. The anger inside her boiled over fast.

“How dare you talk to me like that?” she shouted. She marched straight toward Damien with her hand raised, ready to slap the calm look off his face.

“Enough.”

The voice was deep and strong. It filled the whole room and made the big light on the ceiling shake a little. Damien felt a cold shiver run down his back. He looked around quickly, searching for who had spoken so loudly.

“Come here, dear boy.”

Damien turned toward the bed. The old man was smiling at him. His eyes were wet with tears. Damien walked slowly across the quiet room until he stood right beside the bed.

“You look so much like him,” the old man said. Tears ran down his thin cheeks. “Like my son.”

Damien’s face showed pure confusion. Why would he look like this sick old man’s son? Unless…

“Forgive me, grandson,” the old man said. His voice cracked. “I have been a terrible grandfather to you.”

The words hit Damien harder than any punch from the bar. His father had told him stories about his grandfather when he was a boy, but they had never met. His father had always said it was safer that way. Now, after the worst night of his life, he was standing next to a dying man who claimed to be family.

His heart started to beat faster. For the first time in hours he felt something other than emptiness. “You’re my grandfather?”

“Yes,” the old man said. He wiped his face with a weak hand. For years he had lived without an heir. Finding his own blood again felt like a gift he did not deserve.

Angela stepped forward. She held out a small silver locket. Damien took it and opened it carefully. Inside was an old photo. A younger version of the old man stood next to a young man who looked almost exactly like Damien. Even after more than twenty years, Damien knew his father’s face at once.

“I’ve watched over you all your life,” the old man said. His voice shook. “I wanted to bring you home so many times. But I was afraid of what that man Saul Victous might do if I tried. I’m so sorry I left you alone with him. Forgive this old man for his mistakes.”

He could not stop the tears. Seeing his grandson after so long made him happier than he had been in years, even if the happiness hurt.

Damien stood still, trying to take it all in. Just a short time ago he had nothing and no one. Now he had a grandfather he never knew existed. But the man looked ready to die at any moment. The luck felt both good and cruel at the same time.

The room stayed quiet except for the old man’s soft crying. Angela and Renee stared. They could not believe the famous Daniel “the Lion” Delaney was crying over this tired-looking young man who had walked in from the street.

“As you can see, I’m not well, Damien,” the old man said after a while. “And you are my only heir. I’m sorry this is so sudden, but I need you to take over now. You studied business administration, didn’t you?”

Damien nodded slowly. “How did you know that?”

The old man gave a small smile. “I made sure you got the scholarship. It was the only help I could give without making Saul suspicious.”

He had wanted to take Damien in after his son died. But he had been too afraid of what Saul might do to keep control of the boy.

“Thank you,” Damien said. The words felt strange in his mouth. “I appreciate that.”

The old man had mentioned Saul twice now. The name still made Damien’s stomach tighten.

“It was the least I could do,” the old man said. “Angela, bring the papers.” He looked back at Damien. “Have you heard of the Delaney Company?”

Everyone had heard of the Delaney Company. It was one of the biggest and richest companies in the country. It touched almost every kind of business and made more money than most people could even imagine.

“Of course,” Damien said. “Who hasn’t?”

The old man chuckled, though it sounded weak. “Do you know who owns it?”

Damien shook his head. For years he had been too busy working and trying to please his wife to pay attention to big business news.

Angela handed him a thick folder. Damien opened it. Page after page listed huge companies and numbers so large they barely looked real.

“Everything in that folder belongs to the Delaney Company,” the old man said. “All the smaller companies under it too. I built it and I am still the head. But if you will accept it, I want you to take my place.”

Damien stared at the papers. This had to be a joke. How could a man he had just met hand over a lifetime of work and wealth? His heart pounded so hard he could hear it in his ears.

The old man watched him closely. He knew he had a lot to make up for. He only hoped his grandson would give him the chance.

“Look at me, boy,” he said. “I’m dying. The best doctors in the world have already tried. Nothing worked. I know it’s selfish, but I need you to do this for me.”

Damien’s hand brushed against his pocket. He felt the thin necklace he had taken from the house earlier. Without thinking, he pulled it out.

The old man’s eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”

“My father gave it to me,” Damien said. He held it out.

The old man took it with shaking fingers. Angela was already at his side. She held out the missing half of the pendant, the Yang piece. The old man fitted the two halves together with care. The full Yin-Yang symbol clicked into place. He put the necklace around his neck.

Something strange happened right in front of their eyes.

The old man’s thin arms began to fill out. Muscle returned under the skin. His patchy hair grew thicker and darker. Color came back to his face. In less than a minute he looked years younger and far stronger.

He pushed himself up and stood on his own feet. He bounced once, then again, laughing like a child. Angela and Renee could only stare. For more than a year the old man had been stuck in that bed. Nurses had fed him and cleaned him. Now he was standing after one meeting with Damien.

“Thank you, Damien,” the old man said. He moved fast for someone who had been dying moments ago. He pulled Damien into a tight hug. “I had given up. You gave me a little more time.”

Damien stood stiff in the hug, still trying to understand what he had just seen.

“A little more?” he asked.