2025-04-23 22:34:29Gregory didn’t dare move.
He stayed crouched behind the thick curtain, heart pounding like a war drum in his chest. Every breath he took felt like it might betray him.
Mr. Rosewell stood by the window for a long moment, watching the darkened garden like it might offer him answers. Then, with a sigh, he turned and left the study, pulling the heavy oak door shut behind him.
Silence returned, thick and suffocating.
Gregory waited a full minute before slipping out from his hiding spot. His shirt rustled as he adjusted it, the hidden items pressing against his ribs—a baby photo, the hospital wristband, and the old tag with only his first name.
The man he worked for—cleaned for, suffered under—was hiding something. No, not something. Everything.
He knew.
That phone call. Those words.
“If that old man dies before he finds the boy…”
That boy might be him.
Gregory left the study as quietly as he had entered, his mind reeling. The corridor was dark, lit only by the pale blue glow of moonlight filtering through the windows. His hands trembled as he made his way back to the attic, every creak in the floorboards making him flinch.
Back in his cold, narrow room, Gregory stared at the items spread on his mattress. The photo. The tag. The wristband.
He traced the letters slowly. “Gregory.”
He’d always thought he was nobody.
Just some abandoned kid who slipped through the cracks.
But now… maybe not.
He opened the old trunk where he kept what little he owned. Beneath a few worn clothes and an envelope of crumpled job applications, he found a small notebook. Inside it were his notes—scraps of dreams, quotes he liked, even sketches of a logo he imagined for a business he would one day start.
At the bottom of one page, underlined three times, was a phrase:
“I am more than what they say I am.”
He hadn’t believed it when he wrote it.
But maybe it was time to try.
The next morning came far too quickly.
Gregory went about his duties like normal—scrubbing tiles, vacuuming hallways, dusting chandeliers—all while trying to keep the weight of what he’d heard the night before from showing on his face.
But the mansion was buzzing.
Not with chores.
With whispers.
The news had dropped another update about Richard Caldwell’s search.
This time, there was a video of the billionaire from his hospital bed.
“I’ve received thousands of messages,” Caldwell rasped. “False hopes. Liars. Scammers. But I know my son is out there. And I will not die until I look him in the eyes.”
Gregory paused in front of the TV in the kitchen, unable to pull his gaze away.
“I left a mark,” Caldwell continued, his voice shaking. “On the wristband. G-1152. Gregory. That’s all I had the strength to write.”
Gregory dropped the dish he was washing.
The crash echoed across the room.
The cook shouted at him, but he didn’t hear a word.
He bolted from the kitchen, ran up the service stairs, and dug the wristband out of his trunk again.
There it was.
G-1152.
His knees gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.
Downstairs, Seth was scrolling through the news on his tablet when Devin walked in.
“Still obsessed with this lost son nonsense?” Devin asked.
Seth didn’t respond. His eyes narrowed.
Something was off.
He’d seen Gregory watching that segment too intently. Heard the plate shatter. The footsteps running upstairs.
Something was wrong.
Or… maybe just right.
That night, Gregory sat on the edge of his cot, barely breathing. His thoughts raced like a hurricane.
If I tell someone, they’ll never believe me.
If I keep quiet, I lose everything.
If I’m really his son…
The door creaked.
Gregory shot up, hiding the wristband under his pillow.
Samuel peeked in.
“Can I come in?”
Gregory relaxed. “Sure.”
The boy climbed onto the cot beside him, barefoot as usual, his comic book under one arm.
“I heard you dropped a plate today.”
Gregory smiled faintly. “Yeah. Clumsy me.”
Samuel squinted. “You’ve been acting weird. Like… your head’s not here.”
Gregory didn’t answer.
Samuel tilted his head. “You know, my dad talks a lot when he’s drunk. Says things he shouldn’t.”
Gregory turned sharply. “Like what?”
Samuel hesitated. Then shrugged. “Just… stuff about a will. About some guy dying. And how everything has to be perfect so he can take over the company. I think he’s scared of something.”
Gregory’s mouth went dry. “Has he said anything about me?”
Samuel nodded slowly. “He said you’re dangerous if you ever find out who you really are.”
Silence.
Then Samuel whispered, “Are you someone important?”
Gregory looked him in the eye. For the first time in years, he didn’t say “no.”
Instead, he said, “I don’t know yet.”
Samuel held out his comic book. “This one’s about a hero who didn’t know he was special until the bad guys tried to get rid of him.”
Gregory took it with trembling hands.
“Thank you.”
Samuel got up, heading for the door. “Whatever’s going on… I think you’re gonna surprise them all.”
And with that, the boy was gone.
Gregory turned off the light.
But he didn’t sleep.
Because outside, somewhere in the shadows of the mansion, someone else was awake.
Watching.
Plotting.
And tomorrow, things will begin to change.
Previous Chapter
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Chapter 16: The Devil’s Deal
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Chapter 17: The Letter in the Fire
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