The Janitor's Payback

Chapter 3

Leo didn’t sleep much that night. Every time he closed his eyes, the same thought came back — ten million dollars.

By morning, he decided he had to be sure. He couldn’t just assume the money was his. What If it was some kind of banking error, he could get into trouble.

So he took a deep breath and called the bank’s customer service line.

After several minutes of waiting, a calm female voice answered. “Good morning. Thank you for calling National Trust Bank. How may I help you?”

Leo hesitated. “Uh, good morning. My name is Leo Adams. I… I think there’s been a mistake. My account just received ten million dollars, but I don’t know where it came from.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. Then the woman said, “Please hold while I verify that, sir.”

Leo waited, his palms sweaty. His heart thumped as he imagined her coming back to say, Sorry, sir, it was an error. Please return the money.

But when she returned, her voice was calm and polite.

“Mr. Adams,” she said, “I’ve checked your account. The transfer was verified. The funds are legitimate, and they belong to you.”

Leo blinked. “Belong… to me?”

“Yes, sir. It was an inheritance transfer. The sender’s name is confidential for now, but all records show that you are the legal recipient.”

Leo stood still, gripping his phone tighter. “An inheritance? But… I don’t know anyone rich. Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir,” the woman said. “You may expect further contact from our partner agency regarding the details.”

Before he could ask more questions, she thanked him and ended the call.

Leo sat there in silence, staring at his phone.

An inheritance? From who?

He had no rich relatives, no wealthy friends. His parents left for their hometown leaving nothing behind but debt.

It's been long since he last saw his mom and dad after they left, he wondered how they were doing now.

He has worked hard in this city with the foolish dream of earning enough to buy a house or rent a better place and marry Clara, but now memory of that goal seemed stupid.

His phone which was placed on the table beamed and he picked it up to see it was a message from his mother ' call me' he quickly adjusted himself and dialled the number, hearing the familiar and warm voice on the other end.

" Son, how are you doing? Are you facing any troubles?"

" No mom, life's a bit okay over here, everything's going well,"

" You really don't have to work so hard; actually, we've hidden a truth from you for a long time, and now it seems to be the right time to tell you." His mother's voice rang out over the phone.

" What is it? Are you okay? Just tell me, I'm listening," Leo suddenly became tense, worried that something bad had happened back home.

" Actually, I assume you must have already recieved a credit alert of 10 million dollars; our family is very wealthy, and there's no need for you to work so hard to make ends meet" his mother's words carried a deep concern.

" Stop joking mom. I called the bank about the money and they said it was about an inheritance and I was even thinking of going to confirm if perhaps I was mistaken for someone that bears the same name as me." Leo laughed, not taking his mother's words seriously. His parents were fruit sellers, even a few thousands would be a lot to them not to talk about millions.

" No, son,hold on. How can you not believe what your own mother is saying?" His mother hurried voice came through the phone.

" Mom It's not that I'm calling you a liar it's just that I have to go back to work, you should go to rest," said Leo

After a careful thought he decided to ask again" Mom, when did our family become so rich then?" Leo still couldn't believe his parents could have so much money.

"Son, Your grandfather is the chairman of one of the world’s most powerful business alliances, and your father manages one of the top leading companies in the world, so we are not poor." His mother's voice was heard again.

His grandfather being the chairman and his father a major company leader, while he, Leo Adams, was a poor cleaner who couldn't even afford rent and was left by his girlfriend. Wasn't the gap too wide?

" Mom, don't scare me, are you sure what you are saying is true?" Leo was still in disbelief about how esteemed his grandfather and father were.

" It's all true son. Your grandfather and father were afraid of spoiling you, which could lead to a bad attitude as you grew up, but now you're an adult and understand that making money isn't easy, so now is the right time to tell you the truth. This is a family tradition passed down through generations; your father went through the same process."

His mother's words left Leo overjoyed and at a loss for words, almost driving their son to despair to the point of contemplating jumping off a bridge!"

" You would get a call soon from your personal assistant. Additionally, you're engaged to the only daughter of a business partner named Carolyn Brown."

Leo was shocked before his mother's words finished. It turned out he had his own personal assistant, and Carolyn Brown, the famous daughter of the Brown's Group, was his fiancee.

Both piece of news were like a ticking time bomb to his ears, leaving him stunned and exhilarated.

Oh my God, his own identity was this incredible? Leo thought he was dreaming, so he pinched his own face hard, and the pain confirmed to his skin that all of this was real, indeed he was the child of wealthy parents!

But the surprised weren't over yet as he heard his mother's words rang from the phone again.

" I sent a black card a few days ago, backed by your grandfather's alliances, usable at any bank globally. If you need money, use that card directly, as it's limitless, accessible only with your fingerprint."

Hearing about the limitless black card, Leo's heart raced. Wasn't this unfathomably wealthy?

" Mom, I'm hanging up now; I need to process all this." After Leo hung up, his emotions were a whirlwind as he had just transitioned from poor to a young wealthy man, and needed time to digest it all.

He was still trying to make sense of it when his phone rang again — this time from an unknown number.

He hesitated, then answered. “Hello?”

A deep, calm voice spoke on the other end. “Is this Mr. Leo Adams?”

“Yes. Who’s calling?”

“I represent the estate of Mr. Raymond Sterling,” the man said. “You’ve recently received ten million dollars as part of his final will.”

Leo frowned. “Raymond who? I don’t know any Raymond Sterling, At least his last name was Adam”

The man chuckled softly. “You may not have known him personally, but he knew you. Details will be discussed tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Skyview Tower, top floor conference room.”

Leo’s mouth fell open. Skyview Tower — the tallest and most expensive building in the entire city. Only billionaires and top CEOs held meetings there.

“Wait,” Leo said quickly, “how do I know this isn’t some kind of scam?”

“You’ll find out when you come,” the voice said simply. “Bring your ID and bank statement as proof. That will be all, Mr. Adams.”

The call ended before Leo could reply. He stared at his phone, still confused.

Skyview Tower. Ten million dollars. A man he didn’t know.

It sounded like something out of a movie.

He looked around his small, broken room, the cracked walls, the leaking roof, the empty cupboard and shook his head. “What the hell is going on?”

He wanted to call his mother again to see if she was playing a prank on him and the money really belonged to this Raymond Sterling. At some point he even thought the man who just called him were in cohort with his mother but he decided against it.