The Rise Of Nicholas Hensaw

Chapter 20

Stella was stunned. "You see? This is exactly what I've been telling you—he only married you for your money," Gabriel said.

"What money are you talking about, Gabriel? The Johnson family was nothing until I entered their lives. I made their company what it is today!" Nicklaus said, pointing at Stella.

"Stop talking nonsense! You didn't do anything. You don't own the company, and whatever you did was just your job," Stella retorted, causing Nicklaus to chuckle softly.

"I think the only ungrateful person here is you, not me. But I don't care. Here's your divorce agreement, Stella—you should sign it too," Nicklaus said, throwing the papers to her.

She bent down and picked them up, enraged and struggling to stay calm. She signed the papers and hissed, "The money I was going to give you to start a new life? Consider it gone. I won't give you a single penny unless you beg and apologize for this public embarrassment."

She looked around at the gathering crowd of onlookers who had abandoned their activities to watch.

Nicklaus bit his lip and said quietly, "I don't need your money. If anything, your father owes me for all the work I've done. Whenever he pays me, he always cuts my salary by sixty percent."

The small crowd gasped. "That's so unfair!"

"I can't believe this. Mr. Johnson is supposed to be a noble man—why would he treat this poor man like that?"

"I bet he's jealous of the man's potential."

"What potential?"

"Haven't you seen the news?"

"What are you talking about?"

At this point, both Stella and Nicklaus stopped arguing and turned toward the murmuring. They saw a middle-aged woman trying to pull her phone from her bag.

Without delay, Stella also took out her phone, but Nicklaus had no device—he'd sold it earlier to raise money for his sister's treatment.

Nicklaus stepped closer to Stella, maintaining a reasonable distance. He frowned when he saw his name in the news headline.

By now, everyone in the crowd had pulled out their phones to check the news.

"Mr. Nicklaus Henshaw, son-in-law to Mr. Johnson, has accomplished what many would call a miracle," the headline read.

Nicklaus furrowed his brow. He didn't know how they'd obtained his photo—the picture was from three years ago, after his medical school graduation.

"Mr. Fin, who has been ill for many years, has finally been cured by this gentleman," the article continued.

Gabriel immediately looked at the photo and gritted his teeth.

"No way," he muttered. Mr. Fin was Gabriel's grand-uncle. For years, Gabriel had believed he would inherit all of Mr. Fin's medical businesses since all his grandchildren had studied business, not medicine.

Gabriel furrowed his brow and demanded, "How? How did you do it?"

"I told you—this proves you did nothing for my sister," Nicklaus said with a knowing smile. He rubbed his palms together and spoke in a low voice.

Suddenly, three cars pulled into the hospital parking lot. A man in a black suit emerged from the middle vehicle, followed by several bodyguards. They approached Nicklaus.

"Mr. Nicklaus Henshaw, I apologize if this is inconvenient, but we need you to come with us," the man said.

"Who are you?" Nicklaus asked directly. He was beginning to reconsider Mr. Fin's kind gesture—now that Stella had divorced him, he had no place to stay and no shelter for his sister.

"I'm Mr. Fin's right-hand man. He requests your immediate presence at his home," the man explained.

Nicklaus was confused—he had just left Mr. Fin's house, and returning so soon seemed strange.

He turned to Gabriel, who was scowling. Gabriel couldn't contain himself any longer and approached the man angrily. "Timothy! What's the meaning of this? Why are you here, summoning a commoner to see the almighty Mr. Fin?"

It became clear to Nicklaus that this man was indeed Mr. Fin's right-hand man, given Gabriel's familiarity with him.

"Mr. Fin has ordered me to escort this young man, Young Master Gabriel. I'm sorry, but he is my boss, and I must obey his commands," Timothy replied, causing Gabriel to grit his teeth.

"Honey, I'm sure they have the wrong person. Once your grand-uncle sees this man, they'll send him back to the streets where he belongs," Stella said with a frown.

"Grand-uncle?" Nicklaus was stunned. He suddenly understood the connection—Gabriel was using his uncle's surname.

Gabriel clenched his fists and bit his lip before moving toward Rita. With fury on his face, he aimed to punch Nicklaus for no reason, but Nicklaus dodged.

"What the hell?" Nicklaus asked angrily.

Gabriel attempted another punch, but Nicklaus caught his hand before it could connect. Nicklaus twisted the arm slightly before releasing it, sending Gabriel tumbling to the ground.

"Young Master Gabriel, your grand-uncle won't be pleased with this behavior," Timothy said, then turned to Nicklaus.

"I apologize for any inconvenience, sir." Timothy paused and retrieved some files from his briefcase.

"An ownership agreement?" Nicklaus raised his eyebrows as he read the document's header.