The Rise Of Nicholas Hensaw

Chapter 22

Nicklaus decided to ignore his sister.

"Please, tell me why! Tell me why you don't want to accept his offer?" she pleaded, causing Nicklaus to narrow his eyes.

"We'll sleep at our parents' home tonight, Rita. I'm not accepting that offer because all his wealth rightfully belongs to our father. I cannot work as a servant again in a place where I should be the owner," he said, walking toward their old home.

He sighed as he recalled the day his parents died. He had found a note in the house drawer that read: "All that I own is under the Fin family's protection. When you turn 26, contact someone—the number is on the back of this note and will become visible when it's time."

Nicklaus had turned 26 a few weeks ago. Realizing this was the right time to check for the contact his father had mentioned, he decided to return to the home he had abandoned.

"What do you mean?" Rita was confused.

"You wouldn't understand," Nicklaus said.

"So where are we going?" Rita asked, accepting that nothing she said would change her brother's mind.

"We're going back to the abandoned house we inherited," Nicklaus replied.

Rita immediately stopped walking. "I'd rather sleep in the streets than go to that house. That place must have fallen apart by now," she said weakly, beginning to cough.

Nicklaus placed his hand on her back and gently caressed it. "You know you're sick, and you're raising your voice like that. Please, don't worry," he said, taking her hand again, but she folded her arms in front of her.

"Rita, many people would die for that kind of shelter."

"But we've seen something better!" she interrupted, still referring to Mr. Fin's offer.

"Rita, I'm not accepting his offer. I didn't treat him because I wanted something from him," Nicklaus said, trying to clarify his position.

He swallowed hard and picked her up. She tried to protest but didn't know what to say. She felt both angry and ashamed being carried by her brother.

"Put me down! Please, I want to walk. I never said I couldn't walk," she said, but her words fell on deaf ears. The only thing on Nicklaus's mind was reaching the abandoned house.

Eventually, she decided to relax. Nicklaus carried her to the house, which was about 45 minutes on foot from Mr. Fin's mansion.

When they reached the house, Nicklaus set her down and walked inside. He moved slowly and carefully, not wanting any old furniture to collapse.

As he opened the door, he heard noises from behind it. Without stopping to investigate, he stepped forward. Looking back, he saw that items had been stacked behind the door for years, and opening it had caused them to fall.

Nicklaus motioned for Rita to follow him inside. He took off his shirt and handed it to her. "Use this to cover your nose—at least the smell of sweat will be better than all this dust."

Rita took the shirt and held it to her nose but immediately pulled it away. "Ugh, I can't use this to cover my nose—the smell is awful," she said, beginning to cough.

"I want to stay outside. I don't have the strength to deal with all these odors. It's making my stomach turn, and I feel like vomiting," she said.

Nicklaus didn't stop her, allowing her to go outside. "Stay right in front of the door where I can see you," he said as Rita walked toward the entrance.

Nicklaus headed to his father's room. The cobwebs throughout the house were overwhelming—his entire body was already covered with them.

He tried opening his father's room door, but it wouldn't budge. It didn't even move slightly.

"Damn, what kind of key does this door even use?" Nicklaus muttered, examining the doorknob.

His eyes fell on the watch on his wrist. There was a small pin on the side, and just by looking at it, Nicklaus suspected that somehow his father's watch might fit.

As he placed the watch against the doorknob, trying to make it fit, the door suddenly made a clicking sound and opened slowly.

Nicklaus wasn't surprised—for some reason, he had believed the watch was the key to this door.

For years, this room had been securely locked, unlike the front door of the house, which was weak and had opened easily when Nicklaus pushed it.

Nicklaus slowly entered the room. He licked his dry lips and began coughing from the dust.

He walked toward the shelf where he had kept the note, but couldn't remember the exact location. He began checking each section methodically but eventually grew tired.

He swallowed hard and reached out, saying quietly, "There you are."

He pulled a book down from the shelf, cleaned its cover, and retrieved the note from inside. After opening it, he turned it over—there was no longer any message on the front, but on the back he found what he was looking for.

"Contact the number below," Nicklaus read as his eyes found the phone number.