3

At first, it all felt like a dream, and Gabriel begged to wake up. He had had enough bad news for the day and decided it was best not to live in a fantasy, but then his phone rang. It was the strange phone number that had sent the messages earlier. Hesitantly, he picked it.

“Who is this?” Gabriel asked angrily.

“Your father has asked to see you today in the office. Happy twenty-fifth birthday, sir.” The man said and Gabriel burst out laughing.

His father did not own an office, and for as long as he could remember, when he was not ill, he worked menial jobs. In fact, it was insulting if this was Daniel’s prank, because Daniel was well aware of his father’s terminal illness.

“My father owns no office, and he could not even own one when he was up and running, so you should stop making this joke right now because it is not funny. That man is ill and about to die; pay him some respect and get him off this joke, Daniel.” Gabriel raised his voice.

“He wants you at the office where you work, and he wants you right now.” The man said, and then he ended the call.

Gabriel sat on the floor, pondering what to do. He was so angry that he wanted to rip off Daniel’s head. He first stole his wife, and now he was attempting to harm him through his father.

After a while, he picked up his phone and checked his bank app to see that the money was actually there, not just a message.

He jumped up immediately and hurriedly took a bath before rushing to the company. When he arrived, the first person he met was his boss and Brittany’s father, Mr. Williams.

“You are late, Gabriel.” Mr. Williams said before Gabriel could greet him.

Gabriel smiled, satisfied that he had beaten his prankster by seeing Mr. Williams first. His bank had most likely been hacked, and Daniel was once again attempting to prank him.

“I am sorry, sir; I will not be late again.” He said this and then attempted to leave, but Mr. Williams grabbed him.

“Please call me, Williams; your father is waiting for you upstairs.” Gabriel stood in awe as he said his. “This way, sir,” Mr. Williams instructed, and Gabriel pinched his skin until it turned red.

He reasoned that this must be a fever dream. Because his boss would never address him as sir, but when he looked down at his hurting skin, he tried to accept reality.

He followed Mr. Williams into the elevator, his heart racing, and when it came to a halt, he exhaled deeply before exiting with his boss. Mr. Williams led Gabriel down to his office, and he became scared because, aside from cleaning duties, he had only walked the halls three times. The first was on the day he was hired, while the rest were for queries, and he was warned that if he got into trouble again, he would be fired.

Gabriel thought to himself, “I am getting fired.”

When Mr. Williams opened the door to his office, Gabriel saw his father, hale and hearty, sitting in the Mr. Williams’ seat with a huge smile on his face.

His clothes looked overly expensive, and Gabriel couldn’t wrap his head around what was going on.

“Happy birthday, son, and the youngest millionaire in the entire city.” His father smiled as he spoke.

Gabriel remained silent as he tried to understand his father’s statement. This had to be a prank, or his father was going to die in a few hours, and Mr. Williams was kind enough to let him see him.

“Dad, is this some kind of joke?” Gabriel asked Mr. William and his father. “Is it because my father is dying? Do you want to make me happy?” Gabriel inquired, and his father laughed, rising from his seat.

Gabriel’s mouth dropped when he saw his father standing on both feet. He did not know whether to be happy, angry, or disappointed by what was going on. His life was based on a lie, and he had suffered in vain.

“You see, son, we have been wealthy our entire lives, but I needed to test your loyalty. It is a tradition that has been passed down through the generations. I needed to know you could handle the money and would not oppress the poor, so you had to walk in their shoes.” He spoke, and Gabriel stood motionless.

“Father, how can this be? We’ve been poor our entire lives,and…”

Gabriel was at a loss for words as he looked into his father’s eyes, trying not to cry.

“You were sick, and I saw you in the hospital on that bed. I was born poor, and I know this is a sick joke or dream. I have been suffering since I was a teen to keep you alive,” Gabriel said, pinching himself hard.

“I need to wake up. This must be a bad dream.” He continued to say, but his father intervened to prevent him from causing himself pain.

“It is a lot to take in, son, but I assure you I would never joke about something like this, and now that you are of age, it is time for me to retire,” he explained.

“Is mum also alive? Where is she? Is she hiding somewhere here?” He inquired, and his father held his hands.

“Everything I did was for your own good. You showed enough respect for Mr. Williams, who is nothing more than my butler.” He said, and Gabriel turned to face his boss, who had always been wealthy to him.

“I also hear your in-laws are giving you a hard time. Well, you are a rich man now, so do whatever you want and prepare for the ceremony tonight.” His father said.

**

Gabriel, who was still trying to fit into his new life, took a taxi to the bank with the money his father had given him. When the taxi arrived at the city bank, he stepped out and approached the doors, but was stopped by a security officer.

“Hey, what does a man like you look for here? This is not a dumpster; get out of here before you scare off the customers!” He yelled, pushing Gabriel so hard that he fell down.

Gabriel stood up and stared at the guard, his anger simmering.

“Had I not been in a good mood, I would have sued you!” Gabriel yelled, and the man burst into laughter.

“If you do not get your sorry ass out of here, I will beat you up.” He threatened, and Gabriel laughed.

He took out his phone and shoved it in the man’s face; when the man saw the amount of money on it, he collapsed to his knees.

“I have no business with you, but once I am done, you will all suffer!” Gabriel gritted his teeth as he walked past the guard and into the bank.

Gabriel thought his problems for the day were over, but there was something worse waiting for him inside the bank.