Chapter 10

The hours dragged on, and finally, the work day had come to an end. Davide remained in the office because he had no clue where to go, and he needed to talk to Zeta about the things he noticed in the office.

Under everyone's watchful gaze, the manager still sent lecherous looks toward Gwen. It irritated Davide and made his heart boil with rage.

The company was the biggest in the country, and only the workers knew what was happening behind closed doors. There were problems that none of them could speak about, and if they attempted to, they would be silenced or tagged as whistleblowers, which would greatly affect their opportunity of having a job in the future.

This was one thing that Davide understood regarding the matter concerning the manager and Gwen, and he also guessed that Gwen wasn't the first woman that had gone through unspeakable things in the company. There was Sarah, who was underappreciated and was going through a lot of maltreatment from her superior. Davide couldn't even think of the many other workers, men or women, who could be going through the same things.

For a company he was going to take control of, he was ashamed of it.

The phone he had placed on the desk vibrated. He grabbed it and checked the message. It was a text from Zeta. Along the way, they exchanged phone numbers.

He was too new to this sort of life to regulate it without help, and Zeta seemed to be able to help him with it.

The text messages contained her location, which was downstairs in the parking lot. 

He looked around. He had put everything in order since a while ago, and now there was nothing more to do than to leave.

...

At the parking lot...

The underground parking lot was big. But poorly illuminated.  

It didn't really matter because the car he was about to meet had signaled for him to come over.

Davide approached the vehicle; Zeta sat comfortably inside, shielded from the bad lighting and the stale wind. 

As her eyes met Davide's, she smiled broadly.

"How was your first day?" She inquired as Davide closed the door, fitting comfortably into the leather seat.

Davide sighed, "It was a lot, but it was exhilarating. I enjoyed it". He smiled.

Zeta nodded, "I'm glad it was a good experience." 

The driver started the car.

"So where to?" Davide asked, looking out the window.

Zeta's words floated into his ears, "We're going to your house."

Davide nodded his head. "There's a party tonight, in a few hours, to celebrate my joining company."

This time, he said it with his eyes on Zeta. He noticed the glee in her eyes and a broad smile.

"That's lovely," she clapped her hands, "they must be very welcoming.".

Davide shifted in his seat, vaguely remembering the manager's lewd smile sent to Gwen. "They are something."

Zeta noticed this, "did something happen?"

Davide sent her a sad smile, "Just the usual sexual harassment."

It was not rare to find such in places of work, but Davide had believed that such a thing wouldn't exist in a big company. He thought that at least the women would be respected.

Even though things like that were common in other companies, it wasn't something he approved of or even believed should be ignored.

He wanted to address such an issue, but he was only an employee.

Beside him was the person that might be able to change that; however, that person wasn't saying anything.

"Things like that are really common" The way she spoke; it seemed her mood was down. "And a woman heading my position cannot possibly change that."

"There are people above me; there are men and women like that sitting in high positions. The only person that can change such is you, but right now, you're powerless".

The two of them took a deep breath, letting the silence say the words they could not deem themselves to say.

Whether they wanted to admit it or not, they were powerless—especially Davide, who was just an employee in the eyes of his pairs.

"I got your work ID" Zeta handed the ID to Davide.

He smiled softly, momentarily pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind until he was powerful enough to change things. 

"Thank you." He took it from her and examined it. 

It was just like any he saw on TV, except that his picture was staring back at him. 

He was suddenly washed to the shore of reality by the waters of unbelief. He had never thought that a time would come when he would hold such a thing in his hand.

But here he was; not only was he holding a work ID, but he was also secretly the heir to such a huge fortune. This was more than he ever imagined, and he felt that he could never be able to get used to it.

The car finally stopped at a grandiose building similar to castles in movies. The exterior held the vibe of old money, but the expensive cars parked around the house gave it a touch of rich technology.

The lights illuminating the surrounding did a profound job, but Davide could guess that when the morning came, he would still be caught off guard by how marvelous the house appeared.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Zeta asked.

She noticed that Davide was practically drooling at the sight of the building.

Davide chuckled shamefully, "I was so lost. I tried to count the windows I saw".

Zeta shook her head, "There are a lot of rooms here. I don't think you'd be able to finish counting them".

Davide laughed, he knew she was exaggerating, but he didn't care. The windows he saw were a lot. If counted, they might amount to thirty.

Walking right behind Zeta, Davide entered the house.

A vast, majestic staircase stood before him only a few feet away. It was decorated with a red, designed carpet.

A chandelier hung above his head, pouring beautiful light on the surroundings.

Davide was marveled, but he had to keep his excitement at bay, seeing as a man seemingly in his late forties walked towards them, dressed in an expensive suit. He walked like he owned the place.

"You must be Davide." He said as he approached Davide, stretching his hand for a handshake.

Davide took it, but that didn't mean he didn't take note of how passively he treated Zeta.

"Yes, I am." Davide flashed a smile.

"I am your uncle, Derek. The brother of your late father".

Davide looked at him and understood perfectly why he treated Zeta like that. He was currently the head, and he acted as one. That didn't justify it, though, but it gave his attitude a good explanation.

"Your father willed everything to you, and he made sure to protect you like precious jewels." He stated.

Davide only chuckled.

"I'm so glad to have you here. You look just like him, it's like having my brother back with me again". He suddenly wrapped Davide in a big hug.

The smell of rain assaulted Davide's nose, and his head was suddenly filled with memories from childhood.

Luckily for him, Derek pulled away from the hug which Davide couldn't be more thankful for. He was trying so hard to not sneeze.

However, Davide was not completely free from the effects of the perfume, Derek still had his hand around his shoulder and there was a slight push.

Derek led Davide into the study, it was through a door beside a much wider one that from the looks of it led to the kitchen.

The study was wide and most of the space was taken by bookshelves. The air smelled divine and rich. 

Davide looked over his shoulders but Zeta was nowhere to be found. He thought that probably she wasn't allowed in the study or something.

There was a big picture hanging on the wall above one of the bookshelf. It was a picture of a very good looking man and as Davide looked closely, he coukd see some resemblance between him and this man. 

They had the same eyes and the same smile. The liveliness in the man's eyes was similar to Davide's and without being told, he knew who that man was.

"That's your father". Derek said out loud after watching Davide stare at the picture without removing his eyes.

Davide finally removed his eyes, "I figured".

"He koved you dearly. After your mother died from poisoning, he made sure he protected you with everything he owned. He cares about you so much".

Davide nodded his head. From Derek's words, he could understand that the man they were talking about was long dead and he didn't know if he should ask because he was cautious not to open old wounds.

"Aren't you curious about who poisoned your mother or what happened to your father?"

Davide smiled warmly, "of course I am. They were ny parents after all. But I cannot deny that coming here, I was more excited that maybe I was finally going to meet my parents but afyer hearing what you had to say, I don't know anymore. I grew up thinking my parents were dead and when Zeta found me, a hope flashed within me, I thought that maybe they weren't dead but that will only mean they abandoned me".

Davide's rocked on hia heels, "Derek, I honestly do not know how to feek right now".

Derek gave him a look. He understood the words of the youngster, but he wasn't lookinh at yhe bigger picture. 

"Your mother was murdered, Davide. In this world we live in, this world of insurmountable wealth, it's as easy as turning on the lights to attract enemies. A lot of people envied your parents and wanted what they owned and they would not fail to try to get it".

"Your father knew ans understood this and that was why he made sure he protected you. He sent you away to thw orphanage where his enemies could not come for you and when he returned, he didn't last for up to a year, he was killed as well".

Davide nodded his head, he looked up to the picture, the smile of thw man was bright and lovely.

'what was he like?' Davide thought.

'was his wealth the only reason why he attracted so many enemies?'

"What happened to the person who killed them?" Davide asked.

Derek raised an eyebrow, "you think it's just one person?"

Derek's company nodded his head.

"I think so too, but the detectives thar handled the case we're prideful fools and they refused to listen to what we thought. The killer was never found".