Chapter Four

Jamal cleaned his eyes over and over again, pinching himself as he consciously denied the reality. He was in a grand expensive mansion. What was happening? Who were they and what was he doing here?

Rather than admiring the interior breakthrough, he was bothered, and eaten by anxiety.

"Old master would love to see you now." The middle-aged man's voice unintentionally disrupted his reverie, he swallowed hard on nothing before following the man through the hallway.

"Please, who are you? And where is this place?" The hallway seemed endless and he couldn't endure his curiosity. "Maybe you shouldn't answer that but, why am I here?" He asked seriously with anxiety lancing in his sharp eyes.

"Your questions will soon be answered, please be patient." The middle-aged man said and suddenly paused beside a door. It was the only door in the hallway they were in.

"Old master is at the brink of death, please don't make him worry or ask too many questions." The man warned him politely before the door automatically opened, Jamal went in and the middle-aged man followed.

The master bedroom was very wide and breathtaking, it was lavishly furnished and properly air-conditioned. Jamal exhaled deeply as he walked over to the old man lying on the king-size bed with a drip connected to his hand.

He was the old master, Jackie-Ville, Old Jack for short. He was neatly covered with a white duvet. Jamal gave him a long look but no matter how he struggled to remember, the man didn't look familiar.

"You are here, Jamal." Old Jack said, startling Jamal.

"You - - you know my name?" He looked at the middle-aged man and back at Old Jack, perplexed.

"Why wouldn't I know my grandson's name?" The man teased, laughing at the one that fits.

"Grandson? I don't know what's going on here." He was still in a deep dilemma.

"So many things have happened over the years and it's time to let you know." Old Jack closed his eyes briefly. Then, he began: "Too many people are running away from money and diving into it, and I didn't want you to be among them. I wanted you to face life, to see what humans truly are, to learn how to survive being poor, to fight, and to struggle. But, it's high time you claim what's rightfully yours."

He looked at his grandfather like one who had just lost his memory. He didn't know if he should ask questions or faint to see if everything would fade away.

"You are the heir of the Dashiell Jackie-Ville Empire. The quadrillion heir." His grandfather announced to him looking dead serious and his jaw dropped.

"Look here, I'm one of those people who has suffered everything bad in this freaking world. So, if this is a prank or something let me know." He said seriously, staring at them.

"This is not a prank, Jamal. My trusted man, Mr. Dennis will be your guide and will transfer your compensation fee." His grandfather continued. "Let us know when you are ready to sign up for this responsibility." He added.

"Wait, wait, do I have to sell my kidney or my soul to attain this? Because I don't even understand what is happening here." Jamal said. "First, I'm an orphan with no father, I didn't even know I had an existing relative. Not only that, I'm the heir of some quadrillion company?" He scoffed in disbelief. "Then, why did you leave me to suffer all these years? Why did I live a miserable life when I have such wealth?" He gave a quick look around the room.

"That's the rule to become the heir of Dashiell Jackie-Ville Empire." His grandfather said firmly.

"I don't believe you, I'm still in doubt." He shook his head.

He felt it was a dream, he had been too engrossed in fantasy. When he wakes up, everything will be back to normal.

"Jamal, be wise and when things become tougher, use your fist." His grandfather said, trying to reach him with his hand but his hand suddenly fell back on the bed and he gave up the ghost.

"Sir? Hello? Old Master?" He looked at Dennis. "What's going on? What happened to him?" He queried anxiously.

"He has been waiting for you and finally got to see you." Dennis let out a long sigh. "Farewell, Old Jack. Till we meet again." Dennis bowed shortly.

Though he didn't know what was happening and couldn't believe his eyes, he also bowed. Giving his grandfather his last respect.

"We just met." He mumbled to himself.

Dennis faced him. "You have 24 hours to make a decision, I hope to hear from you soon," Dennis informed him courteously.

Jamal left the room feeling cold, scared, and lost. He just lost his grandfather. He just found out about his identity. He was a rich person.

"All these confessions are just too much for me to take in." He said inwardly as the free cab dropped him at the front of a motel.

Reality dawned on him and he shook his head, letting out a scornful laugh.

"I said it, it was all a dream." He sluggishly entered the motel.

"What do you want?" The fat-looking male receptionist harshly questioned him.

Jamal searched his pocket and saw a 20 dollar bill.

"I want a room for the night. Even if it's the tiniest." He said, with his face squeezing in shame.

"You'll use the bench then because there is no room in such amount." The man cussed at him.

"But it's cold and I can't stay outside. Even if it's a mini one-room." He urged the man sadly, the man gave him a long look before throwing a key at him.

"Just this night. I don't want to see you when I scan the rooms tomorrow morning." The receptionist warned him arrogantly, he collected the key and left.

As soon as he sat on the mat, his phone beeped and he reluctantly checked the message which reads:

"[Credit Alert: 1,000,000 million dollars. Current balance: 1,000,005.]"

"What's this?" He cleared his eyes and looked at the message again but the numbers didn't change. It was still showing the same thing. The sender was written in bold letters "JACKIE-VILLE EMPIRE".

"Are these people serious or new con artists?" He stood up and turned on the lights to give his phone a clear look.

"Are these people joking with me? This is freaking 1,000,000 million dollars!" He grinned in disbelief, shock, and excitement.

"I don't believe them." He bit his finger. "I will have to visit the bank and check again or better still withdraw. They can't give me such an amount of money for free." He assumed seriously.

He gripped his phone strongly, not letting go of it and all through the night he couldn't sleep as he was anxious to go to the bank the next morning.