Richard picked himself up and staggered towards the gate. The old lady had even ordered his bike be confiscated. Now, he had nothing to even take him back to his daughter. When he thought about his daughter and how the doctor informed him that her life was in danger,a lone tear escaped his eyes.
He could not believe that Cassy would do that to him, to their daughter.She was her blood and flesh for crying out loud and even if she didn't want to see Melvin and him around her, she could have at least tried saving the little girl's life.His poor daughter, what wrong did she do to be born by such a heartless woman? What did he even see in that woman in the first place? Richard could not help but ask himself.He had to admit though that the Cassy he met and fell in love with five years ago was different from the woman he saw a minute ago. She completely changed. What changed her? He didn't know and at this point he didn't want to know anymore. Since they have already severed ties with her and the Parker family, it was only him and his daughter at this point.Lost in thoughts and bitterness, Richard approached the main gate leading to the Parker Manor.The guards saw his dishevelled state and could not help but mock him." Did the husband get kicked away by the wife? Look at how shabbily he is dressed. If a street dog looks better than him." One guard said, eyeing Richard with disgust." What husband? Miss Cassy had long cut ties with him. It was him forcing himself on her so that he can continue to leech off the Parker family." The second one chipped in." I heard that his daughter is sick and on the verge of dying. That must be the reason he has been pestering Miss Cassy for money. With such a poor father, the child is better off dead." The first guard added.Richard halted in his steps after hearing what the guard just said.Talk ill about him and he'll just ignore you and treat you as dirt but when it comes to his daughter, things get different.How could a mere guard curse his daughter? That thought enough brewed anger from within him and before he could stop himself, he was already in front of the man." What did you just say?" His voice was dangerously low and cold, sending shivers down the guards' spines.The guard was taken aback by the coldness from his words and took a step back involuntarily but after thinking that Richard was nothing but the despised and useless son-in-law of the Parker family, he was full of courage again." Stung by the truth huh? " The guard cockily asked, narrowing his eyes at Richard whose face was gloomy.Ofcourse, the guard thought that Richard was just trying to intimidate him. What would a crippled man who is hated by everybody do to him?" I said that your little bastard daughter is better off dead. At Least, she won't have to live in poverty like her father.' the guy replied bravely.The next moment however, he was sent flying before his body slammed on the gate and falling down with a thud!When the second guard saw what happened to his friend, he shivered, backing away." I didn't say anything, it's him who cursed your daughter." He frantically explained himself lest the monster in front of him serve him the same fate as his friend.He was still shocked how the useless cripple could have incapacitated a guard from a single kick.Casting a warning look to the trembling man, Richard walked away. He didn't want to waste his time and energy on irrelevant things. Since the man said nothing bad about his daughter, he spared him hoping that they would never cross paths again in the future.Richard was burning with rage as he kicked a stone, sending it flying metres away.Any normal person would have cried in pain if he tried that but Richard was no ordinary person. He isn't your next door husband and father, he's a trained assassin. He is a killing machine who has been in disguise.A minute to his walk, two cars stopped in front of him and a man in a black suit opened the door for him." Get into the car Mr Richard, it's about time you return home where you belong." Michael said, a pleasant smile on his face.He had struck a deal with the young master knowing fully well that he would win.He had done enough investigation on everybody in the Parker family to know that nobody would help his young Master save the young miss.He could not tell when his young Master became so trusting to people but thankfully after today, he would open his eyes and know that people change with time.He knew that his gold digger wife would not fork out money to treat the young miss, not like they needed the Parker family to help on that.If it wasn't for the young master being reluctant to cut ties with that Cassy woman, they would have revealed themselves to him earlier." Do you want me to get rid of those two pests?" Michael asked, his voice full of expectancy earning a scoff from Richard." For a sixty year old, ain't you too violent?" Richard asked before sighing tiredly." I have taken care of them and sent a message to the Parker family so there's no need." Richard added, now it was Michael's turn to scoff." For someone like you, don't you think you've become too soft?" He shot back." I am a father now and that changes everything." Richard said, his hands covering his face.If it was the Richard from before, he would not have spared the guards life but he just did. For his daughter, he would try to be the best father and mother and that meant he would have to be less violent and probably preach peace." I understand. The operation should be starting anytime. I have invited the best doctor to perform the surgery and the donor is ready." Michael reported and Richard nodded.He could count on the old man to take care of everything.He could not wait for his little princess to get better." Your surgery is scheduled one month from now. You will fly abroad in a month's time. That should be enough to stay with the little miss until she has fully recovered." Michael reported." What surgery?" Richard asked although he could already guess what the old man meant." Your bone alignment surgery of course." Michael replied almost immediately." You are the heir to the dragon empire and you know the responsibilities that accompany the position. You have to be in your best physical and mental condition." The old man added.The reason why Richard is partially crippled was thanks to the accident he had five years ago. Since he didn't have enough money for surgery, his bones could not be aligned properly forcing him to limp while walking.The convoy arrived at the hospital and after Richard signed the permission papers, the surgery started.There was no time to waste since the little girl's health was getting worse with each passing moment.Three hours later, the green light at the operation room was switched off indicating the surgery just came to an end. Richard, who had been standing anxiously outside the room, walked to the doctor once the door was opened." Doctor, how is my daughter now?" His voice was on edge and you could feel that he was worried.The doctor smiled at him." Don't worry, the surgery was a success. We will have to keep her here for a few more days to observe how she responds to the transplant." He replied before walking away." Thank you Doctor Smith for coming here with the shortest notice." Michael said, extending his arm to the doctor who shook it." Anything for my old man. I presume the little angel is the granddaughter of Drake?" Doctor Smith asked and Michael nodded.After bidding goodbye to the doctor, Michael made his way to the room where the little girl was wheeled to. Richard was seated next to her bed, clutching on her little frail hands like she was the only air he needed to breathe.
9. "Brother! Brother! I missed you so much! Where have you been? You left me alone to deal with father and... Oh my God! Is this my niece?" Asher asked as he went to pick Melvin. "Don't touch my daughter. I don't want her to wake up and get scared by your ugly face," Richard said as he held Melvin well in his arms. "Come on brother. I have held it all down for you and the least I deserve is to hold my niece. Bring her here," Ash added as he went to take the child who was peacefully sleeping. "Be careful," Richard said as he handed the child carefully to his little brother. "Why is Asher so childish? You still spoil him?" Richard asked Michael who was walking beside him towards the GMC-Hummer MV that was waiting for them with its doors open. "Young master, who exactly spoiled second young master if not you? He is always your baby, isn't he?" Michael asked and Richard scoffed. They had just landed in Washington DC Airport and we're on their way to the mansion. Asher and Richard
10. "So, what you are saying is the Dragon Empire isn't willing to collaborate with us?" A man seated opposite Richard asked. They were in Grand Hotel in the heart of Washington. This man, Brutus Bane, was the leader and some heir of the Lion House. They were among the top tier families in DC and they really wanted to join hands together with the Armstrong family especially after Richard came back. "Listen, I have explained this so many times but since you seem to be hard of understanding, I will explain it again. The Dragon Empire isn't involved in dark business anymore. I want to make sure that we are in the clear and that is why I am doing away with anything that is illegal. But you, the Lions, are as dirty as it gets. So, that's why, I, Zeus, can't partner with you," Richard said slowly as if he was educating a child on the basics of the alphabet. "Does your father know this?" Brutus asked now losing his patience. "Wanna try to see if he does? It's me in charge and five ye
If there was someone who really enjoyed Richard's return, it was his little brother Asher. Asher became Richard's tail and he would follow him anywhere. That was how he ended up in the Grand Hotel with Richard today to meet the Lions heir, Brutus Bane. Brutus had asked for this meeting since DC got wind of the news of the return of Zeus whom everybody thought was dead. Richard had been holding it off until the man became too persistent and he decided to meet with Brutus so as to make the man leave him alone. As usual, Asher insisted they bring Melvin with the promise of taking care of her. Normally, Richard wouldn't bring a child to such meetings but this was their hotel. He thus knew that she would be safe and since Ash would be there to take care of her, he didn't see any problem. They parted with Ash at the doors to the karaoke room they entered and he made Ash promise that they wouldn't smoke or drink with Melvin inside the room. "What are you saying brother? Have you forg
12.The last thing Richard wanted was to get photographed by anyone carrying a strange girl taking her to hospital. He thus asked the guards to drive them to Sora Hospital that was owned by their family and registered and names under their mother's name, Sora Conrad - Armstrong. When they got to the hospital, Cash had already arranged a VIP room for them and then he had called the president of the hospital letting him know that their young master was bringing a patient in, the best doctors and nurses were deployed to that room and they found them waiting. "What's all this? Aren't there other sick people in this hospital? What are all of you doing here?" Richard asked with irritation as he set the unknown girl on the bed. That was when he looked at her well and he could tell that she was beautiful. She seemed to be of African Mexican heritage but he couldn't be sure. "We were told that you are bringing a patient here and since we didn't know what to expect, we had to deploy the be
13. Richard then turned to the file he was holding. The first thing that met him was a photo of the girl. She looked beautiful, he had to give her that. Her dark skin looked like a dark pearl that had been left to form until it was at its prime. "Macy Philips. The first daughter of the Philips family," he read loudly and then wondered of she was the first daughter of the family, why would her younger sister lock her in that closet? According to the file Asher had brought, Macy was the older sister of Angela Philips and she was an upcoming actress. She came from abroad one year ago and tried joining the entertainment industry. Since then, she has only gotten three minor roles in movies that nobody even talked about. Apparently, Macy was the long lost daughter of the Philips family. She rejoined the family seven years ago while in her last year of high school and after high school, she was whisked away to Asia and she just returned. Richard now noticed why the girl had Asian fea
14."Young master, it's been two months and the little miss is all better. It is time you took over your position again. That means, the operation for your leg is long due. I have booked the plane for tomorrow. But you also have a choice, instead of being flown out, we can call the surgeon here and work on you at Sora Hospital. The thing is that it will be very expensive because the doctor will have to come with all the machines required. Sora Hospital still doesn't have that department. Yes I know, your mother prefers opening more wards for children," Michael explained.They were sitting in the main office in the main Armstrong mansion that was at the center of the whole manor. This house was five times bigger than the west wing where Richard lived with Melvin. One has to have in mind that Richard's was a mansion of more than ten bedrooms. "Can't I take longer? I want to make sure that she is all better. What If she relapses while I'm away? What if..." "Young master, all is we
15. Richard sat on the plane on his way to LA. It had been three months since the operation and almost six months since he left Los Angeles. He didn't miss the place. Maybe he had a few happy memories like when Cassy and he were in love but after that, it was all a nightmare. What kept him going was the fact that he was a trained martial artist and endurance was one of the things he had been taught by his master. If not, he would have let go a long time ago. But he kept holding on to his marriage because he had truly loved Cassy and because he believe that they could still give Mel a complete home. The private jet touched down and when they alighted, a limo was waiting for them. This was one of the reasons why Richard loved Cash. Cash was a former navy seal and he now worked for the Armstrong family after falling out with his superiors. It was because of the protection that Richard gave him that he stayed with them. Cash was effective, very effective. Due to his years in the m