HIDDEN LEGACY : THE FAME OF THE FORGOTTEN HEIR

Chapter 10 : Why Are You Here?

"Before I go home, I want to tidy myself up. I don't want to go home in this condition," Ben said. He accompanied his words with gestures, indicating his current appearance: dirty clothes, body odor, and several days without bathing. This made him feel really insecure.

"If that's all it is, of course it's an easy thing," Steve replied approvingly.

Benjamin shook his head. "No, not just that, there's more!"

"What is it?" the burly man wanted to know.

"I want you to close your mouth tightly," Ben retorted, gesturing with an index finger in front of his mouth.

Steve's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean?" he asked, perplexed by Ben's request.

The man in front of him began to explain. "Don't tell them anything, especially the worst part that you currently see," Benjamin explained seriously, but he doubted Steve would catch the meaning of his request.

With patience, that man continued his explanation. "What I mean is... don't tell them anything about my condition where you found me this time."

Ben stared at his interlocutor accompanied by a long exhale, he seemed lazy with Steve's silent response, which he did not know whether he had understood or not.

"I don't want to look like a tramp, meeting them in dirty and smelly clothes," he explained this time getting a short reply.

"Well, I understand, Sir."

Ben's voice lowered. "I just don't want them to look down on me and mock my condition, Steve, nothing more."

Steve nodded again, while Ben raised his voice, fearing he had forgotten some other request. "One more thing... never involve the Campbell family!" he pointed his finger.

"Don't tell any information about my wife Olivia, or her family. Be it to Anderson, or his favorite grandchild.

"I don't know who you're loyal to, but whichever side you're on, please... don't tell my family about this!" Ben begged in all seriousness.

Meanwhile, Steve seemed to understand, as he nodded several times.

Benjamin still continued speaking. "I don't know how much information you have gathered about me, and I already don't really care about it either.

"...All you have to do is promise me, promise to protect all the information you have gathered about my life these past few years, let my privacy remain safe.

"Eliminate any trace of my time in Eldoria as well, don't let any of the Campbell family know of my current whereabouts!"

This time Steve responded to his master's command with a smile. "Anything else? If there is, just tell me; I'll remember it."

Benjamin let out a short breath, then rubbed his stomach. "I think that's enough for now. But... now I'm hungry, and I want to eat a steak with the best quality meat."

"Alright, now follow me!" Steve led the way to their car outside the station.

Once inside the car, the man with thick eyebrows who sat in the seat near the driver's seat spoke again to Benjamin who sat quietly in the passenger seat. "First, we will go to the salon first, then after that, we will eat, and then head home."

There was no response from him, the shabby man just stared pensively at the smooth paved road.

"How about it, are you ready, Sir?" this bodyguard asked again, making his employer's son nod briefly with his gaze not moving from the closed windowpane.

***

Benjamin's car and the cars of his bodyguards had entered the gates of a luxurious residence, which looked many times more luxurious than the Campbell family home.

The car door was opened, Ben, who was dressed neatly and smelled of his favorite expensive perfume, was greeted by several people who were already lined up near his car door, waiting for Benjamin and Steve to lead them.

From inside his car, Ben repeatedly breathed heavily as someone opened the door for him.

"Come on, Sir. I'll take you inside," Steve offered with an equally cold face, his smile lines now completely absent.

Ben nodded back, got out of the car and walked confidently to his door.

All the servants he passed bowed, honoring Benjamin and the people behind him.

Steve stepped alongside Ben, but he seemed to be holding the earpeace attached to his left ear, as if hearing some commands from there.

"Sir," he said to Ben, who had a flat expression.

"Before we meet Anderson, do you want to take a tour first?" asked this man, making Benjamin who had been walking with him stop, as well as the bodyguards who had been following.

"What do you mean?" he asked without turning around, keeping his focus on staring ahead with a flat face, even though he was actually curious.

"Anderson is not in his room at the moment, Sir. I think before we see him, it would be best for you to go around or rest first," this head guard explained with a stern, serious face.

Not denying it, Ben smiled slightly.

"Alright, I want to go to my room!" he replied coldly, and it seemed as if he didn't really care.

Although, the truth is... Ben had been holding back.

He was still not ready to come face-to-face with Anderson, whom he had not seen for years.

Benjamin still remembers how badly Anderson treated him last time.

As he made his way to his room, he stopped and turned around, talking to the people who had been following his every move.

"No need to follow me anymore, I can find my own room. You guys can go and do other tasks," Ben ordered the group of men who had been silent, not even a response from them when Benjamin spoke.

Stealthily, Steve seemed to give a finger movement code to his subordinates, so they nodded and then left Ben alone in the corridor of his house and only accompanied by Steve who seemed to be leaving too.

"Alright, Sir. I'll be leaving as well, enjoy your rest. But don't worry, if you need anything I'll still be around.

"If there is anything you need, just ask one of the servants to contact me," the bodyguard explained, followed by a bow.

"Sure," Ben agreed and watched Steve's retreating back, but it was a fact that the man's footsteps always seemed to be firm with a rush.

Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief, he felt free, despite the fact that he was confined in this vast house.

His steps were slow, his eyes busy scanning the surroundings, which didn't seem to have changed much from a few years ago when he was evicted and left this house.

Benjamin was not lost in finding the door to his room, a room whose door alone looked very luxurious, just as luxurious as the other rooms, which were also available in this house.

He held the doorknob, then pushed it gently, feeling the cold air of the room, which came out from between the door, due to his long absence.

He closed the door and locked it, then without hesitation stepped onto the king-sized bed, making him content to fling himself on it.

"Soft and fluffy, just like last time," he thought with his eyes closed.

His eyes opened with a blank stare at the ceiling of her room.

"I can't deny it, I miss this room, I miss this house and I also miss those vile people, even though they threw me away." Ben closed his eyes again, but something made him wake up and get up.

He found the sound of something strange, so he took a step towards the door of the room where he used to study and work.

Something felt off. It made her suspicious and she stepped carefully, until her footsteps made no sound at all.

Then, he opened the door in a hurry out of curiosity.

At first his face looked flat, then his eyes rounded at once with an expression that turned surprised mixed with confusion, when he realized what he found in there.

"Why are you here?" asked Ben in a slightly interrogating tone.