King Ambrose: The Rise of the Bastard Son

04: Saved

I woke in an unfamiliar room with my body aching all over.

At first, I couldn’t remember where I was because it sure is not my room. When I roamed my eyes around, I realized I was in a hospital room. It took me another minute to remember why I was there.

Somebody had set me up at school and intended to kill me. Those men…they were paid by someone to do it. Henry was the one who gave me the letter allegedly written by Olivia. But it had been a trap. If there is anyone who did it, it’s Henry. Or perhaps Darion.

The door burst open, interrupting my thoughts.

“Father,” I said.

He crossed the distance between us and the next thing I felt was the sting on my left cheek as he struck me.

“You stupid boy,” he said, seething. I looked at him. The pain in my whole body was too much that the pain in my face was nothing. I gave him a blank look.

“You ought to remember that this is going to be your life now. People are going to drag you down because I have given you power. Use that brain of yours not to get deceived.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose before he sat down on the couch.

“Do you know who did this to you?” he asked and I did not hesitate to answer.

“Henry,” I said, much to his surprise. His eyes widened as he looked at me. I was certain he was going to strike me again so I prepared myself for it.

“Henry stabbed you?” he asked in disbelief. I shook my head.

“I believe he hired people to do the job. He gave me a letter saying it was written by Olivia. I went to the place where Olivia wants to meet but I met strangers instead.”

He was silent for a moment, processing the things I have said to him. “If he’s the one who gave you the letter leading to your setup, he was so certain you’re going to end up dead. Henry isn’t the only one behind this. He can’t move without his brother.”

“You believe me?” I asked, surprised. It wasn’t all the time that he believed me. It was often Darion or Henry’s side he takes.

His eyes darkened as they bore into mine.

“If I find that you’re lying then I don’t care if you’re already betrothed. You’re leaving my house and I don’t care where you go. Olivia can settle on marrying Henry instead. So you better be telling the truth, boy.”

I looked at him straight in the eye and then he fixed his coat to go out. I was left alone with my thoughts and the pain in my body was too much that I couldn’t even sleep a wink. I don’t know how Henry or Darion is going to get away with this but if they manage to do so, I’m in danger of getting kicked out of the house. I’d be homeless. I don’t know if I should be worried about it or not.

It didn’t take long for sleep to come later that day. By the time I woke up, I was not alone in my room. When I looked around, I saw Henry sitting by the couch and Darion leaning on the wall. Father was by the window. I was very aware of the glare that Darion is giving but I couldn’t care less. I was literally stabbed. His glare is the least of my concerns.

“This little shit is lying, Father,” said Darion and pointed a finger at me.

“Darion’s right. We were both at the gymnasium for the basketball match. We both left before the period ended. None of us saw him off.”

I furrowed my brows as I looked at Henry. I know he’s a liar but really? He would go to this extent just to get away from what he did? My mouth remained shut as I let them talk. There would be no sense of reasoning now. Father would surely listen to them since he had heard what I had to say earlier.

Silence covered the whole room and we all looked at Father as he let out a sigh. I wanted to get up and punch Henry in the face. Hiring gangsters to kill me was too much. If it were up to me, I would gladly have them marry Olivia instead. But Father has made it perfectly clear that it won’t end up well for me if I refuse and I am sure as hell I will not only end up homeless. I might end up way worse than that.

“Very well then. Since none of you will admit to this then I shall do what needed to be done,” Father said and we all looked at him questioningly. “Olivia, dear. Please come in.”

Henry’s eyes widened in surprise at the mention of Olivia’s name. Darion too. However, unlike Henry, Darion is more relaxed. Could it be that Henry did that stunt all by himself?

The door opened and in came Olivia. As usual, she looked like she came straight out of a photo shoot and came here just to solve a dispute. She gave me a cold look—well, she gave all of us a cold look before turning her gaze to our father.

“Olivia, did you write that letter I gave you earlier?” father asked.

Olivia took something from her coat and it was the letter that Henry gave to him. She placed it on the foot of my cot and shook her head.

“That isn’t mine, Mr. Olivieri, and I don’t remember writing a letter the day this incident happened.”

A sigh of relief came out of me and I looked at my brothers who were already seething. They all looked like they were so close to snapping and choking me to death.

“Then do you know who wrote this letter?”

Again, Olivia shook her head. “My handwriting doesn’t look like that.” She took another paper from her coat and placed it next to the letter. “This is my handwriting. You can see and compare.”

Before father could even say something, Olivia turned to look at me. Her eyes were still cold and I couldn’t help but wonder if this girl even know how to smile.

She gave me a small nod and then another to Father before walking out of the room. She didn’t even acknowledge Darion and Henry as she walked past.

Another blanket of silence coated us until Father started walking towards where Henry was sitting. I knew what was going to happen and tension filled the room that I could almost taste it.

Before Henry could say something, father’s palm connected with his jaw. I swallowed hard as I looked at how Henry’s face started to turn red. Clearly, he was surprised his father could even do it to him -- slap in the face in front of me, the supposed to be hated, son. And I know it’s making them angrier that their father is taking my side.

“This is unfair, father. Why are you siding with the loser? Henry did nothing wrong. Clearly, this shithead and that bitch are lying. You should believe us! We are your sons—“

“Useless sons!” yelled father. Darion looked hurt and surprised at what father said but I bet father was too angry to even care. “Our company is at the edge, Darion. We are close to getting bankrupt.”

I mirrored Darion’s confused expression as we looked at Father.

“What do you mean, father? Our company is doing well. We are doing well—“

“You don’t know anything, you stupid brat! While you’re out there, doing stupid things, our company is losing money. You don’t know anything because you are an irresponsible one. The de la Fontaines are people who can help us get back up. That is why a marriage between our families is necessary. If you hadn’t been such a problematic child, I would have chosen you to marry that girl you just called a bitch. Or I would have chosen your brother if he doesn’t admire you so much. But you’re both not good choices.”

Father pointed at me. “This boy is the only option I have to save our company. This boy who isn’t even my son. This boy who got so many achievements than both of you combined. He’s the perfect man for Olivia de la Fontaine. But what did you do? You attempted to kill him?” He gave another slap to Henry and I could have sworn Henry whimpered.

“If Kingsley had died today, we would have lost our only hope. And you would have put me through the trouble of hiding a dead body.”

My body went cold at that. Of course, he would rather hide a dead body than let his sons go to prison.

“This is the last warning for the two of you. Touch him again and you’ll see what I can do.”

And then he walked out of the room.