CHAPTER THREE: ON THE STREETS

Ryan put his few clothes into a bag in preparation for his new life wherever he would find himself.

“Going for a trip?” Kale teased.

Ryan stared at him with the deepest anger in his eyes. Kale couldn't care less.

“This…isn't…over, Kale. I will pay you back for all you've done to me, I promise” Ryan threatened, fighting back the tears in his eyes.

“You're not even man enough to be a husband to your wife, and you want to face me? Haha!” Kale laughed.

Ryan's eyes widened.

"You thought I wouldn't figure it out? Your presence here always seemed suspicious. Have a nice life, loser" Kale added, walking away.

Ryan clenched his fists.

"Ryan! Mr. Jordan wants to see you” the head servant mentioned.

Ryan dropped his fists by his side and adjusted the bag on his shoulder. It was time for him to leave.

“It's good that you're ready to leave. From today, you and Vanessa are no longer married. You can return to the streets where you truly belong” Hans exclaimed, smiling wide.

Ryan took a glance at Hans and in that moment, felt the purest hatred for him.

“My father is not aware of this arrangement” Ryan mumbled.

“What?” Hans asked.

“ I said my father is not aware of this arrangement" Ryan repeated.

"Elias? You and I know he wouldn't bat an eyelid if you were dead or alive. I'm offering you a life away from him, from here, basically from everyone who hates you. I'm doing you a favor if you stop to think about it" Hans chuckled effortlessly.

Ryan's blood boiled. He was at his wits end.

"You can't keep me away from my child just because you're far richer than I'll ever be! This is not right and you know it!” Ryan spoke up, throwing a priceless ornament in Hans' direction, in anger.

The ornament missed Hans by an inch and he was furious.

Ryan dashed out immediately in fear, running past the mansion gates.

“After him!” Hans instructed his men.

Ryan ran as fast his legs could carry him, noticing that Hans' men were on his tail. He hid in corners but they caught up to him several times and then he was on the run again.

The next time they caught up to him, the leader shot at Ryan's shoulder. Ryan was down immediately, struggling to get on his feet.

They walked up to him and took turns beating him to a pulp, throwing his bag of belongings into a nearby lake. Ryan was badly bruised all over his body and they left him for dead.

…

“You're awake! That's good news” a female voice exclaimed.

Ryan sat up on the bed he was in, looking around the room. The woman who had spoken earlier, sat on a chair in front of him.

She wore dark sunglasses and donned a black suit, and Ryan feared the worst, thinking she was one of Hans' aides.

Ryan tried to move his arm but felt a sharp pain. His eyes travelled to the bandages around his arms and legs.

The air felt smoky. He returned his gaze to the woman in front of him. She was smoking effortlessly.

Someone had definitely rescued him from his possible death. If it wasn't this woman, then he didn't know what to imagine.

"Who are you? and where am I?" he inquired.

"A simple thank you would suffice" she simply answered.

So she HAD saved him.

"Thank you" he mumbled, between small coughs.

She placed the cigarette stick between her fingers on the ashtray on the bedside table.

"You are in a motel, I found you half-dead by a lake and brought you here where I treated your wounds" She exposed.

She was a doctor? She certainly didn't look the part, Ryan reasoned.

"I was a nurse once, if that's what you're wondering..." she added, spotting a brief smile.

"Forgive my manners, I'm Serena. Your mother's lawyer" she started, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head.

What?

"My mother?" Ryan asked, perplexed.

"Yes. Your mother, Ms. Bethany Roberts. Unfortunately, She passed away just a few weeks back following a brief illness. Before passing, she made me promise I would find you and give you something very precious to her. Something she has longed to say to you but has always been held back by one thing or the other. Basically, it's sort of an apology and revelation thing...hold on, I'll get the video for you" Serena explained.

Serena pulled out a bag from underneath her chair and brought out a laptop which she immediately got to work on, her eyes raving around the screen.

She located the video on her laptop and turned it to face him, pressing play.

"Hello Ryan!".

An older woman's voice came on. Ryan felt strangely nostalgic, to hear his mother's voice for the first time even if she was no more.

Bethany sat on a chair in the video, her hands clasped together. He could tell she was nervous and he couldn't blame her, even if he had always held on to the resentment for her leaving him with his father who never cared to know if he was breathing or not.

He studied her features; her hazel eyes that were very identical to his, her small nose, pinched lips, the graying roots of her hair and more prominently, her high cheekbones. She was a very beautiful woman who hid all her pain behind her beauty.

She paused. He watched her dab away the tears that ran down her cheeks.

"Forgive me, this is too hard for me. I have tried countless times and even after setting up a camera and a chair, I bail. But today, I'm going to do it. I'm going to face the past I ran away from. I am deeply sorry, Ryan. I owe you everything, a mother, a good life...I fumbled, I made the greatest mistake of my life by leaving you behind, Ryan. But I was only sixteen and I had a whole life ahead of me. Your father..." she broke down, sobbing quietly again.

Ryan heaved a deep sigh. He knew what came next.

"Your father didn't want anything to do with you. I don't want to get into that painful story, but I chose my own happiness away from him. Even after I'd succeeded in my career well enough to look after you, I couldn't bring myself to face you. You were a teenager who I was sure held a lot of hatred for me. So I stopped keeping tabs on you and tried to create a new happiness for myself, but I never succeeded. I had several partners come and go and no one ever stayed because I pushed them away with the constant guilt I felt".

She paused again, sniffling.

“I am deeply sorry, Ryan. I am not in good shape, I’m currently ill and I don't think I'll ever be able to face you so I'm making this video to say everything I was too much of a coward to say to you. I'm sending Serena, my lawyer to search for you if I don't make it. If I couldn't give you the life you deserved while I'm still here, then maybe I can do the same after...".

Ryan leaned in.

"I drafted my will three days ago. You are the heir to my billion-dollar business empire, Ryan”.