Adrian Muller made his way to the Muller mansion with a conflicted expression on his face as the weight of his circumstances crashed down on him. His girlfriend had left him to be with a richer man and now, he desperately needed $100,000 for his mother’s surgery. All the money he raised by working odd jobs day and night, had not even been enough to cover her chemotherapy treatments. Currently left with no other choice, he decided to ask his estranged father for help.
As he got to the gates of the mansion, he was halted in his tracks by the buff security guard on duty. “Where do you think you’re going? You lost…or something?” The security guard named Jared sneered, his thick southern accent dripping with disdain as he took in Adrian’s worn out clothes. “I’m here to see Mr Robert Muller. It’s very urgent.” Adrian replied, his voice laced with desperation. Jared scoffed as his eyes narrowed at Adrian with revulsion. “You ain’t allowed to see him. Leave before I rough you up!” He ordered dismissively. “Please.” Adrian pleaded. “Let me see him…just this once. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t urgent. M-my mother’s life is on the line.” Jared remained unmoved by the pleading expression on Adrian’s face, and only regarded him with a cold look as he shrugged emotionlessly, “Not my problem. Orders are orders, now get lost.” He spat as he began to shove Adrian away. Ben, a lanky middle aged security guard with a wiry beard who had been watching their interaction from the guardhouse came out and said, “Hold up, Jared. You’re being too hard on him, don’t you think? Life or death’s no joke.” Jared huffed in disbelief as he turned to Ben with a look of annoyance in his eyes. “Are you trying to get us in trouble because of this bastard?!” “If your job is no longer important to you, mine still is so I won’t be letting him in.” He added defiantly. “As your superior,” Ben countered in a firm tone, deciding to play the superiority card. “I say we give him a chance to see the master…he is his son after all.” Jared stared challengingly at Ben for some seconds before he reluctantly yielded. “Fine… better hope this doesn’t backfire on you. This loser would only cause problems.” He muttered through gritted teeth before begrudgingly stepping aside for Adrian to pass through. “Thank you very much sir. I won't forget this.” Adrian said in gratitude to Ben before hurrying past the gates of the mansion. As he went further into the compound, Jared glared at his retreating figure with malicious intent. He couldn’t wait for Adrian to be thrown out by the Mullers so he could deal severely with him. Liam Muller, Adrian’s step brother was sipping some wine and admiring the view outside his bedroom window when he caught a glimpse of Adrian’s disheveled figure edging closer to the house. His fingers tightened around the glass cup as he smashed it across the floor and with an ugly scowl etched on his thin lips, he dashed out to confront him. There was no way he would allow that bastard into his father’s house. Adrian was about to press the doorbell when the door suddenly flung open. “What are you doing here, you useless piece of trash!” Liam sneered as he leered at Adrian with hatred filled eyes. “I-I want to see Father. There’s something-” “He’s not your father, you revolting bastard!” Liam landed a slap on Adrian’s face, effectively cutting him off. “Go back to the gutter you crawled out from and ask your slut of a mother who your real father is!” Adrian’s expression shifted from that of desperation to anger as his face jerked to the side from the effect of the slap. He clenched his fist as he contemplated punching Liam in the face for slapping him and calling his mother a slut but, he restrained himself at the last minute. “Liam…it would be best if you don’t talk about my mother like that. Show some respect.” Adrian spoke in a calm voice despite the anger simmering within him. Liam's face twisted in further rage. "Shut your fucking mouth! What gave you the guts to threaten me in my own house. It seems you no longer want to live!" “Guards!” He shouted and all the security guards in the mansion including Jared and Ben immediately rushed to the scene. “Who let this fool into this compound?” Liam thundered at them as he gestured towards Adrian, his whole body shaking with rage at this point. “I did sir…he said he needed to see Master Robert urgently.” Ben spoke up cautiously with his hands crossed behind his back as he awaited Liam’s reaction. “You dare disobey my orders?!” Liam roared as he reared his hands backwards and landed a heavy slap on Ben’s face. “I apologize for flouting your orders sir. I just wanted to help young master Adrian.” Ben replied calmly, his head still lowered despite the stinging sensation on his cheek. “Are you mad?!” Liam seethed as he landed another hot slap on Ben’s cheeks. “I’m the only young master in this household! How dare you call this bastard young master! You’re fired! Disappear from my presence this instant!” “As you wish sir.” Ben sighed in defeat as he bowed respectfully before taking his leave. He had loyally served the Mullers for over twenty years now but if doing the right thing meant that he would be cruelly dismissed then so be it, he had no regrets. “Serves him right” Jared mused satisfactorily as he watched Ben leave. Now that Ben was gone, he could finally get the position of the head of security which he had coveted for a long time. To further kiss up to Liam, he rushed to his side. “Young master Liam, let me take care of this piece of trash for you. He won’t dare step his foot into this place again after I’m done with him.” He offered with a menacing look at Adrian. “Good. Get rid of him this instant!” Liam ordered, then glared ruthlessly at Adrian before adding, “Ensure to cripple him for daring to threaten me in my father’s house.” “Yes sir!” Jared responded in obedience as he forcefully grabbed ahold of Adrian’s shirt. Just as he was about to drag him away, an authoritative sound boomed from the doorway behind Liam. “Let go of him now!”Robert Muller was in his study handling some paperwork when he heard the commotion coming from outside his house. Annoyed by the distraction it was causing, he decided to check it out. On getting to the scene, he saw Liam barking orders at a security guard to deal with a disheveled looking man and on a closer look, he saw that it was Adrian, his bastard son. Deep frown lines marred his features as feelings of anger and resentment towards Adrian festered within his mind. Getting more and more irritated with the commotion, he masked the feelings of resentment with a stoic look and decided to put a stop to it, “Let go of him now!” He boomed in an authoritative voice.Jared immediately let go of Adrian at the sound of Robert’s voice. Adrian heaved a sigh of relief as he glanced at his father’s imposing figure standing in the doorway, his voice cracking with emotion. “Please Father…I-I need your help. My m-mom is-”“Quiet!” Liam didn’t let Adrian finish his sentence, the veins in his fore
Adrian gulped at the almost threatening words, “Yes sir.” He mumbled, clutching the envelope tightly in his hands as he opened the door to leave. As he exited the study, he met Liam who regarded him with a hostile gaze. “You succeeded in getting my father’s money huh?” Liam muttered, his expression unreadable as his eyes zeroed in on the envelope in Adrian’s hands.“Let’s see if you manage to save your worthless mother after all.” He added vaguely, a sinister smirk playing on his lips. He pushed past Adrian’s shoulder, shoving him slightly as he stormed into his father’s study and slammed the door shut behind him.Adrian didn’t pay much attention to Liam even though he still had the urge to punch the living daylights out of him. He simply put on a positive smile and left the Muller’s mansion but not without Jared shooting him a death glare on his way out. ***“Alright Dad!” Liam plopped down on the leather couch at the corner of the study wit
A bewildered Adrian blurted out in confusion. “W-what trillion dollar empire are you talking about? And why does this Sir Edward want to see me? I don’t think I’ve met anyone with that name before.” Jonah noticed the skepticism and uncertainty clouding Adrian’s eyes and his lips quirked in a knowing smile, “I understand that this…” He gestured between them with his index finger. “…situation must seem strange and suspicious to you but I assure you that all your questions would be answered when you meet with Sir Edward.” “O-Kay...” Adrian conceded, his voice tight. Wincing slightly from the throbbing pain in his head, he managed to get up. “Let’s go see him, then.”Jonah frowned as he noticed the blotch of blood on Adrian’s temple. “Young Sir…what happened to your head? Do you need to get the injury checked out before we proceed?”“No, no, it’s fine. It’s not as bad as it looks.” Adrian waved him off as he wiped the blood with his sleeve, deliberately ignoring the ‘young sir’ title wh
“That’s impossible.” Adrian countered, shaking his head in disbelief. “Robert Muller is my father, albeit illegitimate, but my biological father nevertheless.”Sir Edward had a knowing look in his eyes. “Get me the hospital reports, Jonah.” He instructed the man standing discreetly by the side.“Right away sir.” Jonah bowed curtly and disappeared down a hallway. Within seconds, he returned with a white envelope in his hands and presented it to Sir Edward.Sir Edward opened the envelope and brought out a single sheet of paper which he extended towards Adrian. “Here. Take a look at it. It’s the DNA report from the hospital.”Hesitantly, Adrian took the paper from Sir Edward’s hands and scanned through it. His eyes widened in shock as they landed on the words; 99% compatible, that were boldly written on the piece of paper.“This can’t be right,” Adrian muttered as his hands that held the DNA report trembled. “H-How can you be my father?” “Let me explain.” Sir Edward sighed in what seeme
“Trillionaire?! What a fucking twist of fate.” Adrian whistled, his feeling of shock starting to dissipate. “One minute I’m a nobody begging a man who considers me worse than the dirt on his shoes for money and the next minute, I’m the beneficiary to an empire worth trillions. The universe really played a fast one on me.” Sir Edward gave Adrian a relatable smile. “Jonah would escort you to the bank tomorrow to transfer all my assets to you and finalize all legal proceedings.” He explained with a look of contentment on his face.“Tomorrow?” Adrian’s brows furrowed, a sudden worry gnawing at him as he remembered he was yet to pay for his mother’s surgery. Edward noticed the change in his countenance. “Is there a problem?”“My mother is down with cancer and in dire need of a $100,000 dollar surgery.” Adrian replied. “I managed to get the money from Robert a few hours ago but it was stolen just before I could get to the hospital.” “I see…” Edward said, his voice filled with understandi
Jonah Leigh entered Capital Bank, a bank which he had been assigned the position of the CEO by Sir Edward. Looking around, his brows furrowed when he didn’t see the receptionist at the front desk and decided to head straight for the VIP section where he believed Adrian was. As he got closer to the door, he heard a voice yelling, “Call the Security to get this moron out of here before I lose my cool!”Jonah’s blood ran cold as he flung the door open and roared with a loud voice, “You dare to disrespect the Young Master?!”“T-The Young Master?” Alex and Gary gasped unanimously as they gaped at Adrian with wide eyes. Then, Alex instantly scrambled to his feet and rushed towards Jonah with a shaky voice. “W-welcome sir. I-I didn’t know he was the special guest you informed me about. I thought he was just a nobo—”Before Alex could finish his sentence, Jonah landed a deafening slap on his face. The force of the slap sent Alex's head reeling to the side as a red handprint began to form on h
Flynn Holt had his head glued to his mobile phone as he texted his flavor of the day while walking towards the bank. He didn’t see Adrian approaching and they collided. The impact of this collision made his phone drop to the ground, leaving a spider web-like crack on the screen. Taken aback by the audacity of whoever dared to bump into him, he froze for a millisecond before looking up to find Adrian staring with an apologetic expression on his face.Anger surged through Flynn and before Adrian could utter a word, he shoved him forcefully to the ground, “Are you blind you useless twat! How dare you bump into me with your filthy body!” He sneered as he glared down at Adrian with disdain.Adrian blinked, momentarily stunned by the aggressive reaction before he rose back to his feet and dusted his clothes, “You didn’t have to do that.” He said calmly despite the growing pain in his shoulder. “I was just about to apologize.”“Who cares about your stupid apology? You stained my expensive Ar
Sliding some cash into the cab driver's hand, Adrian exited the taxi and hurried towards the Lifemate Hospital. Immediately he opened the solid doors, he was greeted with the familiar scent of sterile bleach and drugs. He quickly approached the counter where two nurses sat gossiping, their faces plastered with animated expressions. Adrian cleared his throat to gain their attention. “Good afternoon, Please I'd like to see my mother.” The two nurses on duty stopped mid-chat and simultaneously turned in their seats to look at Adrian, an irritated expression instantly settling on their faces at the sight of him. “Are you sure your mother is in this hospital?” One of the nurses with the name tag, Kate asked dryly.“Yes I’m sure.” Adrian confirmed. “She’s been here for about a month now and I’ve even visited her several times.” “Then why haven’t I seen you before even though I’m always on duty?” She asked with narrowed eyes before shifting her gaze to her colleague. “Amy, have you seen
Adrian pushed the doors of the Life-mate hospital open, and headed straight for the intensive care unit without as much as an acknowledgment to the staff at the reception. He met Vincent, who had been out of Wibston on a trip, and Regina pacing in the waiting room of the intensive care unit and the panic and worry on their faces made his heart sink.The moment Regina saw him approaching, the panic on her face morphed into anger as she marched to him. And before he could say anything, her hand collided with his cheek in a slap that resounded through the waiting room.“What kind of husband are you?” She seethed, her irises flickering with rage. “Anita has been fighting for her life for the past one hour, and you dare to show up just now?!”Her voice rose a few notches as she grabbed the neckline of Adrian’s tee in her hands, completely disregarding the tiny patches of blood around it. “What were you doing that you couldn’t protect my daughter?” She spat again, her voice trembling with
Kai didn’t bother to pay any attention to Adrian as he tightened his grip on Blaze’s neck. The color on Blaze’s face transformed from red to ashen, and it became obvious that Kai was infusing some of his dark energy into him.Adrian’s anger rolled off him in waves, and his body seemed to glow a little more as he crossed the distance to Blaze in the speed of light. Before Kai could process what was happening, Adrian retracted his palm and slammed it against Kai’s chest with enough force to send him flying across the ring and landing on the ground with a thundering crash.Blaze fell to the ground after Kai released him and he wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. The whole arena was silent at this point, as no one dared to utter a word, not even an intake of breath.Adrian walked up to Blaze and extended a hand towards him. “I’ll take it up from here, Blaze. You did well holding the fort for me.”Blaze looked up at Adrian, and his expression was filled with awe as he took in his gl
“Could the duel be over?!” Julian boomed from his spot at the front stand of the arena. “The other guy seems not to be getting up. If he’s still down in the next twenty seconds, he’ll be declared the loser!”Blaze’s ears perked up in alarm at Julian’s announcement, and seeing as Adrian wasn’t going to get up on his own, he rushed to him without hesitation.With a precise strike of his fist against Kai’s spine, Blaze sent him stumbling away from Adrian.Taking advantage of Kai’s momentary disorientation, Blaze knelt beside Adrian and quickly placed an arm around his shoulder to support him. With some effort, he helped him up to his feet just before the final seconds elapsed. “Master, you need to fight the dark energy before it consumes you,” he advised, his tone filled with concern.Adrian wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and held onto Blaze’s arm for a moment longer to steady himself. “I’m trying,” he gritted, his face tightening as the dark energy wrapped around his hea
Nathan’s anxiety began to fade as his friend Malik methodically worked to cover up their tracks, ensuring no one would ever trace Anita’s accident back to him.Still, the memory of her terrified scream, and the sound of the crash replayed in his head like a broken record. His heart gnawed with extreme guilt, but then a dark sinister voice whispered in his head.“Cheer up, Nathan. It’s too late to cry over spilled milk. At least now you’d get back all you lost to her. You’ve won.”At the mention of him finally defeating Anita, every shred of guilt he felt vanished and was replaced with sadistic triumph, and a befitting smile slowly crept up his lips.“It’s all done, Nate,” Malik announced as he pushed back from the table, and reclined on his swivelling chair, both of his hands coming to rest at the back of his head.He looked up at Nathan’s relieved face and chuckled. “That was kind of scary, wasn’t it? Even I froze for a moment before my mind geared into action.”Nathan scratched the
“N-Nathan?” Anita’s jaw dropped in shock as she heard the voice of her cousin come in from the speaker. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as her unease became stronger. “What’s happening? What did you do to my car?” “Oh, nothing much, just a little…rigging,” Nathan replied in a casual voice. “Isn’t it exciting to know that I can control your car from where I am? I can even..” He trailed off and before Anita could respond, the steering wheel jerked suddenly under her grasp and started moving on its own accord. “Nathan, stop!” She screamed in panic as she tried to regain control of the steering. “My car is swerving out of control! Why are you doing this?!” The mocking sound of laughter came from the speaker again, and slowly the steering wheel started working normally. “Oh you look so sacred, Anita. You should see your face right now.” Anita’s heart dropped to her stomach as her eyes darted around the car. Was he watching her? A shiver ran down her spine as she scanned for an
The air in the hall crackled with tension as the four men faced off with each other. Adrian and Blaze, Lawrence and Kai.Lawrence and Kai wore identical smug expressions as they undermined their opponents, while Adrian and Blaze wore unfazed, yet confident expressions.Lawrence, deciding to add more heat to the tension, turned to Kai with a cocky smirk. “Kai, what do you say we make things more interesting for our dear opponents?”Kai’s brows rose in intrigue and a sly smirk slowly crept up his lips as his gaze flickered to Adrian and Blaze, then back to Lawrence. “I think that’s a splendid idea, boss. Let’s spice this challenge up a bit.”“Perfect, then,”’Lawrence clapped and turned to face Adrian and Blaze, but his gaze was particularly trained on Adrian. “Why don’t we make a little bet?” He tilted his head challengingly.Adrian and Blaze exchanged glances with each other, and Blaze shrugged. “It’s entirely up to you, master. I’ll go ahead with whatever you decide.”Adrian nodded hi
Murmurs and hushed whispers erupted from the crowd at Adrian’s declaration and everyone began to wonder what would have given him the courage to say such.Julian Xu’s brows furrowed as he sized Adrian up from the podium. Adrian was wearing a black, silk untucked shirt and black slacks with a pair of white air force ones, looking more casual and unassuming than any other person in the hall.Was he dreaming? Julian thought as he watched the young man approach the front of the podium.Adrian didn’t pay any mind to all the comments as he strode towards Julian, his head held high and his hands tucked into his pockets.Lawrence Smith, on the other hand, was seething as his irises flickered wildly at Adrian, while Xavier Palmer and Nolan were wide eyed with disbelief.Nolan was the first to break the silence as he turned to Lawrence. “Mr. Smith, you have to do something!” He blurted out. “You can’t possibly let that loser challenge your position!”“Yes, Lawrence,” Xavier added with a frown.
Adrian had overheard Nolan’s request for Lawrence’s help, and initially he paid no mind to it, but seeing as Lawrence had agreed, he became curious to see how things would play out. Especially since he had given specific orders for Sebastian not to be released without his permission.He observed quietly as Lawrence placed a call to his supposed friend. “Hello, Chief Legal prosecutor Rashford,” Lawrence greeted the person on the other end with a smile. “I have a favour to ask you.”“Lawrence Smith, my good friend. Long time no see,” the chief prosecutor responded with equal familiarity. “Of course, tell me what favour I can do for you.”Lawrence’s expression gleamed with hope. Maybe the chief prosecutor will be able to help afterall.“So the thing is,” he began, lowering his voice slightly. “I have a friend whose brother was thrown into Hades Prison. Is there any—”“Hades Prison?!” Lawrence’s chief prosecutor friend echoed, his voice pitched with shock. “No, no, friend. I’m afraid I w
Xavier Palmer’s gaze snapped to Nolan’s direction when he heard his son’s words, and his brows furrowed as he saw him approaching with a silver haired man he didn’t recognize. He glanced back at Adrian and withdrew his hand before he completed their handshake, then turned towards Nolan again. “What do you mean by ‘more beneficial to us,’ son? Who is he?” He asked as his eyes flickered curiously to Lawrence.Lawrence didn’t wait for Nolan to introduce him as he took a step closer towards Xavier, deliberately brushing against Adrian’s shoulder as he walked past.Adrian’s jaw tightened, and his fists trembled with the need to bash the smirk off Lawrence’s face, but he held himself back.Not yet. There will be plenty of time to do that during the duel. Lawrence plastered on a wide, charming smile as he extended a hand to Xavier Palmer. “This will be our first time meeting, Mr Palmer. My name is Lawrence Smith, a friend of your son, and an aspiring candidate for the imperial circle’s lea