Rise To Riches: The Rejected Son-in-law's Revenge

chapter 3

Lucas's POV

He should be dead, Lucas thought as he pried his eyes open. The light in the room was blinding, forcing him to close his eyes instantly.

He could feel the plush bed he was lying on and hear the beeping of the machine above his head. He knew he was in the hospital because of the odor in the air, but how? he pondered.

He attempted to open his eyes once more, this time as slowly as he could. Lucas could hear distant voices but was drawn towards the source of sound in the room as his eyes focused on the television.

"The storm yesterday was sudden, as even the weather forecast had not predicted it," the newscaster said.

A storm? What happened the day before? He kept asking himself that question. He would not be aware, though, because Elton Ross had shot him.

The newscaster read out the news while appearing exhausted. "The west part of the city experienced a total blackout due to the storm," she stated.

His eyes scanned the room he was in, taking in the size and his surroundings. The room was very big, like one of those VIP rooms; too big for him to be in. He doubted that Elton could place him in a room like this because it had to be expensive.

'Spending money on someone as useless and worthless as you is a waste!' he remembered Elton's words.

Elton had shot him. He could still hear the sound of the gunshot in his ears. He ought to have passed away by now, yet there he was, lying on a hospital bed, alive.

Did Elton change his mind and decide to take him to the hospital instead? Lucas pondered.

He observed the various devices that were fastened to his body as he turned around the room. Lucas frowned. He could sense that something was off.

He held up his hand to see the IV wires attached to it, but noticed that the size of his hand was different; bigger than usual. His color was also paler instead of the normal tone, and his skin looked softer. He wondered what the hell was going on with his body.

His hand slid to his chest to locate the wound he knew he had received from being shot, and he felt it—the scar that would always serve as a reminder of the Ross family's betrayal.

He was about to take his hand off when he felt a new scar on his chest.

Lucas did a double-check, and indeed, there was a scar there. In addition to the gunshot wound, he shouldn't have any scars on his chest, he thought. They had only shot him once.

Slowly taking his head off the bed, he gasped as he gazed down at his chest. The scar resembled a surgical cut.

He blinked in shock. "What the fuck happened to me?" He asked aloud in a harsh voice.

He was startled when an alarm from one of the machines went off, and immediately, the door to his room flew open as men in white coats rushed into the room.

Lucas was oblivious to what was happening as they began to check his body.

He attempted to say, "Stop!" but it appears that his voice was not loud enough.

He tried again. "Stop touching me," Lucas said, but his command was ignored.

For about ten minutes, they kept touching and checking him, even taking off the cords from his body. Every action in the room came to a complete stop as the alarm sound ended.

The physicians all gazed at Lucas like he was an alien, while Lucas looked at them with wide-eyed disbelief.

One of the doctors exclaimed, "What is happening, Dr. Maxwell?"

The person who was undoubtedly Dr. Maxwell shook his head in confusion as he gaped in disbelief at Lucas.

"I have no idea, but this is a miracle." Dr. Maxwell said, "This is insane. His vital signs are all good."

Lucas scowled, wondering if they had not even expected him to wake up at all.

"Could this be a false recovery? He has nearly been in a coma for ten years, and now he is suddenly okay." The other doctor said:

"What? Coma? I've been...in a coma." He stuttered, glancing at the shocked looks on everyone's faces.

"Yes, you've been in a coma for ten years," Dr. Maxwell said as he approached him warily.

He asked, "Don't you remember the accident?"

He gasped, out of breath. "What accident?" Lucas murmured.

The last thing he could recall was being shot after Elton instructed the other two men to get rid of him.

Dr. Maxwell gave him an almost minute-long look before clearing his throat. "You were in an accident, Nathan, not shot," he said with a frown.

Lucas raised an eyebrow at the doctor. He was fucking shot, not an accident. He was left with a scar as a reminder.

In case he was hallucinating, he hastily peeled off the hospital gown and peered at his chest. Sure enough, the scar was still visible.

"I was shot here. Look at the scar," he murmured.

The other doctors in the room exchanged strange looks with each other before they began to leave the room one by one. He had no idea why they were gazing at him so intently, but they were undoubtedly speaking to each other in silence.

Only Dr. Maxwell remained behind with him, and the man spoke only after the door was closed. "Tell me what you remembered, Nathan."

"Nathan?" Lucas questioned.

Dr. Maxwell scowled and said, "Yes, Nathaniel, that's your name."

"My name is Lucas," Lucas said, shaking his head. "Elton brought me in; did he not tell you my name?"

"Your name is Nathaniel Hayes, not Lucas. And Elton didn’t bring you in the day you had an accident. Someone called 911 when the accident happened," Dr. Maxwell told him with all seriousness.

Lucas scoffed, chuckling, but that was a mistake because his throat felt scratchy. He was quickly given a bottle of water by the doctor to sip on, and he didn't think twice about doing so. His throat was soothed by the water, which made it simpler for him to speak.

He exhaled. He didn't understand why the story the doctor was telling was different from what occurred. If Elton had not brought him in, then who had saved him after he had been shot?

"My name is Nathaniel." He questioned Dr. Maxwell, "Not Lucas?"

"Yes," the doctor said with a head nod. "I think you're temporarily forgetting things. It's called temporary amnesia. Patients who have been in a coma for a long time often experience it. Your memories would eventually return to you," he claimed.

Had he been dreaming his entire life? He reasoned that there was no possibility that he could have suddenly become Nathaniel and not Lucas.

His attention was drawn to the image on the television, and he realized right away that neither what was happening nor his entire life had been a dream.

A video of Piper being held by Nicholas at the birthday party when she announced their engagement was shown on the screen. The sight revolted him and made him angry.

Piper had stood by and watched as her father beat him and even killed him. Even though he had sacrificed his life to save the Ross family's daughter, they still treated him like garbage.

The more he saw Piper grinning on the television, the more angry he became since she had deceived him and cheated on him.

"Turn it off!" He abruptly yelled.

The fact that Dr. Maxwell quickly turned the television off suggested that he understood what he meant. After that, the space was strangely quiet, and he closed his eyes.

What in the world is happening? He reflected. How had he gotten to the hospital? It was highly unlikely that Elton had dumped him on the road to be rescued by someone else. The man would want to cover his crimes as much as possible and not expose himself.

"I know this is just too much to process," the doctor sighed. "Take your time; your memories will return to you eventually. It's been a long time. I've called your family, and they should arrive shortly in the interim. Don't be afraid to ask if you need anything," he advised Lucas.

Lucas scowled and twisted his face. Family? He was an orphan. He didn't know who Dr. Maxwell had contacted because he was an orphan who had grown up in numerous foster and shelter homes.

He didn't have to wait long to know because a young man stormed into the room and slammed the door behind him before pausing at the foot of his bed and gasping.

He recognized the young man immediately after noticing the similarities in the features of his face. Everyone knew who Scott Hayes was. He is the twin brother of Nathaniel Hayes and the second son of Oleander Hayes, who used to be the wealthiest man in the country until he died last summer.

Scott Hayes was in his room doing what the fuck.

"He's awake?" Scott inquired, looking in his direction but referring to Dr. Maxwell.

Dr. Maxwell nodded and said, "Scott, it's a miracle. Your brother is still alive."

Hold on! Luke paused. Brother? He opened his mouth to correct the mistake when it suddenly hit him. Earlier, Dr. Maxwell had referred to him as Nathaniel Hayes. He couldn’t possibly be Nathaniel Hayes; that was crazy, he thought as he turned to the window.

The face on the window panel shocked him more than any other news he had been bombarded with since he woke up. He had to be going nuts or seeing things, he concluded.

Lucas was sure that the face on the window panel staring back at him belonged to none other than Nathaniel Hayes.