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

chapter 5

Lucas's POV

After spending six days in the hospital, it was evident to Lucas that he was now Nathaniel Hayes, or residing in the man's body.

Over the days, he watched different people come into his room and drool over him, babbling about how pleased they were that he was now awake.

Every media house in the country was broadcasting the news of the remarkable recovery of Nathaniel Hayes. No one could explain how someone who had been in a coma for ten years suddenly recovered without any first indicators, not even the doctors.

"All good." Dr. Maxwell muttered after checking over his vitals. The doctor had told him that it was as if he had just woken up from a normal slumber and not a coma.

Lucas nodded and started to button his black designer shirt. He was being discharged from the hospital that afternoon, and Dr. Maxwell wanted to be careful by doing extra rounds of tests to make sure that he was okay.

He stroked his chest, feeling the scar from the gunshot wound beneath his hand. "I can’t wait," he muttered with fake enthusiasm.

Dr. Maxwell pursed his lips and arched a brow at him. After spending hours with the man, he had established that the doctor was a straightforward man as well as someone who was close to the Hayes family and adored him.

Lucas rolled his eyes and said, "Don't give me that look, please; I’m tired of seeing all these machines. Plus, it’s boring here," he muttered.

The doctor grinned. "I would be tired too if I stayed in a place for ten years." Dr. Maxwell added, touching his shoulder.

He scoffed and opened his mouth to answer, but Scott chose that time to stroll into the room, cutting short his reply. He watched Scott approach them with a grimace on his face.

"You didn’t tell me that Nathan would still need to visit the hospital every week for checkups," Scott murmured, eyeing Dr. Maxwell.

Lucas moaned after hearing the protest. He was not looking to return to the hospital. He wanted to find out information about how he was now Nathaniel Hayes, existing in a body that wasn’t his. He wanted to know whether he was still alive somewhere. He wanted Elton Ross and his family to pay for what they did to him.

“It’s just a routine check, Scott. There is nothing to worry about, and it wouldn’t take much time."Dr. Maxwell assured him.

It was unheard of to be perfectly healthy after being in a coma for ten years. He would need to undergo various psychological and physical tests to verify that he was in decent form, but it was different for him.

Lucas chuckled, stroking his chest again as he perched on the bed to watch them converse, but instead, two pairs of eyes fixed on him immediately.

"Are you okay?” Scott asked him with concern etched on his face and even stepped closer to him.

He opened his eyes to look at Scott, who diverted his glance briefly to the hand Lucas was caressing on his chest. Oh! Lucas thought as he dropped his hands on his thigh instead, stroking his jeans. They must have been concerned seeing Lucas rub his chest.

"I'm okay. It’s only a habit I’ve established recently,” he assured them.

Scott nodded, giving him one final glance before he stepped over to the cupboard to pick up Lucas’s luggage, which was fully packed and ready to depart.

Dr. Maxwell offered him one of his rare smiles and squeezed his arm. "Remember that you promised to call me if you so much as feel off about anything," he remarked.

"I'll bring him back here myself if I notice any sign of distress. And I mean any sign."Scott replied for him, giving Lucas a bold glance.

As much as he was adjusting to this new life and new relationships surrounding him, one of the things that irked Lucas about Scott was that he was extremely possessive over his elder brother, even though Lucas loved it occasionally. He rolled his eyes and hummed in response.

"Shall we?" Dr. Maxwell stated, going out of the room.

Lucas gave the room one last check. No matter how hard he tried to understand what had happened, it was very evident that his life had changed in that room, and he was now walking out as Nathaniel Hayes.

The famed Nathaniel Hayes, heir to the Hayes Holdings Group and perhaps the richest man in the country since he woke up from a ten-year coma,

If somebody had told him a week ago that his life would take a new turn after getting shot, he would have labeled them insane, but here he was, living a crazy idea. He couldn’t remember any details regarding Nathaniel’s life, as he still had his memories.

Dr. Maxwell had dubbed it temporary amnesia, but he knew the reality: he was living another man’s life.

“ Nathan…” Scott shouted, jerking him out of his thoughts. He took a breath and followed Scott out of the room and hospital after they waved farewell to Dr. Maxwell.

Nobody prepared Lucas for the assault of cameras flashed by the media at the entrance of the hospital, even though there was security that took both him and Scott out of the hospital and safely to the black, gleaming SUV jeep that was parked in front.

He heaved a sigh of relief as the car door was closed. "Next time, Scotty, give me a dark shade to protect my eyes from those flashes or simply give me a warning," he complained as he saw Scott relaxed in his seat.

Scott paused what he was doing and gazed at him with a curious look.

He raised a brow. "What?" Lucas mumbled.

Scott shrugged. “It’s been long since you called me Scotty. Since we were kids," he mumbled.

He had called Scott, Scotty? He thought. Where did that name come from? Does it suggest that he might genuinely remember Nathaniel’s memories, as Scotty could have only come from Nathaniel's subconscious mind?

He rolled his eyes, not wanting to read too much into his thoughts.

Scott chuckled. "Never mind. Anyway, I didn’t think about the reporters being here. My apologies. It’s been a while since you had this experience; I should have known better," he stated.

Lucas groaned and put his head on the car seat, closing his eyes as the driver started the car and pulled out of the hospital. He didn’t bother to ask where they were traveling to. The Hayes resided in a mansion at the fringe of the city, and the region was well protected so that one could only see photographs of the property online.

He must have fallen asleep throughout the car ride because he felt Scott grab his shoulders, shaking him gently. He gradually pried his eyes open to find Scott’s face leaning closer to his.

"Fuck, man! what…” He murmured, a note of annoyance in his tone.

Scott groaned. "We are home," he remarked. "Come on..." he motioned towards Lucas’s door, which was still closed as he hopped out of the car. Lucas pushed his door open and stepped out too.

The car was parked in front of a big building that the media called the Hayes mansion. The mansion was magnificent and different from what he had seen in magazines or online.

A gigantic water fountain graced the front yard with dazzling lights encircling it, giving the water a wonderful look. He noticed the front door open, and Scott started walking towards it.

Lucas followed Scott as he practically didn't know where to go in the mansion, gaping in awe at the sight before him.

He sucked in the air hard when they entered the mansion. The inside looked like something that only existed in dream worlds. The home was far more lovely than the Ross family house, he thought.

The walls were elevated and ornamented with white paint. Curtains of black and gray covered the glass panels and windows, giving the hallway a comfortable vibe. From where he was standing, he could see the large expanse of land outside.

He followed Scott when Scott turned around to look for him, and they made their way into what was too spacious to be the sitting room. White, elegant couches lined the length of the room, and a little mini bar was positioned at the side.

Before he could drink in the magnificence of the room, a booming sound went off, and sparkles flooded the room.

Someone shouted “Surprise!” as a giant welcome home banner was dropped down from the top floor with Nathaniel’s beaming face on it.

“Holy sh*t!” he muttered in disbelief as everyone shouted ‘welcome home’. He noticed Scott laughing at him as he climbed the flight of steps to the top floor. Lucas felt like punching Scott. He fucking knew about the stupid welcome-home surprise, he thought.

He was still in disbelief, plastering a smile on his lips as people started coming up to give him a hug or a handshake. Some of them he already knew from their visit to the hospital, such as Beth, who was the head cook and could weep out a river; Samuel, who was apparently Nathaniel’s best buddy; the company’s CFO; and some family friends. Lucas glanced at the fresh faces, willing his mind to remember their names.

"Nathaniel!” he heard someone shout from behind him.

Lucas turned around to hear the voice and paused in shock, as he had to blink twice to be sure he was not seeing things. The person who was walking up to him was none other than Nicholas Rivers.

What the hell was Nicholas Rivers doing in the Hayes mansion? he thought.