Rise of the Student Trillionaire

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE LOST MCARTHUR.

 When William stepped out of the office, he could see a fleet of luxurious cars lined up. Before him stood a Rolls-Royce Phantom trailed behind by six GMC Yukon SUVs. These were all expensive cars right in front of his eyes. He was a smart young man, and he easily deduced all these belonged to the man in his seventies. What was even scarier was the heavy line-up of professional security men in front of the cars.

Once these numerous security men saw who had come out of the hospital, they bent their torso forward in a smart bow. “Boss!”

Whether it was the sight of the intimidating-looking men or the unified welcome, William couldn’t take it anymore and he ran back into the hospital.

“Young Master William, wait!” Mike immediately followed him; Bill McArthur was right behind him. “Where are you going?”

William turned around with fear and confusion in his eyes. “I..I must be high on some ecstasy drug right now. I need to go get myself checked.”

“You think you’re drugged?” There was amusement in Bill McArthur’s eyes and he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips as he walked forward. “Son, trust me when I say none of what you saw out there is an illusion. There’s a lot about your background that you don’t know.” He extended his hand in William’s direction. “All you have to do is come with us, and I promise every question you have will be answered, and if it’s your safety you’re worried about, I am willing to give you any form of assurance that nothing will happen to you.”

Those serious words from Bill slowly calmed William’s racing heart. He could see the genuineness in this old man’s eyes. Thus, he decided he had nothing to lose. He had lost the only family member in his life, and he had just lost any opportunity to make it in life by getting expelled. 

“Alright, I’ll come with you.” William took Bill’s hand and they turned around to head back out of the hospital.

Once they were out, those security men bowed once again. “Welcome back, Young Master!”

That title still made William furrow his brows. It wasn’t the title itself that was confusing, it was the fact that it was clearly being directed at him. Never in his twenty-five years of life has he ever been called that before.

“Over there.” Mike pointed at the Rolls-Royce Phantom. “You will be riding with Mr. McArthur instead.”

William could only nod in a daze as he followed Mike and Bill into the Roll-Royce. He couldn’t help but marvel at the luxurious vehicle. He saw the security men also getting into those Yukon SUVs and they set off on the road. 

William couldn’t help gazing around the car’s interior with wide eyes during the whole ride through the city of Los Angeles. It looked and smelled classy. Even when his mother was married to Woodruff Camillo, he had never been allowed in one of the cars as he only had the right to move about the Camillo Estate on foot. Bill and Mike, on the other hand, couldn’t help the smiles on their faces at the young man’s reaction. They understood what William must have endured growing up.

 An hour later, the fleet of sleek-looking cars had reached the outskirts of the city, far from Bel Air. It was then William saw the cars approaching an estate that stretched, at least, five times as far as that of the Camillo’s. He was right to think these men had a status well above Woodruff. The estate entrance gate was a gigantic beauty made of gold. 

“Welcome to the McArthur Estate.”

William doubted if this might be real life. “That’s a huge ass gate!”

Mike couldn’t hold back and he chuckled at William’s reaction. “Wait till you see what’s inside then.”

William realized Mike wasn’t joking at all. Apart from the fact that security at the entrance gate was super tight, the greenery here was out of this world. A forest of multi-colored leaves stretched beyond the gate, as far as his eyes could see. He could see the road alone was tiled with exquisite stones. There were large trees planted in positions that only accentuated the thoughtfulness that was put into cultivating them and the orderliness with which it was grown.

“This is simply divine work.”

“It is,” Mike replied with a warm smile. “Every inch of this forest was well thought out and carefully cultivated.”

William looked back out through the tinted windshield of the Roll-Royce Phantom to find there were sections of trees that had colorful fruits growing on them: Cherries, Apples, Plums, Blueberries, Pears, Banana, Oranges, Strawberries, and Apricots; these were among the multitudes of fruits he caught with his eyes. “All these must have caused a fortune.”

“It’s nothing.” Bill glanced at him. There was a hint of mischief and pride in his eyes.

Fifteen minutes later of driving through the estates, William finally spotted the largest building he had ever seen in his life. The width of the entire mansion stretched farther than his eyes could see. “Is that an actual mansion?” He got no reply, and he didn’t need it as he later confirmed for himself. He could only begin calculating how much wealth the owner must have to be able to afford this.

Once they arrived at the mansion, William saw the security men rushing out of the cars to stand in formation before Mike came out from the driver's seat to open the door for Bill and him.

“Mike, show William around the estate first.”

“Yes, sir.” Mike led William into the mansion first.

They were respectfully greeted by the countless maids and workers as they toured around the rooms. Every single detail and account that caught William's eyes left him speechless. The house was much larger than a castle and it seemed quite ridiculous to him. How much wealth does one have to possess to be able to maintain all this? As time went by, he learned there were up to two thousand rooms and more than five hundred toilets in this mansion. The employees around the mansion alone numbered beyond a thousand.

Then the most shocking words from Mike hit William like a brick: This was only the main mansion they were touring. There were up to a hundred smaller mansions littered around the expansive estate that he will tour, but that would be another day.

“This is insane!” William had his hands pulling at his hair.

“It is, isn’t it?” Mike spoke with elegance. “Now, we move on to the reason you agreed to come with us.”

The intense thrill rushing through William settled at those words and he followed Mike to a large and exquisite office. There they find Bill McArthur seated behind the large desk. William deduced this was his office.

“Seat down, William.” Bill directed the young man to a seat by the desk. “I’m not going to waste your time any longer. My name is Billiard Anthony McArthur; I am your mother’s father.”

William sat there for a few seconds, waiting for them to suddenly reveal that it was all a joke. His eyes slowly widened when it never came. “Wait, you’re serious?!” He saw the old man nod his head and he stood up from his seat. “You’re my grandfather?!”