The intense glare of the high noon sun was unrelenting on every single area of Bel Air University – an elite ground for tertiary education granted to only the wealthy kids of the city.
A six-foot-tall young man was heading towards the university’s exit on foot when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He picked it up to hear the distressed tone in a familiar feminine voice.
“Oh my god! William, you finally picked up. I’ve been trying to get to you for half an hour now. Didn’t you get my texts?”
William’s brows furrowed. “Wait, Tracy, calm down. I left class less than an hour ago. What’s going on?”
“William, you need to come to the estate right now. I just got home to find my dad yelling at your mom. Then I saw his goons going inside the house to pack out her belongings. William, I think my dad is throwing your mom out of the house.”
William’s heart froze as his eyes stared into space. “What? Your dad wouldn’t do that. Why…” He was struggling to form coherent words when he suddenly heard a loud crash over the phone. This was immediately followed by a scream that was all too familiar to him. “Tracy, was that my mum screaming?” The only reply he got was the two distinct voices over the phone.
“I want you out of my goddamn house, Sarah!”
“No! Woodruff, please, don’t do this to me. What did I do to deserve this?!”
“A shameless whore dare pretend to still have any dignity?! You’re an animal, Sarah, and wretched animals belong to the street!”
William’s heart was racing as he heard the insults that his stepfather was throwing out at his mother. He quickly ended the call and ran the rest of the way out of the university. He got to the bus stop only to find out that the next bus would be arriving in fifteen minutes. He couldn't wait that long, so he quickly got a taxi, ignoring the fact that the expenses would definitely ruin his strict budget; he had to get to his mother.
Half an hour later, he got to the Camillo Estate, where his family lives. He ran for ten more minutes till he finally arrived at the main mansion, just in time, to witness two luggages being thrown out the mansion entrance. The items of luggage rolled down the tiled stairs, spewing out all various clothes by the time it finally touched the grassy ground, right before William’s feet.
“Throw that bitch out of my house!”
“Woodruff, why are you doing this to me?”
Those voices had William looking up to find two bodyguards carrying a woman out of the mansion. William watched as those men got to the edge of the entrance stairs and pushed the woman down. She yelped as she twisted her ankles and her back would have hit the stairs had William not rushed over in time to help.
“Mom!”
The woman, with tears in her eyes, looked up at the owner of the strong arms that had saved her. “William?!” Her face went from sad to surprise. “Son, what are you doing here?”
“I came as fast as I could. Are you okay?” William helped his mother up before turning resentful eyes at the two men. “What the hell is wrong with you two? You could have killed her!”
“And so? Would the world suddenly come to an end if such a disgusting bitch lost her life right here and now?”
William and his mother turn their gaze back to the entrance to find a man in his sixties walking out with two young men and a gorgeous lady right behind him. Whether it was the clothes they had on or the air around them, one could easily tell that these people were filthy rich. These are the members of the Camillo family.
“Woodruff!” William yelled out with fury as he looked up at the rich middle-aged man. “How can you say that about your wife?!”
“Soon-to-be ex-wife.” Woodruff calmly corrected. His eyes were full of disdain at the sight of the poor woman. “You must be extremely stupid if you think I would keep that whore around me after she cheated on me.”
“That’s not fair, Woodruff.” Sarah was tearing up and shaking her head. “I never cheated on you and you know it. Where is the proof of my infidelity, huh?!”
“Shut up, whore!” One of the two young men standing behind Woodruff spoke up with an evil smirk. “My father is a just man. He would never accuse you of something you didn’t do.”
“Exactly.” The other young man, who had a muscular body, nodded his head. “If my dad called your mother a whore, it’s because she is a whore.”
“Donald, Wilson, I will not stand here and let you speak to my mother that way!” William pointed his finger at the two men his age.
“What are you gonna do about it?!” The two young men suddenly ran down the stairs to challenge him.
William saw they were coming and he folded his fists, ready for a fight. What he didn't expect were the two bodyguards who threw his mother earlier would suddenly hold him down by his arms, allowing Donald and Wilson to willfully beat him up for a while. Sarah was ruthlessly pushed away as she attempted to save her son. William’s face was heavily bruised and bloody by the time they were done.
The gorgeous lady behind Woodruff couldn’t bear the sight of this and she turned to Woodruff. “Dad, tell my brothers to leave William alone.” She was the one who called William over.
Woodruff saw the anger in his daughter’s eyes and he sighed. “You’re too much like your mother, Tracy.” He turned away from her. “Wilson, Donald, leave the whore’s son alone.”
"Yes, Dad." The two young men reluctantly backed away, leaving William with a swollen and bloody face, and they returned to their father’s side.
Woodruff looked at the miserable mother and son with cold eyes. “Now, get these two wretched dogs off my property. From now on, I do not have a wife or a stepson.”
More bodyguards quickly arrived to drag William and his mother out of the estate. It didn’t take long before the mother-son duo found themselves standing outside the estate as the large gate was shut in their faces.
“No!” Sarah covered her eyes and fell to her knees. “William, where do we go now? We have no one to turn to.”
William couldn’t bear to look at his mother in a sorry state. He was about to walk away when a text came in from Tracy.
I just bought a small studio apartment. You and your mom can go live there. I’m sorry for everything you guys went through today.
Ever since William and his mother got thrown out of the Camillo Estate, William quickly hunted down extra jobs in order to provide for both of them; one of his part-time jobs is a cleaner at MURKY CAFÉ. This café not only earned him a living, it was also convenient working there as it was close to the university.He had clocked in for his three-hour shift for the day and he began mopping the floor as multiple customers came and went.“Watch out!”The sudden warning had just reached William’s ears when a solid object smashed against his face and something extremely hot was poured down his face, making him yell in pain and fall to his knees. He opened his one good eye, as the other one had turned bruised, to find a broken ceramic cup on the floor. He realized the hot liquid burning his face must be the hot coffee.“Dude, you gotta watch where you’re going next time.”William looked up to find Wilson and Donald standing over him with evil smirks. He didn’t notice when they had entered t
When William had gotten that gig, he was elated. All his life, the highest salary he had ever earned was fifteen dollars an hour, and this gig is offering twice of that. He immediately accepted the offer. Later, he found out these top-tier party hosts were Donald and Wilson and he realized the offer had been a trap. He had already accepted the offer though, and the person who sent him the offer had made it clear that he would be affected if William didn’t show up for the event. William was sure the manager had been bribed by the twins to pull him into this trap, and yet, he decided to look at the bright side. As long as he survived tonight’s torture, he might end up getting as much as three hundred dollars. It’s the weekend and night parties among the wealthy students of Bel Air University tend to stretch up to ten hours. He decided it wasn't all bad.Once he arrived at the event, his job had begun immediately, and so had his tortures.“Hey, mop boy! Clean this floor!”“Mop boy, go
“Ayra? No, it can’t be.” William felt like his world was about to shatter. He prayed this was just a nightmare.Donald’s eyes held a deep satisfaction as he saw the misery in William’s eyes. “What’s wrong, mop boy? Aren’t you happy for me?” He pulled Ayra closer before reaching down to ruthlessly slap her butt cheeks before squeezing them through her tight dress.Ayra, on the other hand, was giggling and squirming. “Donald, calm down.” She gently slapped her new boyfriend’s chest. “We’re in public. You have to take me out to dinner first.” She giggled as the crowd cheered them on. William was finally pulled out of his trance. “What the hell are you doing with this guy, Ayra?! How could you agree to his proposal when you’re already my girlfriend?!”The crowd gasped at this revelation and rumors began travelling between them.Donald remained unbothered as he tugged Ayra’s face and smashed their lips together in a steamy kiss. “Babe, is this true? Are you really with this piece of garba
ur stupid wristwatch. I work my ass off every day to provide for myself; I am not a thief.”“Then you wouldn’t mind us searching then?” Donald spoke for the first time since this incident started.This made Tracy extremely worried. If Donald was supporting this claim, it means he might have planted some evidence on William. The Camillo twins were complementary opposites. While Wilson is the brute brawn, Donald is the cunning brain. They definitely came prepared.Unfortunately, Williams did not know the twins like Tracy did. “Sure, I have nothing to hide.” He knew he didn’t steal anything.Once it was decided, Donald ordered one of the students he came with to search William's belongings. William's clothes were thoroughly searched, disregarding the pain he felt as his body was still healing. Then they moved on to his school bag, throwing his books and other stuff out carelessly.“I found it!”"What?!" William, Andre, and Tracy exclaimed with a shocked expression.Everyone gathered arou
“For the sake of Bel Air University’s reputation, I regret to inform you that you’re hereby expelled from the institution and all its programs.”Those words from the VC’s mouth sent despair coursing through William. As soon as he left the man’s office, he had been escorted by security to leave the university grounds. He stood outside the gate, watching as Wilson, Donald, and Ayra mocked him. Wilson even gave him a solid punch to his jaw right before the university gate closed in his face. Yet, William didn’t have it in him to be angry, not when he had just been expelled. Studying at Bel Air University, though hard, was a guaranteed way to gain access to a great future for him in the future; this had been the sole reason for persisting this long. But now, everything was gone. He had been struck over and over again by the Camillo twins until he was left with nothing.“William! What happened?!”Andre and Tracy had just rushed over to the gate to find William standing outside of it. The
“Sir, he’s awake!”William could see two men coming towards his bed. The closer one looked to be in his forties; he had a refined aura about him. The man behind him, on the other hand, looked to be in his seventies; he had a more imposing and dominating aura about him.“Who are you guys?” William’s eyes shifted from their faces to the nurses.The two men didn’t get to answer before the female doctor came in to check up on him. As soon as William saw her face, the memories of the last words she said to him came rushing back. “Mom! Is my mom really dead?” His eyes teared up as he knew the answer he was going to get deep down.The female doctor looked at him with pity. “My condolences, Mr. William.” She took a moment of silence for the dead before turning to the two men. “He’s going to be fine. He had simply passed out from deep stress and grief. Though we found extra bruises all over his body, he should be fine.”“Thank you, Doctor. We’ll take it from here.” The man in his forties nodd
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 amuseme
“William, I’ll explain everything to you, if you give me a chance.” Bill remained seated, looking at the flustered young man.“I really am related to the McArthur?” Even though William knew his mother had the same last name as this man, he didn’t dare indulge the thought that they were related in any way, and yet, it truly did turn out that way. William slowly sat back down; he was still a little dazed. “Okay, I’m listening.”Bill shared a glance with Mike. “Sarah McArthur is the only child I ever had with my late wife. I loved her with everything as a father should, and she grew up to be a brilliant woman.” Bill’s warm gaze suddenly turned cold. “Then your father, Derek Chain, came along and destroyed it all.”“My father?” William looked at the man with confusion."Your biological father was a poverty-stricken man who had managed to worm his way into my daughter’s heart, and she ended up falling deeply in love with him.” Bill banged the table in anger.“Easy there, Master McArthur.”