Chapter 3

“What? This has to be some kinda prank!” Niko kept looking at the credit alert, wondering “who would send such a huge amount of money to me? And why?” He asked out loud and the girls heard him. “Ten million dollars? This is some crazy ass amount of money.” he couldn’t even tell if he was being loud or not but yes he was and the girls became more curious “Wait he's got 10 million dollars? Girl, we gotta seduce this dude, let's apologize for our behavior.” one of them whispered to the other's ear.

Niko had never seen such an amount before, he'd never earned up to two thousand dollars at once, and it was hard to believe this.

“You should spend that money, Niko.” The latina said, trying to be nicer than she really was.

“What money?” Niko turned back to look from the corner of his eye.

“The 10 million dollars” She winked.

“Look at these thirsty girls, already being nice to me after hearing about money.” Niko mumbled then said “I don't know what you're talking about.” He spit on the burning box of Vikkie’s belongings then went into his one room apartment.

“Man… I gotta call the bank.” He was so convinced that it could only be a mistake because “who on earth do I know that's this rich? No one!” He quickly dialed the bank’s customer service number, his fingers trembling as he held the phone to his ear.

“Thank you for calling West Hills Bank. This is Ava speaking. How may I assist you today?” A female voice came over the phone.

“Hi Ava, I just got a credit alert of ten million dollars. This must be some kind of mistake. I wasn’t expecting any money, let alone that huge.”

There was a brief pause before Ava asked, “Could you please confirm your account number for verification?”

“Sure,” Niko rattled off the information.

“Thank you, Mr. Niko. Please hold for a moment while I check your account.”

A second felt like eternity as Niko listened to the faint sound of typing on the other end of the line. Finally, Ava returned. “Thank you for your patience. I’ve reviewed the transaction, and I can confirm that the transfer of $10,000,000.00 to your account is correct. There’s no mistake.”

“Holy cow!” He exclaimed after ending the call. “I still can't believe this, is Ava from the bank also part of this prank or is it all real?”

Niko heard a knock on his door and went to open it. “Hi it's me again” It was his Latina neighbor “I uhm… I Just made some delicious pasta, Italian style ha ha, and I thought you might want a taste of it.” She smiled, putting in an effort to seem nice.

“Wait a minute, are these girls really serious right now?” Niko found her completely odd. “They've been mean and have insulted me throughout my stay in this house, but now they're suddenly caring? Cos they heard me call millions of dollars.” He said to himself, then turned to her “No! I'm not interested, thank you.” He slammed the door in front of her not caring how that made him look. “Get the hell outta ma face!”

One step to sit on the couch and then his phone rang from his pocket, he quickly took it out knowing this might be about the money. But when he saw it was an unfamiliar number, he hesitated before answering it.

“Mr. Niko,” a deep, measured voice on the other end spoke. It wasn’t a question; the man knew exactly who he was speaking to.

“Who might this be?” Niko asked suspiciously.

“I’m calling about the money you just got into your account.”

“What money?” He wanted to be sure that person knew exactly what he was saying.

“The ten million dollars.”

“Oh shit! Don't tell me I am in any kind of trouble,” Niko’s masculinity vanished, replaced with panic. “I swear to God I don't know how that money got into my account and I haven't spent a penny of it. I'll send it back if you want.”

The man’s tone remained calm, almost too calm. “That money is your inheritance, Mr. Niko. Don't panic.”

“Wait a minute, my inheritance? How's that possible?” Niko was no longer shocked now, he was in a pool of disbelief. “There's a mistake, I can't inherit anything.”

“What do you mean you can't inherit anything?”

“My father died when my mom was pregnant with me, my mom raised me on her own but she also passed away in a car accident before I turned five, I grew up in the orphanage sir, there's nothing for me in this world. I have nothing to inherit from anywhere.”

“Well, that's the story you were told. There's a lot about you that you still need to know Mr. Niko.”

Niko still couldn't believe all of this, “What did he mean that's the story I was told? Have I been living in a lie?” He wondered.

“Sir, I don't have a father.” Niko emphasized.

“I've known you for many years now, I've been keeping an eye on you and I can tell you that I know you more than you know yourself.”

“Who are you?” Niko finally asked the question he'd been holding in.

“Meet me tomorrow and you'll find out. There’s no mistake, Niko. I will explain everything to you tomorrow. Meet me at the Witsel Building, four o'clock.”

Niko swallowed his saliva, “Witsel Building?” his mind was already racing. Witsel was the most luxurious building in the city, a place for the extremely rich people, and he’d only seen it from a distance.

“Can all this be real?” Niko asked the ceiling fan. It was all too sudden.