The Adopted Heir

Chapter 5

Alex was surprised to see that the card didn't work. He was very sure that Darius wouldn't play him for a fool. 

The whole mall began whispering.

"He's so shameless, who comes to a luxury mall to shop empty-handed"

"Gosh! He's a pauper, he better be sent out before he makes away with anything"

"Poor church rat, how could he come here to disrupt the serenity of this environment"

People kept spitting out harsh words on Alex. Alex was stunned into silence.

"Alex this is low even for you. Did you think that you could easily blend into this world? This world is not for people like you" Cassandra continued making fun of Alex. She was enjoying everything going on now.

Just then a man dressed up in an expensive well-tailored three-piece suit showed up. "May I know what this whole commotion is about?"

This was James Johnson the manager of B & B. He was in his mid-thirties. James rarely came out for irrelevant commotions that occur once in a while in the store, but today seemed to be different.

Sofia walked up to him, "Sir, this man right here shopped for items worth $700,000 and now, he's unable to pay."

James was surprised to hear that. Nobody had the nerve to enter this store without cash. This is a first and he was going to get to the root of the matter.

"Young man, do you have any explanations for this?" James asked Alex.

Alex shuffled closer to him, "Sir, to be honest, I don't know what happened. I'm very sure that I have cash in this card, I have no reason to deceive anyone or waste anybody's time." Alex defended.

"If you would give me a chance to try it out again I would be grateful" He persuaded..

James collected the card from Alex and examined it. It was a rare type of card. He saw the double C stylishly scribbled on the card. He knew that this type of card only came with affluence, he knew this because he was accustomed to people of high calibers.

"Fine, I'll give you another chance to prove that you're not a nuisance who came to ransack this store" he directed his next word to Sofia, "Get me the machine I'll try the card myself."

Alex had a little bit of hope on himself. He doesn't want to be embarrassed in front of all these people, especially Cassandra and Victor.

James inserted the card into the machine, imputed the amount over again, and then passed it to Alex to put in his pin. Alex imputed the pin again. He was a bit nervous, what if Darius gave him an empty card?

The surroundings were surprisingly silent. Everybody was eager to see Alex ousted out of the store like a criminal.

After some time, a beeping sound was heard, but this time it showed a green color which meant that the transaction had been accepted. Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

You could hear gasps all around the store, nobody expected that. The questions in their minds were, "How was a wretched-looking fellow like this able to remit the huge sum of $700,000." Everybody started dispersing and going about their business.

On the other hand, Cassandra and Victor were struck dumb. They were in denial, "That can't be possible." Cassandra whispered.

"I'm sorry Mr. Alex for all the inconveniences this whole misunderstanding may have cost you. Please forgive my staff…" He gestured towards Sofia who shrank back in fear, "for her incompetence." James apologized.

"I have no issues with anyone, I'll just take my items and leave the store peacefully"

"Please do not stop patronizing us" James added before going back into his office.

The joy in Alex's heart was immeasurable. He loved the looks he was seeing on the faces of his enemies. He cockily walked up to them.

"Cat got your tongues now?" Alex asked, quite amused. With that, he squared his shoulders, held his head high, and left the store fulfilled.

Cassandra and Victor still hadn't moved from their spot. They were still processing what just happened. When they finally regained their composure, they immediately left the store feeling embarrassed because people were already whispering and pointing at them.

*****

"I still can't wrap my head around what happened at the store today," Cassandra said with narrowed eyebrows. She was still finding it hard to understand what she witnessed today.

They were back at the Kingston villa. They invited Clare over to fill her up on what transpired at the mall today. 

"If I wasn't there with you, I would have probably called your story a bluff. But no, I witnessed it from beginning to end. How was he even able to make so much money in just one day?"

"Maybe he's now an armed robber of some sort" Clare chipped in.

"Armed robber? Oh please, which armed robber makes $700,000 in a day? That is bullshit Clare" Cassandra snapped.

"Why are you even venting your frustrations out on me, I wasn't the one who made him rich" Clare fired back.

She wasn't going to sit here and watch Cassandra disrespect her. After all, she wasn't the reason she was embarrassed at the mall today.

"This is not the time for this. We should be putting our heads together scheming for a solution to this puzzle. If this dude has as much money as I think, then it's a huge problem for us." Victor reprimanded them.

"What do you mean by that? He surely can't have more money than I do. I refuse to be intimidated." 

"Cas that's not even the issue here right now, the issue is that he was overly too confident for my liking. He exhibited a type of attitude that showed that he knew something we don't know and that sort of sent shivers down my spine."

This whole issue was bothering Victor on a different level. He doesn't want Alex to pull up any stunts on them. He had a feeling that something was about to happen and he didn't know if he was ready for it.

"So, what you're saying is that Alex may be up to something?" Clare asked.

"I don't know yet, but I'll have to find out." Said Victor.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Alex was very excited. He even bought lunch for Mike on their way back home just to show how elated he was. He has finally put those scallywags in their place.

He was now in his room with his new phone. Chris gifted him the phone a few minutes after he got home. The phone cost a fortune by merely looking at it. He was busy scrolling through the internet when his eye caught something.

The Mac & Cas Company is looking to partner with another company called Xandra Cosmetics Company. The two companies were under C-Square Associates Limited which were owned by Christopher Columbus, his foster father. 

The news circulating online has it that C-Square Associates Limited shortlisted the Mac & Cas Company and some other companies for possible partnership. It was a competition. The best man would get the partnership. This was going to be huge for the lucky company.

Since Alex was now the sole heir of C-Square Associates Limited he could decide not to allow Xandra Cosmetics Company to partner with Mac & Cas Company. He would just partner them up with another company that's not managed by Cassandra Kingston.

Alex would never forget the exact words Cassandra used on him the day she visited him for the first time in his small cubicle. "Listen to me carefully boy, your family is indebted to mine which means that you owe us your life. But I have a fair deal for you. You have two options, pay back the loan your father collected from my father or marry me and serve me for the rest of your life. If you want to pay back, may I let you know that you have only four weeks to pay up. So, choose wisely." This was becoming interesting. Alex was enjoying this whole development.

Alex beamed with a smile. He could almost feel the taste of revenge coming soon. He was going to show his offenders that they did wrong by looking down on him. He was going to make them regret ever messing up his mental health for three long years.

"Let the show begin" He chuckled.