2024-08-30 16:57:05“So because you are the manager of some family business then you think you can mock me?” Matthew asked with a voice that even though was calm, carried his frustration of everything he had been through today.
“Ah, so the hick can talk, hm?” Spencer Delacroix mocked, a shark-like grin on his face. “You should learn to watch your mouth. My family is very powerful. We even have deep ties with the Houston family, which is even why I'm here; to discuss business and cooperation. But instead, I have to endure the presence of a beggar like you, sullying this reception hall with your rags.” “You are the one who should learn to watch his mouth,” Wellington said with a stern voice. “The Delacroix family is a small enterprise, your family is barely worth half of the Houston family’s wealth. The matriarch of the family hasn’t even granted you an audience, and yet you dare to humiliate the young master of the Houston family?” Spencer's eyes widened with amusement and he glanced at Matthew, who was still fuming with silent anger. Suddenly, he burst into laughter, pointing at Matthew and mocking him. “The Young Master of the Houston family?” he repeated mockingly. “What kind of joke is that? It’s well-known that there is no heir to the Houston fortune. So, tell me, where would a beggar like him come from?” “Stop calling me a beggar!” Matthew warned, fists still clenched. “Everything I own, I got it through my own hard work!” Spencer looked at him with an unimpressed smile that broke into a louder laughter. When he was done laughing, he snapped his fingers and pointed directly at Matthew. “Guards, get this worthless piece of trash out of the Houstons’ property!” The guards glanced at each other and refused to move. They recognized Harold Wellington, and they knew he was the family lawyer, which meant he represented more power than Spencer Delacroix. “You should think very carefully before you act, Spencer Delacroix,” the lawyer said coldly. “No one, not even you, would dare offend the Houston family like this.” “Hah!” Spencer laughed. “Why do you keep saying that? This pauper is not a member of the Houston family and you're defending him? When exactly did you start bringing ragamuffins off the street into the illustrious walls of the Houston Manor? Do you know what the matriarch would do to you, and to him?” A smile appeared on Wellington’s face. “So you think you are in the matriarch’s favor? She has never even regarded your presence before, she doesn't know who you are, and she doesn't care about your family. You think you have her favor more than me, her own personal lawyer? Or Micheal, her only grandson and one true heir to the Houston Empire? You are a pretentious fool treading on waters you do not comprehend!” Spencer laughed nervously, but his thoughts were swirling turbulently in his mind. ‘Could he really be the Young Master? The heir that has been missing for so long? No! No! It can't be! Look at him. No heir wears such horrible rags as clothes. He's just a mere riffraff!’ “I don't know what your game is here, Mr. Wellington,” he responded to the powerful lawyer. “You pick a smelly, beaten up beggar from the dumps and bring him into this exclusive place! Then you have the audacity to call him the Young Master! That is disrespectful to the matriarch and her family's name. You will get fired for this, and I can't wait to see the look on your face when she does it!” “Very well then,” Wellington said with an icy voice. “When the matriarch arrives, we will see whose face will be laughed at — mine or yours. But don't say you weren't warned, Spencer Delacroix. The matriarch’s punishment is very swift.” Wellington paused, listening to the sound of a car arriving outside. “In fact, I think that is her right now.” Spencer's sneer wavered for a fraction of a second, his eyes showing how anxious he was. But the Delacroix head manager had a big ego and his pride was even larger. He didn't back down and opened his mouth to retort once more, but before he could say a word, the grand doors of the manor swung open with a booming echo that silenced everyone in the hall. Every head turned as two teams of bodyguards in striking black and gold suit uniforms marched into the room. Their boots pounded on the ground with a dum… dum… dum as they marched in. Soon, anticipation filled the air. Matthew glanced at Wellington, who smiled and nodded assuringly. Still, he was confused as to what was happening. Suddenly, all the bodyguards arranged themselves in lined formations, slammed their feet in attention and their right hands on their forehead, fingers straight and firm. Then, they all chorused; “Welcome home, Young Master!” Spencer Delacroix's face went ashen and the blood drained immediately from his features as he realized the situation had just crashed down on him. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, but he was suddenly unable to form words. Few moments ago he had a confident smirk on his face, and now, dawning horror was plastered all over it. ‘It can't be possible!’ he thought. ‘Him?! The Young Master? The heir? I just insulted and ridiculed the heir of the Houston family!’ Matthew, who had not even finished processing the enormity of the day’s events, gaped at the bodyguards in disbelief. ‘Is all this for me?’ he asked himself. His heart pounded in his chest as he slowly began to grasp the full weight of his true identity. This wasn't just some random wealthy family he was a part of, this truly was a powerful empire, something to be taken seriously. Spencer stumbled backward, his bravado utterly shattered, and as he did, he saw the faint, dangerous smile tugging at the corners of the lawyer’s mouth. ‘Maybe the bodyguards are misinformed! Yes! The matriarch hasn't approved of him yet! He's still just street trash!’ “Are you satisfied now, Mr. Delacroix?” Wellington asked him. Spencer shook his head. “This doesn't mean anything. He's still street scum until the matriarch comes and approves of him herself!” Suddenly, the doors swung open once again, pushed by two more polished guards, and an aged woman — in her elegance — stepped into the reception hall. Wellington smiled. “Speak of the devil.”
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The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 7• The Matriarch's Wrath
The presence of the matriarch commanded the utmost respect. She hadn't even said a word, and yet an aura oozed out of her as she walked into the reception hall. She was dressed in an elegant but understated suit, and she walked royally as though she was twenty years younger. Her hair was silver and had been impeccably styled and packed behind her head. The bodyguards that had opened the door for her walked dauntlessly by her sides and scanned the room with their military eyes. Spencer Delacroix gulped. But realizing that this was the woman he needed to impress, he did not waste any time, he rushed forward eagerly, walking past Wellington and Matthew, desperate to make a good impression despite the earlier fiasco. “Mrs Houston!” he said with a big smile. “It’s an honor to see you! I am Spenc—” But the old lady didn’t so much as glance in his direction. It was almost like he wasn't even there, like his presence was meaningless compared to the grandness of the matriarch. Her shar
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 8• Billionaire Card
Inside the Delacroix family’s corporate office, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Spencer Delacroix stood in front of his father in his office, heart pounding, knowing how strict his father was and how much he'd fucked up.Across the large mahogany desk, Edgar Delacroix was glaring at his son with disappointment and anger. A slim, shrewd man in a suit was standing beside him, he was John Lockhart, their family lawyer, and in his hand was a file.“Father, I’m so sorry,” Spencer begged. “I did not realize wh—”“Shut up, Spencer!” Edgar roared. “Shut up and listen to Mr. Lockhart and what he has to say. You must realize the consequences of what you have done. He will list all the names of the powerful families that have severed their ties with the Delacroix business — our business!”Spencer's heart dropped.“Go ahead, Mr. Lockhart.”The shrewd lawyer turned over a page on the file. “The Valences, the Turners, the Maronis, the Carters, the Davidsons, and the Wests,” the lawyer announ
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 9• CEO
“Mrs Houston, I can't… I can't accept this amount of money. It's too much,” Matthew stuttered, too dumbfounded to take the card. The old lady chuckled softly, but her face still held seriousness in it. “Listen to me, Matthew. It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed. But as the heir to the Houston Empire, you have taken over a burden of responsibility. It’s important that you learn to spend your wealth, but spend it wisely. Money is a tool—a powerful one—and as a Houson, it’s essential that you use it. Secure not only your future but also the future of our family and our Empire.” She gave him the card and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “This money represents the hard work and sacrifices of our family, even more than that, it represents the struggle we went through in our search for you. It’s your responsibility to honor that legacy, and with time, you’ll learn how to spend, invest, and grow this fortune. But for now, take it one step at a time. Accept this gift with peace
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 10 • Look Her In The Eyes
Matthew was surprised to see them standing behind him, he looked at Darrell, anger bubbling within his chest, and then at Ashley. He never thought the day would come when he would look her in the eyes and feel nothing but disgust.The look on Darrell’s face mirrored that of Ashley's, they were both wondering what a common car washer like Matthew would be doing in a fine establishment like this. Darrell quickly concluded that perhaps he was here to apply for a new job as a cleaner or maybe even a carwasher and so he stuck his hand in his pocket and scoffed, shaking his head lightly.Matthew stepped forward. “What are you two doing here?” he asked.Darrell scrunched his face in disgust as he glared at Matthew, looking him head to toe like he was a church rat. “I should be the one asking you, last I checked, they don’t hire low lives like you around here.”Ashley held on to Darrell tighter with a sense of pride and she adjusted. “If you must know, my boyfriend is so influential, he’s her
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 11 • Do As He Says!
Ashley was the first to react, she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes grew wide, the last thing she expected was for Matthew to talk to Darrell like that. Darrell tightened his teeth, visibly angered, his face was turning red.He balled his fists by his sides, ready to walk over to Matthew and beat him to a pulp but as he proceeded to move forward, Ashley grabbed him by the arm, holding him back. If he caused a scene here, it might just give him a bad name in front of his potential business partners.What would they think of him if he was fighting outside with a pauper? Surely that would be bad for his reputation. Plus, he had heard tales of the powerful no-nonsense matriarch, if he did anything to cross her, he would be done for,He cleared his throat. “Matthew or whatever your name is, I will surely deal with you later.”“I’d like to see you try,” Matthew spat and then turned around, walking away from them. Ashley stood there in shock, wondering what had gotten in
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 12 • Chased Away
“He wants to see me?” Elena asked.The secretary nodded.“Well I’m busy now, tell him to wait for me a bit.”The secretary nodded politely and backed away from the door, shutting it gently behind her.That name rang a bell in Matthew’s head and he raised his head, a crease forming between his brows. “Ferguson…” he said the words out loud, testing the name on his lips.Elena nodded. “Yes, we’ve had dealings with them in the past, and I’m sure he’s here to discuss business,” she said, mindlessly sorting through the documents before her.“Discuss business? What kind of business?” he pressed on.Sensing the seriousness in his tone, Elena paused and straightened her back. “Well, we have been running business deals with the Ferguson’s for a while. Truth is, they offer us little to nothing, they’re more or less dependent on us, the only thing we gain is the publicity that comes from our projects together, big names get people talking you know.”“So you’re saying we don’t need to do business
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 13 • The Club
Ashley got on her feet, swatting the dust off her skirt. In all her years of dating Matthew, she had never been embarrassed to this point. They were practically picked up and thrown on the streets like garbage.There was a low buzzing sound, and it was Darrell's phone ringing. He reached into his pocket and slipped it out, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the caller ID. It was his father.“Hello, dad? You're just the person I wanted to call, something crazy just happened right now.”“Yes I know, my secretary just told me that the Houston's don't want to ever work with us again and have canceled all affiliations.”Darrell nodded even though he was on a call and his father couldn't physically see him. “I don't know what happened-”He was interjected by his father who sounded visibly pissed. “If you don't do something to fix it, You're going to regret the day you were born! Do you know how important the Houstons are to our company?!”The call ended before he could even say anything
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 14 • Here For A Drink
The line went silent as Matthew contemplated Anderson's invitation, maybe this would be a good avenue for him to tell his best friend all that was going on in his life.“Sure, I'll meet you there, just send me the time.”With that to call ended. Shortly after he received a text about the time for the meeting.With nothing else to do, Matthew continued his tour of the company building and then familiarized himself with some of the staff around.Since he had the map there was no way that he could get lost in the enormous structure.****Since all of Matthew's clothes were old and tattered, he stepped into a clothing store and used his black card to purchase some new t-shirts and trousers as well as shoes. He had multiple shopping bags with him by the time he returned home.His grandmother was the first person to see him, and her lips twisted into a bright smile when she saw him with the clothes that he bought.“I am glad you went shopping, you're officially a Houston now and it is impor
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200 • Novel Finale
Darrell was watching the news when he saw the news about Vanessa’s arrest in Los Angeles. At first he didn’t believe it but when Vanessa’s mug shot was shown on TV, he growled in anger and smashed the remote control on the ground.“What is going on?” Mrs Ferguson asked from the hallway on hearing the crashing sound.“She has been arrested and she is yet to give me my money.“ Darrell complained.“Who are you talking about?”“Vanessa Winchester. She got arrested while trying to escape for her crimes. There are multiple count charges against her.” Darrell responded and his mother walked to the living room to see for herself.“Well, to me. This is great news. She can no longer torment our family again.” Mrs Ferguson said and Darrell scoffed.“Don’t be a ridiculous mother. She didn’t pay us our money, that is even worse torment.”“Being a taxi driver was enough to get us a new TV right? Keep doing it.” She responded and walked out on him.***Ashley had returned to her previous life but sh
199 • Sightseeing
Matthew and Amelia were at the hospital’s waiting room waiting for the doctor's feedback on Xander. He had been rushed to the emergency room for immediate treatment after Raymond had shot him twice. Amelia folded her hands together trying to pray for Xander, while Matthew on the other hand was restless.Martha rushed in, with her eyes teary.“Where is my son? What happened to him?” She wailed but Matthew only pulled her into a hug, letting her cry on him. “It’s okay. Let’s all be strong for him right now. He’ll be fine, I have high hopes.” Matthew said even though he knew he was lying to himself, he just wanted to make Martha feel better because when Xander was brought in, he was in a very bad shape.“How could Raymond do this to our only child? Does he even have a heart anymore?” She lamented and Amelia took her hand in hers.“Martha, I’m sorry about my son. I apologize for everything, your life could have been better without…”“Mother, what are you saying? You are the best. Raymond
198 • Police Round Up
Xander stared into space confusedly, he didn’t want his father to go to jail but at the same time, he was tired of all the drama. He walked down the stairs looking lost. He had to go tell Hernandez and Amelia. Luckily, both of them were in the dining room having tea together. Xander walked into the dining room and Amelia instantly knew something was wrong.“Xander, are you okay?” Amelia questioned and Hernandez turned to him as well.Xander rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I am. Dad called.” He announced and Hernandez looked more interested.“What did he say to you?” Hernandez questioned.“He wants us to meet.” “Great. Let’s all go meet him. Where?” Hernandez asked again and Xander sighed. “Do you think I am happy doing this? This person in question is my father.” He said.“And he is also a criminal who killed your uncle and his wife, he also attempted to kill your grandmother..” Hernandez explained but Xander scoffed.“All this isn’t changing the fact that he stil
197 • Battle for the Phone
Vanessa spent the night in a hotel but early the next morning, she was out of there. The hotel was the wrong place for her to be. She had also found out that Richard had been arrested by the police, that jerk had a big mouth and he was probably the reason why the police were after her now, he had implicated her. She kept driving round town as everywhere looked like someone was watching her. She finally saw an alley and decided to hang around there for a while as it was close to the mall as well. She needed to go to the mall but she knew her credit card could be used to track her location. The police were already on the lookout for her everywhere, she couldn’t bring herself out even further. She stood in front of the alley, rubbing her forehead and trying to think of the next way she could go from there when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind, from the strength and the masculine strength, she knew he was a man. The man had covered her mouth with his hand so she couldn’t even s
196 • Care to Explain the Blackmail?
Amelia received a call from Matthew that afternoon which was a little weird as he rarely called her.“Hi darling.” She started.“Grandma, where are you?” Matthew asked and Amelia was a little confused.“I’m at home. Why do you ask? Did something happen?” She questioned.“As a matter of fact, yes. You have to come to the station right now. There is something you need to know and oh, please let Charles know that Ashley has been found.” Matthew said and before Amelia could ask any further question, he ended the call.Amelia didn’t know what all that fuss meant but she was certain it wasn’t a joke as Matthew wouldn’t invite her to the police station for nothing but why the police station? She hurriedly dressed up and In about thirty minutes, she was at the station.She went straight to Hernandez's office to see Matthew there as well. “I came as soon as I got your call. What is going on?” She asked, her gaze darting from Hernandez to Matthew and back to Hernandez again.“Hello, Mrs Houst
195 • I Quit
Lola was at her office sorting and signing some documents when her office mate rushed into the office giggling excitedly. All of them turned to her with questioning expressions.“Are you being chased by a clown?” Lola asked sarcastically.“No! You won’t believe it!” She shrieked.“Believe what? Say it already, stop leaving us in suspense.” Another girl chipped in.“I just saw….” She was explaining when the door was pushed open and Xander walked in with a bouquet of roses and a hamper. All the girls gasped and the first girl couldn’t stop giggling as she had seen him already. Xander got to Lola’s table and placed the bouquet and the hamper on it. Lola didn’t bother looking at him, she just went on with what she was doing; sorting the documents, signing on them and placing them in their rightful positions on the shelf. The other staff waited for everything to unfold. Lola hadn’t told them anything but they all knew that she and Xander were having a fight. “Lola, please stop doing thi
194 • Clear her Head
Vanessa lay on the bed in one of the guest rooms of the house. She had refused to share a bed with Edward after she had found out about Vito. Next to the bed was a small luggage she had prepared to go on a vacation as a way of letting off steam but before that she had to make sure Edward leaves the mansion as it rightfully belonged to her. She was watching the ceiling with reddened eyes from crying. She wasn’t just crying from Edwards cheating but the fact that she never thought it would hurt her that way. She could never say he wasn’t cheating but getting the girl pregnant? That was the height of it.The sound of the door opening dragged her out of her thoughts. She turned to see who it was and it was Monica.“Hi mum.” Monica started as she sat on the edge of the bed, and took Vanessa’s right hand in hers.“ Have you had any sleep yet?” She asked and Vanessa shook her head in negation.“You should get some sleep mum, you are…” Monica’s foot hit the luggage at the side of the bed and
193 • Unconscious on the Floor
Matthew now has eye bags underneath his eyes as he had been having sleepless nights trying to get new leads on Ashley. He hadn’t heard anything from Hernandez and he had no idea if Ashley was still alive or if she was dead or if she was still in the country. As early as 7am that morning, he had gone to the station again.Hernandez had driven in some minutes later to see Matthew’s car already there.“You know, I might soon begin to think you are actually a staff here who has refused to reveal the information to the rest of us because why the hell are you showing up earlier than all of us?” Hernandez joked and Matthew laughed.“Very funny, Chief. But you are right, I am beginning to think so myself too. But the truth is I just can’t have peace of mind until Ashley is found and everything is resolved. She got into this mess because of me. After everything is resolved, I might reveal my true identity to you all as one of the secret staff.” Matthew responded.“True. Ashley’s safety is para
192 • Sex Workers and Punching Bags
Ashley was trembling with anger. She sat in her part of the bedroom enraged, Gwen had helped her treat the cut on her face. It was a very deep cut and had taken about ten minutes to stop the bleeding. Gwen was in her own part of the bedroom watching Ashley.“You’ve got to calm down. When Richard has a bad day, he tends to take it out on us, I have a scar on my left arm from one of those times he….”“Is this supposed to help me right now? Look Gwen, I know you take a lot of shit here, but I, Ashley does not take shit. I will make sure I get myself out of here and Richard goes to jail. I don’t know about you, but I can’t and I won’t spend another night here. The worst that could happen is that I would die. He can’t keep treating anyone like this, we can’t be his sex workers and punching bags.” Ashley fumed.“Yeah, you’re right but do we really have a choice?” Gwen asked and Ashley stood up and headed towards the door.“Sometimes, we do not need to have choices, we make use of whatever w
