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 sharp eyes zeroed in on Matthew, who gazed back at her with confusion and surprise. She drew closer to him, and once she noticed the injuries all over Matthew's face and body, her expression turned to anger and concern. “What happened here?” The matriarch's voice was icy and sounded like an old but still energetic woman. Spencer's eyes widened, and his smile faltered as he watched the matriarch approach Matthew. ‘Is it true? Is he the Young Master?’. “Mrs. Houston, there seems to have been a misunderstanding. this man is not the—” But the matriarch wasn’t listening to him. She stepped past him and walked directly to Matthew. Her old hands reached out to touch Matthew’s arm, and her face was filled with a deep, maternal worry. Her grandson was back. “My boy, who did this to you?” she asked calmly, although everyone present knew that that was a calm before the storm that would be unleashed on the culprit. Before Matthew could respond, the lawyer stepped forward. “Mrs. Houston, the injuries were a result of the police brutality he suffered earlier in the hands of the Chief of police who has now been fired from his seat. But here, in this hall, Spencer Delacroix added insult to injury.” Mrs. Houston frowned. “I am not familiar with that name,” she said. “I’m Spencer Delacroix, ma'am!” Spencer introduced himself to her with nervousness in his voice. “I’m afraid there has been a slight confusion, ma'am. I didn't mean to — ” Eleanor’s eyes gave the man a quick, condescending once-over, and then she cut off his protests. “You insulted my grandson?” Her voice was low, dangerous. Spencer's throat went dry. And he saw from the corner of his eyes that Wellington had won the bet, he was the one laughing at the look on his face. “Mrs. Houston, I had no idea he was your—” “Ignorance is no excuse!” Wellington interjected coldly. “Besides, I told you many times that he was the Young Master and you chose not to believe it, rather you kept on ridiculing him for his clothes and appearance.” Spencer glanced at Wellington, pleading with him to be quiet. “What names did he call you, grandson?” the matriarch asked Matthew. Hesitating a little, Matthew answered; “He called me a ragamuffin, and an unseasoned hick amongst under names.” A tense silence followed. Spencer gulped. Remaining calm, the matriarch turned her back on Spencer, dismissing him as if he were nothing more than an irritating insect. “Take Matthew to the luxury room,” she instructed her bodyguards. “Call our private doctors immediately. I want him treated by the best and want him in full shape as soon as possible.” The bodyguards all moved quickly to obey her orders. Spencer, now very desperate as he realized he was losing a potential business deal, stepped forward and begged the matriarch. “Mrs. Houston, please, I assure you, this is all a misunderstanding! My intentions—” The matriarch didn’t even bother to look back. “Stay away from me, you rodent!” Spencer stepped back fearfully as some guards warned him with a footstep’s approach. “You come into my home and you insult my son? Your intentions are completely irrelevant, Mr. Delacroix,” she said, her tone final. “For this act of disrespect, the Houston family will never engage in business with the Delacroix family ever again. This partnership is over. Leave my estate.” Spencer's eyes widened in fear and the world crumbled all around him. A cold sweat broke out across his forehead. “No! Mrs. Houston, please! I swear, it wasn’t like that—” “Get him out,” the matriarch ordered her guards as she walked away, heading to the luxury room where the guards were taking Matthew. “Mrs Houston, please! Please forgive me, and give me one more chance! Please!” But there were no second chances. The guards dragged him outside the manor and he struggled out of their grasps. “Okay! Okay!” he grunted, raising his hands in retreat. “Leave,” one of them said. “And never come back here again.” They banged the doors, and sealed Spencer out. Once he entered his car to leave, it didn’t take long for his phone to ring. He nearly jumped out of his skin, fumbling to answer it, knowing who it would be. “Spencer! What have you done?!” his father, Hector Delacroix roared through the phone. “I just got a call from Harold Wellington that our family's partnership with the Houstons has just been canceled! Do you have any idea what you’ve just cost us? The information is spreading like wildfire already! Half of our partners have already pulled out of deals! We’re on the brink of bankruptcy because of you!” Spencer's heart sank, not believing what he was hearing. ‘How did that happen so fast? Is this how influential the Houston family is?’ “Father, I... I didn’t know,” he stammered with a trembling voice. “I didn’t know who he was...” “It’s too late for that!” his father spat. “You’ve already ruined us!”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
“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
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
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
“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
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 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
Vito felt insulted and her face turned red, she unfolded her arms and scoffed. “You’re such a low life, why would the Houston family ever employ someone like you? You dream too much Matthew, it’s no wonder Ashley left you, and I’m glad she did because she ended up with a much better man.”The girls standing behind Vito chuckled at her statement but Lola, one of Vito’s friends, wore a slight frown on her face. With a deep breath, she stepped forward. “Vito, let’s go, it’s enough.”Her face twisted in confusion as she stepped back. “Don’t tell me you feel sorry for this loser?” her tone was harsh and judgemental. Vito had never really thought much of Matthew even when he was still with Ashley.For the most parts, she only tolerated him.“Vito, it’s not nice to bully people like this, we came here for a drink, not to pick on someone, please let’s just go already, Matthew has been through so much these past few days,” Lola remarked with a hint of sympathy in her voice. Even from her expre