“After your graduation, you will inherit everything—the entire Langston Consortium.”
“The entire consortium? But why the rush, Grandpa?” I asked, my face betraying my shock. I was only a student and not a business mogul, the idea of managing a massive consortium was unimaginable. The discomfort of it all made me pull a funny expression.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be here to guide you. I won’t throw you into the deep end without support. But my priority is to hand everything over and... focus on my health.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the enormity of what he was saying.
His pride was palpable, but behind it, I could sense the years of weight he had carried.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a sleek platinum card. The logo on it was familiar; I had seen it on almost everything, including Grandfather’s phone and the documents handed to me earlier.
I quickly recognized it as the Langston logo, with many items, especially gadgets, being customized and carrying the logo design.
He handed me the card, a gleam in his eyes.
“There are only three of these in existence,” Mr. Langston said, his voice low but serious. “This card is linked to a personal account with one billion dollars. It’s for your personal spending. You’re part of the Langston family now, and you’ll live like it.”
A billion dollars? My heart raced as I held it, its significance felt surreal in my hand.
This was more money than I could even fathom, let alone dream of having.
But before I could ask any of the dozens of questions swirling in my head, my phone buzzed loudly in my pocket. The sound cut through the room, drawing all eyes to me.
Embarrassed, I excused myself and quickly checked the screen.
Josh’s name flashed on it. A pit formed in my stomach—he always brought bad news, and I silently hoped today would be different.
“Dear friend and bearer of bad news, tell me you don't…” I joked, trying to keep it light as I answered. But Josh cut me off, and I knew something was wrong. His voice said it all.
“Jordan!” His voice was frantic, barely held together. “You need to get back to school, now. It’s your grandmother. Something happened, and it’s bad.”
It felt like the ground had disappeared beneath me. My grandmother—why was she at the school? I hadn’t told her about my suspension, or had Josh? I didn’t need the details; I just knew I had to get back immediately.
“I’ll be there as fast as I can,” I muttered into the phone, already moving toward the door.
“Jordan!” My grandfather called, but I couldn’t stay. The urgency in Josh’s voice echoed in my head.
“I’m sorry,” I said, turning briefly to face him. “Something’s happened to my grandmother, and I have to go.”
Concern clouded his face, but I didn’t have time to explain. I bolted out of the grand house, my mind spinning.
The billion-dollar card, the inheritance—none of it mattered right now. I jumped into the waiting car, barely registering the luxury around me as the driver sped off toward school.
My heart pounded, fear gnawing at me. What could have happened to her?
I scolded myself for being distracted by wealth and inheritance while forgetting my real family.
The city blurred outside the car window. This ride was a far cry from the Rolls-Royce Cole had used earlier to Kidnap me—this might be Porsche, more luxurious and spacious.
Arriving in such a flashy vehicle would only draw attention, and I wasn’t ready to reveal the truth about my sudden wealth.
I could already sense the whispers swirling around me from the drama with Mikky and wanted to keep my life under the radar, at least for now.
I got out a few blocks away, choosing to walk the rest of the distance alone.
As I approached the school gate, I froze at the scene in front of me.
Mikky stood there, arrogance pouring off him as usual, with Diana clinging to his side. And standing in front of them—was my grandmother.
She looked fragile, her back slightly hunched, her clothes modest as always. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her as if she was holding herself together. The sight of her in front of them, of all people, made my stomach twist.
“Please,” she said, her voice shaking slightly. “I know Jordan made a mistake, but he didn’t mean to cause trouble. I’m begging you—just help him stay in school. We don’t have the money to pay more tuition if he misses his exams.”
Diana smirked wickedly and unashamedly, not even trying to hide her amusement. My chest tightened as I watched her. The same girl who I thought loved me, was now standing there, cruelly enjoying my grandmother’s pain.
“Oh, Mrs. Kline,” Diana said with a mockery dripping in her tone. “I’m not sure what you think I can do. I’m not Jordan’s babysitter anymore.” She glanced at Mikky, who grinned.
My grandmother’s eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t back away.
I could see the tremble in her hands.
She clearly had no idea who Mikky really was, but she did know Diana. She probably still thought Diana was still my girlfriend, so she turned to Diana, and my grandmother asked with a pleading tone, “Diana, please. You must understand. Jordan cares about you. Can’t you speak to the director? I thought—”
Diana cut her off with a laugh. “Cares about me? Oh, old woman, Jordan is nothing to me now. I’ve moved up in the world. Higher than your peasant son.”
“Tell you what, old lady,” Mikky said, stepping closer to her, with his bratty tone towering over her like her lord. He is truly a bastard and I tight my fist harder.
“If you want Jordan to come back, if you want his suspension canceled, then you have to kneel right here before me. Beg me for it.”
My blood ran cold. Mikky’s words were loud, cruel, and sharp like a blade.
I couldn’t take it anymore. Watching them degrade the woman who had raised me—who had sacrificed everything for me—I felt my chest burn with rage.I rushed to them and stopped my grandmother from kneeling. Mikky’s eyes locked onto mine just as I approached, and that smirk of his deepened.“Well, well, look who it is—the pauper himself,” Mikky sneered. “Come to watch the show, busboy? Maybe you could serve us some wine and cheese to make it more fun and memorable”I clenched my fists, fighting to keep my cool. I wanted nothing more than to knock that smug look off his face.“Grandma,” I said, stepping in front of her protectively. “Let’s go. You don’t need to beg anyone for anything.”Mikky stepped forward, blocking my path. “Oh, leaving so soon? I thought we were just getting started,” he said.I glared at him, my voice low and uninterested in his antics. “Move.”He laughed. “Or what? You’ll hit me again, Jordan? You want to make this worse for yourself?”I glanced briefly at Diana,
I froze, my fist mid-air, my body trembling with rage. I slowly turned to see Mr. Martins, the school director, storming toward us. His expression was clearly annoyed, his gaze fixed squarely on me. Diana stood behind him, her arms crossed and a smug smile playing on her lips. Yeah, she called him. But who cares anyways.Diana stepped forward, her voice filled with false concern. "Mr. Martins, thank goodness you’re here. Jordan just attacked Mikky out of nowhere like a wild animal. He’s been holding a grudge ever since that fight in the dorms, and now he's taken it too far. Look at Mikky!” Her tone was all too sweet, her words carefully chosen to paint me as the villain.Mikky groaned dramatically from the ground, clutching his side as if I’d broken every bone in his body, well I guess I did. “He went crazy! I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. He just jumped me—he's out of control, Mr. Martins!”I clenched my fists, still fuming with rage, yet somehow, a part of me felt
The crowd fell into a stunned silence, and the director’s smirk faltered for a brief moment before returning, though now tinged with disbelief. "Ten times?" The Director echoed, laughing mockingly. “You’re joking, right?”I didn’t flinch, keeping my gaze locked on his. "On one condition," I continued. "That Mikky is expelled from this school."Mikky doubled over, clutching his sides, while the director shook his head in disbelief. I could see my grandmother looking at me from my side view with wide eyes, as if I’d lost my mind. "Ten times?" the director repeated, struggling to contain his amusement. “That’s $20 million, Jordan. Are you sure you haven’t hit your head too hard? You expect us to believe that you can just pull $20 million out of thin air?”I remained unfazed, locking eyes with him. I could see his confidence waver for a moment, as if he wanted to believe me. But after sizing me up, he clearly concluded that I was mad. “Give me the school’s official account number, and I
I stared at the screen, frozen in disbelief and shock. The words were clear, glaring at me like a cruel joke. How could this be? My grandfather wouldn’t lie to me—this card was real, wasn’t it? It has $1 Billion in it so why did my transfer fail?Before I could process what was happening, Mikky’s laughter exploded into the air, loud and obnoxious. He slapped his thigh, doubled over in amusement, while Diana clung to his arm, laughing right along with him."I knew it!" Mikky howled, pointing at me like I was the punchline to some cruel joke. "You really thought that card would work because it's flashy, didn’t you? What a loser!"Diana chimed in. "Honestly, Jordan, you shouldn’t have stoop this low. This is just embarrassing. Did you really think we’d fall for that little show?"“This is ridiculous, I thought for a second he had the $20 Million.”“Such a shameless pauper, he wasted our precious time.”“So unfortunate I staked a bet on you.”“Nothing good can come from an arrogant pauper
The transfer went through, and I received a notification of the transaction—my balance was now $980,000,000. I smirked proudly. “Now, what do you have to say, Director?” I asked, turning to face him. He continued to stare at his phone, frozen in disbelief. I knew he had received the notification, but he wasn’t saying anything. He was just glaring at me and the phone, as if unable to process what had just happened.The silence was deafening. Mikky and Diana rushed over to him, their expressions shifting from smug confidence to shock as they saw the same thing on his screen. I could tell they had just received the shock of their lives.Everyone was waiting, holding their breath, for the director or Mikky to say something.Mikky whispered something inaudible to the director, who quickly adjusted his demeanor.“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Joker of the Year at Kingsford University,” the director announced, trying to mask his shock with a forced laugh.The crowd erupted in c
The principal stood in front of me, bowing with a level of respect I had never experienced before. It was an odd feeling, not one of triumph or revenge, but something much more profound—a sense of quiet assurance.I noticed the crowd around us, watching in stunned silence as they took in the unexpected scene. I could tell they were still live streaming, judging by the comments flying in. “Why did the principal act like that?” “This is wild; I bet everyone in the city is tuning into this.”I stole a glance at the director, still holding his sore cheek, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief. The principal had just slapped him in front of the whole school.“Get this disgrace out of here,” he ordered, pointing at the guards. “And just so you know, you’re fired.” “Fired?” echoed the director along with a few others.The director attempted to reason with the principal, but the guards stepped in, dragging him out like a common criminal—just moments ago, they had been the ones res
"What if Jordan actually made that payment?""Yeah, I agree. Didn't you notice the principal's reaction? I think he's going to address it.""No way, he couldn't possibly pull that off. Look at his clothes—barely holding together.""How could he have been able to pull out such a huge amount of money?" Whispers broke out. "That can't be possible. He's the grandson of a janitor." Another person said."Well, he might have done something illegal to get such money. I hear that he's into drugs." A third person who I recognized as one of the quarterback's girlfriends spoke.All eyes were fixated on me as their speculations continued. I would never have imagined that a day would come when I would have to start defending myself from being able to do things myself.I had been ridiculed severally because of my poor status, now that it seemed like things were going well for me, they still had a problem with it."Why isn't he saying anything?" One of the girls asked incredulously.I moved away fro
"Strip!""Strip!""You wouldn't believe this! The views are climbing massively!" One girl yelled, distracting everyone. Another girl closed a palm over her lips. "My goodness! It's almost 20 million, in just five minutes. We are trending again!" She yelled."The site is about to crash from the traffic!" Another girl yelled, making me smile softly. This was the best way to go. He needed to be taught a lesson.The hall was plunged into disarray, making me smile inwardly as Mikky's cheeks blazed with embarrassment. "Y’all should stop shouting!" He yelled with all his might but the students were in a frenzy. Their energy was crazy.I raised a finger, silencing the "Do the needful and strip." I ordered and he moved away. "You can't force me to do something I don't want to do!" Mikky yelled. "Oh, but you have no choice, Master Mikky. You were aware of the consequences of your bargain. You made the call, so dance to it." The principal interrupted, making me smile softly. Mikky's face b
After scrolling through my media feed throughout the previous day and studying intently for the test, I decided to also go as far as getting involved in many things, such as the school club. Probably not my best bet, but I was stubborn like that. If I wanted to change things in the school then I needed to be wiser than they were. To Mikky, he had finally defeated me but that was far from the truth. I had many people who had come to me stylishly to inform me about them being bullied by the same man but it wasn't my place to start exposing everything that I saw. I needed to keep something myself and stop every form of familiarity. Instead, I was working as an undercover agent to make sure that people got their deserved Justice. He couldn't continue being on the prowl. His father's company had taken a nosedive, but he still didn't understand where it was coming from. I smiled when Mickey approached as usual. He was seeking problems that he couldn't handle, but who was I to run away fr
"Thank you for coming. I didn't know you were going to arrive as soon as possible. Your grandfather shouldn't be aware of our meeting." Cole said.I was perplexed but didn't want to show my surprise just yet. I knew that if he realized that I was not going to, I was not going against my grandfather. He would be a bit skeptical about his words, and I needed every information I could get, especially since he was a proper insider. "Did you think I was going to inform him?" I demanded portraying a look of affront. He shrugged, but I ended up understanding that he part of had more things to hide than to tell you. Well, it was in my right to deal with, yes, a lot of information and sieve out the most important parts. "I am here because I want us to have a conversation about everything that has happened so far. Firstly, I think I need to highlight that your grandfather is not at fault; instead, you had poor management of the situation, if I might be permitted to say so. If I were in your
Since things had gone awry at school. It was up to me to decide what I wanted to do. I decided that I would no longer interfere in issues that didn't concern me no matter how much I was begged to.Secondly, I would retain my privacy and watch other people run after finding solutions while I enjoyed everything bequeathed to me. Thirdly I would also look for ways to pull more weight into the company instead of running around with fellow high school students seeking Justice that they didn't truly want. It was going to save me time and energy, and I would have a lot more to do with my life instead of just waiting and hoping that things were done for me. A knock resounded on my door and I rolled my eyes. This was probably my grandmother coming to talk to me about how I shouldn't be angry with my grandfather or simply because he turned my life around. While she was telling the truth, I still felt like he needed to hear my side of the story and not just stump into conclusions because of hi
I looked down as soon as I was done with the school issues. My grandfather was mad at me and I could see him just keeping his cool until we arrived at his mansion. "I asked you to lay low but you went ahead to portray yourself as the sacrificial lamb and now see where it has landed you." He blew hot on me. I didn't think that I was at fault in this area. Maybe because I didn't conduct due diligence before jumping to save a person but it didn't mean that my actions were intrinsically wrong. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but he raised a finger, signaling that I kept shut. This was the first time that we were butting heads together, and I wanted to believe that my actions were only going to either push him further away or draw him closer to me, and I wanted it to be the latter. "I'm sorry for not paying intense attention and thinking that everyone was like me, who needed help from a bully, but I know better now." I apologized to him. He shook his head angrily probably thinking
"Mr- Mr. Langston, I didn't know that you were coming around today." Miss Rose said in a perplexed tone. Her fakeness could never be matched. It wasn't my business whether or not she was expecting my grandfather to show up. My grandfather, on the other hand, didn't look like he was here for peace. "I asked a simple question, Miss Rose. Why have you taken it upon yourself to stress a boy who has never done anything to you besides just fighting for Mr Braxton's right? How has this been proven for you to brandish him as a rapist? How much were you given to carry out this without flinching or any conscience?" He went on to ask. "I-I didn't mean it that way, sir. I just wanted a bit of Justice just like he has always been an activist for. I believe that everyone deserves a fair chance at getting Justice. Emily is a less privileged student and if things like this are swept under the carpet, then there is no hope for her kind. I'm sorry if this looks like I am trying to blame an Innocent.
The Internet was set ablaze with the latest news, but at this point, there was nothing I could do besides just wait for a bit, hoping that I was able to prove my innocence. I gazed at Emily through the corner of my eyes trying to figure out what she was playing at. My grandfather hadn't still called yet, even though I was aware that he had seen the pictures. Too many things were happening at the same time but he stayed away instead "I have only one question for you."Miss Rose said immediately we got to the staff room. I could hear the disdain and victory in her voice as soon as I stepped in. She had probably been looking for the perfect means to deal with me and the greatest opportunity presenter itself."You can't just ask me questions that point to something which I am completely innocent of.""You should prove it. You, of all people, know that people do not believe mere words unless they are backed up." She cross-examined me. I had come to realize that not many people wanted pea
"Why did you do this?!" Emily yelled, pointing at me, catching me off guard. This was entirely strange to me because I never expected her to behave this way. I raised my eyebrow in surprise, trying to understand if I had made a mistake somewhere. "Emily, what are you talking about?" I demanded from her when she continued pointing at me and crying. Like an invitation, people started pouring out and rallying beside her. "I've always known that he is nothing to write home about. His fake activism was to hide the fact that he is such a wicked fellow, and everyone needs to know that right now." Some of my classmates whispered between themselves and I was still a little bit confused. "What is going on Emily? Why the hell is everyone gathered here and not talking about the culprit in front of you?" "He held my shirt and tried to tear it open. If not for Mikky, who came in right on time to save me from his hand, I would have been wasted. I do not know what I have ever done to warrant such
I was waiting for her to Emily to come out and inform me about the meeting. One of the only ways that could be free from this problem that she had managed to imprint on my mind was seeing that she got Justice. My phone rang numerous times but ignored it. It didn't make any sense that she was stalling despite having such long time to plan for this. I expected Mikky to show up anytime soon and we kickstart our detective process but this was only slowing things down. I decided to send Emily a text. "What's wasting time?" I replied with a smile on my face and realized that there might be something different which I needed to do quickly. "You've decided not to go about things the right way instead you want me to accept that you are playing small right?"Meanwhile, the sun was setting over the school, casting a golden glow over the deserted hallways. Students were either in class or had already headed home for the day. But in a secluded area behind the school, a different scene was unfol
I rushed through classes expecting to hear from the lady who had texted me over the weekend but received no text. Worry filled my heart instantly as I thought about the possible scenarios that could surround her sudden silence. One of the things that came to mind is the fact that she could be blackmailed or, worse, involved in a greater problem. "Mst. Jordan would you like to contribute to the topic?" My teacher said bringing my attention back to the present. I didn't want to act based on how I felt, such as reaching out to the girl again, especially after I knew that it could be a prank. "You were speaking about the transfer of shares between co-partners. I think it is a good idea especially now that loyalty has become a scarce commodity." I diverted the conversation to a more engaging mode. Some students were already sleeping because of how boring the teaching was but I didn't want to discourage myself from listening nonetheless. "So you are one of the people who could take suc