After contemplating for a few minutes, Lucius decided to go with the man. Even if it turned out that the man was mistaken and he wasn’t truly the heir, what was the worst that could happen. Deep down, he wished it would be true that this trillionaire was his father, but at the same time, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. The man led him to where his car was parked and Alarick’s eyes widened. Ben chuckled when he saw Alarick’s expression.
“This car was a gift to me from my boss, your father.” Ben said.
The car was the latest model and only three had been produced in the world. Lucius knew this because his father-in-law, Kent Wilde had been so angry when the car came out and he couldn’t afford it even though he was rich. Yet, this man who seemed to be a butler or driver was given this car as a gift. Wow!
They both got into the car, and Ben drove while Lucius sat beside him. Lucius was so embarrassed when his stomach growled loudly. He hadn’t eaten anything yet as he had lost his appetite from watching that video last night. He placed his hand on his stomach and glanced out the window.
“Would you like me to stop at a restaurant so you can eat? Or do you prefer to eat dinner at home?” Ben Asked him.
“Im sorry but there’s no need to stop on my account.” Lucius replied.
“As you wish.”
Lucius didn’t know how to tell Ben that he didn’t feel comfortable enough to let the man pay for his food when he had no dime to repay back in case he wasn’t truly the heir.
The car ride was spent in silence between both of them till the car came to a stop in front of a gate made of gold. Just the gate seemed more expensive than the entire Blythe mansion. As they approached the gate, Ben pressed a button to open the outer gate. As they got to the security post, it spoke. It was an AI gate and only really wealthy people could afford them.
“Please identify yourself.” The gate said as Ben rolled down the window to speak.
“Ben Atkins.”
“Voice recognition, success. Welcome, Mr Atkins.”
The inner gates opened automatically and Lucius' eyes widened . Calling it a mansion did not do it justice as it looked more like a luxury estate. How could one person own all this? Streetlights lined the driveway, and each of them were made of gold, not gold paint, real solid gold. It took almost ten minutes for them to drive up to the main house, even in a car as fast as this one, to show how big the mansion grounds was.
“It’s amazing.” Lucius said, though calling it amazing was a huge understatement.
It was just the only word he could think of at the moment.
”Trust me, it looks more beautiful in the daytime, especially when the sun is out. The house was built to utilize the light in the best way possible so at the best angles, the house literally sparkles. Your father had this built for your mother to try and make her happy.” Ben said to him.
Lucius could hear the sadness in Ben’s voice but he didn’t know if it would be offensive to Ben if he asked what was wrong. Maybe he would ask later when he was more comfortable around the man. He had grown wary of rich people, they always seemed to have crazy mood swings. If he asked a question that Ben didn’t like, Ben may decide to just throw him back out into the streets. He knew it was unfair to judge every rich person because of his experience with the Wilde's but he didn’t know much about the man beside him so he had to tread carefully.
“All this belongs to you.” Ben said with a smile.
“Welcome home.”
The car finally stopped in front of the main building and the car door was opened by one of the house staff. The first thing he noticed was the fountain which had a beautiful mermaid poised atop a rock with a seashell horn in her hand while the water moved like it was being controlled by her. It was a beautiful work of art and it looked so realistic, even the scales on her tail were basically glimmering and her eyes were as blue as the ocean, they were probably made of real blue sapphires. The sculpting of the fountain was so realistic that Lucius thought it might come to life and call his name.
“There’s a sculpture garden with lifelike pieces like this one at the side of the house. I promise to give you a full tour of the grounds later so you can look around as much as you want, Lucius. For now, please come with me. Your father will be so happy to see you, I didn’t tell him that I found you, I wanted to be sure before informing him. While looking for you, we have had so many near successes in the past, and every time each lead turned out to be false, we were always devastated. I didn’t want him to go through that again in case I couldn’t convince you to come. I know you may think I can’t be sure of your identity till a DNA test is done, but trust me, when you see him, you’ll know he’s your father.” Ben said to him.
Lucius followed Ben into the house, just the entrance of the house was opulent. There was a grand hall with various types of art displayed, from paintings to mini sculptures, to pottery like vases, mosaics and more, they all looked rare and expensive. Looking at everything, you would think you stepped into a castle with royalty instead of just one man’s house.
“Your father is an art collector. He has a lot of priceless art in his collection. He started it because your mother liked it but then it became a hobby.” As he talked, he led Lucius to a double door with an arch over it.
“Come in.” The voice inside replied as Ben knocked.
The man was looking down at something he was writing on or signing when they both entered.
“I know what you’re going to say, Ben. ‘It’s late and I should be resting’, yes, but I just have one more thing left to do. Give me a few minutes before you try to force me to go to bed and rest.” The man said.
“I found him. He's finally back home."
The man’s head snapped up so fast, Lucius was afraid his neck would crack. Lucius was as surprised as the man when he saw the man’s face. There was no doubt about it, this man was definitely his father, Ben was right, the resemblance was uncanny.There were only a few differences, his father was older, and his hair was a darker shade of brown with silver streaks, and he had a neatly trimmed goatee.
The man shot up from his chair and moved immediately to hug Lucius with tears in his eyes. Lucius felt a little weird because of the hug but he didn’t show it. He didn’t know how to act now that he was confronted with the truth. Sure, he could still demand a DNA test for confirmation sake, but unless he had an older twin, this man was definitely his father.
“How?” His father asked Ben.
“Where did you find him?”
“There was a scandal earlier this morning and his picture was all over the news. It’s a good thing he looks so much like you or I would have never known it was him. We still need to do a paternity test to erase every doubt though." Ben replied.
“What is the use of a test? Look at him, he looks just like me, and he has Adeline's eyes. How Ironic that you found him on the news when the same news couldn’t help me find him when he was taken.” His father said to Jonathan.
“I was taken? By who?” Lucius asked confusion written on his face.
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