Confusion clouded his face, but the men weren’t budging. Their dark sunshades were joking, and the sun reflected in it.
“I hope you are joking, what sort of prank is this? Am I in any sort of trouble?” Raymond asked, confusion making his head throb.
“Of course, we can’t joke with you, Master. Your father will kill us.” One of the men said in full respect.
“My father?” Raymond asked again. He hadn’t heard someone talk about his father. He couldn’t remember his earlier days. All he could remember was Roselle saving him from a bunch of thugs then asking him for coffee. When Roselle was still Roselle.
“Yes, your father,” the man reminded him. “Mr. Kane. He thought you were dead, well until now.”
“I was dead? I truly don’t understand anything you say.” People around them took pictures that would later go to the tabloids with the heading “Missing Billionaire’s son, Raymond Kane, finally returns home”.
“Please, come into the car with us. We will take you home.”
Everything sounded like a joke to him. The only home he knew was Roselle’s house, and the new terms gave him a feeling of nostalgia. He hesitated because the news was too true to believe. “I don’t believe you.”
The man talking to Raymond whispered into another guard’s ear. “Okay, we will place a call on your father, Mr. Kane, and you will speak to him. Agreed?”
Raymond nodded and they dialed Mr. Kane’s number and waited while it rang.
“Hello?” the voice at the end of the receiver asked.
“Mr. Kane, we have found your son, Mr. Raymond Kane,” the man answered.
The man exhaled with thrill in him. “My son? Can you put him on the line?”
The man tossed the phone to Raymond which he reluctantly collected. “Hello?”
“Raymond, my boy,” his father called out with warmth in his heart. He had not seen his child for the past two years and he was there, on a phone call with him. “I’ve missed you. Please come home.”
“Are you trying to trick me? I’ve seen videos on TikTok and YouTube where people prank other people for the fun of it. If you’re doing that, quit now. I don’t have time for pranks, and I don’t encourage that you prank people.” He wanted to hang up, but Mr. Kane held him.
“Check your bank account. I sent a sum of ten billion dollars to your account. You may think I prank people, but I wouldn’t joke with my money, will I?”
Before he continued his sentence, Raymond’s phone pinged with a message. It was a message from him bank that he was just credited a sum of twelve billion naira.
“Do you believe me now?” his father asked. “I added two billion so you will know how desperately I want you home. Please, come home, son.”
He took in a breath and sighed. “Okay, I will. I have things to do, so I won’t be following your men home. I’ll come on my own volition.”
“Okay, son. I’ll see you soon.” Then, his father hung up. Immediately he hung up, he received a message with the family house address.
Shock overwhelmed him as the men left him standing in front of the bar. Few minutes ago, he was a debtor, now he discovered he was the son of a billionaire and had twelve billion dollars sitting in his bank account. He was also a billionaire.
People looked around him and took pictures of him. He didn’t care. He didn’t look like a billionaire. His beard was overgrown, his hair was unkempt, and his face had fading bruises from the robbery of that night. Those men would pay for what they did to me, he thought.
The clothes he wore didn’t spell like a man who had twelve billion dollars in his account. He bought all his clothes from a thrift store with the allowance Roselle gave him, so he was dressed in a fading T-shirt and a pair of washed jeans.
He had nowhere to go since he was kicked out of the house, so he decided to lodge in a hotel for the night, and maybe, get better clothing. He entered a cab that drove him to the biggest hotel in town.
“Take me to Juvent Hotel,” he told the driver.
“What? You work there?” the man mocked him and laughed. “You can definitely not afford the place.”
“And why do you instigate I can’t?” Fury burned inside of Raymond. He was tired of people looking down at others because they were poor. His wife’s family did that to him, and now, this cabdriver stood, insulting him.
“I mean, look at your clothes. They look like what my father would give to beggars. No offence.” He looked at the rearview mirror to see Raymond whose face was already reddened.
“Well, some taken. You think you can talk to other people because you think you are of a better status than them?”
“I know I am of a better status than you,” the man laughed.
“Let’s see about that. What I have can buy more than hundred of this cab you have here. What about that?”
The man was taken aback at what he said, but he didn’t say anything. “Man, you’re lying.” He swerved into the next turn, pausing at the red light.
“Let’s see about that.”
Raymond smirked and swiped out his phone. The screen was bad already, the edge peeling off. Now, he realized that it was that bad and would need a better one, but all he needed to do immediately was to teach the cab driver a lesson. He sent a text to the officials issuing a taxi license and in minutes, the cab driver’s phone pinged.
He parked at a corner and checked his phone, surprised that his license had just been withdrawn. “Bro, what the fuck did you do? You just cost me my job.”
Raymond smiled and opened the door. “I was just teaching you a lesson. Be kind of people next time. How much is your fare?”
“Fifty bucks,” the man muttered. His knuckled clenched the steering of the car, and they were as white as snow.
“Do you use Velma? Because I don’t have cash.” The man silently nodded.
“He made the transaction and smiled. Keep the change since you’ve lost your job already.”
He walked out of the cab and went in to the hotel that he had always wanted to go to. The fountain sprouted sparkling water, the air in the hotel smelled of money, and the architectural design couldn’t match the designs in Rome.
He walked into the hotel and walked up to the receptionist. “I would like to book a suite.”
The woman with curly, brunette hair with a long jaw and excess make-up laughed out loud, her voice echoing in the whole apartment. “You? A hotel suite?”
“Yes, you heard me. A suite.” Raymond repeated. He knew where she was driving at, but he wanted to give her the benefit of doubt.“I heard you, yes, but I don’t know why you will be booking a suite in this hotel.” The woman gave him a look, weighing his looks and outfit with her eyes.“Why do you think so?” he asked.“Because you do not look the part. It is obvious enough.” She smacked the chewing gum in her mouth, her mouth moving, making her glistening red lips to glow. She looked horrible with a big mole on her chin. Linda, Raymond read off her name tag.“Who hired you to work at the front desk of this company? Your work here is to be nice to customers irrespective of how the person is dressed.” Raymond dipped him hands in his pockets and looked deep into her eyes. They burned with rage.“Who gave you the audacity to work into my workplace to tell me how to do my job?” she stopped typing off her computer and looked at his outfit. “You look like what came out of a thrift store.”“I
Linda was long gone. Raymond paid her a thousand dollars for her “cheap” services and let her go. She thanked him profusely and said I was going to cover a lot for her. Good riddance, but at least, she was good in bed. And she was also without a job.He rolled out of his king-sized bed and slipped into the bathroom. Room service got him the softest, cotton towel he had always used.He got to the roof and waited, thinking of what to do next. He needed to be strategic to know what next to do and how to tackle with the so-called people who slapped him behind his back. He would take care of Roselle in due course. All he needed was to focus on the people who broke his nose and designed his face with bruises.And his so-called best friend, Pete.He searched through his contact and searched for his father’s contact—Mr. Kane. It was still like a dream hat the richest man in the city with the highest connection was his father. He needed to find out what happened to him at the forest, and why.
He had just come up with the right plan. Raymond held the rails of the roof and thought of how he was going to handle things. Everyone deserved second chances and so did Roselle. Maybe, she hadn’t planned on divorcing him and was probably drunk. Pete may have gotten into her head.It was morning, her birthday. He took him bath and tried on one of his old clothes. He had gotten a change of wardrobe so he wasn’t going to activate it, yet. He pulled out a fading pair of tuxedo and threw on his body. He slid his old, cracking phone into his pocket and called a driver.His father sent a Lamborghini to come pick him, but he returned it and requested for a Honda Civic. So, he waited till he saw a blue car pulling up at the driveway.“Mr. Kane,” the man greeted. “Where do you want to go?”“Take me to any jewel shop you know.” Raymond said.From the driver’s face at the rearview mirror, he was stunned at how Raymond dressed regardless of his wealth. “Got a girl?” he asked.“I’m trying to win he
Chapter 8As he walked out of the ceremony, he could feel a rush of pride swelling in his chest. Finally, people knew who he was. This was only the beginning of his rise to fame, and yes the genesis of mental tormenting for Roselle. As he got into the car, he noticed people on the street taking pictures of him. He could barely believe what he was seeing. It didn't take long for the pictures to start circulating online, accompanied by captions like "Missing billionaire's son found!" and "Finally, a clue in the mystery."His ride pulled up to the hotel, and as he stepped out, he was met with the curious stares of people on the street. He could tell they were wondering why a man dressed in what some might call "rags" was walking into such a luxurious hotel. Some of the staff recognized him and gave him a warm smile, while others looked at him with suspicion. None of their stares seemed to bother him as he made his way into the elevator, where he found himself sharing the space with a m
Chapter 9As the car sped through the city streets, the ride was bumpy and the driver expertly weaved through the traffic. Suddenly, the car came to a stop at a traffic jam."Sir, there's a traffic jam," the driver said, looking over his shoulder at Raymond, who was deep in thought. "We might be here for a while."But Raymond didn't respond. He was lost in his own world, replaying the events of the past few weeks in his mind. He couldn't believe that Roselle had actually begged for his attention. It seemed like something out of a dream. The memory of Roselle weeping played over and over in his mind. He had never seen her so broken before. But the memory of her calling him classless was even more painful. "You're more of a shame than a husband to me," she had said. "This ring is like a handcuff to me."And now, she was blaming Pete and her parents for her actions. How could she blame anyone but herself? He knew the truth - that she had made her own choices, and they had led to this mo
Chapter 10The scorching sun was high up inside bathing the pedestrians in its harsh rays. My ride pulled up at the hospital, there I came down. I paid for a bouquet of flowers, that was the least I could do.I headed into the hospital, the cold breeze Washing me.“Am I late? ” I asked the receptionist, a warm smile plastering on my face.“6 minutes late, sir. ” she said, fixing her gaze on the laptop." But, I'll let it slide. ”" Thank you. ” I replied, rushing into the elevator.The elevator door closed, sealing me in its metallic box. I pressed the button to the third floor and the elevator ascended slowly.I stepped out of the elevator, the air was damp with the smell of antiseptics and the cloying odor of the hospital food. Nurses and doctors moved in the hallway, each busy to notice the other.I opened the door, my eyes darted round the corner of the room in search of him. The room was quite a spacious one, silence dreading in. The silence of the room was occasionally punctu
Chapter 11Of course, that was the plan. She was playing right into my trap. " I'll do whatever you wish for. Just spit it out. ” she leaned close, eagerly waiting for me to speak." I don't think you can fulfill my wish.” I replied, rolling my eyeballs." Try me, Raymond. You want money? How many millions? Spit it out, Raymond. ” she said, tears strolling down her cheek. A sly smile played on my lips. I looked into her eyes, my voice barely a whisper.I snapped my fingers and in a few seconds the driver came rushing in with some files.He kept it on the table and excused himself into the car." Sign those, will you? ” I commanded, the venom in my voice making the request look like a threat.“ What are these? ” she asked, pointing at the files. She picked it up and threw a glance at it. Her gaze captured some words, she looked at me and for a moment, she drifted from her sober mode into a puzzled state. Her facial expression said it all. “ You can't do this Raymond. At Least not to m
I was thrown into a state of confusion after I heard someone speaking behind me. I turned to the direction the voice came from, only to see a lady staring at me. Her face was pale, void of any emotion. She wore a long dark gown, her hands covered by dark gloves. One could mistake her as the grim reaper." What do you mean he's dead? And, of whom are you referring to? ” I coughed out.“ I assume you're Raymond, the bastard lost son. I'm Stacy, you're sister. ” she said, rolling her eyes and moving away from me. Her hills clicking on the floor.That was the least thing I expected— to be welcomed with cold hands.“ Don't let her bother you my dear. She has always been like that.” an old lady said, coming down from the stairs. " She misses you. She's just too proud to admit.” " Who are you, Ma'am? ” I rudely asked, " And what does she mean by he's dead? Is my father dead? ” Obviously, the whole drama left me puzzled. "Mind your manners, young man," the old lady chided gently. "I'm your