Hurt and with his thoughts running wild, Leon left his home, away from his nagging wife in an attempt to find some semblance of peace. That led him far away from home and soon, it was nightfall. Still wandering the streets, he recalled what the doctor had held him after handing him the test results. He needed over a million dollars to get surgery. He wondered if indeed his life was going to end because of the tumor because he knew he could not come up with such an amount of money, especially not after he'd been fired merely minutes after being told about the money.
"I guess this is the end," Leon whispered to himself as he walked down the street, his head cast down in shame and hopelessness. He'd always known that Helen was very unsupportive financially but he'd known how much she did not care about him at all. Her last words still haunted him as he felt the cold evening on his face. The sky was cloudy, promising rain in a short while. It was a perfect mirror of his emotions.
Leon knew that Helen had no idea what her words had done to him, but he knew all too well that she'd been right, he might as well just die and never return home to her, to her scorn and toxicity. Leon sighed, he knew he could not afford the money, he was now jobless and so was his wife, Helen was good at nothing but spending the little money he had, she had no interest in financial management and he knew that there was no way she could help him. Moreover, his health insurance was not enough to cover the treatment and he was left helpless.
Just then, his phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. His teeth bared in anger as he looked at the caller ID, it was the last person he wanted to talk to, especially with how shitty his day had already been. It was his brother and he was arrogant as he spoke to him.
"What do you want?" He asked sharply and the man replied, "Grandfather wants you back to the family." He said plainly.
Leon was irritated at his impolite tone. His brother, Alfred knew his stance on anything about the family, he was never back there. "You of all people should know that I am never returning to that godforsaken family! It's a dirty place!" He snapped angrily.
"When will you get over this? It happened a long time ago and we have to move on, Leon." Alfred retorted, frustrated with having to reach him all the time to give the same explanation.
"Move on? How do you expect me to move on from the fact that my grandfather killed our parents?" Leon asked, his tone cold and firm.
"He didn't kill our parent and you know it, it wasn't him__"
"He didn't have to do it personally, his decision led to their death and I will never forgive him." Leon cut him before he could say anything else.
"That's not what it is and you know it, Leon, you have to come back to the family, everyone wants you back," Alfred said, his tone a little lower.
"That's not happening," Leon replied firmly. Alfred was getting upset, tired of negotiating with him, "This has got to end! You can't keep being away from your own family because of a mistake in the past, grandfather had asked for__"
"And I have clearly said I will not be a part of that family, Alfred, do well never to call me again on this matter." He said and ended the call abruptly. Breathing hard and still upset from the phone call, he hissed as he remembered what had happened to his parents and the role that his grandfather had to play. Even though he knew that his return to the company would bring him more than enough money to settle his treatment and take care of himself and Helen, he still didn't want to go back.
Leon detested that family with every fiber of his being and he would rather take a chance with the tumor himself than get back to the family and look for help, after all, what was the assurance that he would survive the tumor even after the surgery? He wasn't going back, he decided firmly, even if it would save his life. Soon, it began to rain but Leon walked under the rain like it was not a problem, he did not care anymore, after all, there was nothing that could make his day any worse than it was already.
"Help me!" A tiny voice came from behind him and he turned to the source of that melodious voice, it was a very beautiful lady behind him, she was begging him to help.
"Please help me, there are some gangsters after me, they want to hurt me." She said, her eyes wide with panic, her entire frame shaking in fright.
Leon was surprised, he looked at the direction she had emerged but couldn't see anyone yet. He didn't want to get mixed up in any trouble, but as he recalled his condition, he realized that he was going to die anyway so there was no point in playing safe anymore.
"Please, you need to help me..." She begged as he looked at her and then decided he should help.
"Come on." He said to her as he led her down to the dark alley on the other side of the street.
It would be the perfect hiding spot for her but it was so narrow and dark, with the rain having wet both their clothes, Leon was soaked wet and he could feel every inch of his body and on end, as he stood, pressed against the beautiful lady, Leon could feel her skin next to his and his hair stood on end, a shiver running down his spine as he felt her breath on his skin.
Leon could still feel the breath of the girl on his face, they were pressed so closely together that he felt every inch of her skin, albeit through clothes. "Don't you want to let me go? They're all gone now." She said, her voice nasty and rude. Leon was embarrassed and pulled away from her but he didn't see that she too was blushing. She dusted her dress as he looked out and saw that all the gang members were gone, the entire street was now deserted. It was getting dark and Leon had nowhere to return, he wasn't ever going back to his wife, that was for sure. "Thank God they're gone." The girl said with a sigh and then stopped him as he was about to cross the road. "Wait, you've just helped me escape those men, I want to reward you." She said, Leon looked at her, apart from being very pretty, she was also very young and he didn't want any money from her, after all, it wasn't going to help his condition. "I don't want your money, I just couldn't stand those men trying to hurt
Leon lay on the floor, bleeding profusely, blood gushing out of his sides and his head where he'd been badly beaten by the gangsters. The girl he'd saved, Sylvia ran to him on the ground and saw his critical state, "Oh my God! He's dying!" She cried and clutched him to her side, shaking him to wake up. She could almost see his life drifting away with every drop of blood that soaked the wet floor. "Uncle, please, save my friend, he's dying, he'd been badly wounded by these men," she wept helplessly. Uncle Smith looked at the young man on the floor, he was badly hurt and it was all because he'd been protecting his favorite niece. He knew he had to help him, "Let's take him to the hospital, please." Sylvia sobbed and her uncle nodded. "I will deal with your little gang later, mark my words." Sylvia's uncle said to the gangsters and then turned to help Leon first. With the help of his siblings, they picked Leon up and put him in the car, driving him to one of the best hospitals in t
The doctors did not look desperate, they all seemed relieved that Leon was fine. "We have checked him, he is fine, his injuries are quite minor," the doctor said. "Is he awake? Will he be fine?" Sylvia asked the doctors. Both of them nodded, "Yes, he's awake now, we've been able to stabilize him." One of them said, Sylvia nodded, she was very relieved and grateful that nothing terrible had happened to him, "I'll go and get him some food, I'm sure he must be hungry." She said and immediately left the room. Uncle Smith frowned, he was curious, he had thought that Leon's state of health was much worse when he rushed him to the hospital, he had looked like he was dying but the doctor just announced his injuries as being slight. He had a feeling that he had lied about the severity of his condition just to elicit pity."You mean his condition isn't that bad? I thought he was dying." Uncle Smith said and the doctor shook his head, "His injuries are minimal, from the check, he'll be fine so
Leon left the hospital in a hurry, he could not wait to get home and tell his wife about the good news of his miraculous healing. He never wanted to tell her about the tumor because he didn't want her to be worried about him, already she seemed to be displeased by everything he did, he didn't want to add his medical condition to the list.But as Leon headed home, he figured that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that she knew about his tumor, maybe it would make her treat him a little better. Thinking of this brought a smile to his face and he could imagine how happy she could be when he finally told her I'd the goodness of his healing. Although he could not clearly explain what had happened, he believed in the power of the ring, he believed that since he had been healed of all the injuries from the attack and he was recovering so quickly then the brain tumor was gone too, he was happy and wanted to share the news with his wife. As he got home, he pushed open the door in that excitem
Sylvia returned to the hospital room a few minutes after Leon had left, she met her uncle and asked him where he was. "The young man had left, he..." But before her uncle could finish the statement, she frowned, her beautiful face crumpled into an ugly expression. "What do you mean left? He was right here, I just went to grab him something to eat," She said, her tone high. "I thought you said that you've just met him a few hours ago, why are you so concerned about his whereabouts?" Smith asked, his time casual and this only made Sylvia even more annoyed. "It doesn't matter! He saved my life and I want to personally thank him," she replied."Listen, I've thanked him enough, if you want us to offer him some money then that can be arranged, you don't have to bother about meeting with him again," he said to her, hoping that she'd forget about it. Sylvia frowned, "This isn't about the money, uncle, I have to see him, he was hurt all because of me, the least I can do is tell him how gra
As Leon tossed the car door far away, the woman hurriedly went to her child in the back seat, she pulled her out and cradled her in her arms. The car was going up in smoke, and Leon could tell that it would be firing up soon, "It's dangerous to be this close to the car, I think it's going to explode," he warned the woman and then led both mother and daughter away from the car which was slowly going up in flames. A good distance away from the car and the crowd that began to gather at the scene, Leon could see the mother shaking the girl, trying to resuscitate her. "She's not responding, she isn't waking up!" The woman cried helplessly as she tried everything but the girl remained limp in her arms. The woman was helpless, she could not bear to lose her daughter, she shook her and cried out, tears pouring down her face helplessly. Leon moved to her, he felt pity for her, and her hopeless weeping tore at his heart. "She isn't waking?" He asked, it was a pointless question but he didn't
Shortly after the girl woke up and Leon's powers were fully restored, the ambulance that one of the onlookers had called arrived, it was time for her to take the girl to the hospital. The woman got up from the floor and hurried to the ambulance to hand her daughter over to the paramedics, then she returned to thank Leon again, this time, she held his hands firmly. "My name is Louisa, I want to thank you for saving my daughter's life, I'm in your debt," she said, holding onto his hands. Through her touch, Leon's deity power came alive and he began to see what was wrong with her, the healing gift was able to sense that there was an abnormality in her blood, there was an alien substance that was messing with her system, the power of the Apollo ring showed him that she was under the influence of drugs. Leon was confused at first, he wondered why she had the strange substance in her bloodstream, but then it all made sense, she had been drugged but someone and that was why she had the acc
On arriving at the hospital, Louisa was panicked, she looked at her daughter as she was being rushed in the stretcher into the emergency room, her condition even more critical. She was pacing frantically when a doctor came out from the emergency room and she hurried to him, "Please, save my daughter's life, I am willing to give anything to make sure that she's better," she pleaded desperately. The doctor looked at her and said, "Her condition is very bad, her heart is barely powerful enough to keep all her organs intact, she will need a transplant immediately if she is to pull through," he warned. Louisa nodded eagerly, "I am willing to give anything, I was even heading to the hospital for her heart surgery before the accident happened and worsened her condition, is there anything that can be done? I don't want to lose my daughter," The doctor nodded and said that there was an available donor and that the heart transplant could be undergone quickly. "Yes, let's get it done, I am w
Leon stepped out of the party with Tracy right behind him. He hadn't been in the same place with such elite people in such a long time and he had mixed feelings. Tracy was so proud of what she had done. She wanted to create a new name for herself. No more was she willing to be the daddy's girl that did everything that her parents wanted even when it had nothing to do with her own career goals and aspirations. "Tracy!" A voice called to her from behind and she turned to look at her mother who was really dressed and coming to her with a fierce frown. "How could you do this!" She snapped. Tracy looked at her sternly, she didn't look remorseful at all. "What did you expect mum? If you really think that I would go ahead and marry that man that had nothing to do with my destiny?" She asked with a scowl on her pretty face. "Even if you're disrespecting your father, do you have to do it in such a crass manner? I know that I raised you better than this. I raised you to be more
Leon and Tracy arrived at the party in a short while. They both stepped out of the Maserati and heads turned in their direction. Tracy's dress turned out to be the most lovely and unique in the entire place and this made the ladies stare in envy and the men in lust. "I'm glad that you came with me tonight, I would not have been able to fend off all these men on my own," she said and shook her head. At the door of the party, the bouncer did not even have to ask who Tracy you was because she was the only daughter of Sylvester Caden. But apart from coming as her date, most people in the club already knew Leon and he would not have had a hard time gaining access anyways. "Welcome Miss Tracy. Your mother has been looking for you all evening, kindly take the front seat please," one of the many ushers at the event said and let Tracy to her seat very close to the podium. Settled down and with a table and several bottles of expensive wine before them, Tracy and Leon could not help
Stepping out of the car, Leon came face-to-face with a very nicely dressed Tracy. She looked magnificent in her black dress and curled hair. The bags framed her face beautifully and he had to admit that she was really pretty. "Hello, Leon, it's been forever since I last saw you," she said and walked up to him to give him a hug. Leon bit her and then pulled away just as she looked like she was melting right in his arms. "It's just been a few days, Tracy, I'm sorry I haven't called, I've been busy," he said. Tracy looked at him and chuckled. "I should be the one apologizing for not being able to meet you or even give a call. I apologize but I've been very busy and I have good news," she said all in one breath. Leon was glad to hear that she had good news. So far all he seemed to be hearing in his life was one bleak story or the other. It felt great to await something good for a change. "I'm all ears, what news do you bring?" He asked. Tracy smirked proudly and walked back
Leaving the premises, Leon couldn't help but feel like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He no longer had to worry about XLT and the mess that Hopkins and his cohort had made of it. "Fucking corrupt bastards!" Leon sneered from the backseat of the car as it rolled down the street. He didn't think it could be so easy to actually steal from the company, but clearly he'd been very wrong. Both the accountant, the clerical officer and Lily, his secretary had a lot to answer to. "Sir, where to?" Hector asked as they moved out of the place. He was glancing at him through the rearview mirror. "I don't know, Hector, just drive away from here," he urged with a glare. The driver nodded and sped off, out of the neighborhood completely. It was going to be a very long and tiring procedure to fish out everyone that was involved in the embezzlement but Leon was ready for it. There was no way he was going to allow them to take what belonged to the company and go scot free.
Walking out of XlT with his head held high, he couldn't help but notice all the stares that different members of staff were giving him. He was done trying to please everyone, he was done trying to make them all agree with him being the boss. Power had to be taken and Leon was damn rich to grab it with both hands. Leon was outside the premises, all the other staff were still lurking in the lobby, trying to get a better view of what was going to happen outside without being outrightly lookers. "Sir, you have to reconsider, we can't let all the members of the board go," Lily said, running after him, her high heels clicking on the tiled floor.Turning to her with a sharp gaze, he asked, "Which would you rather prefer, a team of old men who will revolt at the slightest chance or no one at all on the board?" He asked. Lily knew that was a tricky question to answer. For as long as she had been working for XLT, there was always a board of directors, Leon dissolving it all in one day as well
Hector sat in the car, glancing at Leon through the rearview mirror. He has doubts about his master's readiness to face the big sharks at XLT again - especially so soon after all that he'd faced. But Leon wasn't acting like he wasn't ready for them, he seemed to be ready for anything at all. Right from when he woke up from the hospital bed, he'd gone straight down to help Fiona and it seemed he wasn't getting any good sleep in-between. "Master, are you ready to go in?" Hector asked and he didn't even miss a breath when he added. "I could call the secretary immediately to have the entire meeting rescheduled, if you're not up for it," he said. Leon chuckled at the speed with which he quickly said he wouldn't mind rescheduling. "It seems you're hoping that I'm not ready for the meeting so that you could quickly reschedule," he stated. Hector sighed, "If I may speak freely, sir, this has been one of the hardest weeks for you. I don't know how you've been able to fire through the
Fiona was shaking as the cops took Elsa out of the building, kicking and screaming and she said that she didn't do anything. At the bar, as she picked up her purse and was walking out the front door. Her other two friends walked up to her and asked what had just happened. "What happened there? Why is Elsa being taken away?" One of them asked. "I don't understand. One minute you were in the bathroom and she offered to bring you a glass of wine and the next thing the cops are taking her out?" The second one inquired. . Leon shook his head at Fiona, telling her that she shouldn't say anything unless the investigations are over. "I know.that you still have your reservations because you know my powers and you dont think I'm very certain of what I saw. I don't want you to ruin your friend's name and reputation on my account. Although I'm certain of what I saw, I'm willing to wait until the cops are done investigating," he stated slowly, just for her hearing. The rest of the friend
Fiona was shaking as the cops took Elsa out of the building, kicking and screaming and she said that she didn't do anything. At the bar, as she picked up her purse and was walking out the front door. Her other two friends walked up to her and asked what had just happened. "What happened there? Why is Elsa being taken away?" One of them asked. "I don't understand. One minute you were in the bathroom and she offered to bring you a glass of wine and the next thing the cops are taking her out?" The second one inquired. . Leon shook his head at Fiona, telling her that she shouldn't say anything unless the investigations are over. "I know.that you still have your reservations because you know my powers and you dont think I'm very certain of what I saw. I don't want you to ruin your friend's name and reputation on my account. Although I'm certain of what I saw, I'm willing to wait until the cops are done investigating," he stated slowly, just for her hearing. The rest of the friend
Fiona stared in awe as she recalled that Leon had insisted on coming to the party even after turning her down the first time. It was quite unlike him to come to any party, especially one that he was sure would be filled up with ladies and music and as it actually turned out - strippers. She didn't understand why he had suddenly changed his mind. "Leon, it's true that you didn't want to come to the party in the first place, you're right," Fiona said and looked at him worriedly. Elsa was still defensive and tried to convince her friend that the man was lying and she would never want to hurt her for any reason. "Fiona, how could you believe this man over me? You left you at the party and went elsewhere, isn't it clear that he's trying to ruin your good time?" She asked, trying to play the emotional trick on her. "Leon, talk to me, why did you show up at that party? Why did you change your mind?" Fiona asked him, this time her eyes were fiercely on him, she believed that there was