Chapter 2

“G-grandson?” Alan repeated with an astonished expression. “You say I'm your grandson, old man?”

The man smiling in front of Alan was in his sixties. His hair had all turned white, and the skin on his face was wrinkled.

However, the old man's teeth were still complete, pure white, a sign of great care. His clothes were simple, a combination of a T-shirt and shorts, but they looked elegant and made of classy materials.

“Your name is Alan Williamson Suntoro, right?” the old man asked later.

From being astonished, Alan was now shocked that this stranger knew his full name. But then he had another thought. The old man could have been told by the hospital nurse.

“If you think I'm your grandson, tell me my father's name,” Alan challenged.

The old man chuckled. Instead of answering Alan's question, he pulled out a photo from his pants pocket.

“I know your father died and left you when you were only five years old. But at least you've seen his picture, right?” the old man said, showing the photo in his hand.

Alan gasped when he saw the figure in the photo. It was his father. A face he would never forget for the rest of his life.

The same photo in a larger size was displayed in the house where Alan lived as a child. Then his mother died and he had to move to an orphanage.

“H-how do you have a picture of my father?” Alan asked again. He still couldn't believe that the old man in front of him was his grandfather.

“How can I have a picture of your father?” the old man repeated, then chuckled. “I even have many pictures of your father from the time he was a newborn until he left home because he insisted on marrying your mother.”

After saying that, the old man clapped his hands twice. The door to the patient's room opened from the outside and a man in his thirties walked in. In his hand was a tote bag.

“Harold, show me all the photo albums you've brought,” the old man ordered as the man who had just entered stood by his side.

Without saying anything, the man placed the tote bag on the metal nightstand next to the patient's bed. Opening the zipper, his hand pulled out several photo albums.

Driven by curiosity, Alan got up from his sleeping position and sat on the edge of the bed. As he opened the first photo album, his eyes widened.

“H-how can you keep pictures of me?” he exclaimed, looking at the first page of the photo album. It contained a picture of a baby boy that Alan recognized as himself.

At that, the old man chuckled.

“That's not your picture, Alan. That's a picture of your father as a baby,” the old man replied. “Didn't I tell you, I have pictures of your father from the time he was a baby until he left to be with your mother.”

“M-moved away?” repeated Alan. “Why do you say my father left for my mother? Aren't my father and mother legally married?”

The old man's face turned sad. He took another deep breath, then lowered his gaze. It was as if he was recalling an unpleasant event. 

“I'm sorry, Great Master, let me tell Young Master Alan everything,” Harold interrupted.

That startled Alan again.

“Y-Young Master?” he repeated incredulously. “Y-you call me Young Master?”

“Young Master, you are the grandson of Great Master Suntoro, the only son of the late Master William. Young Master is part of the Suntoro Family, even the only male successor. So, Young Master is the main heir to the Global Sun Group,” Harold explained.

“Global Sun Group?” Alan repeated incredulously. “You mean, GSG?”

“I'm sure you've heard of Global Sun Group. It's a company owned by the Suntoro Family and Young Master is the current main heir. To be more precise, the heir apparent who has just been discovered after the Great Master searched for over twenty years,” Harold explained.

Alan gaped at the explanation. He wanted to disbelieve, but there was absolutely no sign of lying or joking in Harold's expression and gestures or the old man called Great Master.

Who doesn't know Global Sun Group or GSG for short. A leading global corporation in fast moving consumer goods, it is the richest group in Asia Pacific and one of the leading in the world.

In this country, GSG products dominate the market. From toothpaste and body wash, to a range of beauty treatments. There is not a single household without a GSG product in the bathroom or on the dressing table.

“W-why do you keep looking for me?” Alan asked later, still incredulous and confused. “I mean, if I'm your grandson, I should have lived close to you since I was a kid, right?”

The old man called Great Master smiled bitterly. His face was still as sad as before.

“Alan, didn't I tell you that your father, the stubborn William, left home?” said Great Master. “So, you were born and raised far away from me because your father left the Suntoro family to marry your mother.”

“Great Master, let me explain,” Harold continued quickly. Then he turned to Alan and said, “Young Master, the late Master William was in love with your mother when she graduated from high school. But the Great Master forbade the relationship because your mother's background was that of a commoner, not a conglomerate family. Also because your mother is from here, not a citizen of our country.

“Upon graduating from college, the late Master William declared his intention to marry your mother. The Great Master was very angry at the time and gave Master William a choice: leave his lover and remain part of the Suntoro Family or if he wanted to continue marrying your mother, he had to leave the house....”

“That means my father didn't leave!” snapped Alan. “You're the one who asked my father to leave the house!”

“Alan, I admit that I acted rashly at the time,” snapped Great Master Suntoro. “I knew I should not have curbed your father's feelings for your mother. I have long regretted that. I hope you can forgive me....”

“You sought me out because you felt threatened with not having an heir,” Alan snapped. “If only your other son had a son, you would never remember me again.”

“Young Master,” interrupted Harold quickly, ”Our Great Master only married once and Master William is his only offspring. So, you were the main heir to GSG from the start.”

Alan threw his head back to hold back the tears. He didn't want to cry in front of Great Master Suntoro. He didn't want to appear weak and whiny.

In his heart, he recognized the great master before him as his grandfather. If only his father were still alive, his face and stature would be exactly like the old man.

But Alan couldn't be entirely happy, because this Great Master Suntoro was also the cause of his mother and father's miserable life since their marriage. Instead, his anger boiled over as he remembered his poverty-stricken childhood.

“Alan, as an apology, I have prepared a few things for you. Obviously, as the sole heir you have to lead one of our companies. It just so happens that the position of managing director at Sun Group Southeast Asia is vacant, and its sales record has also been slipping over the past year. Let's see if you can handle it,” said Great Master again.

“Young Master doesn't need to worry, Great Master has placed our confidant there. Her name is Megan Lu, currently serving as deputy managing director. She'll be helping you with Sun Group Southeast Asia,” Harold added.

“By the way, Great Master has also made a special credit card for you. It's a credit card reserved only for managing directors of companies under GSG,” Harold added, handing over a black plastic card.

“You can discuss the rest with Harold. I've got to get back to the airport. As soon as you recover, ask Harold to take you to my house,” Great Master Suntoro continued, then stood up and left the room.

“Great Master has a meeting with Sun Group South America. His private jet should be flying out in the next half hour,” Harold added.

Alan didn't respond. He was still at war with his own feelings. Whether he wanted to feel happy or angry, what was clear was that he was now the sole heir to a giant global corporation.

After all, his grandfather had apologized for his past actions. The old man made amends by searching for him for decades. Isn't that enough of a payback?

In his confusion, Alan suddenly remembered Carol who was in need of a lot of money for surgery. His childhood friend at the orphanage was also admitted to this hospital.

“Harold, how much is on this card?” Alan asked later.

“It shouldn't be much, because Great Master said this card is only for your pocket money. If I'm not mistaken, the balance is only about twelve million dollars,” Harold replied.

Harold's eyes grew wide.

“Wh-what? Twelve million dollars?”

***

As soon as he was declared cured and allowed to go home the next day, Alan rushed to the hospital's payment department. He wanted to help Carol pay for her surgery.

“I want to pay the bill on behalf of Carol Wijaya,” Alan says when he arrives at the cashier.

“The total is five hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” the cashier replied.

Alan sighs with relief. What was 550,000 dollars compared to the 12 million dollars in his card balance? Even stingy Albert Wongso wouldn't give him a loan.

Alan hands over his card, which is immediately swiped into the EDC machine by the cashier. There was a “biiip” sound and the transaction was successful.

No PIN, no signature needed. 550,000 dollars moved in the blink of an eye.

As he walked towards the hospital lobby, Alan felt like he was walking on clouds. His steps felt as light as a feather.

“I'm not dreaming, am I?”