Triumph Of The Belittled Son-in-law

CHAPTER 5

In the blink of an eye, the masked men escorted Paul to a black Volkswagen Amarok truck.

He was taken to the back seat with two masked men sitting on either side of him as a young lady drove the truck. 

The truck didn't have even a single scratch despite colliding with the prisoner transport van, which suffered a lot of damage. The interior of the truck was modern-looking and the leather upholstery alone was able to tell the quality of the truck.

“Young master, we are very happy to have found you after all these years,” the young lady driving the truck said. She seemed very calm as opposed to Paul whose eyes darted around the interior of the truck, his breathing very rapid.

“You can remove your masks now,” she instructed the masked men. “Take care of his wound too.”

The men immediately took off their masks and Paul could see their true faces - they were like normal calm human beings as opposed to the monsters that they looked like with the mask.

Paul felt a little relieved seeing their real faces even though he was still dumbfounded. He hadn't spoken a word because he was out of energy. 

He thought he was being kidnapped but even if he were, he didn't have any more strength in him to fight. He had gone through a lot already and to him, nothing worse could happen than what he had already experienced.

The men brought out a box of ice and carefully cleaned his wounds with warm water and a soft white cloth.

A lot of thoughts were going through Paul’s mind. Why were they giving him special treatment? Why were they calling him a young master? Why were the men always bowing their heads each time they touched him to clean his wounds? If he were a master, were the men who rescued him his servants? 

It felt a little funny to Paul that they addressed him with such respect and it immediately dawned on him that the only reason they must have rescued him from the prisoner transport van was because they mistook his identity for someone else.

As the men cleaned his wound and applied ice, Paul was distracted by the blonde lady who was driving. She wore a leather jacket that accentuated her slim perfect figure. Even though she was in a sitting posture, Paul could tell that she had a delicate waist and well-toned long legs. Her skin was spotless and her beautiful long hair cascaded down her shoulder like water flowing down a fountain. 

“Ma’am, am I being kidnapped?” Paul inquired patiently. He wanted to hear the lady’s voice again.

She smiled gracefully and responded, “Forgive me, Young Master Paul. I was going to explain everything when you get cleaned up a bit more but seeing that you are curious, I will start now.”

The lady took a look at the rear-view mirror to know how far the men had gotten with treating his wound before she continued. “I am Miriam, your Grandfather’s housekeeper. Your grandfather is so happy to have found you after many years of trying but we…..”

Paul’s eyes flashed. “My grandfather?” His face was contorted with rage as he balled his fists. “That murderer? I would rather die than have anything to do with him.”

Paul’s childhood was marred with horror. His mother, Vivian Leonard, always warned him against having anything to do with his grandfather in the future. 

Even as a young boy, Vivian told him about how her father would threaten her and her husband with cult men and hoodlums because she chose to marry the love of her life. 

Paul’s grandfather wanted Vivian to marry some other rich dude because he thought that an alliance would greatly improve their family business but Vivian didn't want to betray her fiance - she was deeply in love with him.

Paul witnessed his mother's death while she was sick in the hospital bed because she and her fiance could not afford the money needed for her to perform surgery. Vivian was suffering from a severe aneurysm and only Grandpa Leonard could provide the huge amount of money required for the surgery. 

Grandpa Leonard gave a condition that Vivian rescinded her decision to marry Timothy, her lover, before providing the money she needed for the surgery. Time wasn't on Vivian's side anymore and she ultimately died while squeezing little Paul's hands. 

A month after Vivian’s death, Timothy was assassinated and 9-year-old Paul knew that Ephraim County wasn't any good for him anymore. He surrendered himself to the hands of the sea voyages and sailors who traveled him across shore. Since then, he lived as a mere peasant, struggling to survive with different part-time jobs and feeding from hand to mouth.

“Let me out of here now!” Paul screamed. 

“How can you tell me that my grandfather has been on the lookout for me for a long time when he is the reason why I am like this? Tell him to go to hell or resurrect my mother from the grave.” Each word was a struggle as he parted his mouth.

Paul had heard enough.

With a sudden burst of energy, Paul shoved one of the men beside him in the rib cage, sending him flying over and before the other guard could restrain him, he knocked him over. 

It was evident that the guards didn't want to apply too much force on him since they saw him as their master.

Miriam's hands were jittery on the steering wheel as she almost lost control. “Young master, young master, please! Listen to me.”

Paul seemed uninterested in Miriam’s plea and forced open the car door even though the truck was still moving, swerving left and right as Miriam was trying to gain control of the steering wheel.

“Please wait!”

“Young master, what if I told you that your grandpa is here with us?” Miriam revealed, her voice tensed. 

Paul’s eyes were furrowed in confusion as he took a slight halt. “What?! How is that possible?”

Miriam applied the brakes and parked the truck by the side of the road.

“He is here, right inside the cargo bed of this truck,” her voice was tinged with resignation as she slumped her shoulders and inhaled a difficult breath. 

“He is terribly sick and refuses treatment. He claims that he won't have treatment until he lays his eyes on you. Young master, please don't doubt us. You are the heir of our empire. We have been waiting on you for a long time.”

Paul’s eyes were downcast as the words reached his ears, his conscience appealing to him. He was now calm as he waited for Miriam’s next move.

Paul followed curiously as Miriam went ahead to open the tailgate of the truck and there was Grandpa Leonard covered in a brown blanket as he shivered.

Grandpa Leonard angled his gaze weakly towards Paul and their eyes met each other. “Oh, my grandson. I have dreamt of this moment for a long time. At last, I have found the only worthy heir I can hand over my wealth to before I die.”

His voice was feeble and his eyes conveyed desperation as he stretched his hand to feel Paul’s skin.