260: CONFIDENTIAL LUKE’S POV FLASHBACK I stood in front of the grave, my heart heavy with memories and sorrow. Harking my mind back to the time I was informed of how they passed away in a tragle car accident was really painful. And here i was today, on their death anniversary. I had come to visit them with my cousin Riley I kneeled down and placed a bouquet of flowers on their grave. “Hey, mom, hey, dad,” I said softly, my voice trembling. “It’s me, Lake. I miss you guys so much. I wish you were here with me today, still alive. I wish I could tell you about everything that has happened all these years, I wish I could hear your voices and see your smiles. I wish…” Tears streamed down my face as I spoke to them, pouring my heart out. I could feel Riley’s hand on my shoulder, offering me comfort. When I was done, I stood up and turned to face her. “Thank you for being here with me, Riley,” I told her, as my voice choked with emotion. She smiled sadly at me. “I might not have been born when your parents were still alive, but I love them so much. They were family to me, too.” I pulled her into a tight embrace, grateful for her presence, “Thank you for saving that, Riley. It means a lot to me.” We stood there for a few more minutes, lost in our own thoughts. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and rain started pouring down. “We should go to the car,” I said, breaking the silence. Riley nodded, her eyes filled with concern. We quickly made our way to my car, trying to shield ourselves from the rain. As we got inside, I turned on the engine and the wipers. “Are you okay, Luke?” Riley asked her hand on my arm. I nodded, unable to find my voice. The rain was relentless, pounding against the hield. I could feel my heart sinking further with each passing second. “I can’t believe they’re gone,” I uttered, my voice barely above a whisper. Riley squeezed my arm reassuringly. “I know, Luke. But they’ll always be with you, in your memory. and in your heart.” I smiled at her through my tears. “Thank you, Riley. You always know how to make me feel better.” She smiled back at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “That’s what family is for, right?” I nodded, feeling grateful for her love and support. The rain continued to pour down, but I knew that I could weather any storm with Riley by my side. 260 CONFIDENTIAL 1/2 END OF FLASHBACKS I was still standing here, glaring at my great–aunt, who returned the expression. She insulted my grandfather and my father, and reminiscing about those moments, I was boiling with anger. They were dead now, but she had the balls to… Oh, sorry about that. She had the nerve to talk sh*t with no respect, and she was here, looking for respect. I didn’t want to be rude around here. If not, I would have seized her goddamn hand and tossed her fat ass out of this mansion. I wanted to be respectful; I didn’t want to challenge her. That’s why I even let her stay in this house. But here she was now, upsetting me to the fullest, and I swear, I might give her a hard slap if she didn’t watch her mouth. Of course, my mother did sh*t in the past, which is kind of clear. But this woman didn’t know that she was the one who killed my father. I might have to be silent in that part. But the fact that she was just treating my mother like trash was really annoying, galling, whatever word you want to use. Honestly, my mother deserved all these treatments. She did terrible, wrong, and evil things in the past, so she needed to take some insults. But yesterday, when I stopped her from jumping off that building, I felt this change of heart towards her a different thought. And now, I didn’t want anyone speaking badly about her, throwing insults at her, or whatever. Ariel’s words had knocked on my brain, and even though my mother’s sins were intense, forgiveness materialized within me, overshadowing the cloud of darkness and hatred I had for her. Now, I couldn’t be that mad at her. But I am still drawing my mind back to when she felt so full of herself, and I would just wish I hadn’t crossed paths with her anymore. But this was just life, my friend, and I had to live with what was thrown at me. My great–aunt raised her finger at me. “Young man, if you don’t talk with manners, I’m going to…” “You’re going to do what, huh?” I cut her off, raising my voice to a certain point. “I respect the fact that you’re older than me But please, you have to respect yourself.” “Aren’t you just so irritating?” “Not as irritating as you,” I retorted. She crossed her arms, glaring at me, and she moved her face closer. “I’m just waiting for the perfect time, Luke. When I’m going to kick you out of this house, I looked her in the eyes. “It seems like you don’t know that I bought this mansion,” I said. “Used my money. “Please don’t say that,” I spoke immediately, irritated by her words. “You shouldn’t even be talking nonsense; stop claiming what you don’t have.” “What I don’t have? Didn’t I tell you that I gave your grandfather coma mana MAN 260: CONFIDENTIAL He was nothing but a broken piece of crap back then. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be standing here with this wealth today.” “No, you’re wrong. You might have given my grandpa the money, but he had the wisdom, the knowledge, and the brain. He was the one who established this business; I don’t care if you gave him the money or not. He worked hard day and night to gain success. He started The Reynolds, made it remarkable, and made it notable, and I’m going to continue that legacy. I’m not going to let you or anyone else do shit. You can live in this house; I’m fine with that. But don’t even think of snatching this wealth because you’re just going to be wasting your time. Believe me when I say tha “So much confidence. I can just imagine the look on your face when I’ve finally taken what rightfully. belongs to me.” You kee on saying that, and it gets more annoying. No shit rightfully belongs to you. Stop lying to yourself. In fact, tell me how much you gave to Grandpa to help him start the business. Tell me how much, and I’ll pay you without thinking twice. A hundred million dollars? Five hundred million dollars? A billion dollars? Nah, it’s definitely not the last one. You’re not a billionaire. So tell me, how much is it? I’ll pay double or triple if you want for you to just respect yourself.” “You talk with so much pride,” she said bitterly. “But I don’t want you to pay me a dime. I will take my wealth back, and I’ll be laughing at you when that moment comes. Just watch me.‘
