When you watch a funeral scene in a movie, there's usually a gloomy weather to go with the mood. Usually there's rain, or the clouds are overcast and the wind blows the hair of the protagonist left and right.....i had no such luck today. It would have been better if it was raining, because that way, watching my father and his wife crying like children would not have been so painful and annoying. My step brothers at least had a bottom line they wouldn't cross, forgoing shamelessness for a stoic visage that still pissed me off.
All the reporters gathered here, would probably write about how strong both heirs of the Wade family were. About how much of a pillar they were to their parents by staying strong and not breaking down after our patriarch passed away.
This was total bullshit. I was not happy their parents, 'our parents' were shamelessly crying, but I was not happy that they were not showing any emotions either. Just like me they grew up learning at the feet of the old man, and both of them for a longer time than me. But yet they looked as if they didn't care one bit.
I could hear flashes of cameras as the priest carried out my grandfathers last rights. I was standing directly opposite my father and his family, yet all four of them pretended I didn't exist. Apart from Florence who was standing beside me, and my dysfunctional and maybe murderous family, no one else knew that I was also a heir to this family. An illegitimate bastard son; of a jerk of a father, and his greatest shame. I was a well kept secret, and it's obvious that they wanted to keep that secret going for a while, if not forever.
Battling this intense summer heat, and my irritation at my father, I got through the entire funeral without shedding a single tear, even though I wanted to so badly. As soon as it ended I took Florence and went back to the manor, preparing for the guests that would be arriving soon.
I passed by my father and his family, and couldn't help but grimace in annoyance as they stuck around to give statements to the reporters and lobby for public support. I'm sure sales for the next half of the year would go up splendidly.
A little party would be held in my grandfather's honor back at the manor. Of course no one apart from them knew that the manor now belonged to me, but we had to keep up appearances, and this was for my Baba, not them. I could tolerate looking at their hypocritical faces for one evening.
Besides, there would be a public will reading before the party commences, which means they were in for quite a surprise. Nanny Florence insisted on driving me back, which was fine with me. Because it gave me a chance to relax and cry in the back seat of the two hundred year old Cadillac. I was having a really bad day.
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The garden at the back of the manor was huge, and it encompassed a freaking hedge labyrinth, a field of roses, sunflowers, daisies and a couple of other flower. An orchard, a huge koi pond, with some really snazzy and expensive looking fishes. There were also turtles in it. All in all it looked like a nice place to host a wedding, or a party, or read a will.
Everyone was sited, even the reporters had a seat right at the front. Me? I was thrown all the way to the back, it would be best if I did not spoil the picture of the perfect family up front. We were all waiting for old man Jones.
He's been a family friend and my Baba's lawyer ever since I was a kid, he's one of the few people who knows about my true identity. I remember one time when I was thirteen he had made me intern at his law firm for a year. He would tell everyone that it was just his way of training me for the future, but my Baba knew old man Jones was just bored and lonely in his office, and he needed someone to talk to.
I heard whispers and turned around to see him coming up the side of the house, flanked by two younger people in a suit. He looked older, frailer, and there were more greys on his head than the last time I saw him on TV.
I guess I wasn't the only one suffering, he's also lost his best friend. His eyes roamed over the guests here, and settled on me. He didn't hesitate, and made a beeline for me surprising everyone and eliciting a look of panic on my step mother's face. Old man Jones totally ignored her as he came and held me close, crying just as I was.
"Young Aaron, I'm so sorry. Even after your fight I know how much you both meant to each other. But it's good that you're here(sniff) it's good. You're going to make everything right, I just know it. Your grandfather is going to be so proud of you, though I think he would have preferred if you were anything but a soldier. I know how many nights he spent cursing at you for trying to send him to an early grave with a heart attack."
With tears in my eyes, I couldn't help but laugh. This is old man Jones, a man who was as ruthless as they come, but totally uncomfortable in the midst of grief, even his own.
"It's good to see you old man."
"you too kid, you too."
Were the whispers louder?.....definitely, were there looks of shock etched all over faces.....yes there was. Were cameras flashing, and my step mother glaring at me like I killed her child....yes she was. I would be lying and completely hypocritical if I say that I wasn't psyched about becoming stupid rich, especially at the expense of my father. I always yearned to be a part of this family as a child, but I was my father's shame, and it was something my grandfather could not work around.
"Ladies and gentlemen my name is Jones Josiah Jefferson, known to most of you as J.J Jefferson. I'm the, or I should I say I was the attorney of the late Mathias Wade. And I'm here today to read his last will and testament; chronicling the allocation of all his properties, monetary wealth, and company shares. Without further ado, I'll begin.
To my only son Henry, I leave nothing. You're a grown man boy, and you already have a percentage of my company shares. That should be more than enough, what would you be doing with more money? don't be a greedy little monkey."
I was not the only one who had to hold in a bout of laughter. This was my grandfather for you. Honest, brutal, crazy and very, very rude.
"To my daughter in-law Denise; I leave nothing, zero, nil, zip, nada, a big fat nothing! Don't be mad, it's just that you're a conniving little witch, and the fact that you're already eating and enjoying my family's hard work makes my skin crawl. Just like your puppet husband, don't be a greedy monkey."
There was a clamor and a wave of shock, cameras clicked faster and recorded clearer as they zoomed on her face. I have to hand it to her, she has the best poker face I've ever seen. There was not even a twitch on it, my father on the other hand looked incredibly livid. If not for my step mother holding him back, I'm pretty sure he would have stormed the stage and attacked old man Jones.
"To my two eldest grandsons Matt and Marcus, I leave joint ownership of my chain of resorts, and my transport company. Say what you want boys, but those assets cost a pretty penny, and unless your parents are more stingy than I thought, you're both going to be inheriting their shares in the company. And it's more than enough for you and your families to live three generations comfortably. Contrary to what you guys believe, I love you both! I just hate your parents, after all they robbed me of my own company. Be careful not to let your children hang around those bozos. It will destroy their lives."
I think by now it's clear how much my Baba hated my father. But it was a shock even to me. Just like the world who never saw them arguing or fighting, I never knew that they had a falling out, or that it was this bad. My brothers and my sister before she died never failed to come over for holidays, and sometimes their parents came with them. Of course the only person I got along with was my sister, but even then, it was the perfect picture of a dysfunctional yet happy family, with the only bad taste being me. I guess I didn't know them as well as I thought I did.
"And to my grandson Aaron; I leave all of my principal shares in the Imperium industries, totaling to 30% of the entire company's assets. I leave behind the manor, our ancestral home, along with full ownership of the lands and the gated community it's built in. I leave all of my real estate empire, spanning 4 continents and 16 countries. I leave the entire fortune in my bank account, totaling up to 500 million dollars, and my insurance pay out, totaling up to 200 million dollars. And to the son you never knew you had, Aaron Junior Wade. The last time I saw him was his first birthday, I implore you to go to the orphanage he was left at and be a better father to him than I ever was to you. I leave young Aaron total control of my shares in the Seaside valley phamarceutical company. Totaling up to 16% of its total assets. You're to keep watch over his fortune until he turns 18. I'm sorry I left you like this, I hope by the time this will is being read, we would have made amends. If not; then accept my apologies Enyo, I should have listened to you. There's nothing left to say that I'm sure I've not already told you. You know what to do."
One bomb after another, though I could still see the hint of a scheme. My grandfather announced that I had a son, so that I wouldn't do the same thing my father did and keep him a secret. I have to love him, take care of him, protect him and make all my decisions for his sake.
But how the hell did I suddenly become a father, Nanny Florence refused to say a single word, not until the funeral was over. Everyone was looking at me now, my life of obscurity was now over, now it would be all about the glitz, the glam, the money, and the politics. Happy 24th birthday Aaron, you're filthy rich, and you're a dad, what could possibly go wrong.