I'd just come back from an early morning workout when I checked my phone.
"Hm?"
Why was there a missed call from my father and a voicemail message? I clicked on the message as it replayed.
"Andrew. It's your father. I know I've been ignoring your calls and that you're probably angry with me. Listen… I… I need you to come to the address I've sent you.
I didn't know where you were, so I just sent it to the only place I knew you'd have gone. We'll be waiting."
'What the hell is he calling me now after all this time?'
I took a quick cold shower and got on some better presentable clothes as I headed straight over to the address I found in the mail I grabbed.
'There better be a damn good explanation for this.'
**
As I stepped out of my car, I immediately took notice of the bland environment.
Compared to our old home, a giant 10 meter mansion which stood on more acres of land than one could dream of, filled with nothing but excitement and life, the small mansion without an ounce of life in its midst that stood in front of me was quite the downgrade.
I walked up to the door, not even bothering to knock as I kicked it in. The door went flying as it fell to the bottom of the stairs, alarming everyone present.
"What the-!"
A man came running out from one of the rooms as he stared at the removed door. His eyes then veered onto mine, and stuck.
All the other eyes then focused on me.
"Where the hell is he."
As if they all knew who I meant, they looked at the young man with a thin frame as he walked into view with his hands up.
"Just who I was looking for."
The muscles in my legs tightened and filled with power as my form disappeared from the door, reappearing in front of him.
I cocked my arm back as he braced for impact, but it was useless. The anger and raw strength behind my blow practically nullified his guard as Jacob's body ragdolled into a wall.
He coughed up blood as I stabbed his hand into a wall with a nearby stake, eliciting a primal howl of pain.
"So you thought you'd become a big boy now and challenge one of the world's most dangerous men. Three years I'm gone and this is what happens. I wonder where you got the balls when you couldn't even finish high school."
I was right in his face as I could feel the pent up anger and rage from the recent news well up.
"I…"
I thrusted the stake further into his hand as intense grunts of pain surfaced.
"You what? You were stupid? You had it covered? Handled? Look where you are now, you didn't have anything covered, you just wanted to prove to everybody that you were grown up.
You aren't grown up. You're not a man. You're a shell of a man, a boy who thought growing up was easy.
You never learned to appreciate the love we gave you. You took it for granted and gambled it off like it never mattered to you. Don't give me any of that bullshit you're thinking of."
"Andrew, stop! Your brother didn't know what he was doing!" I heard my mother scream from behind me.
"Your mother's right. Jacob made a mistake. We've all forgiven him," I heard my father join the room.
"I'm amazed. Even after all he's done, you still baby him." I didn't even turn to look back at them. "I'll never understand you guys."
I just stared angrily at my little brother, blood leaking from his lips, a suppressed, but clearly pained expression plastered onto his face, with pained tears flowing as he hung loosely from the wall.
"I didn't mean for this to happen, Andrew…" He gasped as he spoke.
"I never bet the family's assets, he took it all as my punishment for challenging him. The house, our land, your mansion, everything including a majority of our company assets."
I grabbed his arm as a pained groan crawled its way through his mouth.
"You seem to think this world is all sunshine and rainbows, Jacob." I could feel my grip tighten on his arm as he breathed heavily.
"You're lucky. If we weren't brothers, I wouldn't have pinned you to this wall like the bug that you are. Effective immediately, you have officially relinquished your rights as a member of the Luciel Family."
"Y-you can't do that," he looked at me with desperate, pained eyes as he stared at everyone else. "T-this has to be a family decision…"
"The family doesn't matter anymore. They don't have the power to make a choice in front of the new family head.
And maybe you didn't think it through. If I settle all family affairs and retrieve our assets, that means you're all indebted to me, and frankly, as the heir to this family, I'm damn sure that gives me more power in this household than all of you combined."
I finally turned to see my father and mother's guilty faces, not even capable of looking at me as they stared at the floor.
"Andrew…"
"Don't 'Andrew' me, dad. I'm not dumb. But even if you did plan to push this all on me, I would've done it regardless, because it's the big brother's job to clean his little brother's mess."
I couldn't take their bullshit any longer. Just being here pissed me off.
"I respected you. I learned about the family business. I followed your every order. I sacrificed more than you even consider to think of. And this is how I'm paid back. Some father I've got. Whatever. I'm leaving."
I walked over to the doorway, the missing door sitting next to the entrance.
"Where?" He asked as he followed me.
"Koran. Chairwoman Yoo offered me a position to work in Ilhwa Group. I don't need the money from her. I need her to get away from all of you, my so-called family who loves me."
I didn't bother looking back as I walked to my car and sped off.
**
"It's me. I got the files. Are you sure that's what you want me working on?"
"I'm confident in your ability to represent Ilhwa Group and hold the fort down. There are not many people I'd trust my life with."
I chuckled slightly.
"So, you're saying you'd put your life in my hands if it ever came to it, huh. Alright then, I'll bite. Are you already back in Koran?"
"Yes I am. Do you need me to buy you a ticket?"
"No, that won't be necessary. I'll be there in a bit. I gotta make the drive to the nearest Warp Gate. I also need to talk to you about something in person."
"Alright. I'll be waiting for you then."
As I hung up the call, I made a straight shot to the Warp Gate in Artis City. A smile unconsciously lined my face as I found a new opportunity.
'I wonder what new world awaits me in Koran.'
**
"Good evening, sir. Since you'll be bringing a vehicle through the Warp Gate, we'll have to run the specs on it to check and confirm that it'll be safe for travel," an official spoke from the side of my window.
"We'll also need to confirm your identity to ensure you aren't using the identity of another individual or are impersonating another individual."
I handed him my ID card as I patiently complied.
"Of course."
He grabbed my ID as he analyzed the information, relaying it all to the tech staff through some sort of transmission software akin to nanotech.
"All clear. You're free to enter the Gate."
When I got authorization to enter the Gate, I drove up the ramp to the giant portal. I'd been through it several times previously under military business, but the Gate was something that still amazed me to this day.
As I drove through the portal, a sudden darkness filled my line of sight, a clear indication of my relocation across the world.
On the other side of the Gate, I was met with the sight of a woman and a few other suited men waiting next to a building just ahead.
When the woman caught sight of me, I saw her move from the building with her companions, disappearing from my eyes as they bled into the crowd.
'I'll just take that as heading over to the parking lot for introductions.'
And as such, I drove off to the parking lot as I got down the ramp.
**
I stepped out of my car just as Chairwoman Yoo had caught up.
"Are you done?" She asked, a tinge of worry laced in her ever so confident voice.
"Yep. I've officially inherited the family business, I need to settle a seven trillion Credit debt and I need to recover my company's assets, but otherwise I'm good."
She only nodded, turning to the suited men she had with her.
"These are my company representatives. Former, that is. Now that you're here, they've all got their own strengths, able to help our Ilhwa Group grow further.
And with you as our newest representative, as well as the head of the Luciel family, we've already multiplied our influence by several grades."
"You'll also be in for some fun once news of my return gets out. And now that I'm technically on the same level as you, let's readjust our contract.
The Luciel will offer its support to the Ilhwa Group in efforts to further advance the development of the world's technologies. I will personally be proof of word."