Returning to the hotel room, he no longer cared about being watched and had a good night's sleep.
The next morning, before getting up, William received a call from Anthony, his lawyer.
William answered the phone groggily, "Hello."
"Hello, sorry, boss, for calling so early, but I think you should look at today's Sun newspaper. Call me after you decide what to do."
William hung up Anthony's call and used the hotel room phone to request the front desk to send up today's Sun newspaper.
"Ding dong," the doorbell rang just as William finished brushing his teeth. He rinsed his mouth, wiped it with a towel, and opened the door to receive the newspaper from the hotel attendant.
The female attendant glanced at William and then at the newspaper in his hand. Her eyes instantly lit up, and she flirted with him, "Sir, this is today's Sun newspaper."
William took the newspaper and looked at the attendant, who was quite pretty. He smiled at her as a greeting.
Seeing William smile at her, the attendant threw him a flirtatious look, "Sir, do you need anything else? Our hotel can satisfy any need you have, any need at all, sir."
Seeing his picture on the front page of the newspaper, William immediately lost interest in the beautiful attendant. He smiled at her and said, "No, thank you. If I need anything, I'll call the front desk. Thanks."
He handed her a £10 tip and closed the door.
Disappointed, the attendant left. She had seen the headline of today's Sun on her way up, recognizing the young man in the picture as the one who had just taken the paper. A young, handsome billionaire—if she could have something happen with him, she'd be set for life. Unfortunately, William wasn't interested.
William sat on the sofa in his room and stared at the front-page headline of the Sun featuring a large half-body photo of himself. He felt terrible. Suppressing his anger, he finished reading the article. All he wanted now was to kill the paparazzo from yesterday. How did they know what he said in the meeting room in such detail? It was as if the paparazzo had been taking notes right there.
Not only did they know his name and school, but they also knew his family situation. Should he commend English paparazzi for being the ancestors of the trade or the Sun newspaper for its extensive reach?
Seeing a picture of his mother, Lena Devonshire, in the middle of the headline, William grew worried about her and called her immediately.
The phone rang a few times before Lena answered, "Hello, William."
"Good morning, Mom."
"Do you need something? I'm about to go to work. If it's not urgent, I'll call you back at noon."
William could hear Lena closing her car door.
"Mom, we already discussed this, and we agreed you don't need to work so hard anymore. Mom, I can make money now, and you don't have to live like before."
"Yes, yes, honey. I didn't break our agreement. Actually, I wanted to surprise you, but I guess I have to tell you now. The other day, I used the £1 million you gave me to buy a coffee shop on Oxford Street. Thank you, darling. Without you, I wouldn't know when I'd be able to fulfill my dream of owning a coffee shop. I'm so happy I could live there every day," Lena said, laughing joyfully.
William was pleased that his mother had bought a coffee shop on Oxford Street, "But you don't have to go so early."
"I just want to see my coffee shop. I feel uneasy if I don't. It's fine, darling. I'll take good care of myself."
"Alright, Mom, as long as you're happy."
Initially, William didn't have £1 million, but later he signed a merchandising contract with Hasbro, giving him a 20% share of the sales revenue—not just the profit. From the £645 million in sales, he received £129 million. After receiving this money, William gave his mother £1 million to buy something she liked, specifically telling her she could ask for more if it wasn't enough.
Giving Lena the money was to make her feel secure and relaxed. He didn't expect her to buy a coffee shop directly.
Remembering why he called, William cautiously said, "Mom, I have something good to tell you. Are you in the car now?"
Lena, puzzled, asked, "Go ahead. Did you do something wrong? I'm just sitting in the car, not driving."
"No, Mom, I didn't do anything wrong. I just want you to check today's Sun newspaper. There's some news about me that I don't know how to explain. You'll understand when you see it," William said carefully.
"God, the Sun? William, you didn't get involved with some celebrity and get caught by paparazzi, did you? How is that possible? Tell me what happened. Oh, darling, you better not tell me she's pregnant. I'm not ready to be a grandmother. You better hope I'm not angry after reading the newspaper, or you'll be in big trouble," Lena exclaimed.
"Wait, Mom, it's not what you think. Anyway, I think you should come home after reading the paper. Don't go to the coffee shop today."
"Alright, I'll go buy a Sun now. I want to see what you've done to get reported in the Sun."
William listened to the dial tone, then set the phone down, patting his forehead, waiting for Lena to call back. He knew she would call back immediately after seeing the newspaper.
Sure enough, within ten minutes, Lena called back, and William answered to hear a sharp scream, "William, darling, tell me the newspaper is true. Tell me, is it true? Are you really going to be a billionaire?"
"Yes, Mom, if everything goes well, what the newspaper says is true," William said, bringing the phone back to his ear.
After a moment of silence, he heard Lena crying.
"Mom, are you okay?" William asked anxiously.
"I'm fine. I'm just happy. William, I thought of your grandparents. If they were alive to see you become a billionaire, they'd be so happy. Unfortunately, they didn't live to see you grow up and went to heaven with regret," Lena sobbed.
"Mom, Grandma and Grandpa would be happy for me too. Don't cry, Mom. Are you home? I'll come see you," William comforted.
"Yes, I'm home. William, come home. I have something to tell you. I'll be waiting, darling," Lena said.
"Okay, Mom, I'll come right away. Wait for me." After hanging up, William called the front desk for hotel services.
In the hotel car, William was worried about his mother and kept urging the driver to hurry.
His home was not far from Oxford Street, a small two-story stone house left by his grandfather. The first floor was over 80 square meters with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom. The second floor had three rooms and a balcony over ten square meters.
In his memories, he loved spending time on the balcony. Now, William stayed at school, and the other two rooms were rented out short-term for £1,200 a month.
When he got home, he saw Lena waiting for him in the living room. William rushed to hug his mother.
Lena held him tightly, not wanting to let go.
Seeing his mother so emotional, William tried to distract her, "Mom, you said you had something to tell me."
"Yes, yes, William, I have something to tell you." Lena led him to sit on the sofa.
"William, I didn't expect you to become a billionaire, so there's something I need to tell you. Do you remember the castle your grandparents and I used to take you to in Oxford when you were little?"
William thought for a moment and recalled the castle near Oxford University, though he couldn't remember how big it was.
"I remember, Mom. It's near Oxford University, right?"
"Yes, that's the one. That castle used to be the Devonshire family castle. Unfortunately, after World War II, Henry couldn't pay the inheritance tax and had to sell it. Your grandfather's biggest wish was to buy back that castle and estate, but he never got the chance. William, I want you to buy it back and rename it Devonshire Castle when the time is right. That was your grandparents' greatest wish. Can you promise me that?"
"Alright, Mom, if that's all, I can promise you now. I could even buy it by the end of this year and give it to you."
William was confident about this promise. In a few months, the world would fall into an economic recession, and a year later, English property prices would plummet by 50%. English castles were already not very valuable, and Oxford was not in London. The castle wouldn't be that expensive.
In his memories, the castle was quite large, surrounded by woods, grasslands, a small lake, and a river. However, as a child, he found the castle eerie and didn't want to go back there. But since his mother cared so much about it, he could just renovate it after buying it.
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