"What do you mean?" Nate stuttered, with a frown. Lucas' answer threw him off guard, making him feel like he was indeed the cause of his parents' death.
"I didn't kill them." He affirmed.
"I never said you did." Lucas shrugged, eyeing Nate with a snarky look. "It's just that your parents have been in hiding since you were two years old."
"What?" Nate gasped, in shock at what he just heard. "Is this some game or a joke?"
The car fell silent, a heavy silence that weighed on Nate so much that he couldn't breathe. This was about his parents and as he stared at Lucas who seemed so calm, he wanted answers and his patience was wearing thin.
"Say something!" Nate banged on the car dashboard however, Lucas didn't even flinch. He only turned to look at Nate intensely.
It wasn't that Lucas couldn't say anything, he just didn't know where to begin. There were a lot of secrets to unpack at that moment but Nate just wanted it in one go.
He took a deep breath and then spoke up, "Have you ever heard of the Colls Conglomerate?"
"What has the biggest group of companies in Cornia got to do with me and my parents?" Nate was impatient and he was starting to think Lucas was playing him.
"Your parents own the Colls Conglomerate." Lucas dropped the bombshell, his eyes held Nate's gaze, and eyes that looked calm at first but then a brewing storm of anger was in them.
A flash of anger turned into mockery and he burst into a peal of mocking laughter. He then placed his hands on Lucas's shoulders.
Lucas winced in pain from the bullet wound but Nate didn't let go. His laughter was disturbing but he seemed amused by it.
"Didn't you know?" Nate's laughter seized. "My parents and I lived in poverty here in Willeck, our whole lives! We were trampled upon and now you say we are the biggest owners–"
Before Nate could finish his words, Lucas pushed him off his body. He didn't say a word as he reached out to the car's dashboard and brought a stack of papers from the compartment.
"Read." He slammed the documents on Nate's legs.
"Hmm!!" Nate groaned in pain, the bullet wounds in his legs were still fresh!
"I will not tolerate any more questions after you have read that," Lucas warned but then there was a wicked smirk on his face as he watched Nate clutch his legs. His actions were a payback for Nate touching his wound as well.
The car fell silent again and finally, Nate picked up the papers and went through them carefully. And with each document, his mouth gaped open in shock. Not only were his parents' names written on those documents as the owners of Colls Conglomerate, but he was also the heir to everything they owned!
"How… how is this possible?" Nate muttered. He turned to look at Lucas for answers, "If they possessed this much wealth, why did they have to hide? Why did they let Nathan and his parents walk over them?"
"It's all because of you," Lucas answered curtly. He then continued, "At birth, you were gifted and by the age of two, you were unimaginably powerful for your age. And your powers were starting to attract predators. Powerful ones."
"With a few members of the council in Cornia, they suppressed your powers completely. But that wasn't enough."
Nate was so immersed in what Lucas was saying that he refused to take his eyes off Lucas. Hearing another man talk about him was surreal.
"Your parents lived Cornia and their influence was unmatched so they couldn't keep you hidden. Even though your powers have been suppressed, if the predators get a hold of you, you are dead meat."
"With so many people around your parents and with no one to trust, they decided to move to this country, Willeck with the help of Nathan's parents. They lied that they lost all their wealth and that was why they left their city. Ever since, they lived here, while I controlled the business in Cornia."
Nate felt his mind was about to burst open. It was too much for him to take in. He clutched the papers in his hands, reeling through everything. However, he had one question… maybe two.
"Those… those who killed my parents, who are they, and were they after me?" Nate asked, his mind threading the answer that was about to come.
"Yes," Lucas answered.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, the killers were after you and your powers. You are so lucky I came in time, otherwise you would be in their hands by now." Lucas said with a hint of pride in his eyes. He considered himself the savior.
On the other hand, Nate was doing the math in his head. Alice testified against him and his ex-father-in-law, Mr. Jones, and Nathan were at the execution ground, raining bullets at him.
"Are the killers Nathan and Alice's father?" Nate dreaded that question but he needed to ask.
"Yes," Lucas answered firmly.
Boom!
That singular word boomed in Nate's head and he froze up. Those men, who he thought were family were the ones who stabbed him in the back, took his family, and framed him. It was no wonder Nathan was shagging his ex-wife, they had all been in the plan together.
He felt so stupid, so stupid that all the time he spent with Alice and seeing them as family, he was only a target in their eyes. He was considered useless and not even worth a thing.
How long had they planned this? How long had they known about his powers and wanted to get hold of him?
He was immersed in his feelings, going through the pictures and the documents when Lucas tapped his shoulder.
"We need to leave." He pointed at the sky, where a helicopter was already landing on the helipad.
"Where are we going?" Nate asked.
"Cornia. Where it all began." Lucas answered.
Nate's eyes flashed, in fury. He didn't want to leave. His parents were still here and they had not even gotten a proper burial. He would be declared wanted if he left the shores of the country.
But with Nathan and Mr. Jones after him, he knew he didn't stand a chance yet. And as the helicopter landed, he envisioned himself, landing on that same spot, when he was finally stronger and more powerful.
"I will make you all beg before me." He seethed, his hands fisting before him.
He vowed to avenge his parents' death.