Still sitting on his motorbike, Kevin hung up the phone with his grandpa and thought to himself, "The tables have turned. Now I finally have all the power. This is going to be fun."
Just then, Kevin received a text message from his wife, Lily. Kevin took a deep breath and read, "I'm sorry about our call earlier. I wish that things could feel like they used to between us. But I wanted to remind you about my family gathering tonight. Could you please pick up something new to wear? You know how judgmental my family can be. It would mean a lot if you made a good impression since I already have so much pressure from them about my job. Thank you. Xx"
Kevin smiled as he typed back, "Of course. Anything for you. I promise to make you and your family proud tonight. I love you."
Taking off his helmet, Kevin got off his motorbike and looked straight ahead at the luxury neighborhood in front of him. What Lily didn't know was that Kevin had just arrived at the Golden Domain also known as the most luxurious neighborhood in Chicago.
Minutes later, Kevin was sitting on a familiar couch in his grandfather's foyer. Standing on the opposite side of the room, Kevin's Uncle, Thomas, took a deep breath, "Your grandfather couldn't be here, so he sent me in his place."
Kevin stayed sitting on the couch as his father's brother stepped forward and gave him an awkward hug. "It's good to see you nephew. You look very different than you did the last time we spoke. If anything, I would say that you look like you've been enjoying your freedom. This sabbatical has done wonders for you," Uncle Thomas continued.
Kevin rolled his eyes, "Are we calling me being kicked out of the family a 'sabbatical' now?"
"Kevin, I want you to know that I never meant for that to happen. It was just an unfortunate—"
Kevin interrupted, "I'm not here to argue about the past. So, let's just get straight to the point. How much money does the Williams Family need?" Always used to being in charge, Uncle Thomas pursed his lips and answered, "Actually, it's not a lot of money." Kevin raised his eyebrows. "How much is 'not a lot of money'?"
"Eight billion."
Kevin laughed, "Eight billion isn't a lot of money? You kicked me out of the family for investing a lot less than that!"
Uncle Thomas paused, "Well, we were wrong. It turns out that your bad investment is the only thing that can save our family dynasty. So, what do you say, can we borrow eight billion dollars?"
Kevin stood up and replied, "Uncle, I suddenly remembered that I have something very important to do. Don't worry, I'll see myself out."
Uncle Thomas quickly stopped him. "If you don't give us the eight billion, the Williams Family legacy will be destroyed! Kevin, please, I'm begging you. You are the only one who can save the family empire! I have already asked my men to complete the two requests that you mentioned. Please, you can't leave now – I'll do anything."
Kevin calmly replied to the man who he had once feared, "Uncle, it's not that I don't want to help the Williams Family get through this crisis, but if I'm being honest, I don't think that I have eight billion dollars to give you."
"Kevin, are you seriously going to play dumb? Have you not checked the value of your stocks? Your grandfather and I know that the 20% of the shares you invested in the Orion Group is worth at least 9.3 billion dollars now! And the value is going up as we speak."
Uncle Thomas paused for a moment, then softened his tone, "Kevin, you must have a conscience. You can't forget that you are also a member of the Williams Family. This is your legacy that I'm trying to protect. "
Kevin felt his heart race as he thought to himself, "I have over 9 billion dollars! Just this morning, I had less than $50 in my savings. This is a dream come true. I can finally build my own empire."
After a long silence, Kevin coolly replied, "Uncle, you didn't seem to care about my legacy when you kicked me out of the family two years ago. Why should I care about it now?" Uncle Thomas was speechless as Kevin continued, "I have a wife now. Did you know that? I had gotten engaged the day that you decided to exile me. I'm a son-in-law to another family. Why should I show loyalty to you over them?"
Taking a deep breath, Kevin clenched his fists tightly and finished, "If it wasn't for the fact that you were all going bankrupt, I don't think that you would have ever reached out to me again. You left me for dead, now why should I bring you back to life?"
Uncle Thomas was silent for a few seconds, then he said in a deep voice, "Kevin, I know what we did was wrong. I apologize to you on behalf of the family! We messed up. There's no way that I can sugarcoat this. But I am begging you, your family needs you. The Williams dynasty will fall without your help."
He paused for a moment, as if he was making some kind of important decision. Finally, he looked at Kevin with a firm gaze. "Kevin, if you are willing to help the Williams Family, I can let you become the President of the Williams Media. All that it would take is one day for me to finalize the formalities. Tomorrow, you would be able to take over the position! You would have your own company."
Kevin smirked, "Isn't Williams Media your wife's company? You're always so quick to give away other people's things to benefit yourself, aren't you?"
"She would gladly offer it to you to save the family. Williams Media is one of our most profitable and high-profile companies. It is the largest and most successful entertainment company in America! Just think of all of the celebs that we've signed. It would be all yours!"
Gritting his teeth, Kevin nodded and said, "I accept your conditions. Williams Media will be my first acquisition in my journey to create my own family empire. But I wasn't lying before. I do have to go. I've got somewhere very important to be."
Unlce Thomas paused, "So do we have a—"
Kevin interrupted, "Yes, we have a deal." "Thank you. I wasn't sure if you would help us after everything that we did to you. I can't express how much this means to the family."
Kevin smiled, "We're family and I hope that this is a lesson for all of us to remember that family is more important than money."
"I may be two years too late, but I have learned that. Thank you, Kevin."
Leaving his family's mansion, Kevin looked at his watch, "Oh no! I'm going to be late for my high school reunion." Hopping on his motorbike, Kevin began driving as he thought to himself, "This will be the first time that I've seen everyone since we graduated. It's been years, I'm excited to go to the reunion and show them the man that I have become."
Driving back home to change, Kevin smiled, "My luck is changing. I can feel it – by the end of today, I will have earned my family's respect, my old classmates' envy, my in-law's approval, and most importantly, my wife's love."
On the other side of town, Lily walked down the hallway at her office and heard her coworkers giggling. Entering the breakroom, Lily saw a few of her coworkers staring at their phones and cackling. Through the gap between them, Lily saw the video thst they were watching. It was Kevin driving away on his old motorbike with the shattered light in the back.
One of Lily's coworkers smirked, "That's so embarrassing. How is our chairwoman married to a man who rides a broken-down motorbike. It looks like something that you would find in the dump."
"I know! He is such a loser! It's a miracle that they haven't divorced yet."
A catty girl took a sip of water and interrupted, "You'll never guess what I heard him say earlier! He swore that he was going to buy the Dream Lover necklace for the chairman!"
"He wants to buy the Dream Lover? I'm going to die of laughter! We've seen what he drives, how in the world would he ever be able to afford something as rare and luxurious as the Dream Lover necklace. He isn't just broke, he's delusional."
"That's too funny. He's such an idiot!" The coworkers all burst into laughter until one of them turned, saw Lily, and gasped, "Chairman! SO sorry, we didn't know you were here."
Lily paused and calmly replied, "It seems like there are a lot of things that you don't know. Maybe you should be more careful the next time you call someone an idiot."