The World Above mine
1508 Words
James's POV
I stood across the street staring at Advern Group headquarters like an i***t. The building looked less like an office and more like something built to remind poor people they would never belong inside it. Glass walls stretched high into the gray Detroit sky.
Luxury cars lined the entrance. And men in suits moved quickly through the revolving doors while security guards stood near the front like statues.
And right in the middle of all of it...stood Royce Kingsley.
My father.
The word still felt illegal inside my head. Royce looked completely different from the man in the alley.
No bent shoulders. No worn coat or old bicycle.
This man looked powerful. Dangerously powerful. Even the air around him felt different.
Employees greeted him nervously as he walked past. Some lowered their heads slightly. Others straightened immediately the moment they saw him. Nobody ignored Royce Kingsley.
Then his eyes found mine across the street and softened instantly. It was terrifying how fast the powerful billionaire disappeared and the man from the alley returned.
“James.”
Even from this distance, I heard my name clearly. I looked behind me instinctively.
Me?
He crossed the street himself. Security immediately followed, but Royce raised one hand slightly. The guards stopped. And that one tiny movement told me everything. This man was used to being obeyed. Royce stopped in front of me. For a second, neither of us spoke.
I looked at the expensive suit, as well as the polished shoes. The watch was probably worth more than everything I had owned in my entire life combined. Then I remembered the bicycle and the cheap coat.
What a tragic story.
Anger suddenly crawled into my chest.
“You lied to me.”
Royce nodded calmly.
“Yes.” He said it like there was no excuse, but just honesty.
That somehow annoyed me even more.
“Why?”
He looked toward the building behind him briefly before answering.
“Because I wanted to meet my son before the world did.”
I frowned.
“That doesn’t explain pretending to be poor.”
His expression became unreadable.
“You grew up around people who only valued money,” he said quietly. “I needed to know whether you would still care about us without it.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“So this was a test?”
“No,” he answered immediately. “It was fear.”
That response caught me off guard.
Royce Kingsley feared something?
He sighed quietly.
“You disappeared when you were five. Twenty years later, we suddenly find you again. I didn’t know if you would hate us. I didn’t know if you would think we abandoned you.”
His voice remained calm…but pain still existed underneath it.
“Your mother couldn’t sleep for years after losing you,” he continued. “Every birthday destroyed her.”
Something twisted painfully inside my chest again. Yet, I looked away.
Being angry was easier when they felt fake. But they didn’t. And that was the problem. Royce glanced at the cut on my neck.
“It should be treated properly.”
“I’ve had worse.”
His jaw tightened slightly at that.
“I know.”
Silence fell between us again. Then the front doors suddenly opened behind him.
A woman stepped outside surrounded by assistants.
She looked young and beautiful. Her sharp brown eyes and long curly hair with an elegant white coat. Everybody around her moved quickly to keep up with her pace. She was clearly important. The woman stopped walking the second she noticed me standing beside Royce.
Confusion crossed her face instantly, then curiosity followed. Her eyes moved slowly over my worn hoodie and backpack. I saw that.
I suddenly became very aware of how homeless I looked standing in front of this building.
One of the assistants leaned toward her.
“Miss Sinclair, the investors are waiting upstairs.”
She still kept staring at me. Then finally looked toward Royce.
“Sir?”
Royce answered calmly.
“Handle the meeting without me.”
The assistants looked shocked. Apparently Royce skipping meetings was a rare event.
The woman’s eyes returned to me one last time before she finally walked away. Something about her presence lingered strangely after she left.
Royce noticed me watching her.
“That’s Fiona Sinclair.”
The name meant nothing to me.
Still…something about the way he said it felt important. Before I could ask further, Royce motioned toward the building's entrance.
“Come inside.”
My body immediately tensed.
“I don’t belong in there,” I said, with my voice firm.
“You belong more than anyone.”
I almost laughed at that. Men like me did not belong in skyscrapers. Men like me stocked shelves and cleaned floors.
Still… I followed him.
The moment I stepped inside Advern Group's headquarters, I understood exactly how wide the gap between our worlds truly was.
The marble floors and crystal lights. Including the
massive digital screens. Employees dressed better than politicians.
The lobby alone probably cost more than an entire neighborhood.
And everywhere I looked…people stared at me. Some were confused, while some were judgmental. One receptionist nearly dropped her tablet after noticing Royce walking beside me.
Whispers immediately started spreading.
“Who is that?”
“Why is Mr. Kingsley with him?”
“Is he homeless?”
I lowered my eyes slightly. It was an old habit of mine.
Royce noticed instantly.
“Look up when you walk.”
I frowned slightly.
“What?”
“You are not beneath anyone here.”
That was easy for a billionaire to say.
Still… I forced my head upward.
We entered a private elevator guarded by security. The doors closed quietly. Only then did I finally breathe properly again. Royce pressed a button for the top floor.
I stared at him.
“You really own all this?”
A faint smile touched his face.
“You will too someday.”
“No. I don't think so." The answer came too fast.
Royce looked at me carefully.
“I don’t want this,” I told him.
“You don’t have to decide today.” The elevator opened as soon as he said that.
The top floor looked even more ridiculous than downstairs. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire city. Expensive art covered the walls. In fact, everything smelled clean and expensive. A woman suddenly rushed toward us.
Davina. The moment she saw me, her eyes immediately filled with tears again.
“My baby.”
Before I could react, she hugged me tightly.
And somehow…despite everything… I hugged her back. She pulled away just enough to hold my face again.
“You haven’t eaten properly,” she complained softly.
Royce gave a tired sigh beside us.
“Davina.”
“I’m serious,” she said defensively. “Look at him.”
For the first time in years…someone was worrying about me.
The feeling was so unfamiliar it almost hurt. Davina suddenly grabbed my hand excitedly.
“Come. Sit.”
She dragged me toward a massive dining table already filled with food. Not instant noodles or shelter soup. But real food. My stomach betrayed me immediately with a loud growl.
Davina smiled sadly. Royce looked ready to murder somebody over the sound alone.
Embarrassment burned through me instantly.
“I’m fine,” I lied automatically.
Davina pointed at the chair sharply.
“Sit.”
Something about her tone reminded me that mothers could apparently still be terrifying.
I sat. Not because I wanted to but because of the way she told me to. A maid immediately moved forward to serve me. I almost stood back up from panic.
“No, no, I can do it myself.”
The maid looked confused. Davina’s expression turned emotional again. That reaction alone told me how abnormal my behavior sounded here. I picked up the fork awkwardly.
Honestly? I had forgotten what it felt like to eat without worrying someone would take the food away. Nobody spoke while I ate. They simply watched quietly. Like they were afraid I would disappear again if they looked away too long.
Halfway through the meal, Royce finally spoke.
“There’s something important we need to discuss.”
I looked up slowly.
His expression had changed again. It was serious this time. More businesslike.
“What?” I said.
Royce and Davina exchanged a brief glance.
Then Royce reached into his suit pocket and placed a black file carefully on the table.
My heartbeat slowed. Something told me my life was about to become even more complicated. Royce opened the file slowly.
Inside were newspaper clippings, photographs
missing person reports.
And at the very top…a photo of me as a child.
When I was five years old.
I felt a weird pain shoot through my chest instantly. Then Royce said the words that made my blood run cold.
“You were never accidentally lost, James.”
The room became completely silent.
Royce’s eyes darkened.
“You were taken.”
- Writer
