Chapter5
1057 Words
Birthright
Ariana's POV
My father was the CEO of Linn Corporation. Owned oil refineries, real estate, and was an investor in spacecraft.
His problem was that, he liked laying off staff, especially when a particular sector didn't move his ROI a few notches upwards that month. Until one disgruntled worker decided to take matters into his own hands.
On my fourth birthday, I was kidn*pped by a crew who never asked for a ransom. Instead, there was an accident and they made it look like I was dead. Child Services took me and the rest was history. But the blow had been dealt. My father became a shadow of himself after losing me. And death wasn't far behind.
Leo, Damien, and Zane took over the business, and they never stopped looking for me.
"So I have brothers?" I asked, stunned about my de facto family.
"No," Leo said. "We have a sister."
"That's how we see it," Damien said.
"We found you, Ariana," said Zane. "It is our responsibility to make sure you get back all you lost."
It was a lot to process but my brothers didn't just use words, they had proofs. Charles was never my biological father. Why hadn't he told me so?
Outside the hospital, there was a convoy of black cars that I hadn't seen earlier. Not even Ethan commanded this kind.
"This is us," Zane said.
"You brought seven cars?" I asked incredulously.
"Ariana!" I turned and saw Charles.
He looked out of breath. Walked towards me. At once, my brothers formed a protective barrier in front of me, completely blocking me from his view.
"No. Wait. Let me talk to him."
"Who is this man?" Leonard asked.
"He adopted me."
"Who are these people, Ariana?" Charles asked.
"My brothers. You never told me about them."
The defeated look on his face was obvious. "I'm sorry, Ariana. I didn't even know you had brothers. Child Services never told me that."
"Would you have ever told me that you weren't my biological father?"
"I wanted you to have a better life, Ariana. And Ethan was your way out."
"Ethan never did care about me," I told him.
"Are you married?" Leonard asked me.
"Divorced today," I said.
"A man who never did care about our sister? He's in big trouble."
"I don't want any trouble with Ethan. It was my choice to leave."
"And it is our choice to make sure no one crosses our sister."
I could not understand the manner of challenge those three carried. They talked as if they carried the world in their hands. As if there was nothing anyone would do to them, or to me.
"We're taking her away now, sir," Damien said. "To the home she belongs. You might have been her father, but you are also a liar."
The herded me into one of the waiting vehicles and we breezed the hell out of the hospital.
My life changed from that day on.
**
The house my brothers moved me into was an estate itself. Cool part was that we each had our own mansions sitting on large acres, all four of them. Linn Empire.
I was allowed to employ a number of people to see to my needs, Zane handled that part efficiently well, making me hire a personal assistant and a secretary. I saw no need for the employees but he told me that I'd need them sooner or later.
Leonard, who was the eldest happened to be a business mogul, and he was also in charge of Linn Corporation. Damien, was a lawyer, and Zane was an actor, though I had never watched any of his romantic movies.
Settling down was hectic, but I felt free. Little tiff was that my brothers didn't like leaving me out of their sight. As if I would suddenly disappear again.
"I won't run off again," I assured them.
They said nothing in response.
On the third day, Leo called a meeting. Zane was late but he started anyway.
"Now that our dear sister has been found, I'll like to transfer assets to her name."
"What assets?" I asked, completely ignorant.
"Linn Corporation," Leo said.
"Why?"
"Because you own it."
I stared at Leo. Then Damien. They weren't joking. Their faces were dead serious.
"You can't be serious," I complained. "I don't... I don't know anything about being an executive."
Zane walked in, and kissed me on the cheek. "Hello, sister. Thought I told you that you were going to need the P.A and sec?"
"You'll have advisors," Leo said. "And board members. This is your birthright, dear sister. You lost it, now it's found you."
"I'll just sign without a lawyer?" I asked.
"What the hell do you think I'm here for?" Damien asked, and Zane chuckled.
**
I inherited Linn Corporation and became Chief Executive Officer. Leonard had his company to take care of, but he was always there to tell me the dos and the donts. I rose so quickly like fire from stoked wood.
Had a personal assistant who told me how to walk, keep my head held high, and how to dress.
Gosh. I saw wealth like it was water. No amount of spending seemed to bother my brothers. And since they weren't complaining, I kept my mouth shut. Soon, my wardrobe was worth more than the apartment building Charles and I lived in.
The interviews were wild, and more wilder when Zane had the guts to announce me as his sister on national television, just before red carpet session.
"How do you feel being a Linn daughter?" a reporter as me, amidst the glowing shutters.
"Exhilarated," I commented curtly, just as I had been advised.
"What are your plans next? Refine more oil or start designing clothes?"
"Expansion is what I have in mind."
"No more questions!" Brie, my assistant, screamed into the crowd and herded me onto the car.
By profession, I was a fashion designer, but I had to be CEO of a conglomerate which spanned ten damn countries, all GDP high.
Just when my life was going well, and I was up on my high horse, I got a call that evening. My phone rang with a strange number. I picked it up.
And a strangely familiar voice said, "Ariana? It's Ethan. We need to talk."
- Writer
