Trash to trillions

FORFEITING THE INHERITANCE

“Inmate 301, someone has come to bail you out.”

Caelum frowned. It had just been one night after he was arrested, who could have immediately arrived to get him out?

The day before, he was arrested on the charges of murder and theft. He made it worse by fighting with the Marlowe’s family members who came with the police, adding assault to the charges. Then there were the videos posted by the Marlowe family which went viral on social media and news channels, branding him a criminal.

In all, he had expected a very long court case, and an even longer time in prison since he had no connections. Yet, someone already arrived to bail him out.

“Mr.Wexler.” Caelum looked at the man before him.

“Aren't you grandma’s lawyer? Why are you here?”

“I came to bail you out. The will cannot be read without you. Also, I have cleared up the case and proved that you were innocent. The case has been closed.”

Caelum couldn't find it in himself to be grateful. He barely registered it as he changed into the provided clothes and followed the lawyer back to the estate.

The moment he entered the sitting room, he met all sixteen members of the Marlowe family, looking at him with resentful gazes. The worst were his former parents in-law who looked like they wanted to kill him. Seeing the black eye he gave Gertrude the previous day, and that of Arianna's father made him feel better. He felt like beating them even more till they experienced what they put the old woman through, but it wasn't time yet. He didn't have the means to bring them to justice, but soon he would. That was certain.

He sat down, barely listening as they listed the assets and whom each went to.

“As for Mr. Caelum Wexler, Mrs. Marlowe left the construction company to you, with all the shares, management rights, and assets affiliated to it, alongside her Polaris Bank account.”

Everyone immediately screamed, and another fight broke out.

“Who is he that he should receive something?”

“What? A whole company? To this useless country bumpkin? I only received some shares in Zenith and she gave him an entire subsidiary! Did she run mad or something?”

“Why is a Wexler even here, at the Marlowe family’s event?”

Arianna stood up, her eyes smoldering with rage.

“I'm already with the construction company documents, and all the bank cards. I knew she wanted to do this since last year, but you won't leave this place with a dime, I will drag you to court if I must!”

Caelum just kept silent, totally ignoring them.

“Silence everyone!”

Everyone turned to the lawyer, still breathing heavily, scowling, and hissing, not hiding their resentment at all.

“Mrs. Marlowe had anticipated this from you all. But according to the will, he is not allowed to leave with nothing. He must have something with him. And in a case where he doesn't, everything will revert to the state government to be used for orphaned children and sick people.”

“There's another clause. If anything happens to Mr. Wexler within the time span of five years, it would be assumed that it was done by the Marlowe family. In that case, the assets would still automatically revert back to charity. The only condition for everyone to keep what they got is one, Mr. Wexler remains alive and well, two, he must have an inheritance as settlement for taking care of the chairman for the past three years.”

“That old witch. She truly thought about everything. We can't do anything to him, even if we want to. She's still protecting him from beyond the grave. Just how deep is her bias towards this imp who isn't part of us?”

“Aish! I'm so pissed off.”

Caelum watched with detached amusement as they smashed things and shouted, pointing at him. He tuned them out and plugged in his ear piece, letting them shout to their hearts’ content.

Arianna marched to him and slapped him.

“This was your plan, you gold digging imp. That was the reason you kept playing the good guy before her. Isn't it? You despicable son of a bitch.”

Caelum looked derisively at her and ignored her, doing his best to keep down the anger bubbling in his chest. He stood up and looked at the lawyer.

“I voluntarily give up my rights to the company, whoever wants them should have them.”

The noise immediately died out, and they looked at him in surprise. Even the lawyer was shocked.

“Mr. Wexler, do you know what you're talking about? You want to give up a hundred million dollars in assets! Mrs. Marlowe already made plans to protect you, you do not need to be afraid.”

“I'm not. I won't touch dirty money. Since they killed her because of it, they should enjoy it to the fullest and know with each dime they spend that they're eating Mrs. Marlowe's flesh and blood.” He walked away, leaving them in confusion.

“What's he planning?”

“It's impossible. Why will he give it up?”

“No way! He had been working hard for three whole years just for this moment, why would he suddenly give up? He must be planning a bigger conspiracy.”

Caelum walked out of the building, the moon was already high up in the sky. He had spent twenty hours in jail, and was bailed the next evening for the sake of the will. His heart felt empty, and he wondered why people treated others’ lives as irrelevant just because of money.

In school, he was insulted because he wasn't as rich as the rest. The hospital didn't give those without money adequate attention, making them die from things that could have easily been prevented. Even the family one worked their ass off for…they didn't feel an ounce of sadness for their mother's passing. All they cared about was the benefit her death would bring.

A car stopped before him at this moment, blocking his path. He looked up with a frown. Caelum wasn't in the mood for anyone’s rubbish. He still needed to treat his injuries and go home to his siblings who had been waiting for him. Tomorrow there was still money to be made.

A man in suit stepped down from it and bowed before him.

“Mr. Wexler.”

Caelum frowned. “Do you know me?”

“Of course. I'm Mrs. Marlowe's second lawyer. She left a package for you.”

He offered him a gift box and patted his shoulders.

“Actually, Mrs Marlowe had expected that you would give up the assets to avoid a fight. This is her backup plan for you, but it's nowhere near the one you just gave up. There is a forex trading account which has been funded with a hundred thousand dollars, that's her gift to you. Also, there's a watch in the box. You're not allowed to sell it no matter what. It can only belong to you, no one else. There's also a handwritten letter.”

Caelum opened the box and saw the phone which contained the log in details and password, alongside a handwritten card. There was also an antique silver watch in the box, and a few hundred dollars in an envelope.

There was a note written at the back of the envelope, and he turned it to read.

‘Son, I know you will be too sad to remember food. Use this money to buy some food. You need your energy to earn money, grandma loves you. Even if you're not my blood, you're the son of my heart.”

Hot tears rushed down Caelum's cheeks and he began to sob again. He quickly wiped it away and took deep breaths to steady himself.

He noticed another card in the box attached to the watch, and opened it.

‘If you're reading this, it means that I was too cowardly and selfish to the end. I probably didn't come clean or tell you about the incident weighing on my mind. Like the coward I am, I will change the topic and only apologize for leaving you alone. Make sure you protect this watch with everything you have, it's my final apology to you.’

The lawyer patted his back. “Accept my condolences, she has high hopes for you. Even without an inheritance, she believes you have the ability to become successful. See you at the top.”

Caelum found himself before a departmental store to buy some food items. With the little money in his hands, he bought enough food items and meat. It had been days since he saw his younger ones, and they have probably not been eating well. He placed the items on the counter and paid for it in cash.

Suddenly, he noticed people pointing at him and whispering among themselves. He frowned, and looked at the cashier at the counter, she was equally checking her phone and looking at him.

“Isn't he the jade thief? The one who killed the woman who adopted him to steal her assets?”

Caelum felt a huge boulder in his throat and his airways immediately cut off. He gasped severally as their murmurs and insults overlapped with the blood roaring in his ears.

“Such ungrateful people.”

“Should we call the police? He could have escaped from jail.”

He staggered, and opened his mouth to speak. But his tongue seemed to have been frozen, unable to make a sound. He wanted to scream and tell them that he would never kill anyone, especially not because of money, that he had been wrongly accused. However, the sound couldn't make it past his throat no matter how hard he tried.

At the verge of suffering a panic attack, he covered his face and ran out of the departmental store, like one escaping from zombies.

Caelum continued to run without direction, all he wanted was to run as far as possible, away from the accusations, and people trash talking him without knowing the full story. Even as he ran along the road, some people still recognized him, murmuring and throwing trash at him.

He didn't know how many hours he ran before he found himself before the old dingy apartment he rented with his siblings. Caelum collapsed against the door, his body shaking as he tried to calm himself down. He heard his siblings coming to the door and immediately cleaned his face. Letting them see him in that state was not an option.