Chapter 5

Cade

This was nothing but bullsh*t. She had nothing to say during the family meeting, but when it came to the press, she suddenly had a lot to get off her chest. The hell?! I angrily smacked the office table in my short burst of anger, startling the manager. But that was all; it was a short, very brief outburst. Clearing my throat and adjusting my tie, I rose up, walking towards the door. My hand grabbed the handle in a tight grip.

“How long has this interview been up?” I angrily asked.

“Si... since this morning, sir!” He stuttered in reply.

I gave a deep exhale. Then I pulled the door open and left the office. With my head held high and my fragrance announcing my presence, I walked past the cubicles, fixated on getting out of the building. I heard the workers murmur and whisper as they watched me walk, unable to look directly at me. Well, of course, I was supposed to be their boss! I had to find mom, and I knew exactly where she would be.

“Where to, sir?” The chauffeur asked after getting in the driver's seat.

“To the mansion, I need to have a word with my mother,” I replied immediately.

The audacity with which she had to announce such a thing in the media without even discussing it with me to begin with is crazy. Did she have no regard for father's will? I bet those ungrateful uncles and cousins of mine were in on this too. All too power hungry and greedy. If this was how she was going to play it, then I would have no choice but to call my father's lawyers. Or has she already called them?

The gates to the mansion opened up for the second time today as the chauffeur drove past, waving at the gateman, and I watched with anticipation as he approached the house. Mother should be in her room, sitting on the balcony, and having her usual midday tea.

“Do I keep the engine running, sir?” The chauffeur asked after opening the car door and watching me step out.

“Don't hold your breath, Mako,” I replied, pushing the button of my suit into its cut out hole and then dusting the invisible spec on my shoulder. “This is going to take a while. I'll request for you when I need you.”

“Of course, sir,” he said, watching me walk up the stairs as the servants stood by, waiting for me to walk past the doors.

I made my way through the hall, my footsteps and the chandelier were the only sounds I could hear behind me and ahead of me. Ever since my father died, it has been like a graveyard in this place. All those people he called friends and family, coming in and taking whatever they wanted because he tolerated it, where are they now? They never even bothered to show their faces here after the funeral. Gold-diggers, all of them! I screamed in my mind.

When I got to her room door, I stopped, exhaling as I cleared my throat. Pushing one hand into my pocket, I adjusted my tie, clearing my throat and pushing my hair back. Then I pushed the door open.

“Mother!” I called the moment I walked into the room. “Where are you, mother?!”

I said that, though I knew exactly where she was. I walked over to the balcony, expecting to see her with her legs crossed and her fingers in the handle of that jade tea cup she loves very much. But she was not there.

“Mom?” I asked, looking at the empty chair. My eyes fell on the beautiful view ahead. The beautiful sky and the trees below gave off this surreal feeling.

Where could she have gone? I wondered while I walked out of the room. There were a few places that she would go at this time of the day, but there were no valid reasons for her to go there. Her nails and hair were already done; she had already had breakfast and definitely brunch, and no one informed me about any trips she was going to take. Or was she hiding from me?

Come to think of it, my annoying sister was not present to greet me as usual when I entered the house. Where did everyone go? As I walked down the hallway, wondering what was happening, I heard a noise coming from the room, not too far from my mother's room …father's office room.

“What the hell is going on in this house?” I asked, pulling the door handle open, “Hey, this place is off limits!” I yelled, expecting to see one of the servants inside.

“Not anymore,” Mother's voice said, soaked with grief.

“Mother,” I said with a not-so-surprising tone.

She sat on the office table, her hands clenched to one of father's old shirts. She was staring at it with sad eyes.

“What the hell is going on here?” I asked.

“Take a seat, son; we need to talk,” she replied.

Yeah, no sh*t. I sat down on the red armchair nearby and crossed my legs gracefully. The room was filled with tension, and I was willing to make the tensed air heavier than ever.

“Are you going against my father's will, mom?” I began, not giving anyone a chance to speak.

“Of course not!” She replied immediately.

“Then what was all that bullshit interview on the news?” I exclaimed.

“You will not use that tone with me, young man!” She replied, “Not in this room, not in this house!”

I looked around, then I exhaled, assuming the composure I used to walk into the scene in the first place. Adjusting my sitting posture, I placed my hands together and looked at her directly in the eyes.

“Why did you do it?” I asked with a low tone as she stared at me, hands still holding the shirt tightly.

“It's not right,” she replied.

“What's not right?” I asked.

“Everything,” she replied. “It's not how your father would have wanted it.”

She began sobbing. Oh, how I was used to those tears she faked whenever she wanted things to go her way. I gave a short but silent exhale, knowing exactly where she was going with this.

“Does this have anything to do with the fact that I haven't gotten married yet?” I asked.

She used the shirt to clean her tears, sniffing as she did.

“It's what your father would have wanted,” she replied. “We should at least do things right, so that his soul might rest easy.”

I scoffed silently at that remark. What in the world does an atheist know about restless souls? I asked myself. Clearing my throat, I forced myself to ask the very question that I did not want to be answered.

“So you're saying I can only become CEO if I get married?”

She smiled, nodding through her specious sobbing.

“Until then, I will be acting CEO,” she replied with a grin.

Of course she would.