Chapter 6

Warren saw his uncle sitting on his usual chair with a gloomy expression on his face. 

However the moment he saw Warren, his expression immediately changed. He hurried over and embraced him.

It was a little bit awkward for Warren since his uncle was never one to openly show emotion like this. Something must be bothering him, otherwise he would never be so affectionate now.

"Warren, it's good to see you my boy. It has been way too long!"

Warren responded by smiling and saying "Yes Uncle. It has been too long, I hope my absence wasn't too much of a hindrance to you and Aunt Joanne. "

"Not at all," Uncle Geoffrey laughed. 

He made small talk with Warren until Aunt Joanne called them for dinner. Time really flies when you're having fun, and since Warren and his uncle had so much to talk about, they didn't even notice that almost 3 hours have passed.

Aunt Joanne made her specialty: fried rice with braised pork balls in gravy. Warren enjoyed the meal since he missed home-cooked meals so much when he was on campus. 

Aunt Joanne pulled out all the stops and made this meal specifically for him. If you ever heard of the last meal that prisoners on death row would receive, this would be equivalent to that. She made it to her heart's content, since she wanted Warren to enjoy it for one final time. 

After the meal Aunt Joanne was busy tidying up and cleaning everything when Uncle Geoffrey called Warren to accompany him to his room. Geoffrey nodded once at his wife and gestured to Warren to enter his bedroom. After that he pulled out a key from within the drawer in his room.

The key looked familiar to Warren and he couldn't register where he had seen it. His uncle then declared "Warren what I am about to share with you is something that has been eating away at me for the past 17 years. I cannot keep this from you any longer."

Warren had a puzzled look on his face, when his uncle continued "You have seen this key before and have constantly prohibited you from ever touching it. This key is to a chest that carries the secrets of who you are."

'Who I am?' Warren thought to himself. 'I am Warren Cole, the one and only son of Elizabeth Cole. Is there something that I'm missing?' 

Reading his mind, Uncle Geoffrey then said "My sister made me promise to keep this a secret from you, but I cannot do it anymore. Even if I do so, I'm afraid it would be meaningless, since you will find out about this sooner rather than later."

Hearing this, Warren immediately starting feeling uncomfortable. 'What is going on? And why is Uncle Geoffrey so serious now all of a sudden?'

After that Uncle Geoffrey strode towards his bed. He used all his energy as he pushed it to the side. Where the bed stood, was a trap door. Uncle Geoffrey used another key to open the trap door and pulled out a chest. The chest was very dusty and after blowing on it, he used the key that he showed to Warren earlier, to open it. 

Holding his breath, Warren expected to see countless golden coins, only to be greeted by some documents lying around. 

Uncle Geoffrey reached out his hand and pulled out his birth certificate. On it was his name, his mother's name and a rather strange name. 

"Johnathan Parker. Who's this?" Warren asked puzzled. 

'The name sounds very familiar. Where have I heard it before?' he thought.

Without responding, Uncle Geoffrey reached into the chest again and pulled out a photograph. Warren could determine with a single glance that the photo must be at least 20 years old.

In the photograph he could instantly make out the familiar face and figure of his mother, since he had seen plenty of photographs of her. 

The person next to her, however, looked foreign, yet also very familiar.

"That is Johnathan Parker. He is your father," Uncle Geoffrey said.

Startled, Warren could only ask "M-my f-father?"

"Yes. He is also Johnathan Parker, one of the richest people in The Cape Continent. You might have seen his face somewhere before."

This news was like a bomb which exploded right in Warren's face. He couldn't register what his uncle just told him. It's impossible right? This has to be a joke, but why would his uncle lie about this. And why did this man who was with his mother in the photograph look so familiar? Upon closer inspection Warren realized where he had seen him before. 

There is a billboard right in front of the campus with his face on it. His name was also Johnathan Parker. 

'How on earth can he be my father' 

Warren couldn't accept it.

"Are you trying to make fun of me, Uncle Geoffrey, because this isn't funny. You know our financial situation all too well, so why would you declare that one of the richest people in all of the Cape Continent is my father?"

"That is because he is your father. He was your mother's greatest love and also her greatest loss," Uncle Geoffrey responded solemnly. 

There was a hint of sadness in his tone.