5. Man in black

Seth

“We’re uncovering more details about the alleged death of the business mogul, Edward Langston. A source revealed to us that Edward had a guest just before he was found dead. This g-”

I turned the television off, my image glaring back at me from the darkened screen. It got worse and worse each day. These people never stopped, they continued to bore holes underground and one day, they may find out that I was with him. His guards knew where I fucking lived, they knew I was the last person to be in there with him.

It felt like I was sitting on a ticking bomb, just waiting and praying that it doesn’t explode just yet. My alarm blared loudly, yanking me back to reality. I was hours up before the alarm had gone. I knew I looked like a mess: my hair stuck all over the place like I had just finished skydiving, the black spot had taken residence underneath my swollen eyelids.

My entire body yearned for rest, not sleep punctured by the jarring images of Edward’s still, unmoving, pale body on the clean sheets of the hotel. I wanted rest, peace. I pulled myself from the bed and roamed through the room, throwing together and outfit that passed the smell test before leaving my room for class.

A distraction, one that didn’t involve me waking up tomorrow with a fucking hangover, was what I needed. The crowd parted as I walked by like I had the plague, I didn’t care, it made things easier and it made avoiding people in general better.

The words stumbled out of the Professor’s mouth, I could see his elaborate gesticulation and the spark of joy in his eyes as he taught, but his words were muffled, like he was far away and he had a bag over his head…like he was choking and his breath had gone…like he was in a hotel room and he had suddenly stopped breathing because he had just finished having sex with a boy who killed him.

I gasped, my cheeks burning intensely from the eyes that glared at me. The Professor paused, our eyes connecting. The twinkle died and that emotion glazed over his…pity. I scrambled for my textbook and dashed out of the class back to my apartment that was a walkaway.

There was man in front of door, he was wearing a suit, I couldn’t tell which brand but it looked expensive. He had a black briefcase in hand, he didn’t look like a cop, he looked…different.

“Are you lost?” I asked. My voice was gruff, my throat was hoarse from the tears that had spilled out of my eyes and the phlegm that had caked in my throat.

“My name is Armani Davies,” he extended his hand. I scanned his entire frame, was he a reporter? He must be?

“Why are you here?” I quipped. He dropped his hand and arranged his already perfect tie.

“I know you were the one with Edward in the room before he died.”

My stomach stirred and suddenly, the urge to retch came again. Cold trickled through my body, my fingers quivering in fear. My heart raced, my breath hitching and stilling intermittently.

“I am Edward’s lawyer, you have nothing to worry about. He told me all about you before he died.”

It didn’t abate the feeling that gnawed in the back of my head.

“All you have to do it come to this address tomorrow,” he pulled out a piece of paper with a cursive address scrawled on it. He dipped his hat in farewell and left me standing with my heart in my mouth.

It was the Beaumont’s mansion.

The hours ticked by, letting the sun take residence beneath the horizon. My restlessness increased, did they know just as Armani knew? Were they luring me in so they could lynch me? Did they want to skip the process of justice and met it out on me there? August wouldn’t let that right?

My phone vibrated violently and I jolted. Speak of the devil.

“Hey,” I tried to level my tone.

“Hey,” he replied monotonously, “I’m sorry, we may not be able to meet up again tomorrow as planned.”

“Really? What’s wrong?” I asked even when I had a fair knowledge.

“Nothing much, we just have a family gathering. Can we reschedule?”

I stifled the urge to tell him that I would be there as well because the…lawyer? Had invited me? That would open a threshold of questions that I wasn’t ready to answer. Of all the men, it had to be my boyfriend’s fucking uncle!

***

I threw one last glance at the T-shirt and the pair of washed jeans that I had, crowned with flat vans, before I entered into the vehicle that was sent to chauffeur me.

As soon as the car spilled into the residence, my clothes shrunk. It looked stale compared to the marble sculpture at the center, a dolphin spewing water as a fountain, the water perfectly illuminated. The large white pastel pillars held the grandiose of the entire mansion, perfectly complementing the jade ornaments that sparkled even in the night.

“This way,” the driver ushered me toward the room. My heart pounded with each step, my intestines wrangled into tight knots and the cold held me even though I was within the heated comfort of the large home.

Inside was even more detailed, the resplendent colour pattern that simply melted into each other like they had hired the proponent of the colour wheel himself to design the house.

My eyes land on the gathering as I spilled into the large living room. Inadvertently, my eyes connected with August, his whole frame tensed and his eyes fell into slits. I averted my gaze, scanning the entire room of perfectly dressed people.

Fuck dirt poor. Even the dog was shoved into a tuxedo.

“Who the hell is this?” A quirky voice rang. I couldn’t even find my voice to speak. I lowered myself on the furniture.

“YO, he will ruin the furniture…what the fuck is he wearing?” My heart clenched. I tucked my legs, hiding the crease stains on my sneakers.

“Hey, Kid, wrong house. This isn’t the orphanage,” someone snapped. I could hear the echo of footsteps and I braced myself for impact.

“Armani requested that he be here,” the driver said. Someone snorted at the far end, I could swear it was August but I never had the courage to look.

“Always the charity cases,” the elderly woman to my far right spoke. Was that his mother?

“Good evening, everyone, sorry to keep you waiting,” Armani walked into the room, snapped his brief case open before pulling a single sheet of paper.

“My name is Armani Davies and I was Edward’s lawyer before he passed. We are gathered here for the formal reading of his last will and testament…”

“No shit,” I heard someone mutter.

“Before I begin, I would ask that all questions should be saved until the reading is complete.”

Silence reigned.

“This document is the Will and Testament of Edward Ned Langston executed in my presence on the twenty third day of July, twenty twenty five. It was signed by Mr Edward, who was, in my professional opinion, of sound mind and memory, and was witnessed by my clerk, Mr Peterson, and myself.”

“Boring,” the aggressive teenager muttered again.

Why was I here? I fiddled with my fingers, warming my skin, as he read through the preambles.

“To my lovely wife, Diane…” the tension that rested in the room became thick, almost so suffocating even in the large room.

“...I leave this mansion.”

“Oh, my sweet, Edward,” she muttered.

“My majority shares in the company of seventy per cent, my investment properties across the various countries, my vacation home in New Zealand and Paris, the remainder of the cash equivalent in my retirement account…”

The list was endless. The more he read, the further I shrunk into the seat. I dared to risk it, I glanced at the faces of everyone, their eyes glistened and I could see their mouth water, this was the jackpot.

“I give, devise and bequeath all to Seth Carrington..”

Everyone gasped in shock and their eyes slowly darted at me.

What?