Addicted To Greed (27 page)

Wilhelm talked for a little over two hours about his wonderful
memories of Chad, opening up to Chase in a way he hadn’t even
thought possible, he also kept a photo of Chad and Chase in his
wallet among other pictures of Ella and Destiny.

Chase began to
believe his father wasn’t all that bad at all and
began to bond with him in a way he hadn’t before, still having
his barriers, but allowing for his guard to come down a little,
maybe this trip wasn’t going to be as boring as he thought.

They arrived at the Ritz a little after two o clock; a tall bell boy
approached them to carry their luggage.
Wilhelm stood for a few moments admiring the neoclassical
building.

A handsomely tall suited man approached them, Wilhelm gave
him the key to his car and handed him two neatly pressed fifty
pound notes.

“
Make sure you take good care of her young man!”
Wilhelm and Chase entered the giant lobby.

“Some things never change son, for example if you look at the
high gold leaf ceilings above, the stunning period architecture
and antique furnishings, it always reminds me of stepping into
another era, one of which I was too young to have ventured.”

“I know what you mean, it’s beautiful, like time is frozen here,
what I love the most is the mixture of old and new.”
They made their way to the reception area

“Senior
Pearson, how delightful to have you staying with us
here sir, may I wish you a pleasant at the Ritz. If you’d so
kindly follow me, I will lead you to your two superior king
quarters.”

Wilhelm winked at Chase and whispered, “Only the best for you
my son!”

After a delightful five course dinner Chase began to loosen up
and enjoy his father’s company, never once did his father
mention Felicity, it was just men talk with the occasional
reference to his sisters.

Wilhelm handed Chase a set of car keys.
“These are yours, hang on to them, and follow me.”

Chase followed his father outside to where his father presented
him with a brand new Black Audi A3.
“I wouldn’t want you without decent transport with your lengthy
duration at Oxford son!”

Chase had to bite back the onset of tears he could feel coming;
he hugged his father tightly and whispered a sincere thank you.
“Now go on take it for a test drive and be careful it’s a very
powerful engine!”
“I will but only if you’ll accompany me dad?”
Wilhelm could almost feel the sting of tears in his eyes and tried
to blink them back.
“I’d love to; it would be a great honour son.”

After several days in his father’s company, Chase fe
lt that they
had bonded in a way they never had before and he’d be sorry for
his father to leave, he promised his father he would visit him
over in the states at Christmas time this year, knowing it was
only a few months away.

Wilhelm couldn’t be more pleased.
♣

Chase was soon accepted in to Oxford University passing all
their requirements with glowing colours; he flew through his
first two years over exceeding in all his subjects. His tutors
were delighted with his progress and encouraged and supported
him through his last year, he then went on for a further year
graduating with a Masters degree in computing. He was sad to
leave Oxford it had become his home in the four years he was
there.

His mother and father had paid for his exclusive off campus
accommodation, now he wanted his own independence, pay his
own way, stand on his own two feet, he began by applying for
several jobs overseas and was accepted in Hong Kong for a
multinational computing giant company, the Lenvovo Group
Limited, as a senior systems administrator with a salary of
seventy five thousand pounds annually.
Alongside his degree
and masters he had studied various languages and was proficient
in German, Chinese, and French, now all he had to do was
arrange accommodation and inform his sisters, mother, Charles
and his father that he wouldn’t be around for a while as it was an
amazing opportunity he just couldn’t refuse.

The night before he left to his new life in Hong Kong, several
friends arranged a get together, a small leaving party in his
honour. Gerard his closest friend had secretly arranged his
favourite live band, The Neon Brothers, on campus much to
Chases surprise and delight to play live for several hours. Beer
tents had been set up and a few snack bars offering anything
from burgers to pizzas, people he didn’t even know were
coming up to him congratulating him on his new career move.
His tutors all turned out much to his surprise and his father
arrived in the middle of the large crowds. When Chase laid his
eyes upon his father, he could hardly contain his excitement, he
hadn’t expected all this and for his father to come all the way
from the states to share in his celebration, he couldn’t ask for
anything more in life. What he wasn’t aware of was that this
would be the last time he would see his father alive.

Ella
Chapter 13

Harwood House was everything Ella imagined it to be and more,
with great views overlooking the lakes, indoor and outdoor
swimming pools, a tennis court, and acres of land.

Wallace and Frank managed to negotiate with Lord Rickety on
the asking price getting him to finally accept 3.1 million.
Wallace managed all the legal documentation on Ella’s behalf
that was required to purchase the deeds of the house.

Seven weeks passed in a whirl Ella’s long awaited day came
when she held the deeds of Harwood house in her own hands.
She hired decorators, to completely whitewash the whole of the
house, this was her starting point, when completed she would try
to envisage how she was going to turn this blank canvass into
the house of her dreams. She then went on to hire a young
trendy interior designer who drew up plans with her on how to
furnish it. Ella opted for the minimalistic look; she hated clutter
and mentioned she would need tons of inbuilt storage cabinets.

Destiny came over to stay and help with the children as Mr and
Mrs Walsh had gone off on their cruise.

“Wow
, this house is absolutely fabulous, I never imagined it to
be this large, I could get lost in it for days. How about after I
pick the boys up from school, I grab us a few bottles of vino to
celebrate?”
“Sounds great, you always manage to read my mind, if you
don’t mind can you grab us a few bottles of champagne, I have a
little surprise for you later!”

“A surprise
, c’mon spill the beans, what kind of surprise?”
“If I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise would it now?”
“Oh come on at least a hint, please!”

“No, there is plenty of time
later, but now you must hurry, I
don’t want the boys thinking I have abandoned them, and try not
to forget the champagne.”

Ella had so much to do her head was in a whirl, next on her
agenda was to call Mrs Myers, James mum, she was worried
that she hadn’t heard anything from her in a while, not even on
the anniversary of James death. She had tried calling several
times but Mrs Myers never appeared to be at home and Mrs
Myers hadn’t returned any of her answering messages. Ella
began to wonder if something horrible had happened to her.

Pacing up and down the living room, she dialed her number and
on three rings Mrs Myers picked up, much to her relief.
“Hello Mrs Myers, its Ella Pearson, how are you?”

“Oh Ella chuck
, I meant to get back to you sooner, I just been so
busy between Dylan and my husband, I haven’t had a moment to
myself, I am so sorry, it completely slipped my mind.”

“That’s ok, no worries, how’s your husband and Dylan?”
“I am afraid Mr Myers has deteriorated rapidly since the last
time we spoke, his Alzheimer’s has advanced and the doctors
are recommending putting him in a care home, I just can’t bring
myself to do it. Dylan is living here with me permanently now,
his mother once again abandoned him, it’s such a long story my
dear I don’t know where to start.”

“I am so sorry to hear you’re husbands
deteriorated, I can’t
imagine what you are both going through, is there is anything I
can do?”

Ella could hear her faint sobs in the background and proceeded
with caution.
“I had no idea Dylan was living with you, how is the little man?
How’s he bearing up?”

“He’s
not as talkative as he used to be, which is to be expected
really, the poor little might has been through enough, without his
mother adding further to this. Debbie turned up here last week,
on the anniversary of James death would you believe with a
single suitcase begging me to take Dylan, apparently Mr Gym,
gave her an ultimatum, he said if the boy doesn’t leave, then he
would, so she turned up here with Dylan her choice already
made!”

“Oh my god, that’s
horrible, what type mother would do that to
her child? Especially with all he’s been through, leaving him
once was inexcusable but this time completely unforgivable, I
am so sorry, how are you all managing?”
“Not so well, I think I am still in shock and trying to take it all
in, it’s been very difficult, I’d never turn my grandson away,
he’s my only grandchild but it’s taken its toll on me with Mr
Myers been so sick.”

“I can’t imagine how you’ve
managed to keep it all together, it
must be very difficult. Since I last spoke with you my father
suddenly died, which came as a huge shock, nobody knew he
was ill, he had a brain tumor, he kept it to himself and what
came as an even bigger shock was that I was to inherit millions
of pounds, I just couldn’t believe it!”

“I am so sorry to hear about your father, from what James told
me you were quite close, it must have been a horrible ordeal for
you chuck, no money in the world can make up for the loss of a
loved one, not even millions, you’ve my deepest sympathy Ella,
I am sorry chuck.”

“Thank
s, we were quite close, but now I’m beginning to
question how much I really knew him at all, the money is a
Godsend in some ways, but it doesn’t compensate for the loss, it
just makes thing a lot easier, for me and the boys, and little
Anna”

“I can imagine it does, little Anna, who’s she if you don’t mind
me asking chuck?”

Ella silently cursed herself for mentioning Anna. She had never
once told Mrs Myers of her pregnancy, and who the father was
in fear it would send her over the edge. Ella had managed to
keep Anna a well guarded secret until now, how would she
explain her way out of this one?
Think, think, think Ella
,
what
you gonna say.

Mrs Myers stayed silent in the event Ella would explain.
Ella wondered if Mrs Myers had sensed her reluctance to tell
her, in this awkward silence.

“It’s a long story Mrs Myers, one in which I’d
love to share with
you one day when the times right, but not at the moment if you
don’t mind, I don’t wish to be rude, I hope you understand.”

“It’s ok Ella
, I understand, I don’t wish to pry as it is none of my
business really chuck. So tell me how’s the boys? Dylan asked
about them the other day, you know I think he misses them a lot,
they used to be so close, it would be great if they could all get
together sometime soon.”

“That’s
one of my reasons for phoning, the boys and I have just
moved to a new house in Buckinghamshire, about an hour’s
drive from Pensborough, we were wondering if Dylan could
come over for a weekend, spend some time with the boys, they
ask after Dylan constantly, they miss him so much.”

“I think
that would be marvelous, just what Dylan needs, I know
it’s not so much fun for him around here with just Mr Myers and
me, he’s due back from school anytime, and it will make his day
when I tell him.”
“Could we make it this weekend? I could come over and pick
him up say Friday between four and five?”

“
That would be great, just remember to tread carefully chuck,
he’s a little fragile, with all that’s happened, but I have no
doubts he will be really excited to see the boys and you.”

“No problem, I fully understand, I can’t begin to imagine
what
he’s going through, he must miss James so much it breaks my
heart. I put some fresh flowers on his grave last week and lit a
candle, I’d do anything in the world to have him back here, I lost
the best friend imaginable Mr Myers, I can’t imagine how you
and Dylan must be feeling.”

“It’s tough Ella chuck without my boy, I don’t think I’ll
ever get
over losing him, you never expect to outlive your child. Mr
Myers and Dylan are all that keeps me ticking dear, without
them I´d cease to exist. I know you guys were so close, soul
mates always there for each other, James left a huge gap in all
our life’s!”

Ella sensed that it was better to end this conversation on a lighter
note god only knows what this brave lady was going through.

“I have sent you a littl
e surprise, you should receive it before the
weekend, it just something from me and the boys, I hope you
enjoy it!”

“Oh Ella
, you shouldn’t have, you don’t need to bother about an
old fart like me chuck.”
“It’s just something James once mentioned you like and I really
hope you enjoy it.”

“Oh Ella you’re
so thoughtful thank you, I hope you can make
time for a cupper on Friday, I am looking forward to seeing
you.”

“I always have time for one of your cuppers, there the best.
Please forward my best wishes onto Mr Myers.”

After they said their goodbyes, Ella
couldn’t help but break
down into tears, she felt James suicide was in vain now as his
ex-wife Debbie had abandoned Dylan again. Debbie had simply
handed her son back like a unwanted gift in the end! Ella
couldn’t imagine, who in the right mind would do all Debbie
had done? She really wished this bitch the worst of the worst
karma imaginable. It was always really emotional speaking with
Mrs Myers, Ella thought her to be one of the survivors in life,
life itself had dealt her some tremendous blows and she was still
here battling them, she daresay her whole life had been a
continuous battle, she knew there wasn’t enough money around,
but she was always too proud to admit it. James had told Ella
how his mother had worked three jobs when he was younger, his
father didn’t earn a lot as a scaffolder as there wasn’t always
work and it was weather permitting most days.