~HGW Chapter 1: "Welcome to Los Angeles"~

~Chapter 1: “Welcome to Los Angeles”~

I felt like my head had been smashed by a semi-truck…that’s how bad it hurt right now. I mean GOD! What really are those “sedatives” that Joe put in me…speaking of Joe everything was coming back to me a bit. I remember walking home from school, being confronted by a strange man in a trench coat claiming he located my family. Pfft as if I was an only child left alone to die. And if they really where my family why did they abandon me? Next I remember laughing like crazy cause that’s why I do when I get nervous or scared I laugh and it makes me look like a psycho but I don’t care. Then that’s when all the crazy shit happen like a gang of three to six guys surrounding me. I tried to fight them off or run to but they caught up to me and knocked me out.

Then fast forward twelve hours later and I am in an abandon warehouse somewhere in Los Angeles, California…holy cow! I’m in California! Well right now I didn’t know where I was once again thanks to that maniac Joe and his wonder drugs. I knew I had to be in a transportation device right now because I was moving and I saw roads and trees pass by pretty quickly…from what I could see lying strapped to the back of the seat of a car! A car! I tried to get up only to be pinned down by rope. But this time I noticed the lack of tape. I heard voices talking only to assume that they are those two idiots who got me in this mess in the first place. Charles Rayford and Joe McKenzie. With nothing else to do and I found struggling pointless I arched my head to the passenger seat to listen in on the conversation. Did I mention I like to eavesdrop?

“I’m glad this shit is over and done with now I can go back to my cozy office and work on the homicides that have been popping up like crazy now!” Joe says and waves his hands in the air…ugh I am stating this now I. HATE. JOE.

“Joseph you should be thanking me from taking you away from all those homicide cases. You’re a detective you should let the police handle those cases” I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Charles roll his eyes. He stopped and locked eyes with mine. Joe began to open his mouth only to look into the direction of Charles’s eyes.

“Oh look the golden boy is awake” Joe says as he yawns. I glare at Joe through the mirror. I swear when I get out of here the first thing I am going to do is punch him in the jaw.

“Unless you want to use up all your sedatives today instead of on someone who needs them I suggest you stop aggravating the boy!” The car screeched as Charles made a wide turn and the outside turned from the blank night sky and a half dozen cars to the eerie woods of a forest. I shuddered at the sudden change in location as a loud grumbling came from my stomach.

“And besides” Charles began with a smirk on his face “I would watch out before my little brother eats you” a glare formed on my face at his statement.

“First off I’m not your little brother” I said in response only to look at a hurt expression from Charles.

“Secondly I would take you up on that offer to bite Joe’s head off” the frown on Charles’s face turned into a wide grin. Joe on the other hand had horror written all over his face.

“As if I would let you eat me! I have a flood ton of sedatives in here that could kill you within five seconds so I would hush up and go back to sleep until we arrive at the mansion” I saw Joe pout as new questions formed in my head: what’s the mansion? Well I obviously knew what a mansion was but whose mansion was it and why was I going there? I decided not to ask because I knew I wouldn’t get any answers so I just took Joe up on his advice and closed my eyes and went to sleep.

It was three in the morning well according to the clock on the dash board it was when I was awoken by the sound of car doors being opened and closed as well as voices engaged in an argument. I couldn’t hear them speak so well as their voices where muffled. I did hear the sound of footsteps walking up a gravel path and a door to a house being knocked on…ARE THEY LEAVING ME IN HERE? I did the most stupid thing I could do and sat up in my seat only to be pinned down again making my already throbbing head ache with pain. I groaned what seemed like hours until the doors opened up on both sides of me as men in black suits surrounded the car. Its like stepped in a mob movie or something.

“Your scaring the child Henry” I heard Charles say to this mysterious Henry as everyone looked the exact same. My head continued to pound and God I missed Joe’s wonder drugs to subside the head ache…please don’t tell me I am becoming an addict already. If I mentioned this before than I mentioned it again I. HATE. JOE.

My stomach grumbled again as a bodyguard or a guard of some sorts grabbed my arms and pulled me roughly helping me out of car. More like forcing me out of the car as, as soon I was out I tumbled to the ground and heard some noises that was similar to laughing.

“The next person I hear laugh at the Young Master will be fired do you understand me?” I heard a voice say it sounded like a man I assumed it was this mysterious Henry person. And wait did he just call me the Young Master?

“Release him now who knows what that idiot Joe put him through!” If my head didn’t feel like hell right now I would give that man a high five. He like me hated Joe…or Joseph which was his real name apparently. The man who helped me out of the car took a pair of scissors and cut the rope around me. I again did something stupid by springing to my feet only to fall back down on the ground do to the blurriness of my vision.   

“Don’t just sit here help the Young Master up!” a different guy helped me up and steadied me as I walked up the pathway and into the door. I wasn’t able to see the outside of the house to know it was a pretty huge mansion. The foyer was the room that we walked to and man was it a sight to see. There was gigantic chandelier hanging from the ceiling it was gold plated with what looked like candle holders but was actually just light bulbs.  A massive rug in the middle held a single table with white flowers and similar tables sat adjacent to the big white fireplace. To top it all off to my right a gigantic spiral stair case led to the second and I assume third floors. I closed my mouth which had opened and squealed like a little girl who just saw her favorite boy band in concert. Gosh I needed to get a life.

I heard a cough and footsteps which snapped my head back to the situation at hand. I had been kidnapped and was now in Los Angeles, California and so far my “brother” Charles and that psychopath Joe was nowhere in sight. The only person who stood before me along with about eighteen guards along the wall was an older man with salt and pepper hair as well as a white mustache. He looked to be about sixty to seventy years old maybe older. I looked at him and realized I was sitting down on a gold and red couch. I tried to sit up but the dizziness had overcome me. The older man snapped his fingers and a maid with brown hair came in with a tray filled with those mini sandwiches with cucumber and ham and such. Well I hated cucumber but I was to hungry to let all this perfectly good food go to waste. As the maid began to pour tea…I hate tea but oh well I picked up one of the sandwiches only to eat another and another before the old man began to speak.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the food. I forgot to tell the Head Maid that you were allergic to cucumbers” the old man said as I picked up another tiny sandwich this one with ham and mayo. Before I bit into it I began to speak “I am not allergic to cucumbers” I stated before taking a bite.

“I just hate them” I said through a mouth filled with food. The old man laughed assuming that what I had said was funny which I didn’t find that amusing myself. I grabbed the cup of tea which turned out to be Green tea which I didn’t mind since I could eat or drink anything I could get my hands on right now.

“I am sorry for the late introductions Young Master but my name is Henry and I am the Rayford family’s personal butler as well as master of the house. I also want to apologize for the way you have been treated I understand that Sir Joseph has been a little rough with you?” he asked and I nodded I hated Joe and I hated that he called him Sir Joseph. Bleh.

“I know that you have many questions for us and before you ask them I would like to inform you that you are the lost master to the house of Rayford and the sole heir to Rayford Enterprise” I put down the sandwich that I was eating. Me the sole heir to Rayford Enterprise? WAIT RAYFORD ENTERPRISE!? Everybody who is anybody knows what the company is. Founded nearly a decade ago yes only a decade back in 2010 the company has become the oil tycoon everyone envies. The company has been so successful they have branched out to other mediums such as real estate and commercial businesses. Me the sole heir that wasn’t possible…was it?

“That’s a funny joke old man. I thought the oldest son inherited stuff like that and clearly if I assume Charles is the oldest where I am concerned” I pick up the sandwich I was eating and took two more bites only to realize that was the last one and frowned. Henry frowned and snapped his fingers before another maid walked in with a plate of pasta and I found my mouth watering. She took out a chunk of parmesan and started grating it on my plate. I held up my hand and she stopped and walked out the door. That’s when I began to devour my plate man I was hungry.

“Your older brother is currently running the business but a few months ago with Avery Rayford fell ill he came out with a secret that only those in the household know. That secret is you Marco” I looked up from my plate in confusion.

“That still doesn’t make any sense!” I began to whine as my pasta fell out my mouth.

“Obviously Charles has to be what five or six years older than me! Therefore he gets the inheritance and the business…well I assume there is inheritance. Since he is the first born son” I stopped eating to look at Henry’s reaction. Only to hear him let out a sigh of frustration.

“Charles is the oldest son but not the heir to the Rayford Empire. YOU are the heir as you are Avery’s only child” my mouth gaped open as I heard the news. Like I stated before everyone knew who Charles and Avery Rayford where two men who would make even a mafia boss cry.

“W-what does that mean?” I said as my hands begin to shake as I realized what he just said. And if I am correct that means that Charles is not Avery Rayford’s son he is not my brother. Half-brother maybe?

“You are the only son to Avery and Sophia Grace Rayford and their son Charles is adopted” the only thing I could do in the situation was laugh.