Chapter 2: Mental Health Day

"If you'll come with us, we'll go ahead and explain everything," Roger said, turning to lead the way. The rest of us followed with Karl striding along next to me. We entered the building and went through metal detectors. VanCamp held up his hand as the security guard stationed at his desk stood up and started to approach us, "It's alright LaDarius. He's with us." The security guard nodded and returned to his seat.

"Thank you for agreeing to come on such short notice, Marcus," Karl said as we continued through the building. "I'm aware of how confusing this all is for you."

"You're not wrong. Until you called, I didn't know anything about my birth father. His name... nothing. How did you find me?"

"Your grandfather only became aware of who you were eleven years ago. He understood that you had a good life with a loving family and didn't want to disrupt that, so he decided not to reach out to you, but he kept up with you."

I blinked, "My grandpa kept tabs on me for eleven years but never reached out?"

"You have to understand, he was an eccentric man. A workaholic... it didn't leave a lot of time for family. He seemed to see the situation as beneficial for everyone involved."

"What happened to my father?" I asked.

"He died about a year after you were born in a boating accident. He never married or had any other children that we are aware of."

To go from having no information at all, to finding out that my father and grandfather were both dead and that they clearly left me with some sort of inheritance was flooring. Especially on top of the fact that my dating life had taken an upside-down turn less than 12 hours ago. I chewed on all that information as we continued down the maze of austere hallways. We finally arrived at a conference room where several other people in suits were already sitting at a large, dark mahogany table. Papers and computers were scattered across its surface... it looked like they'd been there for a while.

Karl indicated to a seat and took the one next to me, "Thank you for joining us, Mr. Upton. As you know, we're here to discuss the matter of your grandfather's death. As I informed you, you are your father's only child. About five years ago, your grandfather drafted a new will that stated you were to inherit the entirety of his estate. We've been tasked with executing his will upon his death."

"Congratulations, Mr. Upton. You've just inherited nine-hundred thirty billion dollars."