Suddenly, I Am Rich

”Brother!” Lily’s loud voice quickly rang out as the doors of their condo opened up. She hurriedl ran over and hugged him, almost bumping into him from the speed. Right behind her, Eli walked a little faster too. His eyes brightened when he saw them.

”You’re back so early…” Eli said in awe, sounding a little relieved.

”Of course,” Gray replied with a smile. ”I promised, remember?”

The two kids nodded at that.

”And by the way, I didn’t come alone.” With a smile on his face, Gray took a step to the side so Mara could come into view. She waved her hand and chuckled at their surprised reaction.

”Sister Mara!” she gasped. ”You came too!”

Before Mara could even say anything, Lily was already running towards her. Eli also took a step forward. He was clearly happy as well, even if he did not say it out loud.

”It’s nice to see you again, Lily,” Mara said softly as she smiled down at them.

”We missed you, too!” Lily said without thinking. ”You haven’t been here in a while! You rarely visit us!”

Mara laughed a little. ”I know, little one. I’ve been busy.”

Gray watched them quietly. He was pretty happy. Over the past few weeks, Eli had slowly become more comfortable in the condo. So seeing him greet now, just like Lily, made Gray feel thankful.

”Oh, right, Sister Mara, Sister Selina is not here,” Lily added and pouted. ”She left three days ago with Uncle Conrad. They went to a business meeting.”

”Yeah,” Gray nodded. ”I already told her that. So it’s just us for tonight.”

”Oh well, it’s still fine!” Lily said happily. ”We can take a few pictures and send it to Sister Selina!”

”We’ll do that.” Gray chuckled and nodded.

The three of them laughed together. The mood in their condo immediately became better with Gray and Mara.

Amidst their laughter, Gray turned to Eli.

”So, did you already choose what movie to watch, Eli?”

Eli looked a little shy, but he nodded. ”Y… yes.”

Lily quickly lifted her chin and smiled proudly. ”Do not worry, brother! I helped him,” she said. ”And it is not the kind of movie I like. It is Eli’s choice, okayyy?”

”Alright, alright. That sounds fair.” Gray laughed.

”Now I’m curious what you picked.” Mara smiled at them.

”It’s good, Sister!” Lily said with a grin. ”You’ll see.”

”Good,” Gray picked up his coat and placed it on the side. ”Why don’t you three go order the pizzas you like? Take Mara with you. I’ll just go to my room and change first, okay?”

”Alright, Brother,” Lily replied right away. She grabbed Mara’s hand and then reached for Eli’s.

”Come on! We have to choose the best pizza! Brother will pay for it!”

”Alright,” Eli let out a small laugh and followed her.

”Do not choose something too spicy,” Gray said as they walked away. ”I can’t handle that.”

”We will pick something good, don’t worryyyy!” Lily shouted back confidently.

Gray just smiled as he watched them go. He stayed there for a moment before heading to his room to change.

Gray walked into his room and closed the door behind him. The noise from the living room slowly faded, replaced by the quietness of his room. He took off his coat and placed it on the chair, then opened his closet.

He picked a simple shirt and a pair of clean pants. He wanted to wear something comfortable for the night. As he was about to turn away, he paused.

’Mara was still wearing her work clothes, right?’ Gray frowned a little.

She had been out all day, so he knew that sitting around in those clothes while watching movies and eating pizza did not sound comfortable at all.

He reached into the closet again and pulled out one of his loose shirts. Then he grabbed a pair of soft shorts. After a short thought, he folded them neatly and placed them on the edge of his bed.

”This way, she can change if she wants,” he muttered quietly.

After that, he went back to picking his own clothes. He changed quickly, then sat down for a moment. He sighed deeply.

Even if he’s in his room, he still couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the dinner with Alistair this weekend.

Gray leaned back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. The more he thought about it, the more he felt how important that dinner was going to be.

He knew that Alistair would not invite just anyone to a private dinner with his close friends. In reality, those people were not just friends. They were the ones standing behind him and the ones who helped him keep his power.

Those were Gray’s real targets.

He wasn’t only looking at Alistair, but also the people behind him.

It was the reason why Gray had donated money to Alistair more than once. All of it was to make Alistair trust him so he could go in his inner circle.

And now, Alistair was finally opening up to him.

”If I know who they are,” Gray thought, ”I’ll know where to hit.”

Once he knew who was backing Alistair, he could start planning his next steps. He could see who was protecting him, who was covering things up, and who else might be involved with the foundation.

It was not enough to just bring Alistair down. The people behind him had to fall too.

Gray closed his eyes for a second, then let out a deep sigh.

”It’s fine, I’ll know them soon,” he murmured.

However, at the middle of thinking about it, a soft knock came from the door.

”Hello? Brother?” Lily’s voice called from outside. ”We are done choosing the pizza.”

Gray stood up and walked to the door. He opened it with a small smile.

”Alright,” he said. ”I’m coming.”

Before stepping out, he remembered the clothes he had placed on the bed for Mara.

”Right Lily, can you call your sister Mara first? Tell her I prepared some clothes for her to change into in my room. I’ll wait for her here.”