Suddenly, I Am Rich

”Breaking news this morning. Mayor Alistair of Arcadia was taken into police custody at his private residence earlier today. According to initial reports, the arrest is connected to an ongoing investigation involving allegations of abuse of power and corruption that surfaced online yesterday.”

The news on the television played in the background as Gray and the others had their late breakfast. Everyone woke up late after having a good rest yesterday, except Gray and Mara, who stayed up late.

Lily sat across from Gray. She was swinging her legs slightly as she focused on her breakfast. Eli was beside her. The two were carefully eating while glancing at the screen from time to time.

Mara was still there, too. She was seated beside Gray, casually with a cup of coffee in her hand. She stayed through the night in Gray’s place.

”Authorities have confirmed that a warrant was issued prior to the operation, and the mayor is currently under formal custody as legal proceedings begin.”

”Officials have assured the public that the matter will be handled in accordance with due process, and that further updates will be released as the investigation develops.”

Gray and Mara listened well to the news. They glanced at each other after the segment stopped, but didn’t say anything. They couldn’t share their own thoughts when the kids were with them.

Still, their reaction was there. Mara’s lips curved slightly as she took a small sip of her coffee. Gray also simply looked away after, reaching for his glass to drink some water.

”Huh?” But Lily’s small voice broke the silence. She frowned slightly, with her eyes still on the television.

”Why is the mayor with the police, brother?”

Gray froze in place at the sudden question. He let out a breath before turning to her.

”Haven’t you been hanging out with him, brother?” Lily added, tilting her head innocently.

Gray winced slightly at that, but he still tried to make his expression as nice as ever.

”I used to, Lily,” he corrected her gently. He rested his arm on the table before leaning slightly toward her.

”The mayor... did something bad, Lily,” he said carefully without trying to give away some information. ”So now the police have to take him and fix the problem.”

”Bad thing?” Lily’s eyes widened almost instantly.

Gray nodded once, keeping his tone calm.

”Yeah. And when someone does something bad, they have to take responsibility for it.” The corner of his lips rose to a small smile.

Lily slowly looked back at the television, clearly processing it.

”Oh...” she just muttered, before nodding her head.

Beside her, Eli had gone unusually quiet. Lily noticed it after a moment, and she couldn’t help but glance at him.

”Eli, why aren’t you saying anything?” she asked him.

Eli stiffened slightly at being suddenly called.

”Oh... right,” Lily continued, suddenly remembering it. ”Weren’t you from the mayor’s foundation, Eli?”

Eli hesitated before slowly nodding.

”Yeah.” He answered in a soft and careful voice. He took a small pause before talking again.

”I... don’t really like the mayor.” Eli’s voice was barely audible when he said those words.

Lily blinked at that. Then her eyes widened again, even more than before.

”Oh no!” she gasped, looking back at Gray. ”He must be a really bad person then if Eli doesn’t like him, brother!”

Her reaction was so immediate and sounded genuine that it made Gray and Mara laugh.

”Hey,” he said, shaking his head slightly. ”It’s not that simple, Lily.”

Lily looked confused at that, but she still looked serious.

”Then you should help him stay with the police, brother!” she insisted. ”So he won’t be bad anymore!”

Mara had to cover her mouth slightly. She couldn’t believe she was hearing such words. It was funny to her.

Gray also chuckled softly at. He reached out to lightly flick her forehead.

”Ouch, brother!” Lily exclaimed out loud before glaring at Gray.

Gray chuckled.

”Your brother already did what he could, okay? Not it’s the police’s job.”

Lily blinked at that, then pouted. Slowly, she nodded as she had already accepted the answer, even if she didn’t fully understand it.

”Okay, brother.”

Eli stayed quiet beside her, but it was obvious how surprised he was by the news. After talking to Lily, Gray’s gaze drifted toward him.

Eli was still holding his spoon, though he had stopped eating. His eyes were lowered at first as if he was still trying to process everything he had just heard.

As the boy looked up, their eyes met.

The television was now displaying different news, but it really stuck in Eli’s head. Gray didn’t say anything and just looked at him. Slowly, he gave Eli a small and reassuring smile.

Eli was surprised at that. For a moment, he looked like he didn’t know how to respond. But then, Eli also smiled at him. It looked hesitant at first, before it became a genuine one.

Gray chuckled at it. At that moment, something in his chest settled. A quiet sense of satisfaction spread through him. He didn’t need to hear anything else to know that Eli was happy with what happened.

That alone made everything feel right, even if it took him months. He knew that Eli was one of the main reasons why he chose this, so that no more children like Eli would suffer the way he did.

Gray nodded at the boy before proceeding to eat. The 4 continued eating like nothing happened. They moved away from the topic and talked about other things. Lily led the talk as usual.

*Kringg *Kringgg

However, Gray’s phone suddenly rang on the side. The ringing was loud enough that it immediately caught everyone’s attention. All eyes turned to Gray’s phone, even him.

Gray quickly took his phone and looked at the caller’s id.

[Unknown Number calling...]

His eyes narrowed at that.

”Are you gonna answer that?” Mara asked from the side.

Gray turned to her and nodded.

”I’ll just take this call,” he announced to everyone before standing and going to a more private area.

= = =

A/N:

I just recently published a new novel! The title is ”I Was Framed, Now I’ll Take The Throne.”

If you have some free time, please check it out and let me know your thoughts!