Seeing Red
Date with Mr. Danis
A maid came in just then, and said something to her. She didn’t hear, and the maid repeated her request.
“Miss, shall I take you to your room?”
Carmen snapped her head to look at her, as if she had come out of a trance. She took a deep breath, picked up her luggage, and told her to lead the way.
The maid led her to a room on the second floor, which showed her a beautiful view of the back of the house. There was a swimming pool, a tennis court, a beautiful garden with an oak tree, and few acres of land that were kept immaculately green.
The room itself was almost amazing as the house, and more to Carmen’s taste. Everything was contemporarily designed, exactly as Carmen would have chosen herself. The walls of the room were a light green. The furniture was mostly of metal and clouded glass. Right in front of the bed adorned with dozens of white and green pillows, the painting “Starry Night” was hung. She absolutely loved it. Due to the time lapse, it was still mid-afternoon and Carmen was feeling bored.
She went downstairs to see if she could be of help with anything. The maid encountered her again. She showed her to a small parlor room. A man about forty years old, with graying blonde hair and very fair skin was sitting there. He had steel gray eyes. Carmen guessed this was Mr. Danis, but she wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. He was wearing a designer suit, and fiddled with a pen in his hands. She cleared her throat to notify her presence in the room. The man stood up and walked over to her, offering her his hand.
“Hello, Miss Priest. I’m Henry Danis.”
“Um, hello.”
He enquired, “Do you have any idea of the size of the property that you inherited Carmen?”
“I can’t give even a rough estimate.”
“I can. You inherited over two hundred million dollars.”
Carmen knees went weak. From what John Tanner had told her, she thought that her fortune was maybe a few dozen thousand dollars. She never expected that she would suddenly become a millionaire. Mr. Danis continued.
“But unfortunately, you have control of none of it right now. The money all comes into your control after a year, on your eighteenth birthday. Until then, I’m afraid that you are in grave danger. A lot of people are looking to kill you.”
“Wait, won’t they try to kill me after my eighteenth birthday? And why would they want to kill me? And who are they?”
He explained, “Your father had a brother, Charles. Charles at first, seemed eager to walk in his father’s footsteps, but later we found out he was stealing from the company. So, your grandfather severed all ties with him. If your grandfather hadn’t left you his as sole heir, Charles would get everything, being his closest blood relative. And there are others that want a share of this money, many others, who will join together when they find out about the statement of the will. They won’t kill you after your eighteenth birthday because then the money comes into your control, for your eighteenth birthday, we will prepare a will, stating some heir if you were to die. Then the money would never get to them, and they have no reason to kill you.”
Carmen was frightened at the possibility of being murdered. She broke out into a cold sweat understanding the full weight of the situation. Any person would do anything for such a large amount of money.
She asked him, “How do you know I’ll even survive two weeks with so many influential people after my head?”
“First of all, we will delay the reading of the will for as long as possible, and try to buy time. Second of all, you’ll be guaranteed the best security money can afford. You haven’t noticed it, but this house is top-secret and has the best security system in the market. Not to mention, the well-prepared staff. That maid that you saw, she’s a black belt.”
Carmen was convinced, but one question lingered in her mind.
“Why do you want me to be my grandfather’s heir? I mean, Charles probably has tons more experience and is more qualified. Why not support him?”
Mr. Danis looked like he had come prepared to answer the numerous questions that she said.
“Your grandfather chose you. It’s true that although you never saw him and never met him, he was constantly watching over you. He’s been watching over you since you were born. Four years ago, he talked to your mother about making you his successor, and your mother asked for time to think. Before the time ended, both your parents met with that accident. Your grandfather saw that you had nowhere to go except to be his successor, and that’s why he enrolled you in Helmstead Hall. He was thrilled with your progress in the school, and that’s why he changed his will and made you his sole heir last year. The reason he never met you was to make it seem to Charles and the others that he was simply showing sympathy to you by sending you to school. He didn’t want them to get suspicious about you being his heir. He loved you. He bought a house near your school sometimes. Since he owned almost half of your school, he could visit the school frequently without raising suspicion. He talked to all your teachers, he worried when your dorm warden said you weren’t eating right last year, he fretted about you being a loner. I was there by his side every time he felt guilty that you two had never spoken to each other face-to-face, and worried that you lived the life of an orphan even though you had him.”
Tears formed in Carmen’s eyes. It had been so long since she felt that anyone had loved her. Now she found that the grandfather that she thought didn’t care about her, cared for her more than anyone. She mourned for her grandfather, and the loss that she suffered through never meeting him.
“Miss, shall I take you to your room?”
Carmen snapped her head to look at her, as if she had come out of a trance. She took a deep breath, picked up her luggage, and told her to lead the way.
The maid led her to a room on the second floor, which showed her a beautiful view of the back of the house. There was a swimming pool, a tennis court, a beautiful garden with an oak tree, and few acres of land that were kept immaculately green.
The room itself was almost amazing as the house, and more to Carmen’s taste. Everything was contemporarily designed, exactly as Carmen would have chosen herself. The walls of the room were a light green. The furniture was mostly of metal and clouded glass. Right in front of the bed adorned with dozens of white and green pillows, the painting “Starry Night” was hung. She absolutely loved it. Due to the time lapse, it was still mid-afternoon and Carmen was feeling bored.
She went downstairs to see if she could be of help with anything. The maid encountered her again. She showed her to a small parlor room. A man about forty years old, with graying blonde hair and very fair skin was sitting there. He had steel gray eyes. Carmen guessed this was Mr. Danis, but she wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. He was wearing a designer suit, and fiddled with a pen in his hands. She cleared her throat to notify her presence in the room. The man stood up and walked over to her, offering her his hand.
“Hello, Miss Priest. I’m Henry Danis.”
“Um, hello.”
He enquired, “Do you have any idea of the size of the property that you inherited Carmen?”
“I can’t give even a rough estimate.”
“I can. You inherited over two hundred million dollars.”
Carmen knees went weak. From what John Tanner had told her, she thought that her fortune was maybe a few dozen thousand dollars. She never expected that she would suddenly become a millionaire. Mr. Danis continued.
“But unfortunately, you have control of none of it right now. The money all comes into your control after a year, on your eighteenth birthday. Until then, I’m afraid that you are in grave danger. A lot of people are looking to kill you.”
“Wait, won’t they try to kill me after my eighteenth birthday? And why would they want to kill me? And who are they?”
He explained, “Your father had a brother, Charles. Charles at first, seemed eager to walk in his father’s footsteps, but later we found out he was stealing from the company. So, your grandfather severed all ties with him. If your grandfather hadn’t left you his as sole heir, Charles would get everything, being his closest blood relative. And there are others that want a share of this money, many others, who will join together when they find out about the statement of the will. They won’t kill you after your eighteenth birthday because then the money comes into your control, for your eighteenth birthday, we will prepare a will, stating some heir if you were to die. Then the money would never get to them, and they have no reason to kill you.”
Carmen was frightened at the possibility of being murdered. She broke out into a cold sweat understanding the full weight of the situation. Any person would do anything for such a large amount of money.
She asked him, “How do you know I’ll even survive two weeks with so many influential people after my head?”
“First of all, we will delay the reading of the will for as long as possible, and try to buy time. Second of all, you’ll be guaranteed the best security money can afford. You haven’t noticed it, but this house is top-secret and has the best security system in the market. Not to mention, the well-prepared staff. That maid that you saw, she’s a black belt.”
Carmen was convinced, but one question lingered in her mind.
“Why do you want me to be my grandfather’s heir? I mean, Charles probably has tons more experience and is more qualified. Why not support him?”
Mr. Danis looked like he had come prepared to answer the numerous questions that she said.
“Your grandfather chose you. It’s true that although you never saw him and never met him, he was constantly watching over you. He’s been watching over you since you were born. Four years ago, he talked to your mother about making you his successor, and your mother asked for time to think. Before the time ended, both your parents met with that accident. Your grandfather saw that you had nowhere to go except to be his successor, and that’s why he enrolled you in Helmstead Hall. He was thrilled with your progress in the school, and that’s why he changed his will and made you his sole heir last year. The reason he never met you was to make it seem to Charles and the others that he was simply showing sympathy to you by sending you to school. He didn’t want them to get suspicious about you being his heir. He loved you. He bought a house near your school sometimes. Since he owned almost half of your school, he could visit the school frequently without raising suspicion. He talked to all your teachers, he worried when your dorm warden said you weren’t eating right last year, he fretted about you being a loner. I was there by his side every time he felt guilty that you two had never spoken to each other face-to-face, and worried that you lived the life of an orphan even though you had him.”
Tears formed in Carmen’s eyes. It had been so long since she felt that anyone had loved her. Now she found that the grandfather that she thought didn’t care about her, cared for her more than anyone. She mourned for her grandfather, and the loss that she suffered through never meeting him.