One Man Band System

When he reached the house, Eric stood on the porch and knocked on the front door. "Click." A moment later, his mother, still wearing her elegant party dress, opened it. Her face contorted into shock when she saw the bandage on his nose, but her expression instantly hardened into pure anger.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"It wasn’t me, Mom! The guy with Melissa was Blake, Jason’s old college friend and Melissa’s coworker. Melissa told me herself," Eric explained desperately.

Hearing his words, his mother went quiet for a second, but then she shook her head and slowly began to shut the door. Eric immediately blocked it with his foot.

"Mom, just listen to me! I didn’t do anything. Melissa asked me to help her move some furniture so she could set up the living room for after the wedding. Blake was right there in the apartment with her," Eric pleaded.

"Hmm? Who’s right there?" a man’s voice cut in.

His mother pulled the door back open, and Eric’s eyes widened when he saw the man standing right behind her. As his mother stepped aside, Eric noticed Ruby and Jade peeking out from the living room. But his eyes were locked entirely on the man in front of him.

"Blake! What the hell are you doing here? You’re the one who slept with Melissa!" Eric yelled, pointing a finger directly at Blake’s face.

"Huh... what are you even talking about, Ric?" Blake shrugged, playing dumb with an act of complete surprise.

"That’s enough, Eric. Get out of here and stop causing trouble," his mother said.

Suddenly, Eric’s heart sank. He saw Jason walk up to the door, holding hands with Vivian. Jason placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder, and Blake stepped aside. Now Jason stood right in front of Eric, with Vivian by his side. She kept her head down, refusing to look Eric in the eye.

"What are you doing here? Where’s your woman?" Jason asked brutally.

"Jason... just let me explain. The guy cheating with Melissa wasn’t me, it was Bla—"

"Crack." Before Eric could finish, Jason’s fist slammed into his face. Vivian immediately grabbed Jason to hold him back.

"Stop it, babe, don’t. You’ll just get into trouble with the cops. He isn’t worth it," Vivian said, resting her hand on Jason’s chest while throwing a cold, cynical glare at Eric.

"Stab." Eric’s chest felt like it had been pierced by a massive spear, leaving a hollow, gaping wound. He stood there completely stunned, the physical pain in his face entirely forgotten.

"Come on, man, let’s go inside," Blake urged, patting Jason on the back.

"Leave, or I’m calling the police," his mother warned Eric.

Jason turned and walked back inside with Vivian clinging to his arm. Before the door closed, Blake glanced back at Eric, smirked, and winked. His mother slammed the door shut, and the heavy sound of the lock turning echoed through the air.

Eric collapsed onto the ground, frozen and speechless. His heart felt so deeply broken that it was turning to ice. The woman he loved was now with the brother who had brutally attacked him, while the actual culprit was being welcomed into his home.

His tears dried up completely. His blood boiled, and his hands clenched so tightly they began to shake. The sheer betrayal taking place right in front of him was unforgivable. Slowly, he pushed himself up and turned around. He realized coming here was completely pointless; no matter what he explained, not a single person in his family would ever believe him.

"I guess they’d rather trust a snake like Blake someone who will gladly stab them in the back—than their own son and brother... And as for Vivian... I am completely done with these people. Like Jason said, they just happen to share my DNA. Except for Vivian. Goodbye to everyone, and goodbye to this miserable world," Eric thought to himself.

"Thud." He hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder and walked away from his house without looking back a single time. With a storm of emotions inside him and a dark, uncertain future ahead, Eric had no idea where he was going.

To make things worse, the cash he had left was barely enough to buy food for a single day. But above all, his heart ached as if pierced by a thousand needles. He knew he could never forgive his family, or Vivian, his ex-girlfriend.

As he walked aimlessly, suddenly "ding," a text notification went off on his phone. He sighed, assuming it was just more hate from the family group chat. Even so, he figured he might as well face it; things couldn’t possibly get any worse than they already were.

He pulled out his smartphone and looked at the screen. It was actually a message from an unknown number. Curious, he opened it.

"Good afternoon, this is Richard Stone from Stone and Friends Law Firm. May I ask where you are currently located?"

"Huh... Richard Stone... a lawyer?" Eric thought, his face turning pale again. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

His mind immediately began racing with worst-case scenarios. He wondered if his family had hired a lawyer to sue him. But even though he didn’t know much about the law, he knew that sleeping with a future sister-in-law wasn’t a criminal offense. Then another thought hit him maybe the lawyer was representing Melissa, suing him for emotional distress or something ridiculous.

His head was spinning when suddenly "ring!" the phone erupted in his hand, causing him to almost drop it. Eric saw that the incoming call was from the exact same number that had just texted him.

"Man... he’s calling... fine, whatever... let’s just get this over with," Eric thought, bracing himself.

Steeling his resolve, Eric swiped the screen and slowly brought the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" Eric answered.

"Good afternoon, am I speaking with Mr. Eric Watts?" a friendly man’s voice asked on the other end.

"Yes... that’s me. Who’s calling?" Eric asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"My name is Richard. Are you free to speak right now?" Richard asked.

"Go ahead," Eric replied routinely, closing his eyes to accept whatever was coming.

"Well, I am the legal representative for your grandfather, Elliot Reed. I’d like to invite you to my office for the reading of your grandfather’s last will and testament," Richard said.

Eric froze. All his negative thoughts vanished in an instant, replaced by utter confusion. As far as he knew, his grandfather’s name wasn’t Elliot Reed.

"Um... are you sure you have the right number?" Eric blurted out, too bewildered to filter his thoughts.

"No mistake at all... Your grandfather’s name is indeed Elliot Reed. He left his entire business empire to you, to be inherited when you turned 18. Since today is your birthday, I am carrying out your grandfather’s instructions," Richard explained calmly, though he sounded quite amused by Eric’s stunned reaction.

"Oh... I see," Eric replied, his mind a complete blank.

"I will text you my office address. I’ll be waiting for you. See you soon," Richard concluded.

Before Eric could even respond, the call cut off. A moment later "ding," a text arrived. He opened it and saw that Richard had sent a GPS location for his office. It turned out to be located in the state’s major metropolis, which required a three- to four-hour train ride to get there.

Eric, still completely numb and trying to process what had just happened, stared blankly at his phone screen. He pulled the cash envelope out of his pocket and checked his funds again. He had just enough money to buy a one-way train ticket to the city.

He began to think things through carefully. If this turned out to be a scam, it would ruin him completely, leaving him entirely stranded in a massive city. He looked up Richard’s law firm on a search engine. It turned out the firm was fully legitimate, possessing a registered corporate license and clear legal standing.

Even though he verified the firm was real, he still hesitated. Once he hopped on that train, he wouldn’t be coming back to this town again. But then, the faces of his parents flashed through his mind, his brother, his sister, his cousin, and the image of his brother holding hands with his ex-girlfriend.

That did it. Eric made up his mind. He had absolutely nothing left to lose, so even if he ended up stranded, it didn’t matter anymore. With a firm, decisive stride, he walked toward the train station toward a completely new destination.