One Man Band System

The next morning, very early at the train station, a security guard walked over to a bench where a young man in a disheveled groomsman’s tuxedo was fast asleep, clutching his duffel bag.

"Hey... wake up," the guard said, giving the young man’s shoulder a firm nudge.

"Ugh."

The young man, Eric, stirred. He slowly blinked his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was the round, friendly, but concerned face of a middle-aged security guard. It was obvious the guard had just finished a rough night shift; his own appearance was pretty worn out. Eric snapped awake instantly and sat up straight on the bench.

"Finally, you’re awake. The station is about to open, so you’d better get moving," the guard said with a warm smile.

"Oh... right. Sorry about that, sir," Eric said, running a hand through his messy hair.

"If you want to clean yourself up or at least wash your face, head straight to the restroom while it’s still empty," the guard offered.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. Oh, actually... let me ask you something real quick," Eric said, pulling out his smartphone.

He brought up the address for Richard Stone’s law firm and showed the screen to the guard. The guard squinted and read it carefully.

"Is it far from this station?" Eric asked.

"Hmm... a bit, yeah. It’s right in the heart of downtown. Your best bet is to catch a rideshare over there," the guard replied.

"I see. Thanks, sir," Eric muttered quietly. He checked his money; only a few dollar bills were left inside the envelope.

"Don’t mention it. Go on, wash your face, then swing by the security office. I’ve got some pastries left over, good enough for breakfast," the guard said, patting Eric on the shoulder.

"Will do, sir. Thanks again," Eric said, bowing his head slightly.

The guard headed back to his post while Eric stretched his aching muscles. He stood up, walked over to the restroom, changed out of his tuxedo into his regular clothes, and washed his face. Once he finished, he went to the security office to find the guard. When he arrived, the man handed him a box containing a croissant and a donut, and secretly slipped a $20 bill into Eric’s jeans pocket.

After saying his goodbyes, Eric walked out of the station. The morning sunlight immediately hit his eyes, forcing him to shield his face with his forearm. Eating his donut, he looked around at the bustling city environment, which was already incredibly hectic so early in the morning.

"Wow... so this is what a big city looks like... I feel like a total hillbilly who’s never seen civilization before... Well, technically, I really have never been here," Eric thought to himself.

Now dressed in just a plain white shirt and jeans, Eric pulled out his phone again and opened his rideshare app. He sat down on the edge of the station steps, waiting for his ride to arrive. A wave of sadness and betrayal washed over him again, but the heavy emotion was quickly sidelined by pure confusion and curiosity over his grandfather’s name, Elliot Reed.

"Elliot Reed... Is he a grandfather from my mom’s side? Definitely not... and there’s no way he’s from my dad’s side either... My grandparents joined right in on condemning me yesterday because of that damn setup," Eric thought.

Then, a thought crossed his mind that had never occurred to him before. If it was true, it would perfectly explain why his parents always practiced favoritism toward Jason and Ruby.

"Could it be... I’m not actually my parents’ child? Is that why they loved Jason and Ruby more? But wait, does anyone really spend that much money to raise someone else’s kid these days?" he wondered.

Before he could overthink it, his rideshare pulled up. He slid into the backseat, and the car merged into traffic, leaving the station behind. Throughout the ride, he stared out the window, watching the busy city streets teeming with pedestrians on the sidewalks. As they drove past a university campus, his heart tightened. That school had actually been one of his options, even though his top choice was the university back in his hometown.

Bitterness creeping in, he turned his gaze back to the road ahead. The car kept driving into the city center, which was lined with towering glass skyscrapers. Checking the GPS route, Eric saw they were almost at Richard’s office, causing his heart to beat rapidly against his chest. Finally, the car pulled up to a massive glass building with a plaque out front reading "Stone and Friends Law Firm." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

After paying the driver with the last of his cash, Eric stepped out. He stared up at the imposing building. "Grip." He tightly squeezed the strap of his duffel bag, took a deep breath, and let it out, forcing down his anxiety and confusion to find his resolve. Once he felt steady, he walked straight inside. A few moments later "ting," the elevator doors opened. Eric stepped out, walked through a set of glass doors, and approached a woman working at the reception desk.

The moment she saw Eric, the secretary stood up and greeted him with a polite smile.

"Welcome. Do you have an appointment with Mr. Stone? May I ask your name?" she asked warmly.

"Um... hi. I’m Eric Watts. Mr. Stone asked me to come to his office yesterday," Eric replied politely.

Before the secretary could respond, Eric heard the sound of hurried footsteps echoing from inside the main office. "Click." The door swung open, and a middle-aged gentleman stepped out. He had neatly slicked-back white hair, wore glasses, and was dressed in a sharp blue suit and tie. He looked incredibly sharp, with a serious yet welcoming face. The man examined Eric from head to toe, his gaze lingering on Eric’s face.

"Eric Watts?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Eric replied.

"Is Mr. Stone available to take a visitor?" the secretary asked.

"Yes... please bring in the Elliot Reed files, Katie," Richard instructed the secretary. Then he turned his attention back to Eric. "Please, come on in," Richard added, holding the door open.

Eric walked into the office, with Richard placing a guiding hand on his shoulder. Eric glanced at the attorney, estimating the man was probably in his late fifties or early sixties.

Shortly after they sat down at the desk, Katie came in carrying a thick folder containing Elliot’s documents and placed it on the table. Once Katie stepped out, Eric remained silent, watching Richard, who hadn’t said a word either. The lawyer adjusted his glasses and began flipping through the paperwork.

Finally, Richard pulled two specific documents from the folder and set them squarely on the desk. Eric looked down at the two papers, which had already begun to yellow with age. To his surprise, the documents in front of him were a paternity test and a death certificate for a man named Ethan Reed. Driven by curiosity, Eric read through the details, and in that single moment, his entire reality shattered all over again.

Eric was the biological son of Ethan Reed and Vanessa Brown, his biological mother, with a 99.99% probability index. If he was his mother’s second child, it meant his mother had an affair with Ethan Reed and let the man Eric called "Dad" raise him as his own. Eric slumped back into his chair, completely drained of energy.

"I apologize. Before we proceed, I felt it was necessary to show you this to prevent any confusion and misunderstanding," Richard said. He had clearly anticipated Eric’s shock, yet he didn’t hesitate to dismantle whatever emotional stability Eric had left.

"So... I was never my dad’s kid this entire time. My relationship with Jason and Ruby is just half-siblings... Hahaha... No wonder they didn’t think twice about framing me and throwing me out... Unbelievable," Eric thought to himself.

Seeing Eric sit there in stunned silence, looking completely devastated, Richard showed a brief flash of sympathy. However, he quickly continued with his explanation. He revealed that back when Eric was in elementary school, Ethan had worked as a teacher at his school.

Ethan had secretly taken a sample of Eric’s hair to run a DNA test because he noticed how strikingly much Eric looked like him. Eric looked at Ethan’s photo on the death certificate; a faint memory sparked, and he vaguely remembered Ethan being his teacher when he was a little kid. Richard then continued,

"Since Ethan Reed passed away before your grandfather, Elliot Reed, your grandfather amended his will before his own passing three years ago. He tracked your location based on what Ethan had shared with him. His explicit instruction to me was to contact you the moment you turned 18 so you could claim everything he owned. That is why I tracked down your number and requested your presence here today," Richard explained.

"I see, sir. Alright... I understand," Eric replied. His brain was still trying to process the massive bomb that had just been dropped on him, though he had completely detached from his emotions and felt numb to it all.