Return of the Lost Billionaire

Inside the big mansion of the Heartfillia family a big part of the crowd from renowned families, and corporations had arrived for the annual Christmas party. The clock strikes 11:55. The atmosphere is very much lively and joyful. The Christmas tree sat at the center of the room, decorated with lights and bells and a big star at the top of it.

Under it lies a big bunch of presents lying on top of one another. Party music was playing while everyone was enjoying the drinks and food.

Among the middle, stood Caroline Heartfillia, the first wife of George Heartfillia, the owner of the Heartfillia real-estate business.

Her neck is decorated with a diamond necklace, followed along with the expensive leather coat, and branded watch. However, none of it outshined the wrinkled face she had making her look relatively older than her actual age, along with her shiny grey hair which reached up to her ears.

When the clock struck 12, she raised her glass of wine for a toast.

"Merry Christmas!" she greeted with a broader smile on her face.

Everyone followed after her.

"Merry Christmas, Grandma," said Jeremy, the first son of Caroline. He hugged her and pulled away.

"Merry Christmas, son." She greets me with a smile.

"Lucas and Tom have presents for you," Jeremy added, placing his hands in his pockets.

Lucas and Tom stepped forward and went over to their grandma's side, holding out their gifts to Caroline.

"Merry Christmas, Grandma." They said in unison.

Caroline smiled and took the gifts from their hands. "Oh, thank you, my grandsons."

She opened the one from Lucas to see a red diamond bracelet. Her face was belated in joy to see that.

"Beautiful."

Following next she opened the one from Tom.

It was a sapphire ring.

"Come give me a hug." She said, holding out her hand towards them.

They hugged her and pulled away. "I have presents for you as well. Wait."

"Stacy! Bring the presents for the kids!" she yelled.

All of a sudden, two maids from the crowd came and gave two gifts to Lucas and Tom.

"Open it and see!" Caroline said, patting Lucas's back.

Jeremy smiled and drank his wine.

All the guests present watched them in awe. Tom was gifted a branded watch. And Lucas was gifted a key.

He became puzzled to see the key.

"What is this for, Grandma?".

She smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "This is the key to the new car that you have been asking for for a while."

"It's in our garage. You can check it later."

Lucas's stern-looking face lights up right away to hear that. He gave a broader smile at her.

"Thank you, Grandma, you are the best."

"Mom, you didn't have to do that, you know?" Jeremy asserts that he was as happy as Lucas to hear that.

"I love my watch as well, Grandma, thank you," Tom said.

"You are welcome."

A bit away from them stood, Diana and Daisy, along with their dad, Reagan. He arched his eyebrows out of irritation to see Lucas smiling happily.

Daisy poked her elbow at her husband's side, who stood next to her. He's Nicole, the owner of a branded fashion designer company in L.A.

He nodded awkwardly and went to Caroline's side along with Daisy.

"Merry Christmas Grandma," he greeted with a bow.

Caroline glanced at him, giving an unentertained gaze.

"Merry Christmas," she said blandly.

"Your gift Grandma, open it," he said, holding out the gift to her.

Daisy gave a forced smile.

Caroline took it without showing any appreciation and opened it right in front of the crowd.

"This is a designer fur coat from our company," Nicole added, nervously. "You can't find it anywhere, I can guarantee you that."

Caroline examined it and felt the fabric with her hands.

"Hmm....looks decent."

"Stacey, give them their gifts as well." She said, before turning back to talk to someone else.

Daisy and Nicole were handed two boxes of gifts.

"Nothing can satisfy this woman, can it?" Nicole murmured under his breath.

"Even so, you have to keep trying," Daisy retorted, opening her gift, which was earrings with blue turquoise.

Nicole sighs, finding a pair of boots in his gift.

Diana was given a cheap scarf which she didn't like at all. Reagan pats her on the back.

"Don't feel depressed."

Diana looked at the woman who sat across Caroline.

It is Ella Heartfillia, the youngest granddaughter of George Heartfillia. She's sitting in a wheelchair. Her mother, Cassandra stood right behind her, holding the wheelchair in place. Her dad, Jade stood next to her mom.

But no one paid any attention to them, as if they were invisible.

Cassandra and Jade were given two gifts by Stacey, and gave one gift to Ella as well, which she kept in her lap, without opening it.

"The value of the gift describes, the value of the person she has for them," Diana added, turning to Caroline.

Reagan narrowed his eyes. "You couldn't say it better."

A man was heading towards the living room filled with people. He walked past the crowd and arrived in front of Caroline.

"Merry Christmas, Grandma." The man greeted me with a joyful tone.

All of a sudden, everyone's attention turns to him only.

Caroline gave an irritated expression and rolled her eyes out of boredom.

"Merry Christmas." She added in a sarcastic tone.

"And here I thought you wouldn't show your face because you couldn't afford to buy presents for me."

"Guess that wasn't true after all." She chuckled.

Ella looked at the man who stood in front of Caroline. He's Leonardo Reeds, her husband, who's around the same age as her and is the live-in son-in-law of the Heartfillia family.

Leonardo has highlighted blond hair which reached up to his ears, and small locks which fell onto his face. With hazel green eyes, he has a sharp nose and jaw, with a neatly trimmed beard making him look just like a model with his features.

She adverted her eyes, clutching onto the hem of her dress tightly.

"Or maybe, he's here for the lavish and exotic foods, aren't you Leo?" retorted Jeremy with a smirk. "It's not like you got to see this every day at the orphanage did you? You must be craving for some food."

"You are right Dad," Tom interrupted, staring at Leonardo as if he was a clown or something.

"He never got to see such a feast, nor had the chance to eat either."

"Poor boy."

"Here, I have a plate ready for you, come and get it," Lucas added in a mocking tone, swinging the plate back and forth in his hands.

The entire hall filled with laughter, hearing them making fun of Leo.

Cassandra saw this and was about to interrupt, but her husband Jade, grabbed her by the hand stopping her from interfering.

He nodded his head sideways in disapproval.

Cassandra started feeling guilty because she couldn't save him from their taunts.

Caroline smiled, seeing everyone laughing at him.

Leonardo lowered his eyes and then smiled, looking at Caroline.

"Yes, I never had seen a feast like the one here today." He replied.

"Nor do I have the money to buy expensive presents like the one Lucas, Tom, and Nicole had given you."

Caroline smirked. Jeremy stepped forward and remarked, "Don't make us embarrassed by confessing about your poverty in front of everyone."

"There are many renowned people in here."

"Do that when no one's here."

"But people know he's broke already," Lucas retorted in a mocking tone.

"They won't mind."

Tom tried his best to shuffle his laughter. Daisy laughed at him as well.

Except, for Diana, she looked at him with earnest eyes.

Ella adverted her eyes, not wanting to see anything.

Leonardo raised his head and gave a satisfactory smile to Jeremy.

"I did bring something for grandma." He added, taking out something from the pockets of his coat. "Though, it doesn't cost that much. And it may seem useless and may seem not worthy to you."

Caroline narrowed her eyes, "What's that? Did you bring a stone you picked up from somewhere or something?".

"Or maybe some tissues," Jeremy remarked with a laugh.

Cassandra could hardly contain her rage.

"This is why I had told him not to show up in here till the party was over. Why didn't he listen to me?" Jade retorted.

The atmosphere around them became tense.

Leonardo handed out a box to Caroline.

Caroline glanced down and took it.

When she opened the box she saw a pair of pink gloves.

"What's in there, Mom?" Jeremy asked.

Caroline showed the gloves to Jeremy.

"How did you buy gloves? You don't have any money on you, don't you?" Lucas added, placing his hands in his pockets.

Leonardo nodded. "Yes, I didn't have any."

"I had gone out in the night to take a walk. It was then I saw an old man lying unconscious at the side of the road. But no one was helping him out."

"Cars were running past him and they could hit him any second now."

"I helped him get up and when he became conscious, he thanked me. And gave me those gloves which he had brought for him in return for my help."

"No wonder," Tom added.

"When I saw the pink color, I recalled that you love pink the most Grandma. That's why I brought it for you." Leonardo smiled a little, waiting to see Caroline's reaction.

His smile was quite radiant.

Caroline looked at them with great detail, then a smile came across her face.

Ella looked towards Leonardo's direction, her eyes filled with worry.

Seeing Caroline smile Leonardo was starting to feel happy.

All the spectators waited for her reaction.

But then, Caroline threw the gloves onto the floor, along with the box in it in front of so many people.

A nasty look forms on her face.

Everyone including Leonardo watched the scene in shock.

"Even the maids and servants in our house use better gloves than this. And you expect me to wear them? This is too much of a joke to take you know?".

"How did you think in a million times, that I would accept this cheap gift from you, Leo?".

Ella's heart broke into a million pieces. Ella tapped on her mom's hand. Cassandra looked down at her.

She could tell that she wanted to leave, so she carried the wheelchair towards her room, leaving the party hall.

Jeremy came forward and moved to Leonardo's side. He patted on his shoulder and smirked.

"You can't seem to understand the class difference between a rich and a commoner. That's why you always make the mistake of not meeting up to our expectations."

Leonardo clenched his fists tightly, without raising his eyes.

"You did try to make her happy by bringing a gift for her, but it just doesn't suit up to our preferences. So, she can't accept it, sorry."

"Here, take $10. Maybe it'll make up for the gloves, won't it?".

Everyone started laughing at him. He looked at everyone's faces watching, laughing, and mocking him.

"You are such an embarrassment to our family, that even your wife wasn't able to stand it and left," Caroline retorted.

"Stop making a fool of yourself in front of others, will you?".

Leonardo raised his head searching for Ella, but she was nowhere to be seen. Only Jade was the one who stood there, but he wasn't even looking in his direction.

His face had gone pale for a second.

"Ella.....she left?".

Before anyone could say anything further, he ran out of there without looking back. Everyone watched him go.

He ran past the big gate of the mansion and ran without looking in any direction.

All of a sudden, he stopped in front of the big Christmas tree, standing at the side of the City road. He leaned onto the railings, underneath where the river was. He watched the tree while panting and breathing heavily from all the running he did.

His eyes filled with despair. After a while, snow started falling. He watched how they piled up on top of one another on the tree.

"It's a white Christmas."

"One of the worst Christmas ever."

Leonardo and Ella had been married for over one month before Christmas. William Heartfillia is Ella's grandpa. On his deathbed, he requested Ella to marry Leonardo. Which is the reason why they got married in the first place.

Her grandpa lived to witness their marriage. But a few days after that, he passed away. It was after his death, that his will had been revealed.

Where it was written, That after his death, "80% percent of his property and assets will be given to Ella." Lucas added, taking a sip of his wine.

Leonardo went back home and heard Lucas and Tom talking while he walked past their room. He stopped by after hearing about the will.

"And the rest of the 20% will be divided among the rest of the grandchildren," Tom remarks, looking at the wine glass that he held in his hand with hatred.

"The heck with the 20%!" Lucas cursed, throwing the glass from his hands onto the floor. The door wasn't locked, so Leonardo could see their faces very clearly from the small opening of the door.

He was drunk, from what his half-closed brown eyes were telling. His face was a bit flustered as well, from anger.

"We have to divide the 20% in small portions among ourselves, while she gets to have the 80%! That's like giving her everything while giving us nothing but to fight among ourselves." He yelled, loud enough for anyone passing by the room to hear clearly.

"Brother, lower your voice," Tom pleaded.

"Someone might hear you."

"Let them hear!" Lucas snorted, getting up on his feet.

"Ella had always had everything since the beginning. Even though, she's the youngest."

Leo adverted his eyes, feeling a bit guilty.

"Grandpa's affection, love, admiration from others, and even became one of the board of directors in the company in such a short time."

"Even though we had been working in the company for more years than her."

"Have you looked at our shares? It's nothing compared to hers."

"All the employees in our company think of her as someone like a goddess."

Leo turned his back on the door, about to leave not wanting to hear anything any longer.

"That's why we had planned the accident in the first place," Tom interrupted, putting down the drink on the table.

Leo's eyes widened for a second. "What did he say?".

"What accident?".

He leaned on the door, trying to listen to them.

"She's only not able to work at the company because of her legs. Other than that, she still has the ownership of 80% of Grandpa's property and company rights."

"She's still a member of the board of directors."

"We couldn't achieve anything by plotting the accident! All of it went in vain!" Lucas cussed, sitting down on the sofa. He fisted his hands in anger.

His words rang in Leonardo's ears.

"What are they saying? Plotting the accident?".

Tom sighs.

"Well, we are trying to convince the directors at least, to remove her ownership from the company and shares."

"It's not working out in any way!" Lucas retorted back.

Tom narrowed his eyes, his pupils went dark.

"I told you that we needed to kill her off. Afterward, all part of her property would be given to us to take." Lucas comments, fisting his hands on the table.

Leo covered his mouth with his hands.

"Well, Daisy and Diana are still here, and they are also taking part in our plan. If the rest of the property is divided into fine portions, they would be getting their fair share as well." Tom continued.

"Though, Ella is our main enemy. If we could finish her in any way, then we could do something about those sisters."

"Why wasn't the driver able to give a fatal injury?" Lucas yelled.

"Then our problems would've been solved already."

"Calm down brother, you are drunk. We can-".

Leonardo backed away and slowly left from there towards his room.

He stopped at the door and opened it without thinking while all of their words played in his head.

He stepped inside to see Ella all asleep on the bed. The blanket had fallen off from her body.

He approached her slowly and stopped near where she was lying.

He reached out his hands and caressed her cheek. She moved a little because of the cold fingers, lying on her back.

His eyes softened and he pulled the covers on her body and patted her head gently.

Recalling the conversation which he heard earlier made his knees tremble.

"Sorry." He whispered.

On the day of Christmas morning, he received a call from an unknown person.

He picked up the call while standing near the window which was frosty and covered in snow.

"Hello?".

"Merry Christmas," greeted a joyful voice.

The voice felt familiar to Leo but he couldn't understand who it was.

"Merry Christmas, do I know you?" he asked, feeling puzzled.

There was a slight moment of pause, and the person sighed before continuing, "Yes, we are very old friends."

"You may not remember me, but I remember you."

Leo still couldn't figure out who it was.

"You may not know me just by hearing my name. It would be better if we meet up."

"I have something to tell you."

"Can you meet up at 6 p.m. near the big Christmas tree at the center of the city?".

"It's urgent."

Leo stood there for a few seconds, lost in thoughts.

"Hello? Are you listening?".

Leo snapped back to reality. "Ah...yes."

"6 p.m. right?".

"Yes, I'll be there. But can you tell me your name at least?".

The person again paused for a second before replying, "Unfortunately, no."

"I'll do that when you'll meet me up in person."

"Till then, take care."

He cuts the call before Leo gets the chance to ask something further.

He looked back at his phone.

"He sounded quite mysterious. Why's he keeping his identity secret when he wants to meet up with me?".

Ella came inside the room and saw him standing.

She adverted her eyes and went up to the drawer.

Ella has wavy golden hair that reaches up to her back, along with turquoise-blue eyes and a thin figure. She has golden hair like her mom and grandma.

The three generations carry golden blond hair and a beautiful pair of turquoise blue eyes, which is also a reason for Caroline to hate Pearls, Ella's grandma.

She believes from the bottom of her heart that James fell for her facial features only and married her. Because of her beauty, Ella had been sought after by many wealthy businessmen in the past. But because of her accident, and the marriage with Leonardo, she was able to escape from their relentless chase.

Still, because she has a large part of the property in her name, everyone keeps a close eye on her. Mostly, because Leonardo is jobless, and nobody in their family likes him.

"Go and have breakfast. You didn't eat anything yet, did you?" she comments without looking at his direction.

Leo snapped back to reality hearing her voice. He turns around to see her near the table.

He puts his phone back in his pocket.

"Uh...sure."

When he was about to walk out of the door, she interrupted, "Why do you love to make yourself a fool in front of everyone all the time?".

He glanced back at her, his eyes narrowed. "I had no intention of doing that in the first place."

"Then why did you bring a gift for her? Just so that she could laugh at you in front of so many people?" she retorted back.

Leo fisted his hands out of frustration. "My actions caused her to suffer so much. I can't forgive myself for this."

"I keep telling you to butt out of our family matters, but yet you keep repeating the same mistake over and over again. Why do you do that?" she yelled, her frustration resonated with him.

Ella is easy to read like an open book when she's angry. This is why Leo could tell that she was also feeling bad for him that's why she's lecturing him at the moment.

"You may not remember it," she paused.

"But we are married under the law."

"If someone insults you, then it stains my reputation also. Why is it so hard for you to remember?".

He blinked twice, replaying the words in his head.

"It stains....her reputation?".

Finding her words hard to believe he walked to her side, and bent down, wrapping his arms around her, and hugging her from the back.

Ella became surprised.

"Hey-what are you doing?" she stuttered.

"Let go-".

"Thank you." He interrupted.

She became puzzled.

"Thank you.....for what?" she murmured underneath her voice.

The scene from last night played in his head.

"Those four plotted her accident and wanted to kill her off. She may not have been here present with me today if not, for her luck."

"Though they are related by blood, Just because of the power, fame, and money, they don't hesitate to kill someone."

"She doesn't even know that her accident wasn't just an accident. It was intentional."

"Unless I had heard them, the truth would've been hidden under the mud forever."

"But, even after knowing the truth, what am I going to do? How can I prove their crime? I have no proof on my hands."

He held onto her tightly.

"I want to take revenge."

"For the person who's been my ray of sunshine to keep going since I was little."

"I want to rip off their masks and throw them onto your feet, by teaching them a lesson. So that, they'll never dare to hurt a person just because of their greed."

"But, I can't do it."

"I don't have the power. I don't have the money. If I try to prove their wrongdoings, they'll play dirty and fabricate the evidence."

"Anything is possible as long as you are rich. Playing dirty is what they are good at."

"Why do I feel so much worthless for the first time in my life?".