Chapter 42: Surprises
Flashback: The previous day
Lorenzo drove to his mother’s house, worry etched on his face. He had received a call that she was sick. He’d been in the gym when Genevieve called, and he hadn’t even bothered to shower before bolting for his car.
Upon reaching the compound, where flowers and trees were neatly planted around, he parked and frowned. The place was unusually quiet. Taking long strides toward the entrance, a sense of unease crept within him.
The moment he opened the front door, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest as a burst of confetti and streamers rained down on him, followed by a deafening chorus.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Lorenzo stood frozen, stunned into silence. His body and face were covered in shiny confetti, and through the small opening of his eyes, he could make out grinning faces.
How did they manage to pull the same prank on him every year? And how did he always forget his own birthday, making it so easy for them? Perhaps it was because this day never felt like a celebration to him. It always reminded him of what he never had—the chance to meet his biological parents. He often wondered what they looked like, whether they had been happy on the day he was born. And most of all, if their deaths had been quick and painless.
Genevieve’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts as she ran up to him, brushing confetti off his face before pulling him fully inside. He barely had time to brace himself before a chorus of croaky voices started singing Happy Birthday.
"I’m taking my credit card—and everything of mine in your possession back after this," Lorenzo whispered in a low threat to his sister, whose voice was the loudest in the group.
Genevieve shot him a glare. "Try that, and I’ll flatten the tires of your Lamborghini, Ferrari—in fact, all your luxury cars—before lighting one of your penthouses on fire... with you inside."
Before he could retaliate, his mother swooped in.