He moved without making a sound. Going barefoot made that easier. There had been no way for him to sneak in tactical gear to the compound, so he had to make do without any. He had only been able to hide a few small gadgets that were necessary for the mission.
He reached the office without any incident, and put a small device next to the biometric lock. Within ten seconds, it beeped, and the door opened. Alrik got to work immediately. He set a remote hacking device down next to the laptop on the desk before turning it on. While the device worked, he moved to physical files in the drawers.
He didn't find anything physically incriminating, but he didn't expect to. A man as careful as his uncle would hide his secrets well. But as long as any of it was on the laptop, the hacking device would extract it all. It took three minutes to completely download all files, and Alrik left the office, and made his way back to his room. Kalen's office was a part of his room, so Alrik couldn't get in there at night while Kalen was sleeping so close by.
As for his grandfather's study, Alrik knew he would find nothing of importance there. Anything useful would be stored in the secret device he kept in his office safe. He checked the penny he had slipped to the top of the door to make sure no one had come into the room despite it being locked. He was being paranoid, but it was better than being caught off guard. He hid the gadgets he came with, and finally lay down.
The next day, he got up early, and curled himself at the foot of the bed. Kalen came in to wake him around 8 am.
"Grandfather wants you to join us for…" He cut off when he noticed Alrik's sleeping position.
He began to laugh, not knowing that Alrik had done so on purpose, just to keep up his act as a retard.
"How does he expect you to have a meal with the rest of the family when you're in this state? The floor must have felt more comfortable than the bed since you've been sleeping on the streets for a while now." Kalen said, but Alrik remained calm and quiet, pretending to still be asleep.
"Hey, get up! This isn't a hotel." Kalen snapped and kicked Alrik hard on his side.
It didn't hurt much, but Alrik pretended he had been hit by a moving train, and whined excessively. He even began to weep, and flail his hands like he had no idea what woke him so aggressively. Then he began to bite the clothes he was wearing.
"Uhh. You're so useless now. I almost feel pity for you. Almost. Now you know that you can never be on my level. You should have never tried to compete with me in the first place. I am the one and only heir to the Zerdon fortune."
Kalen dragged Alrik by the hair and pulled him towards the dining room. Alrik pretended to resist but only for a few seconds, then went without complaint.
"Here he is. Though I think he's better off with the dogs. He seems to prefer the ground anyway." Kalen said as he dumped Alrik into a chair.
"Be more careful." Griffin said and Kalen just scoffed.
"Why should I? He has no idea what's even going on. And it was the only way to get his attention. Acting like you care for him now that he's in this state is a bit hypocritical, don't you think so, grandfather? You disowned him several months ago." Kalen said with a mocking tone, but still tried to remain respectful to his grandfather for the sake of the assets he planned to inherit.
Griffin remained silent as food was served. Alrik grabbed food with his bare hands, and began to stuff his face without care, making sure to stain his whole face and clothes with the mess.
"That is so disgusting." Vaida sneered. "You're right, Kalen. He's better off with the damn dogs instead of this eyesore."
"The doctor will be here to examine him later this evening. Monitor him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself or anyone else before then. After the examination, I'll decide if a psychiatric hospital is the best option for him, or home care." Griffin said and left after his meal.
"Whose job is it to watch over the retard? Because I'm definitely counting myself out." Vaida said immediately.
"I have better things to do."Kalen said with an eye roll.
Ï'm headed to the office soon, so you both figure it out. Remember, we must all remain in the old man's graces till this is all over. Once we have the shares, and authority over the assets, his orders won't matter."Jett said to the two of them, and Kalen sighed before responding.
"I wish I just let you kill him then."
In the end, Kalen was the one keeping an eye on him because Vaida went out with their wedding planner for more shopping. He first locked Alrik up in a storage closet, and Alrik remained there for a while, then began to make noise with everything he could find.
"Are you crazy? Stop that damn noise! I'm trying to work." He snapped as he opened the door to the storage room.
Alrik pushed him out of the way, and walked outside, clapping and mumbling nonsense.
"Stay quiet, or I will send you to the kernel* with the damn dogs for real. Who cares what grandfather thinks of it. He has no one but me now to inherit the family assets anyway. Getting rid of you won't cause any issues."
Alrik became quiet, but started making shapes with his fingers at Kalen, and Kalen sighed before turning away. Alrik followed him into his room, then to the adjoining office.
"Sit on the floor in the corner and don't make a sound or I'll skin you alive."He ordered and Alrik obeyed.
Kalen smirked. "Your mind might be damaged, but seeing the once proud Alrik obeying my orders without complaints feels good. I'm glad my plan to kill you didn't work out well. I'm telling you this now because you won't even understand me, and even if you did, no one would believe the words of a retard. They'll assume you're just delusional. I've won, Alrik, and you're too gone to even realise that.
Kalen smiled, satisfied with himself. Alrik sat by the corner, biding his time, waiting for any opportunity to be alone in Kalen's office and dig for information. Kalen could brag all he wanted, and think he was victorious. But the real battle had not even begun. And Alrik was no loser.