The Disinheritance
In a towering skyscraper in the city's business district, inside the CEO's office, a middle-aged man sat behind his desk. His face showed he was deeply troubled and struggling to make a decision.
"What do you think, Harold? You're my lawyer, please advise me," the middle-aged man said.
"As your lawyer, I can only leave everything to your decision, because this is about changing your will, Mr. Robert," Harold replied patiently, sitting in front of Robert.
"Haaah... this is really making my head spin. Alright, I've decided. The distribution will be like this: to my second daughter, Melissa, I'm giving 50% of all my assets, investments, and businesses. To my third son, Derek, I'm also giving the remaining 50%. Please note that down," Robert instructed.
"Hmm... excuse me, Mr. Robert, what about your first son, Samuel?" Harold asked, confused.
"One dollar," Robert answered, holding up his index finger.
Harold frowned, puzzled by Robert's sudden decision to change his will.
"May I ask why?" Harold asked, curious.
"He's... a useless child. He's wasted so much money on his strange illness, and he can't attend normal school, work in an office like a normal person, or socialize because of it. Now he's focused on being an MMA athlete who never competes and manages construction work. One dollar is already too much for him," Robert replied, annoyed.
"Illness?" Harold questioned.
"His illness basically prevents him from being a normal human, and he can't give me grandchildren because of it," Robert answered, his face red and panting slightly, holding back from revealing what his son's illness was.
Seeing his client's red face and wanting to prevent his blood pressure from exploding, Harold chose to stay silent, jotting notes in his notepad. But Robert, seeing Harold's face and sensing his doubt, "Bang!" slammed his hand on the desk and stood up, making Harold jump slightly in surprise.
"Need proof? Fine, I'll show you," Robert declared.
He immediately pressed a button on his desk phone and picked up the receiver. Soon after, the call was answered.
"Melissa, come to my office now," Robert said.
"Huh? What's up, Dad?" Melissa asked.
"Just come here first and please text your brother to come here too," Robert replied.
"Oh, okay, Dad. Don't get mad, remember your high blood pressure," Melissa said, concerned.
"Click," the phone hung up. Not long after, a beautiful and intellectually sharp Melissa entered, talking on her phone. After she hung up, she sat next to Harold.
"What's going on, Dad?" Melissa asked.
"Is he coming?" Robert asked.
"He actually happens to be downstairs, working in the basement. He'll be up in a minute," Melissa replied.
As Melissa spoke, within just 10 minutes, a very handsome young man, like a model, with black hair and blue eyes, a muscular yet proportional build, and clearly a martial arts expert, walked in.
"Hey, why was I called here?" the young man asked, standing still at the doorway.
"Dad called you," Melissa replied.
"Sam, take one step forward," Robert commanded firmly.
Without arguing, Samuel, or "Sam" as he was commonly called, took a step forward. He looked at his father.
"What's going on, Dad? Please don't waste my time," Samuel said.
"I want to tell you, you're being cut out of my inheritance," Robert replied.
"Jleger," Sam immediately went silent, feeling as if lightning had struck his head. Not just Sam, Melissa also fell silent, her mouth agape, staring at her father.
"Why? What did I do wrong?" Sam protested.
"Yeah, Dad, why is Sam suddenly being cut out of the will?" Melissa asked, confused.
"Mel, take Sam's hand, quickly," Robert instructed.
"Huh?" Sam and Melissa were both startled. Their faces suddenly went pale, and they stared at their father.
"N-no, Dad," Sam said.
"Yeah, Dad, you know the risks," Melissa replied, pale.
"Hurry up, or you'll be cut out of my will too!" Robert yelled, standing and giving the order.
Melissa swallowed. She looked at Sam, who was shaking his head, then at her father, whose face was very red. Frightened and cornered, Melissa finally stood up and walked towards the increasingly terrified Sam.
"D-don't, Mel," Sam said.
"Sorry, Sam," Melissa said.
"Tap," Melissa took Sam's hand. "Thud," Sam immediately fell. "Gasp... gasp... gasp," his breath became ragged, small boils appeared all over his convulsing body, and he foamed at the mouth. "Crash!" Harold, seeing this, was terrified and suddenly stood up, knocking his chair over with a loud sound.
"Sorry, Sam," Melissa said, backing away.
"See, Harold? That's his illness. He can't get close to, let alone be touched by, women. Even though the one who just touched him was his own sister, his flesh and blood. Imagine if a non-family woman touched him. He can't go to normal school, can't work normally, and can't socialize at all, so he just locks himself at home or goes to an MMA gym where there are no women, or construction sites that also have no women. He's allergic to women, and the problem is, he's handsome because he inherited his mother's face, making him a magnet for women. Understand?" Robert asked, pointing at Sam convulsing on the floor.
"Dad, you called him here just to prove his illness?" Melissa asked, shaking her head.
"Because otherwise, Harold wouldn't believe me and would question my reason for cutting him out of the inheritance," Robert replied.
"Huh... Dad, you're cutting him out of the will because he's sick?" Melissa asked, annoyed.
"Mel, you know, our family has spent so much money trying to cure his illness that never gets better. Your mom died from stress, and now I have high blood pressure because of this. My assets have been drained by almost half for him, and I've had to take action," Robert explained.
Melissa opened her mouth to protest, but knowing what Robert said was true, she finally stopped herself. She only looked at Sam, who was convulsing, with pity.
"M-Mr. Robert, aren't you going to help him?" Harold asked, scared at the sight of Sam convulsing.
"Just leave him. He'll be fine in 10 minutes. The important thing is that Melissa stays two meters away from him," Robert said, waving his hand and sitting back in his chair.
"I'll just step out," Melissa said, annoyed, and immediately turned around.
Melissa walked past Sam, then paused briefly and thought, "I'm sorry, Sam." After that, she opened the door and left the room. As Robert had said, 10 minutes later, Sam stopped convulsing, his breathing returned to normal, and the boils on his body disappeared, making him look normal again.
"See?" Robert asked, turning to look at Harold, who was setting his chair upright and looking at Sam.
Harold nodded, indicating he understood the meaning of the "illness" Robert had mentioned earlier.