Chap 3: One person's pain is another's gain

Warning: This chapter contains cursing and mature themes such as violence and abuse(physical and domestic) of a minor, which might be triggering. Reader discretion is advised.

Malcolm and his entire family immediately moved into the Cliff Mansion and claimed it as their own. He had managed to fool the lawyer and everyone else in the garb of being a caring guardian for Triston.

As Malcolm's intent to get rid of Triston was foiled by Trent's Will, he had another plan in place. He had decided to make Triston fear him. He wanted to instill terror in Triston's heart towards Malcolm so that Triston would do whatever Malcolm ordered him to do, even sign off his entire fortune to Malcolm by himself.

As per their plan, after a few months of faking to be excellent and caring guardians, Malcolm and Nancy started with their evil scheme. The first step was to isolate Triston and have the entire staff of the Cliff Mansion under their control.

Malcolm instructed all the servants and maids to only follow orders from him and his family, including his wife Nancy and sons, Fred and Jeff.

He specifically ordered them not to take orders from Triston anymore. Those who complied were given a raise, whereas those too loyal to Mr. Cliff couldn't bear to go against their son, so they left the Mansion with regret and sadness. Reese was one of them, but he was reluctant to leave Triston alone at the mercy of these wicked people.

Malcolm even hired new maids, servants, and a few guards who would quietly do whatever he ordered them to do. The guards had been instructed to keep a watch on all the other staff members so that they do not assist Triston in any way. Triston could notice the changes around his house, but he didn't question much as he was still grieving over his parent's death.

Malcolm and Nancy had liked Trent and Melissa's master bedroom and wanted to shift to that room. So, they asked the servants to throw away all their belongings, except for the precious jewelry which Nancy gladly took into her possession.

Malcolm ordered the staff to throw away all of Trent's and Melissa's belongings from the entire Mansion, including their family pics. This did not go well with Triston, and he tried to stop the servants.

Malcolm got angry seeing Triston stop the servants doing his bidding, so he gave Triston a tight slap on his right cheek. The small boy was thrown away on the floor by the fierce force applied by Malcolm.

Triston yelped in pain and placed his palm on his now red cheek. He was so shocked that he couldn't believe what happened. His parents had never even lifted a finger on him before.

Reese immediately ran towards Triston and picked him up. He was furious. " How dare you hit him?" Reese asked Malcolm clenching his fist.

"Who the hell are you to question me? I am the owner of this Mansion and the entire Cliff group. Even this boy is under my control now. What I do to him is none of your concern," scoffs Malcolm.

Reese snorts. " It all belongs to Triston, not you."

Malcolm was enraged by Reese's words. A mere Butler dared to stop him and raise his voice against him. If Reese stayed with Triston, he would never allow Malcolm to tame Triston, so he had to get rid of him immediately. He points his finger at Reese and says, " I am firing you right now. Leave my house this instant."

Reese was adamant. " I am not going anywhere. Mr. Trent hired me to take care of Triston. I won't leave him alone with you."

Malcolm was annoyed and called for his appointed guards. " Throw this man out of this mansion and see to it that he never sets foot on my property again."

Four guards came and started to pull Reese away from Triston. Triston was crying profusely, trying his best to hold onto Reese, but his strength was no match for four sturdy and trained men. Even Reese tried his best to get rid of them, but he couldn't stop the men how much ever he tried. They dragged him out of the Mansion, kicking and screaming, and threw him just outside the huge iron gates.

Triston was still crying when Malcolm noticed the servants standing there holding Trent's family photos and watching the events unfold in front of them. Few looked like they wanted to help Triston, but Malcolm's warning look was enough to stop them.

Malcolm went towards a maid and took a family photo, and stared at it. The picture was taken at the opening ceremony of the new spa resort. Triston was standing in between Trent and Melissa, and Trent's left arm was wrapped around Melissa's waist. All three were smiling towards the camera. Malcolm was annoyed looking at their smiling faces and threw the photo frame on the ground. The glass shattered across the floor, earning a gasp from Triston.

Malcolm continued picking up the photo frames one by one and started to throw them, breaking them into pieces. Triston tried to stop his uncle by pulling his hands, but Malcolm pushed him, and he fell on the broken pieces of glass lying all over the floor.

Triston cried in pain as the glass pieces pierced into his skin, making him bleed all over. He looked towards Nancy, expecting her to help him, but she was busy looking at the new possessions she just got. Fred and Jeff stood at the corner, smirking and grinning at his plight.

Triston spotted a photo that was fallen on the floor. It was of his first birthday party. His mother was holding him in his arms, and Trent was hugging her from behind. It reminded Triston of the happy times when everything was so good. For the first time, after his parent's death, he had managed to bring a smile to his face, but it vanishes the instant he hears another shattering noise.

Triston quickly hides the photo in his pocket when he sees Malcolm marching towards him with anger. Malcolm holds Triston's upper arm with a tight grip and pulls him up, making him stand. Triston winces in pain, but Malcolm doesn't care.

He grabs Triston's jaw forcefully and warns him, " Listen, boy, the way things work around here have changed. From now on, you have to do what I say; if not, you will be punished. I am not like your weak and pathetic Dad, so don't expect any mercy from me."

Triston feels bad listening to his uncle bad-mouthing his Dad. He somehow releases his jaw from Malcolm's grip and stutters, " D-Don't insult m-my Dad."

Malcolm responds by giving him a tight slap again on the right cheek." Don't backtalk to me again or next time; it will be worse than just a slap."

He calls for one of his guards and says, " Take this boy and lock him in his room."

The guards nods and drags Triston to his room while Malcolm says to the maids, " Don't give him food today. If I find anyone helping him, they will be fired immediately."

The guards Malcolm had hired were exactly like him, selfish and uncaring. They were least bothered by the pain of a six-year-old boy; instead, they only cared about the dollars which they would get from Malcolm on doing his bidding.

The wicked guard pushed Triston inside his room and locked his door. With great difficulty, he managed to get up and remove the shards of glass that had pierced into his arms and legs. This reminded him of the times when his parents used to get so worried even if he grazed himself a little. The loss of his parent's warmth brought more tears into his eyes.

He took out the picture of his parents from his pocket and cried his heart out, staring at it. He missed them a lot. How he wished he had never lost them, or at least even he should have died with them on that fateful day. He then looked around his almost empty room. All the valuable toys and gadgets available in his room were snatched away by his cousins. The servants already took his family photos earlier, and the one he was holding was the last one he had.

Triston suddenly remembered something and opened his secret drawer under the bed where he had hidden a few of his favorite things. He was relieved to see they were still present there. He had a drawing of him and his parents, paper cuttings of all the times his parents had appeared in the newspapers, custom-made figurines of his parents, and a few flash drives with videos of their recordings together.

He took out his parent's figurine and carefully locked his secret drawer. He went to his bed and laid down, hugging his parent's figurine and thinking about the sudden change in his uncle's behavior. Their family was not very close with his uncle's family, but his uncle and aunt were always cheerful and friendly whenever they met.

Triston's little brain couldn't understand why his uncle was angry towards him now? What was Triston's mistake? Why was his uncle throwing away his parent's belongings? Why did he send Reese away? After his parent's death, Reese was the only person he had who cared for him. Now that he was gone, he was left all alone in this vast Mansion, with no one to hold onto for comfort. Finally, he cried himself to sleep, reminiscing on the good old days.