Chapter 2: The Winslow Manor

***THREE YEARS AGO (Prior to the Prologue) The month of November\, the year 2019***

Among the enormous, most lavish and luxurious mansions of London there was a grand manor which belonged to the Winslows. A family of filthy rich and powerful, hiding behind their superficially virtuous personalities and facade of holding Noble-looking events and charities but even that was merely a mean for them to gain more political power and wring more favours out of others. The manor's owner Lester Winslow lived there with his second wife Camila Aubrey and two sons Bryce the younger son and Liam the older son, but both siblings’ only had a difference of a year and a half between their ages. Lester also had a daughter named Vivian who was born from his late wife Diane. All his children were in their late teenage years.

The manor covered extensive grounds. With basketball and tennis courts, a football ground, Martial Arts Club, a Dojo, Gymnasium, Swimming pools, and exquisite gardens. The garages housed about a dozen cars including sports cars, SUVs, a limousine, and business class cars. There were different cars for different occasions.

The manor was armed with high security and a battalion of maids and butlers away at a call and always ready to serve their masters. This versatile and luxurious manor covered in autumn coloured vines and beautiful gardens with exquisite flowers under the dazzling winter’s sunlight would make anyone's dream home look pale in comparison.

Behind the mansion, there was a servant quarter building extending over three floors. Through the window of a room of the servant quarters, a boy of age around fourteen could be seen slumbering in a dark and damp room on an old bed with the gloom hanging in the atmosphere. But the dawn washed away all the dark and illuminated the murky room with its glistening sunlight. A few hours after dawn the boy woke up from the intense sun shining in his eyes through the window. He slowly opened his eyes, his pupils contracted from the profound sunlight coming from the window. He got up whilst still sitting on his bed. The pupils of his smoke-grey eyes dilated back to normal as his eyes were out of the sun’s vicinity. His chocolate copper brown hair shined vibrantly under the gleaming sun as his back was turned against the sun.

Though the boy was slim, he was not a bag of bones. His physique would look more well-built if he ate properly and exercised. Overall he had a handsome face and was blessed with a pair of attractive warm-grey eyes. Unlike other boys, Willem took care of himself. He kept himself clean, his nails trimmed and his hair always tidy.

He stretched his arms and glanced around the room to look for his mother. Her absence made him assume that she had already gotten up and gone to work. The boy too got up, bathed, brushed his teeth and put on his boy servant attire.

Before leaving the room he saw an apple on the table beside the door, with a note along with it. It was from his mother.

The Note:-

“Willem, I’ll be leaving early today. Sorry I couldn’t give you anything else besides this apple. I know this isn't enough for you but it’s a start. So please eat it. Love Mom.”

The boy ate the apple and left the room for work. On getting out of his room he could smell breakfasts cooking for the lords and ladies of the house. The pleasant aromas reminded him of his own hunger as his stomach growled.

The trays of fancy breakfast were carried to the rooms. The boy passed along the young Lord Bryce’s room, who was savouring his breakfast but left the bread crust he disliked to be disposed of. A maid came by and took away the tray. The boy followed the maid to the kitchen. As she was about to dump the fresh bread crust into the bin Willem stopped the maid. “Ms.Linda, wait! Don’t throw it away. We shouldn’t waste food no matter how little it is.”

“Huh? Whatever, you can have it if you want. Anyways the young lord doesn’t like the bread crust.”

The boy ate the leftover crust and left the kitchen. To him whether crust or crumbs mattered not, he valued what little food he got.

The boy was wondering about where he could find his mother, whilst walking away he was called from behind by a maid, “Hey boy, take this and start cleaning the furniture,” said the maid as she shoved a duster in his hand and went away in a hurry.

The boy went from room to room cleaning the furniture, carefully dusting all the expensive showpieces. As he was cleaning the window he gazed outside looking at a couple of boys in fancy clothing, a couple of years older than his age, playing football. It was clear that Willem yearned for those fancy clothes, toys, friends to talk and play with. His stomach was growling with hunger, but he was so absorbed in watching the other boys play that he forgot about his hunger, since a mere apple wasn't enough to quench the hunger of someone who did not even eat his yesterday's dinner properly. The lunchtime was still far.

While cleaning the shiny glass window, it reminded him of the toy shop with the large glass window pane that he walked passed yesterday with his mother, it had the same glass as the young lord’s room window. But more importantly, behind the glass were the new action figure robots that caught his eye but were far from his reach with his empty pockets.

Lost in his thoughts a familiar voice called his name.

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