Bruised Innocence

Chapter 28

The front lawn of the Grant Mansion was a neat and prim landscape. The only trees were old, sturdy ones, in corners.

High hedges ran all around the boundaries and on both sides of major thoroughfares. The ones beside the paths inside the lawns grew grew progressively smaller as one approached the centre.

There were rarely any other colours visible apart from different shades of green.

Dark green being the most prominent of them because it was the colour of the hedges.

Before autumn, the trees that shed their leaves were trimmed off before they could turn into shades of red and brown.

The hedges were painstakingly maintained to keep the yellowing leaves out of sight.

But in the very middle of the compound was the thoroughfare that led to the mansion from the main wrought iron gates.

It was different because it was the only part of the property where one could see different colours characteristics of a garden.

A rectangular pool of water ran all across the length of the path dividing it into two separate lanes on either side of it.

They were large enough to allow a fire truck to pass easily.

The water was filled with beautiful lotuses, water lillies, hawthorns, irises and other exotic aquatic plants that also housed small multicoloured freshwater fishes.

It was deep enough so that one would have to lean down at the boundary of the pond to be able to see the flowers.

This had helped keep it out of sight of the owner of the mansion who frowned at things out of the ordinary.

People who took care of the pond at the behest of the owner's son guessed that it had survived the owner only because they it wasn't visible from inside the cars he drove in.

Not many people were allowed driving down from the gates of the mansion. In fact, only Luther Bernard Grant drove to and from the house. Even his only son didn't have that privilege.

His right hand man, Preston Johnson was the only other man who had the privilege of driving up to the house and that too because the owner trusted him and Luther Bernard Grant didn't trust many people.

He didn't become who he was by trusting people. In fact, distrust of the world and people in general had allowed him to survive and thrive despite the nature of the enterprises he ran.

Not that the general world knew it. Most of them considered him as a strict disciplinarian and an astute businessman who had transformed and diversified the fortune of their drowning family business

For others, he presented a calm, cool and unbiased exterior but today, Luther Bernard Grant was angry.

And the reason for his anger was still dawdling at the gates, trying to check the state of his school uniform before entering the house.

Luther Bernard Grant didn't appreciate sloppiness. He hated people who weren't thorough in the things they did.

Whether it was making people disappear or producing wine. He wanted precision in everything that had his name.

Because if there was one thing he had learned from his father, it was that the world interacted you on the  basis of your name.

And names were power! Why else would people buy things those skimpily dressed actresses and bulked up buffoons sold on TV?
Because they were known names!

That's why Luther Bernard Grant took pride in his name. He was named after his great great grandfather.

He had always aspired and finally managed to become someone whose name people automatically associated with power, someone they knew wasn't one to be trifled with.