His Bad Luck Charm

The Beginning

River had an urge to punch his uncle in the face but as he had been doing the whole night, he held back once again. 

The lawyer shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable, "Mr. and Mrs. Yates has given full guardianship of River Yates to Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Yates' father. As the legal guardian of River, he has the right to be here as a representative for him." 

The whole family was once again in an uproar. Julius Bennett was the father of Maria Bennett, River's mother and therefore he had no blood relation to the Yates at all. Unlike the Yates, he also wasn't a multi-billionaire and instead lived in a humble little apartment in the city. He didn't want to be involved with money and wanted to continue living his life the way he was raised and therefore, he didn't even accept any monetary gifts from his daughter or her family. 

"How will he raise a teen boy with no money?"

"How did they think he was better fit than us?"

"Why would they darken their own son's future like that?"

Everyone spoke over one another, clearly not caring whether anyone had answers or not.

The Lawyer –Mr. Trent – cleared his voice and begged for everyone to quieten down. 

"My job isn't to question my clients," he began, "and therefore I do not know why they chose Mr. Bennett as River's guardian. However, monetary wise, they have left enough for him to raise River comfortably." 

Once again, the family was in an uproar. Deep down, River was more than glad his parents hadn't left him in the guardianship of one of the crazy Yates. He couldn't have imagined living with them for more than five minutes without going crazy. 

"Everyone please, I have an appointment right after this so it would be helpful if everyone can listen to me so we can all be on our way." 

"And what about the hospitals? Who have the rights over the Yates hospital chain?" 

Lawyer Trent looked uncomfortable once again. From the look on his face, it was clear that no one was going to like his answer very much. 

"The whole inheritance, every single thing they owned has been left to their son, River Yates." 

Everyone in the room went completely silent. There was nothing but silence but somehow it was the loudest sound River had ever heard in his life. 

"What?" Greg growled. "What do you mean they left everything to this kid? Our forefathers worked so hard for that hospital and right before my father's death he put my brother in charge of everything only for him to give it all away to a kid?" 

"The hospital wasn't even Bradley's," Joe, River's younger uncle began, "but the board of directors chose him to take over and we all respected that. We all have equal stocks in the hospital and have been working our whole lives there. How can he just give it all to a child that hasn't worked a single day in his life?" 

Their wives nodded, anger clearly written all over their faces.

"This is ridiculous," Linda all but cried. "I barely get to see my husband because of how hard he works and now all his hard work is not even going to his own children but him?" She said pointing at River. 

River just silently watched the commotion before him. He had a lot to say but he knew very well that no matter what he said, it would be overlooked. No one cared about him or his dead parents. The only thing they cared about was the money his parents would leave behind and all the benefits they would get if River was placed in their care. 

"How will he even run an entire hospital chain at this age?" Greg exasperated. "My son has been working at the hospital for five years now, hoping that he could become a board member and possibly President in the future and now he's just going to give up everything for a kid that doesn't even know how to clean his own shit?" 

"Look," Lawyer Trent began, "I know it's hard to understand, but—" he didn't get to finish what he was saying as Greg angrily stood up and stormed towards him. Before he could do anything to the Lawyer, Joe stopped him and encouraged him to listen to what else the lawyer had to say.

Lawyer Trent heaved a deep breath and began speaking again, "Of course Mr Yates isn't expecting River to take over the company right this instant. He has put forth some conditions." 

Both uncles and their wives visibly relaxed but their faces were still red with anger.

"And what are those conditions?" Joe asked.

"First, River must complete his education and become a qualified surgeon. After he has completed his degree, he will start to work in the hospital as a surgeon. They want him to work as a surgeon for at least one year. Once that year is up, the board of directors will vote on whether they believe he is fit enough to take over the company. If he is, he'll take over. If not, they will elect who they believe is best fit and River will continue working as a surgeon until the next elections."

River could see all the wheels turning in his uncles' heads. Those sly old men already had begun thinking of what they could do to gain the most power in the company. 

"And who will be the President while River completes his education?" 

"The board of directors will select the next temporary President through voting."

Both brothers turned to one another before sitting down, neither trying to make it obvious that they were already planning to sabotage each other's chances. 

"There is also some monetary inheritance that he will be receiving but as he is still a minor, that money will not be in his possession until he turns eighteen." Everyone nodded, pretending to care. They were all busy making sly plans in their brains to care about anything else. "And aside from his education, there was also a condition of completing at least two hours of voluntary work at the hospital every week," Lawyer Trent finished, speaking only to River now. River nodded in response. 

"That is all then. May Mr. and Mrs. Yates' souls rest in peace." 

With that said, he literally ran out of the house and away from the crazy family. The rest of the family quickly followed suit, not even bothering to console or even bid goodbye to the newly orphaned River.

Soon enough, River was left alone in his giant family home with his old grandfather and that's how it would stay for the next couple of years.