A CEO's Redemption

Matthew

I went downstairs to look for the way out of the house. Today I’m going to have fun with some friends and maybe pick up some girls. I’m very excited, but my steps stop when I hear my father talking.

“Matthew, why don’t you come with me today to see the business so you can keep learning, son.”

I turned to look at him with an annoyed expression.

“Dad, again? You’ve had me there every day, teaching me all your tricks. I’m only nineteen, I just turned last month by the way, let me enjoy my vacation. I’ve worked hard to get good grades so I think I deserve a break.”

“Son, I don’t need you to get good grades; the important thing is that you truly learn. You are my heir and if I’m not here tomorrow, you will take care of everything. And you know better than anyone the family that surrounds us, heartless hyenas who won’t hesitate to tear you apart with laughter.”

“Dad, I know, but please don’t say that you’re not going to be here even as a joke. How will we live without you?”

“Ha, flatterer, go enjoy yourself before I change my mind.”

I approached and hugged him, then ran out when I saw his attempt to touch my head.

“Dad, not the hair! I just fixed it!”

We both laughed. The relationship between us was golden; my father knew everything about me. He was my advisor for everything, especially regarding girls and other matters. He’s supported me since I was little; he was my confidant, my first and only friend. Mom said he never missed an important moment in my life: the first time I arrived in this world, my first steps, my first words. Every competition I participated in, they were always there.

When I was five, I chose to practice kickboxing because I loved watching it in a movie. I also loved learning it, and every time I entered a match and won, Dad would cheer excitedly and lift me onto his shoulders or hug me tightly. He was a unique and loyal person, my role model. I wish he could have been there the day I lost them. I know, I would probably be dead too, but at least we would have been together.

The day I refused to go with my father to the company was unfortunately the last day I would hear his voice. We would never talk again. The next day, both he and my mother would cease to exist, leaving me alone in this world and placing a huge burden on my shoulders. A company with big projects, incredible staff, and an enviable reputation for any business. However, maintaining all that came at a huge price, starting with enemies.

For years, I had to fight against my own family, who always wanted to manipulate me and take advantage of my youth. All to take over what my father left me. I am the sole and total heir of everything I manage.

I wish I could say that the journey wasn’t difficult, that I wasn’t alone, but that would be lying, as one misfortune followed another without stopping. For example, our stocks dropped rapidly because many withdrew their funds due to lack of confidence in me. To a certain extent, it was logical, since I was a young boy who hadn’t proven anything. However, what was unbelievable was the way they were quickly withdrawing without even listening to my action plan to keep the company afloat.

Later, thanks to one of the investors who remained loyal, I would know that it was all my uncle’s doing. Ah, yes! Because of that wonderful family on my father’s side who spared no effort in cheating and weakening me at any cost, all to bring me down and snatch the company from my hands.

What they didn’t know was that my father already knew their ambitions, which is why he trained me early in my short life to defend this business. Not to mention my IQ is not low; it’s even above average, and I love solving complex problems. I learn quickly and adapt to situations without panicking, almost never, thanks again to Mr. Gil. Add to that the strong, ready, enthusiastic, and committed team my father left to support me.

Another thing I must thank my dad for is his long foresight. He gradually got rid of his old team to replace them with young prospects. He realized that the former were betraying him and giving secrets to his enemies. Who would have thought there’s no more fearsome opponent than your own family driven by ambition.

In the end, I managed to lift my company almost from its ashes and rise like a phoenix, thanks to the team that supported me unconditionally. And let’s not forget the workers who trusted me, working tirelessly even when outsiders accused me of applying the craziest strategies in the market. I didn’t care what they thought; this wasn’t about maintaining my status as a wealthy person or showing off to millionaires. It was for those people who trusted my father for years to move forward. He left them in my care, and I couldn’t disappoint them.

I worked day and night without rest; my eyes hurt terribly, and my shoulders had horrendous tension. All the pressure on me severely affected my health. I was constantly tired, lost my appetite, and as expected, started losing weight. I didn’t understand why my health was declining, though I knew I was pushing myself to the limit between work and university. I always exercised at the gym and never lost my appetite; on the contrary, I never stopped eating. My partner at the time started to worry about all the changes. We had only been together for five months, but we were doing well, we got along great, and it was fun being together. She was very attentive, so she was the first to notice my bruises that appeared without me hitting myself. I remember justifying it by saying I must have hit myself, though I didn’t remember, or it was just stress.

When the symptoms worsened to a point where they couldn’t be justified, I decided to see the son of one of my father’s best friends, who was a great doctor. In fact, he had treated me since I was a child; he was my primary doctor, and I had always counted on him. I went to his office to see him, and after greeting me and doing some tests, he said he didn’t like what he saw. So he referred me to another doctor, a very close friend of his. There was a moment when I felt something was wrong, and although I tried to find out what it was, he wouldn’t tell me anything else and just sent me to see Carl Sandoval.

The day I went to see the other doctor, Claudia insisted on accompanying me. When we arrived at the hospital, they guided us to the consultation room, and upon arrival, we realized it was the oncology department, which made my heart stop. I took several deep breaths and told myself not to jump to conclusions; everything had an explanation, and it didn’t have to be something negative. My girlfriend squeezed my hand and helped me enter the office. There, Dr. Carl greeted us very politely. He first reviewed my test results and asked me questions before dropping the big bombshell. The one that exploded and took away even the strongest foundations I had managed to build.

“I was simply a leukemia patient. Now they had to do a bone marrow test to give a complete diagnosis of my disease. Without having time to really process it, I let myself be guided to the place where they were going to puncture me.”

They proceeded to run the tests immediately, and after enduring all that, I went home with my girlfriend, who looked paler than me.

The truth is that although I was in total shock, it wasn’t hard to notice her change in attitude. Even though I was still lost at the moment, her coldness was evident. I suppose it was because she couldn’t believe what was happening; I didn’t blame her, since I didn’t understand everything that was going on either. I remember thinking that life was being very cruel to me. Still, I tried not to break down in front of her; I didn’t want to appear weak and make her feel worse. But once I entered the bathroom, the world fell apart, and I cried like a little boy. I have to admit, it took me a few days to adapt to the idea. I read everything about my disease and knew Carl was one of the best doctors in the field in our country. It didn’t give me relief, but it did make me feel somewhat secure, if that makes any sense.

A week later, I returned to that office and finally found out I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Now they had to determine if it was standard or high risk. The doctor explained that the treatment consisted of separate phases. Induction therapy was the first phase of treatment, followed by consolidation therapy. The third phase was maintenance therapy. Lastly, there was the preventive treatment of the spinal cord, and up to that last word, everything seemed like a cloud of meaningless phrases.

Apparently, my face said it all because Carl said it was normal to feel overwhelmed. That there were too many medical terms, but I would understand them in time and even understand them better than him. The question was, did I want to understand it? I didn’t see the point in having more knowledge than my own doctor. Anyway, the first torture I had to know was going through chemotherapy to see how the disease reacted to it.