The Sane & the Skint: The Story part 1

Andrew Griffin was the perfect son. Or atleast, that was what Ethan, his younger brother, was told all his life. And although some might argue that Andrew indeed was a fine specimen- smart, handsome, a professor of linguistics at Harvard- in all essence, a perfect gentleman, Ethan maintained that it was no reason for him to hog all the limelight.

Andrew always was his father’s favourite of the two, and now that their father, the legendary multibillionaire steel tycoon Harry Griffin was dead, Ethan was sure that Andrew would inherit everything.

Now Ethan might have a lot of faults, but he had an astute business sense, and Andrew, even though possessing an IQ that might shame most scientists, could do nothing with so much money except squander it on fine wine and finer first editions.

Ethan had made several wrong and questionable choices in his past- both in his professional life and otherwise- as most proud youngsters do, believing that they know best. However, he knew better now, and he also knew that if his father was to provide him with some of his own resources and seemingly infinite capital, Ethan was more than capable of making his mark on the world. But Harry Griffin was not a man who believed in giving second chances- he had gotten Ethan out of a minor financial crisis once, and he was not about to part with any more of his money for his less favoured son.

So Ethan was left with no choice but to hatch a plan to get what he saw as rightfully his. And money was not the only thing for which he had started plotting. As long as he could remember, he had been living in Andrew’s shadow, and subconsciously or otherwise, Andrew had become haughty, try to subjugate his younger brother. But now, Ethan was about to get the better of him!

It had taken all of Ethan’s cunning to come up with this scheme. He knew that every part of the plan must go perfectly, or else his brother would see right through it. He also understood that time was of essence, for the legal firm which handled their father’s will had an upcoming appointment with them in a few weeks, and the plan had to be executed before that.

In order to ensure that his genius of a brother could be fooled, Ethan had a few tricks up his sleeve, or as an ardent gambler might call it, he still had an ace of spades, which happened to be Andrew’s butler.

Being a multibillionaire’s son has its advantages, and Andrew certainly enjoyed them. While Harvard professors were used to a luxurious lifestyle, it was still uncommon for them to have their own butler or a chauffeur driven Bentley. Andrew had both, and he was among the youngest professors.

Jean Masson, Andrew’s butler, was born in France, and he had been with Andrew for nearly 7 years. He was a loyal servant, but a million dollars was enough to shake anybody’s loyalty. Ethan had- with careful planning and much deliberation- let Jean in on his plan, only because his plan would’ve never worked without Jean’s support. Ethan was a little apprehensive about confiding in such an old servant of Andrew’s; but he had witnessed, growing up with his father, the effect money had on the most moralistic of people. And he was right- the promise of a million dollars had taken care that any devotion Jean felt towards his employer was soon forgotten.

While Jean was the most important part of Ethan’s plan, he was not the only one. Ethan needed other people to confirm the story he was about to cook up, and for that he needed individuals who, like him, wanted to get the better of his brilliant and absolutely perfect big brother.