Maybe it was the helplessness that turned him on. Maybe it was the feeling he controlled life and death. Whatever it was, Lane Richards loved preying on the weak. He’d been this way since he could remember. Weaker things deserved to be hurt. And now Officer Lane Richards had the tools to make it happen.
Lane Richards had an upbringing of wealth and privilege that few experience. The conglomerate Richcorp Ltd., run by his father Arthur Richards, was passed down from grandfather Samuel Richards aka Grandpa Sam. Originally started in a tool and die shop, Grandpa Sam leveraged the business into a buyout of several small manufacturing companies. Known for his benevolent and generous spirit toward others, he ran a tight-knit office of long-time loyal employees. When he passed away, Grandpa Sam’s funeral ran hours long as former employees, business associates, and friends told story after story of his secret acts of kindness. His son, Arthur Richards, would not carry on his father’s legacy.
Soon after taking over Grandpa Sam’s business, Arthur Richards merged the companies and began acquiring larger companies through leveraged hostile takeovers. Rumors circulated that Richards was in bed with the mafia, helping to launder their dirty money. Somehow the financing would always come through on his takeovers, richly overpaying if competing offers appeared. Eventually he formed a privately held conglomerate named Richcorp Ltd.
Today, Richcorp Ltd. held interests in real estate, manufacturing, hospitality, and transportation, among other industries. With over 10,000 employees combined, Richcorp wielded mighty political clout at the municipal level. And Arthur Richards took full advantage of that clout.
The family mansion buzzed with staff twenty-four hours a day. As a baby, Lane Richards had a full-time nanny and an au pair on constant rotation. His father liked to cycle new girls in every several months, “I like ’em fresh” he’d say. It was a well-known secret that Arthur Richards had his way with the au pairs. Lane’s mother, Elaine, turned a blind eye, busy on the socialite circuit and drinking heavily in her spare time.
Lane’s nanny, Amelia, had a horrible temper and was an angry, bitter woman. When no one was around, she’d curse and scold Lane.
“You spoiled brat, you’re going to grow up to be an asshole like your father.”
“You get everything you want. You don’t deserve it.”
The vitriol was non-stop.
Once, when he was three, Lane told his mother that Amelia said mean things to him. A drunk Elaine Richards looked at him disdainfully and said “Lane honey, it’s a cruel world. You’ll just have to toughen up.” It was a harsh lesson for a three year old. When he was five he told the butler that Amelia touched him down there when no one was around. It was a lie, but Lane knew it would get her fired. The nanny was gone the next day. Lane learned his lessons well.
Lane experienced five-star dining, first-class travel, five-star accommodations, and was waited on hand and foot by a small entourage assigned by his father. Treated like royalty, he eventually turned into the asshole his nanny had predicted. He was known for his harshness and cruelty, even as seven year old, spewing criticisms at his helpers. “You aren’t good enough to wipe my ass! I should fire you!” was the sort of thing he’d scream at his assistants.
The only person Lane never messed with was the head of his security detail. Brian “Brick” Walters, was a mountain of a man. Ink-black complexion, huge and quiet, there was a calm that he brought to his surroundings. Yet, Lane had seen Brick upset at a member of his detail once, and it terrified him. There was a very dangerous man beneath that layer of calm. Brick was the one person in the world who Lane respected and listened to when he spoke.
Brick occasionally asked Lane to mind his manners, but never in front of others. He would never show up the kid. They sometimes had long talks, Lane asking Brick about his upbringing and life outside the mansion, a completely foreign world to the kid. Brick was more of a parental figure than Lane’s own parents but didn’t try to shape him. He had realized early on something was not right with Lane.
(read part two of silver spoon sociopath)
