The moment Liam stepped into the section reserved for **E‑class citizens**, the difference hit him at once. Everything about the place felt stripped of dignity. The lighting was dimmer, the chairs were older, and the air itself seemed heavier, as if even comfort had a class ranking in this country. A few cracked plastic seats lined the wall, and a tired queue of poorly dressed citizens waited in silence, each one carrying the same worn expression of caution and submission. There were only three attendants assigned to the E‑class section, though the line was long enough to justify twice that number. Even so, what stood out most wasn’t the delay it was the contempt. The women at the counters didn’t even bother hiding the disgust in their eyes. They looked at the E‑class citizens as though they were stains on the floor rather than customers. It wasn’t surprising. The front desk staff in banks like this were usually **B‑class citizens**. People from that level rarely employed E‑cl

Her threat snapped something inside him. Liam blinked, as though waking from a deep fog. The ringing in his head faded, replaced by the harsh reality in front of him. He had his own battles to fight. His own war to win. He couldn’t afford to lose focus not now. For a brief second, he almost opened his mouth to plead on the old woman’s behalf. The words rose to his throat. "Please, just attend to her. It’s urgent."But they died there. Confidence failed him. The weight of his own problems crushed the courage before it could form. Instead, he stepped forward. The attendant looked at him lazily. “What is your problem?” she asked, irritation still dripping from her voice. Immediately Liam swallowed. “I… I want to withdraw the remaining money in my account. All of it.” She leaned back in her chair and slowly looked him up and down from his worn shoes to his faded shirt. Her lips curved into a mocking smile. “Well,” she said dryly, “this should be interesting. Just to satis

At that moment remained where he stood, frozen in the wreckage of the moment. Shock held him so completely that he could neither speak nor think. It was as if the world had split open beneath his feet, and he was still standing only because he had not yet realized he was falling. The attendant, however, had no interest in mercy. “Well?” she said coldly. “I think it’s time you got your poor, disgusting-looking face out of my sight before I call security to drag you away.” Her words struck him, but they barely registered. Compared to what had just happened, even her cruelty felt distant. Faint. Almost meaningless. Because his life his entire life had just been stripped bare. He had nothing now. No house, no savings, no safety, no certainty. Nothing. Even his job was gone. After what had happened the previous day, there was no going back. He knew that much. Whatever bridge had existed between him and his old life had already burned to ash. So what now? How was he supp

Immediately Liam stared at the paper as though the numbers might rearrange themselves into something sensible if he looked long enough. But they did not. The figure remained exactly where it was. His mind reeled. "What the hell is this?""What the hell is happening?""How did five hundred million dollars get into my account?"He could barely breathe through the chaos rising in his chest. None of this made any sense. He had not been expecting money. He did not know anyone who could send such money. He did not even know where he would ever get five hundred thousand dollars from, let alone five hundred million. It was madness. Something was wrong—terribly wrong. At that moment a chilling thought struck him. Could this be Victoria? Could she and Benjamin be behind this somehow? Was this another trap? Another calculated scheme to bury him deeper? To make it appear as though he had stolen from them? To hand him over to the authorities with evidence they had planted themselve

Even as the attendant kept her head respectfully lowered, a slow smile crept across her face where no one could see it. She could already feel it the promotion. The recognition. The elevation in status that came with doing something remarkable on the job. Because the woman now standing on the other side of the counter was not just any senior staff member. She was one of the most powerful figures in this entire institution a Senior Director, no less. A woman of top B-class citizen, respected, feared, and connected in ways most people could barely imagine. And the attendant had been the one to call her here. She had been the one to spot it. To flag it. To act. In her mind, the reward was already as good as hers. Because this was exactly the kind of thing the system celebrated catching a lower-level citizen attempting to game a world that was never built for them. A citizen of Liam's standing had no business having that kind of money. None whatsoever. And the fact that she had