Beyond Riches: The Inexplainable Trillionaire

Chapter 4: The Cards

Donald rushed toward the police chief, face twisted with fury. Behind him, the Silvercrest security team moved as one, heavy weapons raised, red dots landing on every officer's chest.

"Wait!" Chief Dolan threw his hands up. "I was only trying to help! He was running back to the cell..."

Donald's fist connected with his chin three times, each impact like meat hitting concrete. "Helpful? You threw the young master to the ground. You had your men tackle him like a common criminal."

A kick to the stomach folded the chief in half. He dropped to his knees, coughing blood onto the pavement. His officers knelt in perfect surrender, surrounded by men with guns who clearly wanted an excuse to pull the trigger. If Donald ordered the entire force wiped out, nobody would say a word.

Donald turned away from the bleeding chief, his entire demeanor shifting from killer to servant again. He gently helped Ethan to his feet. "Young Master, please forgive me. I failed to protect you."

Ethan touched his swollen cheek. "I'm okay."

"You are not okay, you were assaulted." Donald's eyes swept over him. "What are your orders? The officers who touched you, should they be killed or imprisoned? Name your justice."

Ethan stared. This couldn't be a trick anymore, a trick wouldn't involve Donald Steflon throwing punches at a police chief and offering executions. This was real, but even so he wasn't ready to become someone else overnight. "Let them go."

Donald blinked. "But they assaulted you. The chief ordered..."

"The chief was trying to help you. He thought he was doing what you wanted. Plus he is probably someone's husband and father, make sure he gets proper medical care."

Donald stared for a long moment, then something like pride shifted in his expression. "You are merciful and wise, Young Master. Qualities of a true heir, ones your father desperately needs."

Ethan didn't know what to say.

"So, will you come now? Your father has waited so many years."

Ethan's head was spinning. An hour ago he was in a cell, now he was being called young master by the second most powerful man in the world. "I can't, It's too much, I need time to process."

A flash of disappointment crossed Donald's face, quickly hidden. "I understand. But please, don't take too long. Your father needs you critically."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out two cards. The first was sleek and metallic, engraved with Ethan's full name and the Silvercrest crest with mountain, crown and stars. "Your identity card. Use it at any Silvercrest company, facility, or any business owned by our subordinate families and it will give you Immediate access to anything you need."

Ethan took it. It was heavier than it looked.

The second card made his breath catch. Completely black, made from metal that seemed to absorb light. No name and no numbers, just a small Silvercrest crest. "Premium black card. Only individuals worth over ten billion carry one. This has two hundred billion dollars loaded onto it."

Ethan's fingers nearly dropped it. "Two hundred… billion?"

"For whatever you need. Clothes, cars, property."

Donald pulled out his phone. "Additionally, I've transferred one hundred billion to your personal bank account."

Ethan's phone buzzed. He pulled it out with shaking hands. Spirit Bank, Credit Alert: $100,000,000,000.

His legs went weak. One hundred billion in his account, plus two hundred billion on the card. Three hundred billion total, that was double Cady Winter's entire family net worth, nearly as much as Brad Charlesly's family, and close to the total of all Golden Five families combined.

Ethan burst out laughing until his bruised cheek hurt and tears formed.

Donald had a concerned look on his face, "Young Master, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ethan managed. "I'm just… fine."

Donald bowed one final time. "I will call you tomorrow for your response. Please take care until then." He turned to his men. "We're leaving." The army of cars drove off as quickly as they had come.

Ethan stood frozen, then opened his banking app. The numbers were still there. He refreshed and it was still there.

"Okay. First, I need to know if this money is real. I need to spend it." He thought of Mayfair Gardens, the billionaire hotspot every Silvercrest student talked about with stars in their eyes. He hailed a taxi.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"Mayfair Gardens."

The driver looked at Ethan's shabby clothes, bruised face and champagne-stained uniform. "You sure, buddy? That place is…"

"Just drive." Ethan said as he sat in the back seat, staring at the two cards. His phone rang, it was Spirit Bank Corporate Office.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Ethan?" The voice trembled, eager and desperate to please. "My name is Austin Ross, president of Spirit Bank."

Ethan smiled. A man whose face appeared on financial magazines, who dined with senators, was calling him directly. "What can I do for you, Mr. Ross?"

"Sir, about the hundred-billion-dollar transfer. Our system automatically locked the account due to the deposit size and standard procedure. We need you to come in tomorrow morning to process the unlock. Would that work?"

Ethan leaned back. "Tomorrow morning, I'll try, if I have the time."

"Of course, sir. Whatever works for your schedule. Thank you for taking my call." With that the phone call ended.

The taxi pulled up to a building that didn't look real, it was a tower of glass, light, impossible angles, stretching into the night sky. Cars like magazine covers lined up outside. Marble columns flanked the entrance, doormen in suits that cost more than Ethan's entire life savings from two hours ago.

"So this is Mayfair Gardens. Alright then."

The moment he stepped through the doors, heads turned. The lobby was marble floors and crystal chandeliers. Men in tailored suits, women in shimmering gowns, waiters carrying thousand-dollar drinks. And then there was Ethan in his dirty uniform, with swollen cheek, hair crusted with dried champagne.

"Excuse me." Three security guards approached, with hard expressions. "What are you doing here?" asked the biggest, with a shaved head and a neck thick as Ethan's thigh.

Ethan raised a brow, "I came to have a nice time. Like everyone else."

The guard laughed hysterically. "Does this look like a budget spot to you? A local hangout?"

"I know exactly what this place is. That's why I'm here." Ethan responded.

The second guard stepped forward. "Are you a billionaire, sir? This establishment is strictly for billionaires."

Ethan smiled. "As a matter of fact, I am a centibillionaire."

All three burst out laughing. "A centibillionaire," the first guard repeated, wiping his eyes. "Hear that, Mike? We got a centibillionaire here."

"Yeah, I'm a centibillionaire too," the third guard mocked. "My dream self owns half the city."

Ethan tried to step past. The first guard shoved him back. "Don't touch me," Ethan said.

"We told you to leave. Don't make this difficult."

"I'm going inside." Ethan retorted.

"You are going back to whatever alley you crawled out of, before we..."

"What do we have here?"

Ethan knew that voice. Adam Cole walked toward them, smirk spreading. Behind him came the rest of the Golden Five, Brad, Jason, Jessica, Cady, and tucked under Brad's arm, Celia, looking at Ethan like something stuck to her shoe.

"Ethan?" Adam stopped. "Shouldn't you be rotting in a jail cell?"

Jessica laughed, tossing her hair. "Seriously, how is he not in prison? And why are you letting a criminal hang around the entrance?"

The guards snapped to attention, with their tough-guy act vanishing into nervous stammering. "Miss Flinch, we were just..."

"Enough," Brad said calmly. He was family was now connected to the Silvercrest Clan, he didn't need to yell.

Celia pulled away from Brad and stepped toward Ethan, her face twisted with disgust. "Is this what you did with the opportunity God gave you?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What opportunity?"

"Amelia got Ray Steflon to get you out of jail. That's a golden gift, and instead of going home and thanking God, you came here to stalk me."

Ethan frowned, "First of all, I'm not here to stalk you. I don't give a damn about you anymore, Celia."

Her face went red. "Excuse me?"

"Second, who is Ray Steflon? And third, I'm very sure this Ray person had nothing to do with my release."

Adam jabbed a finger toward Ethan's chest. "You ungrateful bastard. Amelia made a call and Ray made it happen, and you're standing here acting like you freed yourself?"

"I don't know any Ray, and no, he didn't free me."

Cady rolled her eyes. "Why are we wasting time? Let's go inside."

"Wait." Celia held up her hand, staring at Ethan strangely. "You really don't know who Ray Steflon is?"

"I don't." Ethan responded.

The Golden Five exchanged glances. Jessica burst out laughing. "Of course he doesn't know. This is why poor people stay poor, they lack information. If he doesn't even know Ray Steflon's name, how could he ever be rich?"

"The last name sounds familiar," Ethan said, "but…"

"The last name sounds familiar?" Adam repeated, annoyed. "You hear 'Steflon' and just think it sounds familiar?"

Ethan thought to himself, The man at the station was named Donald. Then aloud he says, "Does this Ray go by another name? Donald, maybe?"

Every single person in the Golden Five went completely still. Cady's face went pale. Jessica's smirk vanished. Adam took a half-step backward. Even Brad's expression flickered.

"Don't," Adam whispered. "Don't say that name like that. Do you want to lose your head?"

"Why?" Ethan asked, genuinely confused.

"Donald Steflon," Brad cut in, voice tight, "is Ray's father. He's the head butler of the Silvercrest family. The second most powerful man in the entire world. You don't just say his name like he's some random guy on the street."

Ethan processed this, then smiled. So Donald's the second most powerful. But if I took his offer, that would make Donald third. And me second, right under my supposed father.

The security guards grabbed Ethan's arms, breaking his thoughts. "That's it. You're out of here."

"Wait." The voice was calm, commanding. Amelia Freeman walked through the entrance, Trevor right beside her. "Let him go. Now."

The guards saw Trevor and immediately released Ethan, bowing and stepping back so fast they nearly tripped. "Young Master Trevor," they said in unison. "We didn't know you were arriving."