Dumped on my anniversary, I activated the billionaire system

chapter 7

The heavy silence in the VIP lounge was suffocating, broken only by the soft hum of the central air conditioning and the ragged breathing of the Sterling family.

Damien Croft stared at the piece of paper in his hand, his brain completely short-circuiting as he tried to process the impossible words printed on the page.

"This is a fucking joke," Damien finally snarled, his face twisting into an ugly mask of rage as he slammed the document onto the glass table.

"Apex Horizon? Julian Cross? Don't make me laugh, Richard. That broke-ass paramedic doesn't have two dimes to rub together, let alone forty-five million in liquid capital to buy out a commercial mortgage. You’re being scammed."

Trent immediately puffed out his chest, stepping forward to loom over the trembling club manager.

"Yeah, you better check your sources, you incompetent hack. Julian is a literal gutter rat who just got divorced. He probably forged this document to mess with us. Call the bank right now and tell them to reverse this bullshit before I have you arrested for fraud."

Richard didn’t flinch, but he looked like he was about to throw up right there on the expensive Persian rug.

He pulled out his tablet with shaking hands and turned the screen toward Damien.

"Mr. Croft, I wish it was a prank, sir. I just got on a secure video call with the senior vice president of First National. The transfer was verified through the central federal registry less than five minutes ago.

The funds were wired from an offshore trust, and the lien was legally transferred to Apex Horizon LLC. The system shows the new owner's proxy director is, in fact, Mr. Julian Cross."

Damien’s jaw tightened so hard his teeth practically ground together.

He snatched the tablet and scrolled through the legal jargon, his eyes darting across the screen as he looked for a loophole, any loophole, to save his pride.

But the more he read, the more the blood drained from his face.

"Wait, what does this mean?" Madison asked, her voice pitching up in panic as she looked between the two men.

She didn't understand corporate finance, but she could read the room, and the room was terrifying.

"Damien, you just bought this place. Just tell them to cancel it. You're a Croft!"

Damien didn't answer her right away. He was too busy realizing that he had just been played like a cheap fiddle.

He had bought the secondary debt of the holding company, thinking it gave him leverage, but he had completely ignored the primary mortgage.

And now, the primary mortgage was owned by the one guy in the city who wanted to see him dead.

"It means," Richard said softly, his voice trembling but firm, "that Mr. Cross now holds the primary lien on the physical property. Under state law, if the primary mortgage holder invokes an acceleration clause and forecloses, all secondary debts are wiped out. Mr. Croft's two-million-dollar investment in the holding company is currently worth exactly zero dollars."

The color completely vanished from Trent’s face, and he stumbled backward, knocking over a chair.

"Zero? But Damien just spent two million! That's our money! That's Madison's anniversary gift!"

"Shut the fuck up, Trent!" Damien roared, spinning around and shoving his fiancée's brother hard in the chest. "You think I wanted this? Your idiot sister dumped a guy who apparently has ten billion dollars sitting in a hidden account, and now you're crying about my two million?"

Madison let out a choked sob, her perfectly manicured hands flying to her mouth as the reality of her massive mistake finally crashed down on her.

She had thrown away a billionaire to chase a guy who was currently being financially castrated by her ex-husband.

"Get out," Damien whispered, his voice shaking with pure, unadulterated fury as he looked back at the manager. "Get the owner on the phone. Tell him I'll pay him double whatever he paid for the mortgage. Tell him I'll give him a stake in Croft Enterprises. Just get him on the phone!"

"I can't do that, sir," Richard said, pulling a crisp, black envelope from his jacket pocket and holding it out. "Mr. Cross didn't leave a number for negotiations. He left a formal notice of eviction."

Damien snatched the envelope and tore it open, pulling out a single, heavy card.

He read the three lines of text printed on it, and his knees actually buckled. He had to grab the edge of the sofa to keep from collapsing.

"What does it say?" Eleanor shrieked, grabbing her son's arm. "Read it!"

Damien’s voice was barely a hollow rasp as he read the words aloud.

"'Notice of Immediate Termination. The Sterling family's country club membership is hereby revoked, effective immediately. Furthermore, all event bookings associated with the Sterling name, including tomorrow's anniversary banquet in the Grand Ballroom, are canceled. The premises are strictly off-limits to Madison, Trent, and Eleanor Sterling. Trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'"

The lounge erupted into absolute chaos. Trent started screaming curses and kicking the furniture, while Eleanor wailed like she was attending a funeral.

Madison just sat there, staring blankly at the floor, tears ruining her expensive makeup as she realized she didn't even have a venue for her grand anniversary party.

Meanwhile, across town, Julian was standing in the fitting room of a bespoke Italian tailor, letting the master craftsman adjust the shoulders of a midnight-blue tuxedo.

His old, wrinkled jacket and scuffed boots were sitting in a trash bag by the door, never to be seen again.

His new, unbreakable phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was a text from Evelyn Reed.

*I heard you just bankrupted Damien Croft and kicked my old rival's family out of their own club. You're a terrifying man, Julian Cross. But since you canceled their banquet, I assume you need a new venue for your own victory party. The Reed family estate is yours tonight. Don't be late.*

Julian smirked, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

He looked at his sharp reflection in the mirror, his eyes cold and completely devoid of mercy. He wasn't just going to ruin their party; he was going to make sure they watched him take everything they ever cared about.