From Campus Trash To Tycoon

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Adrian dropped the phone. The device clattered violently against the floorboards. His heart slammed against his ribs as he lunged forward, his knees hitting the cold floor as his shaking fingers scrambled to grab the phone.

He flipped the screen over. He aggressively refreshed the mobile banking page.

The balance loaded. The digits remained.

One billion dollars.

A sharp gasp tore from his throat. His chest tightened. His mind raced frantically for logic, but there was none to find. He grew up understanding scarcity. Numbers like this did not belong to people like him. They belonged to men who never asked how much something cost before purchasing it.

The phone vibrated violently in his palm, the loud ring shattering the quiet room. An unknown number. The bank. They finally discovered the error. Of course, they couldn't wait a single hour to fix their own mistake. Adrian swiped the screen before the second ring finished, slamming the phone to his ear.

“Did you see it?”

A feminine voice spilled through the speaker, fast and unsteady. Adrian pulled the phone back, staring at the screen in pure disorientation. It couldn't be his sister, Emily. He jammed it back to his ear, his eyes skimming the balance one more time.

“Adrian, did you get the money?”

He swallowed hard, his throat dry as sandpaper. “Emily. Is this a prank? Where did you find a massive sum of cash like that? Please don't tell me you broke into a bank.”

A heavy silence fell over the line. A sharp intake of breath. Then a soft curse. “I was not supposed to hit send,” Emily muttered. “Not yet.”

Adrian scrambled off the mattress, his legs pacing the small dorm room in a frantic circle. “You accidentally sent one billion dollars to my account? Emily, what did you do?”

“I know!” she shot back, her voice cracking over the poor static. “I know how crazy that sounds!”

“Crazy?” Adrian let out a sharp, breathless laugh, pressing the phone hard against his ear. “You sent a phone alert displaying nine zeros! Do you hear yourself right now?”

“It was supposed to be your graduation gift!” Emily pleaded, her tone turning defensive. “A massive surprise!”

The word hung like a brick in the cold air. Adrian stopped dead in his tracks. “A graduation gift? People get watches, Emily. They don't get the GDP of a small country.”

“Because I watched them humiliate you!” Emily exploded, her breathless voice suddenly darkening into raw fury. “I saw the viral video on your school social media account, Adrian! I watched them throw dollar bills at your feet like you were some campus circus clown! You stood there pretending it didn't hurt, but I'm not going to let them strip you down when you don't have to!”

His jaw tightened. The absolute heat in her voice hit him harder than the glowing digits on his screen.

“Where did a billion dollars come from, Emily?” Adrian demanded.

“You know,” Emily whispered. “Our family isn't exactly broke.”

“No,” Adrian countered instantly, his voice dropping. “We couldn't even afford my second-hand textbooks last semester. Don't play with me.”

“It is what Dad left behind,” she said rapidly. “Part of your inheritance share. The Vale family is beyond wealthy, Adrian. I lost my mind when I finally uncovered the accounts. I couldn’t touch my own portion until this morning, but Mother warned me it would lead—”

The line cracked violently, killing the call abruptly.

Adrian dialed his mother’s number, slamming the phone back to his cheek. The line picked up instantly, a sharp, ragged breath cutting through the speaker.

“Adrian, tell me you didn't touch that account,” his mother whispered, her voice tight with panic.

“Emily just sent a billion dollars to my account,” Adrian demanded, his knuckles turning white around the phone. “Where did this money come from?”

“Your father’s death wasn't an accident,” she hissed. “He ran Cruisers Tech. The elite families at the top murdered him to strip his shares, and we went into hiding to keep you invisible. We gave you a broke life to keep a target off your chest!”

His heart slammed violently against his ribs.

“That transaction just lit up a beacon on the banking grid,” she continued, her breathing fast and shallow. “Emily always do stuffs without consulting me.” His mother sighed. “The moment you spend a single dollar, the people who killed your father will know exactly where you are. They own the banks, Adrian. Stay in your dorm—”

“No,” Adrian cut in, his gaze tracking his reflection in the window. The burning memory of Lukas throwing dollars at his feet flared behind his mind. “She didn't ruin anything, Mum. She just removed the blindfold.”

“Adrian, you don't understand the monsters—”

“Let them look for me,” Adrian said, his voice dropping into a quiet calm. “I’m done hiding in the dirt.”

He ended the call.

Adrian sat on the edge of his mattress, staring blankly at the wall until the sun rose over the campus gates. Tears welled in his eyes. He ruthlessly wiped them away with the back of his sleeve. He would never be an underdog again.

“Mira,” he murmured into the empty room, a dark, humorless laugh escaping his lips. “If only you waited a little longer.”

He stood up, threw his shabby jacket over his shoulders, and walked straight out of the dorms.

The bank branch was everything his cramped dorm was not. Bright. Cold. Polished. Every marble surface reflected something back, forcing a brutal awareness of exactly where a person stood and how they looked. The air smelled clean in an expensive way, as if the staff spent hours making sure nothing human lingered too long.

Adrian joined the security line.

The tellers greeted the people ahead of him by their names. Smiles were exchanged. High-end chairs were offered. Their laughter sounded soft, mutual, and elite.

When Adrian stepped up to the counter, the teller did not smile. Her eyes raked across his form, skimming quickly from his damaged sneakers to his faded, shabby jacket.

“What do you need?” she asked, already turning her eyes back to her computer monitor.

“I’m here to make a transaction,” Adrian said evenly.

“Online services handle basic transactions,” she replied without looking up.

“I am not here for a basic transaction.”

Her fingers paused over the keyboard. She looked at him again, slower this time, her mouth tightening into a thin line of pure condescension. “This branch is strictly for premium clients. Do you have an appointment?”

“No.”

“Then you should leave.”

“I need to make a transaction,” Adrian repeated, his voice dropping cold.

Her expression shifted from impatience to outright irritation. “Do not waste my time. People like you usually misunderstand how this place works.”

The phrase people like you landed with practiced ease across the marble desk.

“I know how banks work,” Adrian said.

She let out a quiet, mocking laugh. “Do you?”

A man behind him shifted uncomfortably, checking an expensive gold watch before letting out a loud chuckle. "Give it up, kid. Some people are born to sit in the back of the bus. Go back to your dorm and eat your ramen."

“Do you even know the minimum balance required to bank here?” the teller pressed, a sneer slipping onto her face.

“Yes.”

“And you think you qualify?” She turned to her colleague at the next window, laughing loudly. “Hey, Brenda! Look at this. Another teenager who watched a movie and thinks he can open a Billionaire Account with five dollars.”

The other teller scoffed, focusing on her paperwork. Her lips curled, clearly irritated by the fact that Adrian stood there, replying to everything without breaking character. “This is not a charity branch. We do not offer financial fantasies. If you don't leave this instant, I'll call security.”

The threat was loud enough for the wealthy clients in line behind him to snicker.

Adrian did not move a single inch. He simply reached into his pocket, pulled out the sleek black card, and slid it across the marble counter.

“Fine, I’d swipe it but if nothing pops up, I’d make sure the security drags you out of here.”

Adrian simply nodded and the teller sneered.

The moment the teller swiped it absentmindedly, the computer didn't just process the chip—the entire interface turned a flashing gold. A high-priority, maximum-tier alert detonated across every single monitor in the building.

“Warned you didn’t I? Now you’d be…”

The double doors of the back office burst open before the teller could finish off her statement. The head manager ran out onto the floor, nearly tripping over his own expensive loafers, his face covered in a sudden, terrifying sweat.

"Mr. Vale!" the manager gasped, completely ignoring the frozen teller. "Why are you standing in line with the common accounts? Please, go to my private office now!"

Adrian glanced at the teller. Her face wasn't just pale; she looked like she was about to drop straight onto the floor.