From Doormat to Doomsday Billionaire!

Chapter 6: the richest man on Maple Groove

Rhys’s new life began with glamor.

He woke up before dawn in the luxurious penthouse bed. 

He showered, put on some clean clothes, and then he walked into the most expensive restaurant he could find to make an order without glancing at a single price—Prime steak. Fresh seafood. Warm pastries. And a cup of coffee to complete it.

When he set down his fork, a slow warmth spread through his whole body.

Spending money on myself feels so damn good. Rhys thought out loud. 

He took his meal with grace.

About an hour later, a car delivered him to the state lottery center.

The moment the staff understood why he was there, their faces beamed. A senior official escorted him personally into a private room, where his ticket and identity were examined through rounds after rounds of scrutiny.

At last, the man, wearing a polished gray suit, cleared his throat.

“Mr. Darby. Congratulations. The prize is confirmed at five hundred million dollars.”

One hundred million evaporated into taxes. Rhys approved a two-million-dollar donation to a charity, a cheap shield against the cameras and the rumors.

When the dust settled, the figure on the screen read:

$398,000,000.

He stared at the digits.

It was a fortune. Yet it had its purpose.

News of “the lottery winner” spread like wildfire across the district. In no time, representatives from half a dozen banks waited outside the room. 

The moment the door opened, they swarmed Rhys with smiles and business cards. 

“Mr. Darby, our private wealth division would be honored to serve you—”

“We can offer you exclusive access to…”

“Sir, a man of your stature deserves…”

“Vultures,” Rhys thought. “In three months, every one of you will be eating each other.”

He had no intention of parking his money in a safe, boring fund and living off the interest. Soon, the financial system would shatter. Every dollar in every account would become a ghost trapped inside a dead server.

Regardless of this, he chose a bank anyway. Not for its rates but because its nearest branch was a short walk from Maple Grove.

Its business manager, Yvonne Quinn, handled the transfer herself. She had taken him to her office personally.

“It would be an honor to serve you, sir.” A smile spread across her face while she pressed her buttons.

Yvonne was a gorgeous lady in her early thirties, polished and sharp, with a fitted suit and a smile that lingered a second too long every time their eyes met. 

She upgraded his account to the highest private-client tier.

Then she leaned over the desk, lowering her voice.

“You must be exhausted, Mr. Darby. Maybe I could take you somewhere private tonight to help you… relax.”

She smiled seductively as she revealed more of her cleavage. 

Rhys’s eyes flicked to the taper for a moment before he lifted them back to her face.

“Like what you see, sir?” She bit her lower lip. “Just say the word, and all of this, all of me, will be yours tonight.”

There was no mistaking the invitation. And for one heartbeat, the part of him that had been starved for years wanted to say yes.

Lexi never wanted intimacy. And whenever he tried to initiate, she would yell at him. “You’re so bloody perverted! You can’t hold it in for one more night!”

Rhys scoffed.

“No, thank you.” 

Disappointment flickered across her face. She leaned back to her seat, arranging her blouse.

Rhys then pulled out his phone. “But let’s exchange numbers. I’ll need someone I can trust to move very large sums of money, very quickly.”

The smile came back again, brighter this time. 

“It would be my pleasure sir.”

It wasn’t a lie. He truly would need her.

The plan was simple. For two months, he would pour his memory into the market, buying stocks he knew were about to explode and turning four hundred million into roughly two billion before the sun implodes. 

In the final month, he would pull out every dollar and convert it into food, medicine, fuel, and gear, all stored inside the dimensional space.

But first, he needed a fortress. A strong enough place to call a new home.

“We will be in touch, Yvonne.” Rhys stated and walked out of the room before Yvonne could even get the door.

***

He took a cab straight to Maple Grove, to the mansion directly across from the Stowes.

It was a big, newly renovated house, exactly as solid as he remembered. It could be turned into the perfect shelter. Better yet, it would give him a front-row seat to the Stowes’ suffering when the world ended. 

“What a delight that’ll be.” Rhys almost laughed.

The two homes even shared the neighborhood’s underground parking garage, so he could visit them whenever he wanted without ever stepping outside.

“Did you really think I’d let you die of hunger that quickly?” Rhys thought, looking up at the Stowe windows. 

“Everything I suffered, you’ll feel it yourselves. Slowly. Mercilessly.”

The owner and the agent were already waiting at the gate.

“I’ll take it.” Rhys said to the agent.

The agent gawked. “Don’t you want a second viewing, sir? Time to think about the price?”

“No.” He took out a card. “One million as a deposit. Finish the transfer as soon as possible.”

“This is amazing! Who is this man?” The owner thought to himself.

He had already cleared out everything valuable, and he handed over the keys on the spot.

The agent looked like she might cry. She had braced herself for weeks of haggling, inspections, and mortgage paperwork. Instead, this man had bought one of the most expensive homes on Maple Grove after a single walk-through.

The commission alone from this sale could buy her a car!

By evening, this was the biggest story on the street.

The news traveled from doorstep to doorstep, mutating as it went. 

“Have you heard? Someone bought the Luxurious Grand Mansion!”

“Yes! I heard it was the Stowe’s son-in-law!”

“I never knew he was so rich! This is massive!”

The word spread rapidly. 

Some swore Rhys had inherited a fortune from a secret relative overseas. Others insisted he’d bought crypto years ago. One especially creative neighbor claimed he had sold government secrets.

No one could guess the truth. 

The next morning, Mrs. Park, Maple Grove’s self-appointed information broker, heard the news before breakfast.

For someone who claims to own a big business, there was almost nothing on this street she didn’t know. 

When she learned that Rhys had just bought the mansion across from the Stowes, her eyes lit up like a slot machine.

“What a wonderful son-in-law!” she gasped. “The Stowes must be over the moon! I must see them myself!”

She grabbed her purse, and dashed out of her house, eager to offer congratulations. 

Even more so, she wanted to find out where all that money had come from.

She marched across the street to the Stowe’s residence, excitement pooling inside her, and knocked heavily on the front door.

But she stopped cold on the spot as her ears rang with the yells and screams coming from within. Mrs Park frowned.

The whole family was in chaos!