2024-09-10 08:22:01Getting out of the car, Tedmond frowned. Although he had told Thomas he was fine with his belongings, Thomas had intentionally tossed them into the trash for him to get new ones.
“I’ll be waiting here for you,” the driver said. “Take as much time as you need.”
Tedmond glanced back and nodded before walking into the store. He knew Thomas had sent him shopping to give him time to think and make up his mind.
He understood he had to accept his inheritance. After all, he had promised the Griffin family he would make them pay, and the only way to do that was by accepting his fortune. Why would he refuse something like this after all he had been through?
It wasn’t possible.
Scanning the store, he looked for the men’s section. As his eyes roamed the place, they landed on a rabbit doll with emerald eyes and a gem dangling from it.
‘Is that a diamond?’ he wondered.
The emerald reminded him of Bianca’s eyes, and he thought she might like it. He decided to get it for her. Just as he was about to open the display case to take it, a rude voice interrupted him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a woman snapped. “Do you really think you can steal that with all the surveillance footage around here?”
The sound of heels clicking made him spin around. In seconds, the woman shoved him away from the display and placed her hand on her waist, glaring at him.
“Trust me, there’s no way you’ll get away with stealing from this place,” she said. “You should leave.”
Her loud voice had drawn the attention of several people in the store, all frowning at Tedmond. Judging by his appearance, they assumed he couldn’t afford anything there.
“Is this how you treat your customers?” Tedmond asked.
“Customer, my foot! Are you trying to save face after I caught you trying to steal that rabbit doll?”
“I’m here to buy it,” Tedmond retorted, hating the fact that he was the center of attention. “How much does it cost? I’ll transfer the money right now.”
She raised an eyebrow, staring at him in disgust. “I gave you the chance to leave, and you’re wasting it. What makes you think you can afford it? You can’t even buy decent shoes, let alone this doll. And what would trash like you want with a doll anyway?”
Tedmond's brows knitted in anger. “How much is the doll? I want it.”
The woman chuckled and turned to the salesman nearby. “You handle this trash. He’s acting like he can afford anything in this store. Take care of him.”
She walked away, leaving the salesman to approach Tedmond awkwardly.
“Hello, sir,” the salesman said. “Can you really afford the doll? If you can’t, she’ll make sure I get fired,” he muttered, his voice low.
The people in the store began murmuring as they looked at Tedmond.
‘What’s he doing, lying like that?’ someone said.
‘Maybe he’s not a thief and just came here to window shop?’
‘I’m tired of trash pretending to be rich. Trash will always be trash.’
Tedmond frowned. They were looking down on him again, and it would affect the salesman who was just trying to help. “I want the doll,” Tedmond said, placing a hand on the salesman’s shoulder. “That’s not all I need, though. If you help me pick other things, you’ll be compensated.”
The man nodded, but the woman who had left burst into laughter. It was the same saleswoman.
“Are you kidding?!” she demanded. “If you can afford anything here, would you let me call the cops on you?”
Tedmond snapped his head toward her, his glare sharp. “And if I can afford it, what will you do?”
She snickered. “I’ll apologize…”
“That’s not enough,” he interrupted. “You’ll crawl around the store three times while apologizing.”
The woman flinched but quickly regained her composure. “What the–?”
“Also, you’ll apologize to this young man,” Tedmond added, gesturing to the salesman next to him. “Is that okay, or are you scared?”
“Why would I be scared? It’s not like you can afford it anyway,” she snarled. “I agree!”
“Good,” Tedmond said before turning to the salesman. “I’ll take that doll.”
The salesman nodded and retrieved the doll, handing it to Tedmond with a smile. Tedmond glanced at the doll, realizing it was the first time he was buying something for someone who hadn’t asked for it.
As he moved toward the clothing section, people in the store continued to murmur. Tedmond picked out as many clothes as he needed, along with shoes, a wristwatch, and other essentials, trying some on to see how they looked.
Despite the store’s luxury, he chose based on his taste, not the price.
“I’m done,” Tedmond announced, after selecting everything he wanted. The salesman helped him place the items on the counter.
The saleswoman and others in the store wore smug expressions, eager to see him get arrested.
“You’re done,” she muttered, sneering. “I’ll check the price of everything you bought.”
Smiling as if she had already won, she began calculating the total. The salesman beside Tedmond stiffened, fearing for his job.
“It’s a total of $500,000,” she said.
Tedmond furrowed his brows, and her smile widened.
“You can’t afford that, can you?” she said, chuckling. “Look at him! Just a poor brat bluffing.”
“I was just wondering why it’s so cheap,” Tedmond replied. He had deliberately bought a lot to ensure Thomas wouldn’t send him shopping again anytime soon.
“You hear that?” the woman scoffed, but then she stopped, realizing what he had said. “Did you just call this cheap? How lame!”
“I’ll transfer the money now. What’s the account number?” Tedmond asked.
She glared at him but handed him the account details. “Fine, this is the store’s account, managed by our finance team. I’ll call them right away to check if your imaginary money has arrived.”
Ignoring her, Tedmond transferred the exact amount to the account. He turned his phone around, showing her the exact amount he had transferred.
She was stunned at first but quickly waved it off. “That must be fake!” she claimed, turning to one of the saleswomen. “Call and confirm that the money has been received.”
Less than a minute later, the saleswoman ended the call, her eyes wide in shock. “He’s right! The money has been RECEIVED!”
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CHAPTER 871
The SUV ground to a halt at the gated entrance of Pier Forty-Two, its tires crunching heavily over shards of glass and dried seaweed. The driver killed the engine and headlights, plunging the cabin into near-total darkness."Keep the engine warm," Vance told the driver, his voice a low whisper. He turned to Arthur, his expression grim. "Keep your mouth shut unless he asks you a direct question. These old intelligence brokers don't care about your banking committees. They only care about survival parameters."Arthur nodded frantically, his throat bone-dry as he stepped out into the biting, salt-heavy air.They walked down the long, creaking pier, the ancient timber groaning beneath their weight like a staircase ready to collapse. At the very end of the dock, tied to a pair of rusted iron bollards, sat The Iron Sentry. The trawler was massive, its hull covered in jagged patches of dark orange rust, looking completely abandoned to the casual eye. But Vance’s sharp ears caught the f
CHAPTER 870
Vance’s fingers moved across his screen with a rapid, practiced rhythm, its dull glow illuminating the sharp angles of his face. The interior of the SUV remained dead silent, save for the low hum of the climate control and the distant, mocking murmur of the surf.Outside the tinted window, Arthur paced a tight, frantic line in the gravel. Every crunch of stone beneath his designer loafers felt like a second ticking away from his life. He checked his watch again, his heart hammering violently against his ribs.Inside the cabin, Vance placed the phone to his ear. It didn't ring with a standard tone; instead, a series of high-pitched digital clicks echoed through the speaker before a heavily modulated voice patched through."Speak," the voice rasped, entirely devoid of inflection."It’s Vance. I need a line to Henderson," Vance said, his tone flat and professional. "Code alpha-seven. The maritime grid."A long pause stretched over the airwaves. The silence was so heavy that Vance co
CHAPTER 869
Arthur stood rooted to the gravel for a full minute after the taillights of the vintage convertible disappeared past the resort’s iron gates. The exhaust from Tedmond’s engine still hung faint and heavy in the humid night air.Slowly, the paralysis left his limbs. He lowered the leather portfolio, his knuckles aching from how tightly he’d been gripping the eighty-million-dollar offering. The panic in his chest hadn't receded; it had simply crystallized into a cold, terrifying realization. They weren't just taking his boards, his seats, and his autonomy. They were systematically dismantling the perimeter he had spent his entire life building."Are they..." Arthur’s voice cracked in the darkness, trailing off before he could finish the thought. He looked toward the shadow of the main gates. "Are they going to take revenge anyway?"The question hung unanswered in the empty driveway. A document at eight o'clock tomorrow morning wasn't a truce; it was a hostage situation. Handing ov
CHAPTER 868
"He’s a boy! He’s an ignorant, reckless boy!" Arthur cried out, his face turning an ugly, panicked shade of purple in the glare of the headlights. He looked back toward the lead SUV, where the tinted glass hid a terrified, bruised Chad. "I will strip his trust. I’ll send him to the compliance office in Prague to count paper clips for the next five years. Whatever you want! But please, don't let a twenty-minute ego trip on a public beach destroy thirty years of asset building."Persis leaned her elbow against the smooth leather of the passenger door, a slow, icy smile playing on her lips. "Your son didn't just have an ego trip, Mr. Meriwether. He put his hands on my husband. He threw a tantrum because he thought we were small enough to crush. You taught him that strength is measured by a bank balance. It’s a very poor curriculum.""I see that now. I see it completely," Arthur said, sweat dripping down his silver temples despite the cool coastal breeze.He reached into his suit jacke
CHAPTER 867
His face carried the deep, weathered lines of a man who had spent his life shouting over tickers and boardrooms, but right now, those lines were pulled tight with immense tension. He didn't look at Persis. His eyes locked onto Tedmond, scanning the massive frame of the man who had nearly erased his life's work in four minutes.The older man took three slow, measured steps forward, stopping just outside Tedmond’s personal space. He raised his hands slightly, palms open, a universal gesture of peace that looked entirely unnatural on a man of his stature."Mr. Washington," he said, his voice a gravelly, raspy tone that had commanded D.C. committees for decades. "I am Arthur Meriwether."Tedmond didn't offer his hand. He stood like a monolith in the gravel, the cooler hanging loosely from his shoulder. "I know who you are, Arthur."Arthur swallowed hard, his silver mane shifting as he nodded. He looked exhausted, the high-stakes panic of the afternoon still visibly draining his ener
CHAPTER 866
The resort’s interior was a stark contrast to the bright, gritty beach. The hallways were lined with cool, polished marble, the air smelling faintly of fresh jasmine and expensive wax. Large, arched windows offered sweeping views of the coastline, casting long, golden rectangles of light across the floor.They had just turned the corner into the main residential wing, heading toward the terrace elevators, when a door down the hall clicked open.Chad stepped out.He had changed into a crisp, pastel pink button-down and white trousers, clearly trying to piece his wealthy facade back together. He was staring down at his phone, his thumb hovering cautiously over the screen as if checking to see if his bank accounts were truly functional again.Then, he looked up.The moment Chad’s eyes landed on Tedmond’s massive frame, every ounce of color vanished from his face. He froze mid-step, his jaw dropping so fast his phone nearly slipped from his fingers. He looked at Tedmond, then at Persi
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