From Zero To Trillions

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

The night air was cool on Austin's skin, but his brain felt like it was full of angry bees. He just stared at the ATM screen. Seven billion dollars. It was such a huge number, it felt like a bad joke. He blinked hard, then rubbed his eyes like he was trying to wipe away a dream. But when he looked again, the seven followed with all those nine zeros was still stubbornly in place.

He took his bank card out. He thought maybe the machine would make a funny noise and say it was a mistake. But it just stayed quiet, its little green light blinking like normal. He put the card back in, clicked through the menus to check his balance again, and BAM! The same crazy number jumped out at him.

A dizzy feeling hit him hard. He had to hold onto the cold metal of the ATM to stay standing. What was happening? Who could do something like this? And why would they pick him? His mind started spinning, trying to think of anyone he knew. But none of them, not even a little bit, seemed like they could have that much money, let alone give it to him.

“It's real… very real.”

Having seen such amount of money. Austin felt like he was dreaming. With trembling hands, he took out his phone and dialed the unfamiliar number that had called him a while ago.

“Your royal highness, do you now believe me, seeing that you have returned my call?” the man on the other line answered quickly, his tone cheerful.

“Who… who are you, and why are you giving me such a huge amount of money?" Austin questioned, his voice filled with confusion.

“Your royal highness, I will have a car pick you up tomorrow. When we meet, I promise to explain everything to you in person,” he said.

“What about having them pick me up right now?” Austin said softly.

“Perfect. Send me your exact location,” the man in the other line said, before hanging up.

Austin’s fingers shook as he typed out his address and sent the message. He leaned against the ATM, his heart hammering against his ribs. Seven billion dollars. It felt like a heavy weight pressing down on him, even though he hadn’t actually touched the money yet. What kind of life did that even buy? What kind of trouble did it bring?

He looked around the quiet street. The usual sounds of the night – crickets chirping, a distant dog barking – seemed louder now, somehow charged with a strange energy. He felt exposed, like everyone could suddenly see the impossible number glowing above his head.

About twenty minutes later, the headlights of a sleek, black car turned the corner. It moved smoothly, silently, pulling up right in front of him. The back door opened, and a man in a dark suit stepped out. He was tall and had a serious look on his face.

“Mr. Austin?” the man asked, his voice calm and steady.

Austin swallowed hard and nodded.

“Please, come with me,” the man said, gesturing towards the open car door.

Hesitancy flickered through Austin. Getting into a car with a stranger who had just dumped an unbelievable amount of money into his account felt incredibly risky. “Who are you?” Austin asked, his voice a little shaky. “Where are you taking me?”

The man’s expression didn’t change. “All will be explained, your royal highness. Please, for your own safety, it is best that you come with us now.”

“My… my royal highness?” Austin repeated, his confusion deepening. What was going on? This had to be some kind of crazy dream.

Another man, also in a dark suit, stepped out of the passenger side. He looked at Austin with a firm but not unkind gaze. “Sir, we understand this is a shock. But we assure you, we mean you no harm. Time is of the essence. Please.”

Austin took a deep breath. He was scared, but a strange sense of curiosity, and maybe a tiny sliver of hope, pushed him forward. What other choice did he have? He couldn’t just stand here all night staring at an ATM receipt.

He nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Instead of meeting the mysterious man that night, Austin was taken to a fancy suite to sleep. The next day, a driver brought him to the tallest building he had ever seen. The parking lot was full of shiny, expensive cars, and the people walking around were dressed in grand clothes. Compared to them, Austin felt like a beggar who had wandered into the wrong place.

As he walked into the building, a woman sitting behind a large desk looked at him with a cold expression. She was dressed in a sharp business suit.

“Excuse me, who are you?” she asked, her voice unfriendly. “We don’t allow beggars in here.”

“What… I’m not here to beg,” Austin said plainly. “I was asked to come here.”

“No one around here would want to see someone like you,” she said harshly. “Not even the cleaners here would look like that.”

The driver who had dropped him off hadn’t told him the name of the person he was supposed to meet. He just said to go inside and head to the thirtieth floor. Austin was only focused on figuring out the mystery behind the huge amount of money he had received. He ignored the rude receptionist and walked towards the elevators.

“Hey! I’m going to get security to throw you out! I told you to stop right there!” Seeing Austin step into an elevator, the receptionist ran after him. But just then, the elevator doors closed in her face.

Relieved to get away from the angry woman, Austin rushed into the elevator and bumped his head into someone already inside.

A small cry came from the brown-haired woman. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see?” she said, rubbing her head. When Austin looked at her, he was completely stunned by her beauty. She was wearing a stylish business dress and high red heels. Even though she looked angry, she was incredibly attractive.

Just a moment before, she had been holding a cup of coffee, which had now spilled all over her clothes because of him bumping into her.

“What in the world are you even doing in here?” she asked, her voice full of disgust. “The security guards need to be fired for not doing their job. How could they let just anyone into this place?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Austin started to say, trying to wipe the coffee off her dress. But then the elevator doors opened. The woman stormed out and immediately started yelling for security. Austin quickly pressed the button for the thirtieth floor. In an instant, four security guards ran towards the woman.

“Miss Elsa, what’s going on here?” the head of security asked, looking confused as he spoke to the woman.

“A beggar came out of nowhere and harassed me! You need to catch him! He needs to be arrested! What are you all doing just standing there? Go find him!” she commanded.

“But…” the head of security began to say.

“But what?” the beautiful woman asked sharply.

“The man seems to have gone to the thirtieth floor, where Lieutenant Xavier’s office is. And Lieutenant Xavier has made it very clear that no one is allowed on that floor without his permission,” the head of security explained, glancing at the closing elevator doors.

Hearing this, Elsa paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth angrily. “Then I guess we wait for him to come down… Block all exits of this entire building. I will make him pay for ruining my entire day.”