I Dominated After Prison

CHAPTER 9

The sales representative stood behind the counter, her fingers hovering uncertainly over the calculator as she tried to process what she had just heard. 

For a moment, she simply stared at Lucas, as though waiting for him to correct himself or laugh and admit that it had all been a joke.

“Sir…” she began carefully, her voice polite but hesitant. “Are you certain about what you just said?”

Lucas looked at her calmly.

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “I am very certain.”

The woman swallowed lightly and glanced around the restaurant. 

Every single person seated had raised their hands, eager to be included in what had suddenly become an unbelievable moment.

“There are twenty people here,” she said slowly, trying to ensure he understood the full implication. “And each plate of the dish costs thirty-five thousand dollars.”

Lucas followed her gaze and looked around the room. 

Indeed, every hand was raised. Every face was filled with anticipation.

He allowed himself a small smile before turning back to her.

“Then please go ahead and calculate it,” he said calmly. “I am not particularly good at mathematics.”

The sales representative nodded, still in disbelief, and began pressing the buttons on her calculator. 

She looked up at Lucas again.

“That will be seven hundred thousand dollars,” she said.

A ripple of shock spread across the room.

The crowd fell completely silent, all eyes turning toward Lucas, expecting his reaction change.

But his expression did not change.

He simply nodded.

Victoria, who had been standing nearby, stared at him in disbelief. 

Her earlier confidence had vanished, replaced by confusion and unease.

“What is going on here?” she demanded, her voice sharp as she tried to make sense of the situation. “Lucas, what are you trying to prove?”

Lucas did not even look at her.

It was as though she was no longer worth his attention.

Henry, on the other hand, looked completely stunned. His face had lost all color, and his earlier arrogance had disappeared entirely. He stared at Lucas as though he were looking at a ghost.

Without saying another word, Lucas took out the black card and handed it to the sales representative.

“Go ahead,” he said simply.

The woman accepted the card with trembling hands and processed the payment. 

The seconds that followed felt unusually long, stretching out as everyone waited for the result.

Then—

The transaction was approved.

Seven hundred thousand dollars.

Paid in full.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then suddenly, the silence broke.

The entire restaurant erupted into applause.

People stood from their seats, clapping and cheering, their earlier amusement now replaced with admiration and excitement.

Some rushed to take pictures with Lucas.

“Did you see that?”

“That is unbelievable!”

“He just paid seven hundred thousand like it was nothing!”

One man from the crowd stood up and pointed directly at Henry, unable to contain himself.

“You were just bragging about having six hundred thousand dollars in your account!” he said loudly. “Meanwhile, the man you were insulting just spent seven hundred thousand dollars on strangers without even blinking!”

Laughter followed immediately.

The crowd turned their attention to Henry and Victoria, and this time, the mockery was directed at them.

“So who is the real loser now?”

“You should be ashamed!”

“All that talk for nothing!”

Henry’s face turned red with humiliation. He looked around, clearly overwhelmed by the sudden shift in attention.

“This is ridiculous,” he muttered, his voice strained.

Without another word, he turned and began walking quickly toward the exit, eager to escape the situation.

Victoria, however, remained where she was.

She stood frozen, her eyes locked on Lucas, as though trying to understand what had just happened. 

Her expression was no longer mocking. It was filled with shock and something else she could not quite hide.

Henry noticed she was not moving.

“Victoria,” he snapped impatiently. “Let’s go!”

She did not respond.

He grabbed her hand firmly and began pulling her toward the door.

Even as she was dragged away, Victoria kept looking back at Lucas, her gaze lingering on him as though she were seeing him for the first time.

Lucas, however, did not look at her.

He simply stood there, calm and composed, as though none of it had been a big deal.

- - - - -

Lucas slowly opened his eyes the next morning.

At first he was confused at where he was, but it didn't take long before he remembered he had slept over in the restaurant.

Then, almost immediately, another memory surfaced in his mind.

Maya.

Her betrayal.

The moment everything in his life had begun to fall apart.

Lucas closed his eyes briefly, his expression changing.

But the memories did not stop there.

Another one followed closely behind.

Years ago, Maya had come running to him, her face streaked with tears as she begged for his help. 

She had told him that her parents were about to be thrown out of their home, that they had nowhere else to go, and that she did not know what to do.

She had been desperate.

And Lucas had not hesitated.

Without thinking twice, he had used every bit of his life savings to get them a house. 

At the time, it had felt like the right thing to do. He had believed in her, trusted her, and wanted to help her family.

Everything he had worked for back then had disappeared in a single decision.

Lucas slowly opened his eyes again, staring ahead in silence.

“Even if Maya does not want me anymore,” he said quietly to himself, “I still need to see her parents.”

His expression hardened slightly as he continued.

“They deserve to know what their daughter did to me,” he added. “They should know how she framed me.”

He nodded to himself, as though confirming a decision he could no longer ignore.

“I have to see them,” he concluded.

A short while later, Lucas left the restaurant and booked a cab. 

Eventually, the cab came to a stop in front of a small house.

Lucas stepped out and stood still for a moment, looking at it.

It was exactly as he remembered.

This was the house he had bought for Maya’s parents, with his life savings. 

But something felt off.

The place was completely silent and empty.

Lucas frowned slightly and walked closer. He knocked on the door, waiting for a response, but none came. 

He tried again, but the silence remained unchanged.

Just as he was about to turn away, a neighbor who had been watching him approached.

“Are you looking for the people who used to live here?” the man asked.

Lucas turned to him and nodded.

“Yes,” he replied. “Do you know where they are?”

The neighbor pointed down the street.

“They moved,” he said. “Not too long ago. Their new place is down there.”

Lucas frowned in confusion.

“They moved?” he repeated.

The man nodded.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “It is a big place. You will not miss it.”

Lucas thanked him and began walking in the direction he had been shown.

As he got closer, he saw it.

A large, extravagant mansion stood at the end of the street, its size and elegance impossible to ignore.

Lucas stopped walking.

His eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

“That cannot be…” he murmured under his breath.

But it was.

He took a few more steps forward, his heart beginning to pound as the reality of what he was seeing settled in.

Through the open gates, he could see them clearly.

Maya’s parents.

They were inside the compound, sitting by a pool, laughing and enjoying themselves as though they had never experienced hardship a day in their lives.

Lucas stood there, frozen, trying to process the scene before him.

After a moment, he forced himself to move and began walking toward them.

As he approached, they noticed him.

Their laughter faded, and they turned their attention toward him.

Lucas searched their faces, expecting surprise or gratitude.

But he found none of that.

Their expressions were indifferent, almost dismissive.

“Oh,” Maya’s father said casually, as though commenting on something insignificant. “You are out of prison.”

Lucas stopped a few steps away, stunned by the lack of emotion in his voice.

“Yes,” he replied slowly.

He glanced around the mansion again, still struggling to understand.

“How did you get a place like this?” he asked. “I went to your old house—the one I got for you—but I was told that you moved.”

Maya’s parents exchanged a brief glance.

Then they burst into laughter.

The sound hit Lucas harder than he had expected.

Maya’s mother stepped forward slightly, her expression filled with open disgust.

“That place?” she said, her tone dripping with mockery. “How dare you even call that a house?”

Lucas stared at her, disbelief written all over his face.

“That… ‘house’ you got for us was nothing more than a dog house.”

Lucas felt his breath catch in his throat.

A dog house?

They had been homeless when he stepped in to help them. 

They had nothing, and he had given them everything he had without hesitation.

And now—

This was how they chose to describe it.