Infinite Wealth: Revenge of the Lost Heir

CHAPTER 6: KNEEL OR GET OUT

The thick aroma of red wine wafted through the air, blending with a suffocating silence that suddenly enveloped the corner of the Vance Midtown restaurant. The red liquid flowed slowly across the glossy marble floor, wetting the tips of Chloe Miller's work shoes.

"Clean it up." Amber Miller repeated her order. The woman's voice sounded sharp, laden with deliberate humiliation.

Even though her head was currently still filled with acute panic due to the freezing of her overseas accounts, Amber instead vented all her frustration onto the person she believed to be the weakest. For Amber, subjugating Chloe was an instant way to restore her recently torn ego.

Chloe clenched both of her hands tightly behind her fabric apron. Her cheeks flushed, holding back immense shame as dozens of pairs of customers' eyes were now staring straight at them. Several customers in the front row of tables began to whisper softly, but not a single one of them dared to intervene to defend a part-time waitress.

"Amber... I am working. Please don't make a scene," Chloe said in a low voice, begging for her distant cousin's understanding.

Amber instead laughed mockingly, taking Chloe's plea as a sign of defeat. She stepped closer, making the clack of her high heels echo sharply on the marble floor. "You are working? If so, work properly." Amber pointed at the puddle of wine on the floor with her chin. "Your knees still function perfectly well, don't they?"

Chloe's face turned pale instantly. "Amber..."

"I said kneel!" Amber snapped, her shrill voice now echoing through every corner of the restaurant.

Several restaurant staff who recognized Amber immediately lowered their heads deeply. They knew very well that the arrogant woman in front of them was someone close to the Vance family. Not a single worker there intended to lose their livelihood just for defending Chloe.

As the situation reached a complete standstill, a plump man in a neat manager's suit hurriedly ran over. He was David, the operational manager of the restaurant. As soon as his gaze caught sight of Amber, a disgusting, fawning smile instantly spread across his face.

"Ms. Miller! Goodness, what happened here?" David asked in a voice made to sound as worried as possible.

Amber pointed at Chloe with her index finger, which was adorned with a luxury ring. "This waitress has made me extremely uncomfortable, David."

David did not even bother to ask further to find out the truth. His gaze instantly turned sharp and cold as it shifted toward Chloe. "Chloe!"

"I didn't do anything wrong, Mr. David. She deliberately—"

"Enough!" David's harsh bark cut off Chloe's sentence mercilessly. "Ms. Amber is the most important guest of honor in this restaurant!"

"But—"

"If you don't want to kneel and apologize for your negligence right this instant, you can get out of this place!" David threatened curtly.

Chloe's body instantly froze in place. Get out? If she were unilaterally fired now, she would not be able to pay her apartment rent next month. Not to mention there was Ian, the injured stranger, who was currently still staying and relying on her for a place to live.

Amber smiled with satisfaction seeing Chloe who was now standing and trembling. This was the exact sight she had been longing for; seeing Chloe's self-esteem crushed in public and forced to acknowledge her position as an inferior.

"Come on." Amber folded her arms across her chest arrogantly. "I am waiting."

David also pointed toward the wet marble floor. "Kneel, Chloe."

A suffocating silence once again enveloped the entire restaurant. Chloe bit her lower lip hard, while her eyes began to well up, holding back tears that were on the verge of spilling. Slowly, very slowly, both of Chloe's knees began to bend in resignation.

However, at that exact critical second—

TING!

The chime above the restaurant entrance rang out loudly, breaking the existing tension. Everyone's attention inside the room automatically shifted toward the main door. Heavy, steady, and regularly rhythmed footsteps could be heard echoing from the front area. One. Two. Three. The footsteps moved closer and closer.

The tension was suddenly interrupted by the entry of a group of men in formal black suits. The way they walked and swept their gaze around let everyone in the room know they were no ordinary people. Without much drama, the heavily-built men immediately combed through the center corridor, blockaded the path, and made the customers hold their breath.

The customers who had been whispering just now fell silent instantly. Even David, as the manager, furrowed his brow in absolute confusion. "Who are they?" murmured one of the waitresses in the corner of the room.

Then, the final figure stepped into the restaurant. A middle-aged man in a dark gray suit, gold-rimmed glasses, and an Italian-made leather briefcase. The high-class aura of professionalism and authority radiating from his body felt so powerful that it pressed down on the surrounding air.

As soon as David managed to recognize the middle-aged man's face, the expression on his plump face changed drastically. His face turned as deathly pale as a corpse. "Impossible..."

David certainly knew who that man was. He was Richard Coleman, one of Wall Street's elite corporate lawyers whose reputation was world-renowned and who regularly handled merger transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Someone of Richard's caliber would never waste his precious time to appear at this restaurant without a massive reason.

David hurriedly stepped forward, trying to greet him while forcing a nervous smile onto his lips. "Mr. Richard! An honor. Is there a special reservation from the Vance family that we haven't had time to prepare yet?"

Richard did not even glance at or shake David's outstretched hand. The man in the gold-rimmed glasses walked straight past the manager, sweeping the entire room with a cold gaze before finally stopping right in the center of the restaurant. Without any haste, he opened his leather briefcase and pulled out a thick folder bearing an official seal from the legal authorities.

The entire room suddenly fell into a dead silence.

"I have not come to represent the Vance family, David," Richard said in a calm baritone voice, yet powerful enough to be heard by everyone in the room.

Amber Miller furrowed her brow in displeasure, while David began to feel a severe, terrible premonition running down his spine.

Richard opened the first page of the document, then raised it slowly into the air. "I have come here as the official legal counsel for the new majority shareholder of this place."

David's heart instantly beat rapidly as if it wanted to jump out. "What... what do you mean, Sir?"

Richard looked at David with a flat expression without a ripple. "As of eleven thirty-seven this morning..." He deliberately paused his sentence for a few seconds, letting all the attention and tension in the room center completely upon himself. "...full ownership of the Vance Midtown restaurant has officially changed hands."

Amber's face instantly froze in place, while David's eyes widened completely in shock. "What?!"

Richard closed his document folder again with a constant, gentle tap. His gaze felt incredibly cold, and for the first time since stepping into the restaurant, he displayed a thin smile laden with victory.

"I suggest all interested parties sit back down," Richard said calmly while tapping the surface of the thick document with his finger. "Because from this very second... all the rules in this place have changed."