Chapter 9

Lena and Vin stared at Nick in shock, unable to believe his outburst.

A vein pulsed angrily in Seth's temple. Quickly, he peeled the apron off, "How dare you speak to me that way, you ungrateful wretch. After all we've done for you!" 

"Done for me? What exactly have you guys done although than to treat me like nothing?" Nick threw his arms out wide,his voice rising with every word. 

"Do well to remember your place,you worthless piece of trash" Seth warned.

Nick’s eyes hardened as he declared for all to hear, "I quit. And if any of you lay another hand on me, you'll regret it." 

For a long moment, no one breathed but then Seth's face darkened. "You insolent rat! How dare you quit, who do you think you are?" 

He pulled back his fist, clearly intending to put Nick back in his place. But this time, Nick was ready. He caught Seth's wrist and flipped him over his shoulder. Seth crashed to the floor with a startled yelp. 

Pin-drop silence fell in the lavish ballroom. Seth struggled to his feet, face livid but before he could charge again, Nick landed a quick right hook to his jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor again. He clutched his mouth as blood spilled between his fingers. 

Clara felt dizzy at the impact of that blow even though she was only watching. She had no idea Nick knew how to fight like that! 

"That's for being such a pompous ass!" Nick shouted. 

The crowd recoiled as one, shocked by such disrespect shown to the esteemed Sinclair family. Taking advantage of the distraction, Max lunged at Nick with a grunt. But Nick was quicker, grabbing two fistfuls of his dinner jacket and slamming him into the wall. The stunned guests watched as Nick drove his knee into his gut. Max held his stomach,gasping for air. 

Oh how long he had wanted to do that already!

"Nick stop!" Clara cried behind him, tugging at his arm.

The watching crowd gasped as one but he paid them no mind, too lost in finally standing up for himself after so long bottled in. 

A hand suddenly grasped his shoulder from behind but he wrenched free instinctively, whirling to defend himself further. His fist stopped an inch from Vin's face as he threw his hands up in a placating gesture.

"That's enough Nick, stand down!" Vin said in an authoritative tone.Turning, he hollered, "Security, remove this man from my property at once!"

 "Gladly. I never want to set foot in this hellhole again." Nick said and walked out before they touched him. 

He wandered the dark streets, the cold night air biting at his skin. He pulled his down his sleeves hoping to get some warmth. What was he thinking, standing up to the Sinclair family? 

Now there he was, back at square one with nothing. He sighed, his breath forming a little cloud in the darkness. 

He didn't know how long he walked for, lost in his regret. Eventually his legs grew tired and he slumped to the ground in a quiet alleyway, leaning his back against the rough brick wall. As he stared off into the distance, he realized that he didn't even have time to grab his things from the mansion. 

 “Fuck!” He groaned,his own voice echoing.

Stupid, stupid, he thought to himself, slamming his fist against the wall. He knew he should get up and find shelter, but he just didn't have the energy to move. So instead, he pulled two discarded cardboard boxes towards him and started arranging them into a makeshift bed. It was pathetic, but it would have to do for now. Just a few hours of rest and then he'd figure out his next move. 

He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, loud voices were echoing down the alleyway, drawing closer. Nick squinted into the darkness and saw a white van pull up at the entrance, its headlights blinding in the black night. Four men emerged from the vehicle, dressed head to toe in black. He knew without a doubt who had sent them. Either Seth or Max. 

"Seth Sinclair wants you to pay for humiliating him," one of the men said harshly as they closed in. 

Nick scrambled to his feet, every nerve in his body firing with alarm. "I'm not looking for any trouble," he replied, holding up his hands defensively.

The men laughed cruelly. "Too late for that now because we are here to give you some."

Before he could react, one had landed a heavy blow straight to his nose. Their fists and heavy boots continued the brutal assault without pause on his back,stomach,legs,everywhere.He managed to kick one in the groin making him collide with the others. There was no way he could take down four men at once. 

As they were momentarily distracted,Nick bolted down the alley as fast as he could. He heard angry shouts as they ran after him like a pack of wild dogs. He turned corners blindly, splashing through filthy puddles, not knowing or caring where he was going.

After what felt like an eternity, Nick finally spotted an empty dumpster and dove behind it, pressing his back to the cold metal. He held his breath, listening intently as the footsteps grew nearer, then started to fade again into the distance. He waited a full five minutes before peeking out, scanning the area. It seemed he had finally lost them.

Nick leaned his head back and tried to catch his breath. His whole body throbbed with fear. One hand reached up to swipe at his stinging nose, pulling away wet with blood. He decided to settle there and didn’t know when he fell asleep out of exhaustion. 

Nick woke slowly the next morning and his body screamed in protest as he carefully pulled himself up into a sitting position, every muscle aching. 

Raising a tentative hand to his nose, he pulled it away to find it had finally stopped bleeding in the night, though it was swollen and tender to touch. His abdomen had dark bruises as well. 

"What a fucking mess," he groaned. 

As he waited for the pounding in his head to subside, he reached out for his phone in his pocket to check the time. But when the screen lit up, it wasn't the time he saw—it was an alarming alert flashing across the top in bold letters.

"Balance update: $10 trillion USD deposited."

Nick's blood ran cold. Ten...trillion? That had to be a mistake, some glitch in the system. He jabbed at the notification with a shaky finger and his account loaded, balance proudly displayed at the top: $10,000,000,000,000. 

"No fucking way," he breathed, staring in disbelief.