Reborn to Build a Billion-Dollar Empire

Chapter 009

It had been a long time since Victor Hale had driven. Too long, if he counted the months properly.

With his new car now in hand, he took it for a spin around Fairhaven, letting the engine hum beneath him as the city lights blurred past. The leather seat felt foreign, the steering wheel almost unfamiliar in his grip, but the motion itself brought back a sense of control he'd forgotten existed.

Eventually, he found himself slowing down near a residential complex. He pulled over and cut the engine, staring at the entrance.

Dexter Marsh lived here. His old classmate from college, his business partner from the startup days. Dexter still wasn't married, still lived with his parents in one of these modest apartments.

Victor tightened his grip on the wheel. After the company went under, everything had fallen apart. His wife and children gone, his spirit shattered, he'd collapsed into himself and disappeared from the world. And while Victor had drowned himself in bottles and self-pity, Dexter had stepped up. He'd handled everything. The creditors, the legal paperwork, the endless cleanup of a business that had imploded. Dexter had thrown his own money into the mess just to tie up loose ends, and through it all, he'd never once blamed Victor. Not a single word of complaint.

The guilt sat heavy in Victor's chest, a weight that had only grown with time.

It was only nine in the evening. Dexter would still be awake.

Victor climbed out of the car, crossed the street to a fruit stand, and picked out a decent gift basket. Carrying it under one arm, he made his way through the complex gates and headed straight for Dexter's door.

He knocked, and footsteps shuffled inside as a voice called out.

"Who is it?"

The door opened to reveal Marlene Marsh, Dexter's mother. The older woman squinted at him, not recognizing him at first.

"Can I help you?"

"Auntie, it's me, Victor."

Back in college, Victor had practically lived at their place on weekends. Seeing kind-hearted Marlene again made something warm flicker in his chest despite everything.

After a moment, recognition dawned on her face. But instead of warmth, her expression twisted into fury.

"What are you doing here?"

Victor had already stepped forward, one foot crossing the threshold, but her words stopped him cold. He froze, confused. The Marshes had always liked him. What had changed?

"Auntie, I..."

Before he could finish, Dexter appeared from the back room. He must have heard Victor's voice. The two former partners locked eyes, and for a moment, all the emotions they'd bottled up for so long surged to the surface. Both men's eyes glistened.

But then doubt flickered across Dexter's face. Wasn't Victor supposed to be drunk all the time, wasting away? How was he here, dressed well, looking almost put together?

Victor didn't notice the hesitation. He opened his arms, ready to step inside and embrace his old friend.

"Stop right there!"

Marlene's sharp command cut through the air, and she physically blocked the doorway.

Victor stood frozen, bewildered, as Marlene unleashed everything she'd been holding back.

"Victor Hale! You have some nerve showing up at my door. Haven't you hurt Dexter enough already?" Her voice shook with anger. "Your company didn't make any real money, and the moment it went bankrupt, you vanished! You just hid yourself away and left that entire disaster for my Dexter to clean up. And now you have the audacity to come here? Get lost, you're not welcome here, leave!"

Victor had no defense. He couldn't argue with her because she was right. The pain in his chest made it hard to breathe, and he felt the sting of tears threatening to spill.

"Auntie, I'm sorry."

He bowed deeply, a full ninety-degree bow of respect and apology. "I was wrong. I know I was. That's why I'm here tonight, to apologize properly. Everything I owe Dexter, I swear I'll pay it back."

The formality of his bow seemed to catch Marlene off guard. She stood there, speechless for once.

Dexter seized the opportunity and pulled his old friend inside, steering him to the couch with its back to the window, the seat Victor had always taken in the old days.

At that moment, Walter Marsh, Dexter's father, emerged from the bedroom, pulling on a jacket. He'd been in bed but had heard the commotion. When he spotted Victor, he merely glanced at him once. Walter wasn't as openly angry as his wife, but the disgust on his face was unmistakable.

Dexter didn't bother with water or pleasantries. He just looked Victor up and down, taking in the changes.

"Victor, I'm really glad to see you getting back on your feet."

They exchanged a few brief words, catching up on the surface, but Victor's eyes were already red-rimmed with emotion.

Dexter quickly changed the subject, perhaps to spare them both.

"So what have you been up to lately?"

The word "stocks" almost slipped out, but Victor swallowed it back down just in time.

In the months before the company collapsed, Dexter had warned him repeatedly to stay away from the stock market, to focus all his energy on the business. If Victor brought up stocks now, he'd probably get another well-meaning lecture.

"Actually, I think the heavens might be looking out for me. A couple days ago, I stumbled into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm planning to make a comeback."

Genuine happiness lit up Dexter's face. Everything he wanted to say condensed into three simple words.

"That's good."

"What about you?" Victor wiped at the corner of his eye. "How are things with you?"

Marlene answered before her son could.

"How do you think? He's working for someone else now, that's how. He had a civil-service job before, nice and stable, with his father looking out for him. And what about now? The money is gone, the girls are all gone, and he has to put up with his boss's moods every single day, hmph!"

"Mom."

Dexter gently cut his mother off, then turned back with a forced smile.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me."

But Victor could see through it. Back when they were building the company together, Dexter had been just as driven, just as full of fire. Now his face had a slight yellow tinge to it, the telltale sign of endless overtime and crushing work stress.

Victor desperately wanted to ask Dexter to quit, to join him again and rebuild their dream together.

But one look at the faces of Dexter's parents told him he did not have the right, not yet.

He'd already hurt Dexter once. His credibility with Walter and Marlene was completely destroyed. If he wanted to earn back their trust, he'd need to prove himself with results, not words.

With that in mind, Victor pulled out his wallet and extracted every bill inside, more than twenty hundred-dollar notes. He set the cash on the table.

Dexter immediately tensed.

"Victor, what are you doing?"

"I came in a hurry. I didn't have time to prepare much cash, but take this for now. I'll pay you back properly, bit by bit, I promise."

He started to stand, ready to leave.

Dexter didn't hesitate. He snatched up the bills and tried to shove them back into Victor's hands.

"You're just getting started again. You need this money more than I do. I'm doing fine, I don't need it. Besides, I was a shareholder too. I had a responsibility to handle the cleanup..."

Victor caught his hand and gestured subtly toward Dexter's parents.

The meaning was clear. This money wasn't for Dexter. It was to ease his parents' hearts.

That's what made them brothers. Some things didn't need to be said. A look was enough.

At that moment, Marlene stood up.

Her face was still tight with displeasure as she walked over and snatched the money from Dexter's hand. Then she grabbed Victor's hand with her left and firmly pressed the bills back into his palm.

"We're upset with you, yes. But what good does being upset do? What's done is done."

"Seeing you like this now, I'm honestly happy for you. So take this money back. If you really do make it big someday and become a success, just don't forget about Dexter. That's all I ask."

During his college years, Victor had spent so much time at their home, eating their food, crashing on their couch, because this place had felt more like home than anywhere else.

"Auntie, thank you."

He bowed again, another deep ninety-degree bow, this time to both of Dexter's parents.

As he bent forward, a single tear escaped and fell to the floor.

Knowing Dexter had work in the morning, Victor didn't stay long. By ten o'clock, he said his goodbyes and headed home.

On the drive back, Victor thought carefully about the other people who'd been with him during the startup days. They'd been employees, yes, but many of them had been loyal partners in every sense of the word.

When the time came, he'd find them again. He owed them that much.