Rise to Power: The Miraculous Liam Regan.

Chapter 18

Immediately Liam stared at the paper as though the numbers might rearrange themselves into something sensible if he looked long enough.

But they did not.

The figure remained exactly where it was.

His mind reeled.

"What the hell is this?"

"What the hell is happening?"

"How did five hundred million dollars get into my account?"

He could barely breathe through the chaos rising in his chest. None of this made any sense. He had not been expecting money. He did not know anyone who could send such money. He did not even know where he would ever get five hundred thousand dollars from, let alone five hundred million.

It was madness.

Something was wrong—terribly wrong.

At that moment a chilling thought struck him.

Could this be Victoria? Could she and Benjamin be behind this somehow? Was this another trap? Another calculated scheme to bury him deeper? To make it appear as though he had stolen from them? To hand him over to the authorities with evidence they had planted themselves?

The suspicion twisted through him like a blade.

He remained rooted to the spot, visibly shaken, struggling to piece together a reality that seemed to be unraveling faster than he could catch it.

Then the attendant seemed to recover from her own shock.

The expression on her face hardened once again, but now it carried something colder than contempt. Suspicion.

“Well,” she said sharply, drawing herself up, “everyone knows an E-level citizen could never afford this kind of money not even after a lifetime of suffering. This amount automatically qualifies someone to become a B level citizen.”

Her eyes narrowed at him.

“So this means one thing you are not the real owner of that money.”

Her voice turned accusing.

“You must have stolen it. Or forced someone to transfer it to you. One way or another, this is not legitimate.”

Inside, she cursed herself for ever being stunned into silence. For one fleeting moment, she had almost allowed herself to think Liam might truly own such wealth. The thought now felt laughable to her offensive, even. In her mind, she had simply been fooled by an illusion.

And now that she believed she understood what was happening, her confidence returned in full.

“I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” she said.

Then she snatched up her phone.

“Well, the authorities will need to hear about this. You will explain to them exactly how such a huge amount of money found its way into your account.”

At her words, Liam’s heartbeat exploded into a frantic rhythm.

His chest tightened so hard it hurt. A cold panic spread through him, because he already knew the worst part of it all he had no explanation. None. No reasonable story. No proof. No name he could confidently give.

How was he supposed to explain five hundred million dollars appearing in his account out of nowhere?

He couldn’t.

And if he couldn’t, then the authorities would never believe him. They wouldn’t pause to consider his confusion. They wouldn’t care that he was innocent. To them, a man like him a man of his level could only have obtained that kind of money through fraud, coercion, or theft. That was how they would see it. That was how they always saw people like him.

Which meant he was in serious trouble now.

Not small trouble. Not the kind that could be brushed aside with an apology or clarified with a statement. This was the kind that swallowed lives whole.

And beneath the panic, one name kept surfacing again and again in his mind like poison rising through water.

Victoria, It had to be her.

Who else could it be? Who else would have both the cruelty and the motive to set a trap this vicious? She wanted to destroy him completely of that, he had no doubt anymore. First the house. Then the money. And now this.

The more he thought about it, the more terrifyingly possible it became.

What if she had done this on purpose? What if she had transferred the money into his account, fully aware that the bank would flag it, fully aware that he would never be able to explain where it came from? Then later, when the questions began, she could simply appear, wounded and trembling, and claim he had threatened her. Forced her. Blackmailed her. Anything.

And in a city like this, who would they believe? Not him. Never him.

The trap was perfect.

If this was really Victoria’s doing, then she had cornered him completely. He wouldn’t be preparing to sue them anymore he would be too busy defending himself. Too busy trying not to drown in charges he could never fight. And without money, without status, without allies, what chance did he even have?

Immediately his mouth gone dry.

Still, he forced himself to speak. He cleared his throat and tried to sound calm, though fear was already leaking into every word.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “but can you please just tell me where the money came from? Whoever sent it the name should be there, right? Please, just tell me. Then I’ll understand what’s going on.”

The attendant looked at him with naked disgust.

She gave a sharp shake of her head, as though even hearing him speak offended her.

“Just keep your mouth shut,” she said coldly. “Very soon, you’ll explain to the higher authorities where you got it from. They’re already on their way.”