THE HIDDEN HEIR'S VENGEANCE

CHAPTER 18 : Billion Project

Matthew stood up immediately, removed his jacket, and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt to his elbows. “Viviane, open your laptop. Connect it to the main display. We are not going home tonight,” he said without hesitation.

“Matthew…” Viviane hesitated, but the sharp look in his eyes made her move.

She opened her laptop and connected it to the main screen. As the massive display lit up with a global logistics map, Matthew closed his eyes and issued a command to the ARC system.

[SYSTEM ARC ACTIVATED]

[Mode: Global Supply Chain Override]

[Target: New York Port Project Material Mobilization]

[Analysis: Searching for market anomalies, stranded cargo, and unused air freight capacity.]

[Processing Cost: 100 Vitality Points per Hour. Warning: Critical Neural Load.]

A surge of agony slammed into the back of Matthew’s head, as if icy needles were being driven into his brainstem.

“Pay the price,” Matthew thought grimly, then slowly opened his eyes. His irises appeared darker, more intense.

“Viviane, record this and execute the payments immediately. Do not ask questions. Just do it,” Matthew ordered, his voice transforming into a cold machine of instructions.

“Yes,” Viviane replied, placing her fingers on the keyboard despite their trembling.

“Contact the New Jersey Port Authority. There are three Maersk cargo ships delayed over trivial customs issues. The Titan, Blue Horizon, and Aegean Star. Their cargo is grade A H-beam steel intended for a Dubai project that was canceled,” Matthew spoke rapidly, his eyes tracking invisible data.

Chen frowned, genuinely intrigued. “How do you know there is canceled steel cargo at a neighboring port?”

Matthew ignored him. “Purchase the entire shipment. Offer a fifteen percent premium above market price for immediate release. Use the liquid funds from the Swiss accounts we seized from Davies yesterday,” Matthew ordered.

“Sent,” Viviane replied, her fingers flying. “Confirmed. They are releasing the cargo. But how do we move it? We need barges,” she asked anxiously.

“Call Hector,” Matthew said.

“Hector? The dock thug you mentioned?” Viviane asked hesitantly.

“He is not a thug. He is our Shadow Logistics Chief now,” Matthew said firmly, grabbing his phone and dialing a speed number.

“Hector, this is Matthew. You have five hours to mobilize a private barge fleet on the East River. I do not care who owns them. Rent everything. Pay cash upfront.”

Hector’s voice boomed through the speaker, full of excitement. “Got it, Boss. The unions are on strike, but cash makes them forget they are striking. Barges will be ready in three hours.”

Matthew ended the call and returned his focus to the map. “Cement. We need high-grade liquid cement,” he muttered.

“All batching plants in New York are fully booked for the next six months by your competitors. You will not get a single truck,” Chen interjected skeptically.

“I am not sourcing from New York.” Matthew smirked and pointed to the Atlantic on the map. “There is a fleet of bulk carriers from Turkey heading toward Canada. They are carrying bulk cement. A storm in the north has slowed them down.”

Matthew turned to Viviane. “Divert their route. Contact the captains directly via satellite channel. Offer to purchase the entire cargo at spot price plus fuel compensation. Redirect them to the Brooklyn docks. Now.”

Viviane typed frantically, sweat beading on her forehead. “Matthew, this is insane. We are hijacking the global supply chain,” she said anxiously.

“We are not hijacking it. We are reallocating market inefficiencies,” Matthew corrected her.

Blood began to drip from his nose, a red drop splattering onto the black marble table.

“You are bleeding, Mr. Thomas,” Chen said, his eyes narrowing.

“Dry air, Mr. Chen,” Matthew replied, roughly wiping his nose with the back of his hand, ignoring the stain on his white shirt. “Viviane, status.”

“The Turkish captains agreed. They are turning around,” Viviane shouted, disbelief in her voice. “Estimated arrival in approximately eighteen hours.”

For the next four hours, the room transformed into a war command center. Matthew did not stop issuing orders to Viviane for even a second.

Matthew purchased massive cranes from a bankruptcy auction in Ohio and chartered military Antonov cargo planes to fly them in that very night. At the same time, he legally greased the wheels of city bureaucracy through an emergency fast-track permitting channel rarely known to the public, a legal loophole uncovered by the ARC system in municipal archives dating back to the 1980s.

He also recruited two thousand construction workers left unemployed by the recession in neighboring states, arranging chartered tour buses to pick them up that same night.

Every decision was made in seconds. There were no meetings, no prolonged negotiations, only executive commands backed by unlimited capital and terrifyingly precise data.

Chen’s assistants turned pale. They had never witnessed project management like this before, because this was not conventional project management at all. It was a logistical blitzkrieg, a system designed to support rapid, coordinated strikes, the kind used in modern warfare.

At exactly two in the morning, Matthew slumped back into his chair. His face was as pale as paper, his breathing heavy. On the massive screen, the map of New York was now flooded with green dots moving toward a single destination, New Port.

“Finally done,” Matthew whispered, his voice hoarse.

The conference room doors opened. An elderly man wearing a construction vest rushed in, his expression bewildered. It was Chief Engineer Feng, one of Mr. Chen’s most trusted men.

“Mr. Chen,” Engineer Feng said breathlessly. “Sorry to interrupt, but at the project site… this is madness.”

“What is happening?” Chen demanded sharply.

“The trucks are arriving. Barges are docking. Thousands of workers are setting up floodlights. They have already started working, sir. They are working in the middle of the night. I have never seen coordination like this in my entire life. Who is directing all of this?” he asked, unable to hide his amazement.

Chen slowly turned toward Matthew. The look of disdain was completely gone, replaced by something rare: respect tempered with extreme caution.

“He is,” Chen said quietly, pointing at Matthew.

Matthew tried to stand, but his legs gave way. Viviane quickly caught his arm, supporting his weight before he could fall. “You did it, Matthew,” she whispered into his ear, her voice thick with emotion. “You really did it.”

Matthew looked at Chen. “Twenty-four hours, Mr. Chen. The materials are on-site. The workers are ready. What about our agreement?” he asked firmly.

Mr. Chen stood, walked over to Matthew, and extended his hand with a slight bow. “You are not just an accountant, Mr. Thomas, but a monster,” he said in awe.

Matthew accepted the handshake. His grip was weak, but his gaze remained sharp. “I prefer the term architect, Mr. Chen.”

“That additional five percent stake is yours, Mr. Thomas. By tomorrow morning, everything will be finalized and legally yours,” Chen said decisively. “You also have my full trust. Do not waste it.”

“A pleasure doing business with you,” Matthew replied simply.

[MISSION COMPLETE: The Impossible Project]

[Status: Major Success (Completed in 14 Hours)]

[Reward: Vincent Chen’s Trust (Alliance Formed). Global Reputation: +50. New Skill: “Quantum Logistics” Permanently Acquired.]

[Vitality Penalty: Stamina Reduced to 15 Percent. Immediate Recovery Required.]

After Chen and his assistants left the room, Matthew collapsed back into his chair. His vision blurred, the world spinning around him.

“Matthew!” Viviane cried in panic, cradling his face anxiously. “What’s happening? You’re so cold!”

“I need… sleep…” Matthew murmured, his eyes nearly closed. “Don’t take me to the hospital. Take me home, Viviane… like always… I just… need… rest.”

“We’re going home now,” Viviane said, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

She hurriedly packed their laptops and work bags, then called Alex Maxfield, their personal driver who had worked with them for years.

“Alex, get up here now, forty-fifth floor. Help me take Matthew downstairs. Now,” Viviane ordered before ending the call.

She noticed the bloodstain on Matthew’s shirt and the tremor in his hands. Once again, Viviane was reminded that her husband’s power came at a horrifying price.

Matthew smiled weakly as his consciousness began to fade. He had proven to the world, to Vincent Chen, and most importantly to Viviane that the impossible was merely a calculation not yet completed.

Across his retinas, the holographic panel floated once more, delivering the ARC system’s final updates.

[New Asset: Additional 5 Percent Port Ownership, Access to Vincent Chen Infrastructure Network.]

[Relationships: Viviane (Maximum Trust + Heightened Concern), Vincent Chen (Respected Ally).]

[New Skill: Quantum Logistics (Enables large-scale resource management with reduced vitality cost in the future).]

Below, at the darkened port, floodlights blazed to life, marking the beginning of Lane Corp’s resurgence. Machines roared, steel clashed, and concrete began to flow, an industrial symphony conducted by a single genius slowly collapsing under the weight of his own exhaustion.