The Midnight Heir

THE GRAND BLUE

Disgraced and kicked out from the only home he's known since the day he married Annabelle, right now Anthony needed a place to spend the night but he didn't have any cash.

His wallet was still in his room but he swore he wasn't going to step his foot back into the Maple mansion. The faces of his in-laws were the last thing he wanted to see right now.

After a little thinking, there was only one place he could go, a men's homeless shelter and so he got on his motorcycle and drove there at full speed.

The place was crowded and he could barely sleep because of the noise but he managed and in the morning, he went straight to THE BANK

He needed money if he was to survive his exile and because he didn't have his debit card on him, he had to get a counter check and withdraw all the money he had saved.

"Here are your five thousand dollars" the accountant passed him his money in a tidy envelope and he kept in his suit pocket, right beside his phone which had been blown up with messages from Annabelle 

She had offered to put some money into his account for him but he flatly refused. He wouldn't be able to live with the shame if he had accepted.

Sadly, $5000 wasn't enough for what he had to do. He needed more if he wants to return to his past life and there was only one way to get more urgently.

Anthony left the bank, got on his motorcycle, and drove to an automobile shop where he was seated and was having a very underwhelming conversation with the manager there.

"Thirty-five thousand dollars? Is that all I can get for her?" Anthony asked with a disappointed look. He was about to sell his motorcycle.

The manager shrugged nonchalantly.

"I agree that she's in good condition for an old bike but because you lack the ownership papers and you look like you just hijacked it on your way here, this is the most generous I can ever be. You can go elsewhere if you want, see if they'll even bother with someone like you" the manager said, looking at Anthony in a belittling way.

The look of contempt that the manager had was very obvious but he wanted to make a profit by selling Anthony's motorcycle at a higher price so he was tolerant even though deep down he wanted to chase Anthony away as soon as possible. 

"So, are you selling or not boy? I've got other business to get to and I can't keep wasting my precious time on you" The manager was very adamant about not adding a single penny to the price.

Anthony thought about it for a hot minute and then ended up conceding "Alright, I'll sell!" Anthony said and as such an agreement was met.

The manager reached for the landline and called one of the sales reps to come to his office with the purchase papers that Anthony needs to sign. 

The sales rep came into the office, scowling at Anthony and smacking his tongue in disgust but Anthony paid him no mind. He had better things to worry about than what a sales rep thinks of him.

“Sign here!” The manager pushed which documents to sign in front of Anthony and he did 

The sale was finally official and Anthony extended his hand for a handshake but the manager left him hanging on purpose.

"Just take your money and hand me the keys to my new motorcycle boy, no one has time to shake your dirty hand!" the manager flicked his eyes to the money inside an envelope by the side of his desk. 

Angry with the manager's response, Anthony turned that hand into a vibrating fist then grabbed the money forcefully and dropped the key on the desk.

He was just about to leave when the manager asked "What exactly are you going to do with that money, boy? People usually only sell their valuables when they owe someone important and dangerous money and judging from how you look, my guess is leaning that way too." 

He noticed how hesitant Anthony was in answering the question "You can answer my question or not, I don't give two shits either way" the manager rolled his eyes.

Standing by the door Anthony turned to the manager, smacked his tongue then said "You're right, I do owe someone money but this right here, imma use it to get a job!" then he left, banging the door aggressively on his way out.

Anthony’s name was blacklisted from most of the good jobs in the whole of Polaris, which is thanks to Patience, so how does he plan to achieve what he just said?

Anthony was angry when he left the automobile shop to the point that he had to eat something to distract himself. 

He already knew all of the restaurants in this district which was called VINTGATE DISTRICT, from the cheapest food stands to the most expensive establishments like THE GRAND BLUE Restaurant so he had options.

He quickly hopped into a taxi and told the driver where he was going.

"Take me to The Grand Blue please!" Anthony said.

"The Grand Blue?! That's a very expensive place, are you sure you don't want me to take you to some cheaper joint along the road if you want to eat? I don't mean to insult but I don't think you can afford that place" the driver suggested as he skeptically stared at Anthony through the rearview mirror.

Anthony stared back with an annoyed look and the driver gave in, taking him to where he asked. For someone pressed for money, why would Anthony decide to eat at the most expensive place in town?

All eyes were on him when he walked into the restaurant and they weren’t in a positive way. If it had been some other restaurant they would have thrown him out but there’s a reason he was allowed in.

They were all mistaking him for a gang member because of the blood he had on his clothes and his injuries and in Vintgate District, the gangs aren’t to be messed with.

"What would you like to order, sir,” A waitress with blonde hair asked Anthony.

"Just a bottle of wine and a piece of your best velvet cake will be fine, please" Anthony gave his order.

The waitress wrote it down with a smile and oddly a nervous sweat sliding down her forehead "And will that be all?"

"Can you point me to the restroom, please?"

"Sure thing," she said, pointing to where the restroom is before leaving to go get his order.

Anthony went into the restroom to freshen up a bit before coming out looking slightly better than before.

He gracefully ate his food and then paid the bill which totaled about $500 before stepping out feeling satisfied.

With food taken care of, he had just one more stop to make before he goes to where he will be staying. His next destination was a casino.