He frowned. A message from VALERI?
VALERI was the most powerful family in North Light. Once Kyle stood among them with his head held high. He belonged to that world. Until three years ago.
Someone inside the family accused him of stealing company funds. They said he had taken money. They erased his place as heir. The whole VALERI family agreed and they disowned him on the spot. His parents were sent away and he never saw them again.
Kyle's lips curled into a bitter smile as he read.
"Sir, the family is in crisis. Please return at once."
He barked a hollow laugh. "Crisis? I have twenty bucks in my pocket. What use am I to them now?"
Before the laughter even died, another message arrived.
"Sir, I am begging you now. Please help us! Didn't you purchase some stocks of gold mines three years ago? Recently, we found that there is a great amount of gold in that gold mine. Now, the stock price of that gold mine has increased tremendously!" the text read.
"Now, the company's funding has been cut off and we need your help immediately. Otherwise, our family will be ruined!"
Kyle stared. He felt a cold empty place open in his chest. He remembered that year. He had thrown away hundreds of millions of dollars into that mine. That wild move had been the excuse they used to say he stole. They threw him out and closed the door on him. Now, in less than three years, the mine was exploding in value. Kyle could not believe it.
"What the heck, is that real?" he breathed.
His hand trembled as he pulled out a Platinum Card—the last proof of who he once was. That card wasn't just currency. It was authority. It bent rules. It demanded respect.
He dialed the 24-hour line.
"Good evening, Mr. VALERI," came a smooth, reverent voice. "How may I assist you?"
Kyle swallowed. "Check the balance in my account."
There was a pause. Then the voice stammered, stunned. "Mr. VALERI… the balance is so tremendous that the system has locked it for security reasons. I'm not authorized to reveal it. Headquarters will contact you shortly."
"Okay." Kyle hung up with his heart thudding so loud he could hardly hear himself.
His heart hammered. Locked. For safety. The wealth had grown beyond imagination.
He laughed then, a sound like someone losing a grip. He had tossed those hundreds of millions like a dare. He never dreamed it would come back like this. He did not even know how much he had now.
******
Kyle walked home slowly, as if he wanted the street to hold him. When he reached the Blackwell luxurious tower in Coast flair city, Linda had already pushed him to the edge of his nerves.
Two women sat in the living room. One was the kind who moved like fire and drew the eye. The other looked soft and pretty. Linda stood between them, perfect and sharp as ever.
It was Linda and her two best friends. The sultry one was Selene Griffith and the gentle one was Maria Stone.
They did not look at him when he came in. To them, he was little more than shadow.
Maria sighed and said, "Linda, let's talk about serious matters. I heard that your company is having some issues?"
Linda rubbed her forehead and the tiredness showed in her voice. "Yes. A few days ago, my company faced some funding issues. Now we're in need of seven million dollars. If I don't get the money soon, I'm afraid that my company..."
"Seven million?" Maria shook her head. "Impossible to raise in time."
Selene only gave a small nod and nothing else.
Linda looked around and the hope left her face. When she saw Kyle hanging back, she could not hide her anger. She glared and snapped, "Kyle, what the heck are you doing here? Can you please just get lost! Get out of my way! Go and do the laundry! Remember to hand wash them with warm water. If their colors fade, I will make sure you sleep in the hallway tonight!"
He moved to obey without argument. He was about to leave when his phone rang again. The same Platinum card number.
He picked up. The voice was careful. "Mr. VALERI," the banker's voice was cautious now, "your assets are all secured offshore. For privacy reasons, we can't disclose the balance over the phone. We request you come to headquarters in Zinland. Only then will you see the full amount. Do you agree with that?"
Kyle muttered, "Alright, but why do I have to get into so much trouble just to check the balance of an offshore account?" Then he hung up.
Maria laughed, sharp and kind at the same time. "Linda, your husband is indeed amusing. He wants to check the balance of his offshore account? Did he watch a lot of shows on the screen? Does he even know what an offshore account is?"
Linda joined in with the laugh, but it had no warmth. "Maybe he overheard when I talked on the phone. To be honest I asked that all bank accounts are called offshore accounts? But I always give him 150 dollars for pocket money every day. I think he should have saved a lot in three years."
Selene smiled like nothing mattered. "Linda, you have a good pet with you. How thrifty." Her voice cut even as she smiled. "In that case, could he help out sometimes?"
Kyle felt a hot panic in his chest. He stepped forward and said steady, "Relax, is your company in need of seven million dollars? Why not let me help you resolve that?"
Selene threw her head back and laughed loud. Her body moved and the room felt like it changed. She said, "Kyle, do you even know how to make seven million dollars? Is that you mix it up with eight hundred dollars even if you saved your 150 dollars pocket money every day, how could you even be able to have seven million dollars?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What if I can?"
Selene scoffed. "If you are able to take out seven million dollars, I will kneel down in front of you and address you as my dad." She laughed like she meant it.
Linda pressed her temple and hissed, "That is enough. Stop daydreaming here. It is embarrassing."
Kyle said quiet, "Fine." He did not dare to argue.
††††††††††***
That night he slept in the study. He could not believe the strange luck. He could not sleep. He kept touching his face to prove the night was real.
"This is indeed not a dream!" He tapped his cheek with a hand that trembled. "I will go to the bank tomorrow to see how much I have."
He rose early. He pushed his electric bike out before the sun had burned the sky. A folder lay by the wheel. He looked and knew at once who had left it. Only Linda would have done such a thing. The others from the Blackwell were not kind enough to do that.
He fixed the battery and set off to the bank.
From the balcony above, a sharp voice rang out.
"Kyle, where the hell are you going so early?"
It was Natalie Blackwell, Linda's younger sister, her pajamas clinging to her slender frame. Beautiful, arrogant, dangerous.
Kyle forced a smile. "Good morning, sister."
Natalie sneered and dropped the folder. "Who is your sister? How could my sister marry such a useless person like you? If it were me, I would have strangled you to death on the night of the wedding!"
She sounded cold. She tossed the folder down like it was trash. "My sister forgot this document for her meeting. Take it to her. If you are late, do you know what will happen to you?"
Even though she was still a high school senior and wild at times, she had the best features from the Blackwell. She had a slim waist and long legs. She was dangerous in the way pretty people could be.
Kyle picked up the folder with his hands shaking. He had been married to Linda for three years and she had never once let him come to her office. She was afraid of being seen with him. Now she asked him to bring her papers. He felt like he might be waking from a dream.
"Get out of my sight!" Natalie spat when he hesitated, her eyes burning with contempt. Other brothers-in-law were men to be proud of—strong, successful, respected. But Kyle? He was nothing but a disgrace. Just looking at him made her sick. And the fact that he still clung to her sister, refusing to divorce, only fueled her hatred. Who did this useless man think he was?