Chapter 1: A Poor Student
Silvio Gesell maneuvered his motorbike to a stop in front of a lavish apartment building. He removed his helmet, revealing his tired face, and grabbed the food delivery bag. As he entered the building’s lobby, he could feel the tension from a long day of deliveries weighing heavily on him. He pressed the elevator button, which seemed to take forever to arrive.
The elevator doors finally opened, and Silvio rode up to the top floor. He walked down the hallway, finding the apartment number he was looking for. He knocked on the door and waited. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing a well-dressed man with a sneer on his face.
“Here’s your delivery,” Silvio said, holding out the bag with a forced smile.
The man glanced at the bag with disdain, as if he was disgusted by the sight of Silvio. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of cash, and tossed it at Silvio’s feet without making eye contact.
“Keep the change,” the man said curtly. “And hurry up next time. It’s getting late.”
Silvio stooped to pick up the money, trying to keep his irritation in check. “Thank you,” he said, his voice tight. He could feel the anger bubbling inside him but forced himself to turn and leave. As he walked away, he muttered under his breath, “Some people have no respect.”
Silvio stepped out of the building’s lobby and walked towards his motorbike, hoping to finish his shift and head home. Just then, he noticed a familiar figure leaning against a shiny BMW parked nearby. It was Julia, his ex-girlfriend, and standing beside her was a well-dressed man who had his arm around her.
Julia's eyes met Silvio’s, and her expression shifted from surprise to something colder—pity mingled with a hint of disdain. The man next to her looked over with a raised eyebrow, assessing the situation with a look of mild amusement.
Silvio’s heart sank. He took a deep breath and approached them. “Julia,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Julia’s lips curled into a tight smile. “Silvio. It’s been a while.”
The man next to Julia spoke up, “Is this someone you know, darling?”
Julia nodded, though her eyes never left Silvio. “Yes, this is Silvio. We used to date.”
The man raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Ah, I see.”
Silvio glanced at the man and then back at Julia. “So, you’re doing well, I see,” he said, his voice betraying a hint of bitterness.
Julia shrugged, her expression indifferent. “I guess you could say that. Things have changed a lot since we last saw each other.”
Silvio tried to mask his hurt, but it was evident in his voice. “Yeah, I can see that. I’m just here doing my job, trying to make ends meet.”
Julia’s gaze softened for a moment, but she quickly masked it with a practiced veneer of politeness. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope things get better for you, Silvio.”
Silvio nodded, his jaw clenched. “Thanks. I guess I should go. Have a good evening.”
As he turned to leave, the man’s voice called out, “Have a great night, Silvio.”
Silvio mounted his motorbike and revved the engine, feeling a mix of anger and sadness. He glanced back one last time, seeing Julia’s face disappear behind the tinted windows of the BMW.
Julia had abandoned him because she believed he had no money. It should be a pleasure to lose such a materialistic woman, so why should he be sad?
[Buzz Buzz!]
His phone is vibrating in his pocket. Silvio takes it out and takes a look at it, but stops when he sees the number. His whole body is trembling while reading the text.
[After a review, the Gesell family has decided that their son, Silvio, has met the conditions required to be entitled to his inheritance. Starting today, the control of his assets will be returned to him.]
Bean-sized raindrops fall on the screen, causing the text message to gradually blur out.
Silvio wakes up early the next morning and calls a cab to heads to the city. In a good mood, he gets out of the car and goes straight to Top G Bank in the heart of the wealthiest part of New York's central business district.
Many luxury cars are parked around the bank. All the people coming and going in the surrounding square are rich; This is evident from their clothing and demeanor.
As he walks towards the main entrance, the door automatically opens, a young woman in a suit, the bank officer is alerted by the opening glass door and turns towards the new customer.
"I am Karen, the customer relationship officer..." Her sentence stops when she sees Silvio's appearance. Top G Bank differs from most banks in that its customers are almost exclusively upper-class businessmen. Karen recognizes all customers that use their service. However, she has never met the cheaply dressed young man. she didn't know why Silvio was there. Judging by his looks and age, he is not their usual type of customer.
"Sir, can I help you?" she asks with a polite but forced smile.
Silvio simply says, "I'm here to withdraw money."
"withdraw money?" The sad woman asked sarcastically at him.
"Do you have a card?" Karen asked, smiling politely.
Getting a Top G Bank card has never been easier. Savings of one million dollars is the minimum requirement to qualify. Karen is sure that the person in front of her would not have much experience with the bank and would not know their rules. Perhaps he thought that cards from other banks could also come in handy here.
"No," Silvio replies, shaking his head.
"We are leaving." A pair of customers are walking out of the bank.
"Take care, Mr. Scott." Karen follows them for a few steps and watches as they get into a car and speed up. Turning around, she goes back inside, making up her mind to encourage Silvio to leave as quickly as possible.
No one is standing where Silvio was. Oh! where has he gone? she wondered.
Is it possible that the child was embarrassed and quietly left?
She feels relieved at the thought. Then, just as she was about to go back to work, she catches a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye.
"There's the brat! No wonder I haven't seen him before", she thinks. He has already reached the entrance to the VIP lounge, and a pillar blocked his view.
The VIP room is only for high status customers who are worth at least thirty million dollars, and this young man admitted that he didn't even have a card. If she lets him go, she would be in trouble with her boss.
"Hold on! Don't move!" Karen shouts, feeling desperate. All the other customers are looking around at her, obviously annoyed by her yelling. She could only smile apologetically as she quickly turned towards Alex.
But he has already left the lounge, opened the door to the VIP room, and stepped inside.
Does he have no shame? Karen hurries after Silvio with a look of chagrin on her face. She tries to open the door to the VIP room, but it has been locked from the inside.