“Ladies and gentlemen!!! Please take your seats! The event is about to begin!!” the auction host shouted, and everyone quickly scrambled to find their places in the large auction hall.Alison and Charles found a spot among some other businessmen."Charles, I hope you're not bothered by what that guy said," Alison whispered, her eyes filled with sympathy.Charles grinned, "Nah, don't worry about it. I hear stuff like that all the time from people like him. It hasn’t stopped me from getting where I am today. After the auction, he’ll learn to respect me."Alison nodded. She genuinely believed that Charles was a strong and humble guy. She couldn’t imagine the kind of things he’d gone through with his ex-wife’s family, but he always stayed grounded.As the last few people settled in, the auction finally kicked off."Good day, ladies and gentlemen! We're excited to have you here for today’s auction. We’ve got some incredible items up for grabs, and we can’t wait to get started!" The auction

Richard, feeling the weight of his problems pressing down on him, slowly drove to Bennett’s mansion. His mind was a tangled mess, each thought slipping and sliding like a broken record. Bankruptcy. It was a word that had been haunting him for days now. His company was on the edge of going under, and no one—no one—was offering any solutions. It was a nightmare that refused to go away.He pulled into the long driveway, his car tires crunching against the gravel as he made his way to the entrance. As soon as he stepped out of the car, he was greeted by the cold, silent air of Bennett's mansion. The house was as beautiful as ever, with its grand pillars and perfectly trimmed hedges. But there was no warmth in this place today. No smiles, no friendly greetings—just a heavy atmosphere that seemed to weigh Richard down even more.When Richard entered the mansion, the heavy silence followed him. He noticed the family sitting in the sitting room, their faces a mirror image of the storm brewing

Sophia threw her hands up in the air, brushing off the dust from her skirt. "This is insane!" she shouted. "How can they treat us like this? This is the worst company in the city!"Richard just leaned against the wall, staring off into the distance, feeling completely defeated. He couldn’t believe it—the plan that he thought would work had crumbled. The CEO of Livingstone had turned him away like he was nothing more than some garbage lying on the street. Everything he’d hoped for, everything he’d worked so hard to set up, was falling apart.“Are you going to say anything?” Sophia snapped, looking at him with disgust on her face. She was angry but also embarrassed. "You said you were best buddies with the CEO, so why the hell did they kick us out? Were you lying?"Richard felt his heart drop as she said that. His mind raced, desperately trying to come up with an explanation. "I wasn’t lying!" he said, his voice shaking a little. "Clearly, someone else already got the contract. The secr

“Wake him up!” The shout was barely audible, muffled by the fog in Charles’ head. He tried to blink but couldn’t make sense of anything. All he could feel was the tight ropes around his wrists and the discomfort of the hard chair pressing against his back.He was completely blindfolded, unable to see a thing.Then, in a sudden motion, the blindfold was ripped away. Charles squinted against the harsh light, his eyes struggling to adjust. He looked around the room, but nothing about the place seemed familiar. It looked like a dilapidated, forgotten part of the world. Old walls were covered in grime, shattered windows let in streaks of cold, and the air smelled... well, it smelled terrible. Urine, mold, and something he couldn’t quite place—none of it was pleasant. He’d been dumped in an abandoned house, and that much was clear.His vision cleared up just a little, and that’s when he saw them. Six, guys. All standing in front of him. All wearing sneers could stop a train. They looked lik

As soon as Charles stepped out of Bennett’s house, the room felt like an icebox. Mrs. Bennett’s patience had hit rock bottom, and she turned her anger on her son, Ethan, almost shaking with frustration.“How could you bet our entire company on that hackathon? Do you even realize what you've done?!" Her voice cracked, full of disappointment. She’d always believed the family business was sacred—nothing could be allowed to threaten it. The company had been in their family for years, and now, it felt like everything was slipping through her fingers. The weight of the situation was almost unbearable.Ethan, trying to hold it together, stammered, “Mom, you don’t get it. Charles has dirt on me. If I didn’t accept his challenge, I would’ve ended up behind bars. I didn’t want this to happen!”Sophia, Ethan’s younger sister, jumped in with an eye-roll that screamed, “I can’t believe this.” Her voice was sharp, filled with disbelief. “You’re seriously stupid, Ethan. Sending thugs after Charles w