The first cock crow woke Barry up.
He groggily lifted his head, blinking against the light coming from his laptop. Barry was startled his laptop was still on. The time was 5.am. Expecting to see a modest gain or a loss, Barry peered into the laptop screen. “Let's look at how much I've earned today.” Suddenly, Barry froze as he saw his account balance. $375 TRILLION! Barry staggered back away from the laptop as if it had suddenly turned into a cobra. He backed himself against the wall, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs, but not for once, did his eyes left the numbers on the screen: $375 trillion. “I don't believe it,” he muttered, his breathing laboured. “This is a dream. It has to be a dream.” Barry pinched his arm, hard and twice. The pain he got told him he was wide awake, and this wasn't some dream. He slowly approached the laptop, his legs wobbling. When he was close enough, he peered at his account. The balance ticked up again: $375,010,420,000,000.00 Barry gasped in shock. “How the hell is this possible? The numbers–they're still climbing.” Another second passed. $375,020,840,000,000.00. Barry's jaws dropped as he realized every second was adding $10.42 billion to his account. Barry dropped to his knees, feverishly opening the trading charts. The market was still chaotic and disastrous to trade, but somehow Barry's trades had skyrocketed beyond logic. Barry scrolled through transaction logs, trying to understand how this had happened. None of it made any sense to him. “This can't be possible. The system had probably glitched. That's the only plausible answer.” Barry's mind raced. Could this really be a demo account? What if it wasn't? Barry needed to be sure whether the money was real or not. There was only one bank Barry could trust, and that was the Phoenix Bank. The Phoenix Bank was the only bank in the world that can offer protection to trillions of dollars. It was now 5:30.am and the Phoenix Bank would be open by 7:00.am. If there was any bank in the world that could confirm the account and understand what was happening to him, it was the Phoenix Bank. Barry hurriedly shut down the laptop and rushed to the bathroom. His hurried preparation caused noises around the apartment, waking Snow from her sleep. “Big Brother?” She called sleepily from her bed. “What's the commotion about?” “Nothing, Snow,” Barry said, forcing a smile as he entered her room. “Go back to sleep. I'll be going out for a bit.” “Eh?” Snow exclaimed, checking her bedside clock. “It's five o'clock in the morning.” “I'll be back soon, I promise,” Barry kissed her on the forehead. “Just stay indoors and don't go anywhere until I return. Got it?” Snow stared worriedly at Barry as he rushed out with her laptop. She had never seen him look so anxious. “What the hell happened to Big brother?” She asked herself. * * * * Barry was standing in front of the massive gates of the Phoenix Bank feeling anxious. Unlike other banks, Phoenix bank was a very exclusive bank with branches in just 30 countries in the world. Each country had just one bank delegated to the capital state. North Hills, being a capital state, happens to be lucky to get one Phoenix bank built. By 8.am., Barry was ushered by a sharply dressed Blondie receptionist into the lobby. She had a bright smile on her face and was warm and nice to him, despite his shabby clothes. Phoenix Bank had a reputation for treating every customer with respect and honour, irrespective of status or wealth. “Good morning, sir,” the receptionist welcomed him. “You're our first customer today. How can I assist you?” Barry looked around him nervously. “I need to discuss something privately. It's Forex related. Do you have a Forex guru or something?” The smiling receptionist nodded. “But of course, please come with me. Right this way.” Barry loved it how she didn't dismiss him because of his shabby clothes. These guys were the best. He was led to a set of golden elevators, which whisked them upward to the executive floor. When the doors opened, Barry found himself in a large, furnished office. A man in a perfectly tailored navy suit stood up to greet him, a bright smile on his face, as if Barry were the most important person in the world. “Good morning, Mr…?” the man inquired, extending his hand. Barry shook his hand firmly. “Barry, just Barry is fine.” “I'm Jeremy Austin, senior Forex analyst and wealth manager for the Phoenix Bank,” the man said, gesturing to an expensive leather chair across his desk. “Please, seat. Is it too early for a cup of coffee?” “No I'm good,” Barry sat down, placing Snow's laptop on the desk. “I have a problem. My forex trading account has been acting up crazy after I traded last night. It's freaking me out.” Jeremy returned to his chair. “Let me take a look, Mr. Barry.” Barry didn't hesitate. He opened the laptop, logged into his account, and spun the screen around, so Jeremy could see it. “At first, I thought I was trading on a demo account but after I woke up, I'm not so sure,” Barry said, leaning forward. “Could you confirm the account for me?” “Sure, give me a second,” Jeremy examined the screen closely. At first, he was startled when he saw Barry's balance. He had never seen such an amount on a Forex account. $10.42 billion topped just then, the next second, the account balance was topped by another $10.42 billion. Jeremy blinked twice. “Wha–what just happened?” The next second, another $10.42 billion was earned. Barry watched as Jeremy's eyes widened so wide they threatened to fall off his eye sockets. “In my entire career, I've never seen anything like this before,” Jeremy exclaimed. “Numbers like this aren't supposed to exist in a Forex trading account.” Barry placed both hands on the table, leaning closer. “I suspect it might be a glitch or something. Is it a demo account?” Jeremy shook his head. “You're wrong, Barry. These are neither a glitch nor a demo account. These trades, these profits—they're real and legitimate. There's no way the system could produce errors like this.” Barry felt a cold sensation washing over him. If what Jeremy was saying was true, that could only mean one thing. Barry had been trading on a real Forex trading account. It wasn't a demo account after all. His earnings were as real as his trades. Jeremy reached out and pulled out his phone. He dialed some numbers and spoke as the line connected. “Get me the Global Operations Executive on the line immediately. I need her here in person. Now!” Jeremy turned to regard Barry as he ended the call. “This is beyond me, Barry. We'll need to verify everything down to the last cent.” Barry's stomach tightened. “Who is coming?” “The granddaughter of the late chairman of Phoenix bank, Veronica Phoenix,” Jeremy revealed.Veronica Phoenix took her private jet from headquarters and flew to North Hills as soon as she received Jeremy's message. When her private jet finally landed in North Hills airport, she rushed over to the Phoenix Bank. A staff was waiting to welcome her. They all inclined their back at angle 90 to greet her as she walked past them. When she was ushered into Jeremy's office, she was surprised to find a shabbily dressed young man seated opposite Jeremy. “What's this about, Jeremy?” She demanded, oozing an aura of confidence that overpowered the room. Jeremy stood up, bowing respectfully before her. “Miss Veronica. Allow me to introduce you to Barry. Barry, here, came into my office with his Forex account, which he thought was fluctuating. But after examining it… You need to see this for yourself.”Veronica moved to the desk as Jeremy spun the laptop towards her. The balance read: $450.144 Trillion. Veronica stiffened in shock. Are those numbers real?Another second passed, and th
The landlord revealed he sold Snow to the Nightingale family at an underground slave auction. He revealed Reeves Nightingale ran the transaction, buying Snow in cash. Barry almost went nuts as the thought of Reeves claiming ownership of his sister's life filled him with cold dread. “You cold-hearted bastard,” Barry bawled at Barnes' face. “How could you do this to me behind my back? You didn't have to sell my sister just because we owe you rent.”Barnes was scared of the viciousness in Barry's eyes that he lost most of his colour. “I-It's not my fault,” Barnes retorted nervously. “A member of the Nightingale family needed a heart transplant. They took your sister to the Central hospital, and she was a perfect match. I couldn't resist the price Reeves offered me.”Barry smacked a blow to the side of Barnes' face, dislocating his jaw. “You're evil,” Barry said breathlessly, his voice laced with malice. “When I get back, I promise you, I'll have this apartment torn to the ground. Ma
“You rotten piece of trash,” Reeves roared, slamming his fist on the desk. “How dare you ignore us and make such an outrageous demand? I'll have you skinned alive.”Before Reeves could make a move at Barry, Kane Nightingale stood up and raised a hand, stopping him immediately. He gazed at Barry with growing interest. “Don't push it, Reeves. Barry, you've piqued my interest. Do you really think you can buy this hospital which is owned by the government?”Barry looked straight into his eyes. “I will. Once I acquire it, the surgery won't happen.”Kane threw his head back and laughed as loud as he can. “This is just remarkable. You? Buy Central hospital? You're the same broke bastard who couldn't pay rent without the assistance of a dead woman.”Barry gritted his teeth. “Don't make mockery of Madam Evelyn.”Kane's smile widened into a smirk. “This is really entertaining to say the least. I'll humour you, Barry. Here's a deal. If you acquire this hospital this very night and prevent the s
Barry didn't want to reveal the entire truth. “I made a call to someone I knew.”He made it sounded so simple. As if he just pressed a few buttons. “Bullshit!” Kane Nightingale bawled angrily at him. “There's no way you could have pulled that off. Not only was the hospital bought out, but the government also forbade us from proceeding with the surgery. How did you pull it off?”Barry dug his hands in his pockets and gazed down at Kane. “What's this? I thought we had a deal? If I'm able to prevent the surgery, my sister leaves. That was the deal, or are you backing out on your words?”“You bastard!” Reeves yelled at Barry. “You had better start talking, or I'll rip you apart right here.”Barry frowned. “You can't do anything to me, Reeves. We had a deal and that's that. I won't disclose how I pull it off. I owe no one any explanation.” Barry approached the doctor in charge of the surgery and placed both hands on the desk. “About my sister, doctor. Where is she?”The doctor cleared hi
“Take it easy, that's painful,” Barnes groaned as his wife tended to his busted jaws. His wife hissed as she removed the ice bag from his jaw. “How could you let your tenant hit you that hard? And Barry for that matter.”“I didn't expect such a reaction from the kid,” Barnes barked, feeling humiliated at being punched by his tenant. “I can't believe you'll let that bastard get away with it,” his wife ranted. “You're a disgrace if you allow Barry to walk freely around without fixing him.”Barnes knew his wife would talk about this for weeks. She would definitely gossip to her friends and her friends would in turn tell their husbands.Soon, word would circulate and Barnes would end up becoming a laughingstock. His other tenants won't respect nor fear him. If Barry, a nobody could punch him and get away with it, the other tenants could feel the need to do the same when Barnes demands for his rent money. No, he can't allow that. No matter what, he must find Barry and make an example
Barnes heart skipped a beat when his wife delivered the bad news. “What do you mean they destroyed our house?” Barnes asked, grabbing her shoulder and giving her a little shake. His wife snapped angrily at him. “Are you deaf? Our home was demolished five minutes after you left. They said they were given orders and permission to demolish all our properties. As at this moment, they're currently demolishing our shopping complex. Do something, Barnes. They'd ruin us all.”Barnes eyes widened in shock. He glanced at Barry and saw the seriousness in his eyes. That was when he realized Barry wasn't fooling around. “Barry, what have you done?” Barry wore back his dark glasses. “I kept my promise to you, landlord. You never should have sold my sister in the first place. This is your punishment for your wickedness.”Barnes owned the block of apartments which his twenty tenants lived in. He also owned a small shopping complex and a private house. If what his wife was telling him was true,
“Get on your knees and kiss my boots!” Reeves commanded. Everyone was watching the scene in silence, all eyes fixed on Barry. Barry plastered his hand on his face, his eyes misty. He had just been slapped across the face from Reeves Nightingale, first son of the Nightingale clan. It was Laura's birthday party and the entire North Hills had turned up to celebrate with her. Among the guests were eligible wealthy bachelors who clamoured around Laura, hoping to be the lucky guy she might consider to marry. Reeves was more aggressive than the rest of the other bachelors. He followed Laura everywhere like a dog, bothering her with his loud, boring stories. Barry couldn't take it anymore and interjected when he shouldn't have. “You're bothering my wife, Reeves, give it a rest already,” Barry said, standing between Reeves and Laura. That was when Reeves slapped him. “How dare you speak to me like we're equals?” Reeves snapped at him. “You're nothing but a cheap loser who got lucky
North Hills was a thriving metropolitan city which uses the ranking system in its social status and hierarchy identity. There were six ranks, A rank to E ranks, with E rank being the lowest rank. E ranks were individuals who had little to no money. They're poor and ridiculed by society. Barry was an E rank. He was born to an abusive father and a sick mother. After his mother died from her illness, he took his kid sister, Snow, and ran away. Homeless, Barry did what he could to provide for himself and his kid sister. During one of his odd jobs, he ran into Evelyn Raven. Her purse had fallen down on the walkway. It contained $10,000 in cash, an ATM card, and some previous jewelry. When Barry returned her purse, Evelyn was smitten by his transparency and decided to take him in. She gave him a job in the Raven household, rented a small apartment to shelter him and snow. Then she enrolled them in school. Evelyn's kindness is the only reason Barry could endure the insults and abu
Barnes heart skipped a beat when his wife delivered the bad news. “What do you mean they destroyed our house?” Barnes asked, grabbing her shoulder and giving her a little shake. His wife snapped angrily at him. “Are you deaf? Our home was demolished five minutes after you left. They said they were given orders and permission to demolish all our properties. As at this moment, they're currently demolishing our shopping complex. Do something, Barnes. They'd ruin us all.”Barnes eyes widened in shock. He glanced at Barry and saw the seriousness in his eyes. That was when he realized Barry wasn't fooling around. “Barry, what have you done?” Barry wore back his dark glasses. “I kept my promise to you, landlord. You never should have sold my sister in the first place. This is your punishment for your wickedness.”Barnes owned the block of apartments which his twenty tenants lived in. He also owned a small shopping complex and a private house. If what his wife was telling him was true,
“Take it easy, that's painful,” Barnes groaned as his wife tended to his busted jaws. His wife hissed as she removed the ice bag from his jaw. “How could you let your tenant hit you that hard? And Barry for that matter.”“I didn't expect such a reaction from the kid,” Barnes barked, feeling humiliated at being punched by his tenant. “I can't believe you'll let that bastard get away with it,” his wife ranted. “You're a disgrace if you allow Barry to walk freely around without fixing him.”Barnes knew his wife would talk about this for weeks. She would definitely gossip to her friends and her friends would in turn tell their husbands.Soon, word would circulate and Barnes would end up becoming a laughingstock. His other tenants won't respect nor fear him. If Barry, a nobody could punch him and get away with it, the other tenants could feel the need to do the same when Barnes demands for his rent money. No, he can't allow that. No matter what, he must find Barry and make an example
Barry didn't want to reveal the entire truth. “I made a call to someone I knew.”He made it sounded so simple. As if he just pressed a few buttons. “Bullshit!” Kane Nightingale bawled angrily at him. “There's no way you could have pulled that off. Not only was the hospital bought out, but the government also forbade us from proceeding with the surgery. How did you pull it off?”Barry dug his hands in his pockets and gazed down at Kane. “What's this? I thought we had a deal? If I'm able to prevent the surgery, my sister leaves. That was the deal, or are you backing out on your words?”“You bastard!” Reeves yelled at Barry. “You had better start talking, or I'll rip you apart right here.”Barry frowned. “You can't do anything to me, Reeves. We had a deal and that's that. I won't disclose how I pull it off. I owe no one any explanation.” Barry approached the doctor in charge of the surgery and placed both hands on the desk. “About my sister, doctor. Where is she?”The doctor cleared hi
“You rotten piece of trash,” Reeves roared, slamming his fist on the desk. “How dare you ignore us and make such an outrageous demand? I'll have you skinned alive.”Before Reeves could make a move at Barry, Kane Nightingale stood up and raised a hand, stopping him immediately. He gazed at Barry with growing interest. “Don't push it, Reeves. Barry, you've piqued my interest. Do you really think you can buy this hospital which is owned by the government?”Barry looked straight into his eyes. “I will. Once I acquire it, the surgery won't happen.”Kane threw his head back and laughed as loud as he can. “This is just remarkable. You? Buy Central hospital? You're the same broke bastard who couldn't pay rent without the assistance of a dead woman.”Barry gritted his teeth. “Don't make mockery of Madam Evelyn.”Kane's smile widened into a smirk. “This is really entertaining to say the least. I'll humour you, Barry. Here's a deal. If you acquire this hospital this very night and prevent the s
The landlord revealed he sold Snow to the Nightingale family at an underground slave auction. He revealed Reeves Nightingale ran the transaction, buying Snow in cash. Barry almost went nuts as the thought of Reeves claiming ownership of his sister's life filled him with cold dread. “You cold-hearted bastard,” Barry bawled at Barnes' face. “How could you do this to me behind my back? You didn't have to sell my sister just because we owe you rent.”Barnes was scared of the viciousness in Barry's eyes that he lost most of his colour. “I-It's not my fault,” Barnes retorted nervously. “A member of the Nightingale family needed a heart transplant. They took your sister to the Central hospital, and she was a perfect match. I couldn't resist the price Reeves offered me.”Barry smacked a blow to the side of Barnes' face, dislocating his jaw. “You're evil,” Barry said breathlessly, his voice laced with malice. “When I get back, I promise you, I'll have this apartment torn to the ground. Ma
Veronica Phoenix took her private jet from headquarters and flew to North Hills as soon as she received Jeremy's message. When her private jet finally landed in North Hills airport, she rushed over to the Phoenix Bank. A staff was waiting to welcome her. They all inclined their back at angle 90 to greet her as she walked past them. When she was ushered into Jeremy's office, she was surprised to find a shabbily dressed young man seated opposite Jeremy. “What's this about, Jeremy?” She demanded, oozing an aura of confidence that overpowered the room. Jeremy stood up, bowing respectfully before her. “Miss Veronica. Allow me to introduce you to Barry. Barry, here, came into my office with his Forex account, which he thought was fluctuating. But after examining it… You need to see this for yourself.”Veronica moved to the desk as Jeremy spun the laptop towards her. The balance read: $450.144 Trillion. Veronica stiffened in shock. Are those numbers real?Another second passed, and th
The first cock crow woke Barry up. He groggily lifted his head, blinking against the light coming from his laptop. Barry was startled his laptop was still on. The time was 5.am. Expecting to see a modest gain or a loss, Barry peered into the laptop screen. “Let's look at how much I've earned today.”Suddenly, Barry froze as he saw his account balance. $375 TRILLION!Barry staggered back away from the laptop as if it had suddenly turned into a cobra. He backed himself against the wall, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs, but not for once, did his eyes left the numbers on the screen:$375 trillion. “I don't believe it,” he muttered, his breathing laboured. “This is a dream. It has to be a dream.”Barry pinched his arm, hard and twice. The pain he got told him he was wide awake, and this wasn't some dream. He slowly approached the laptop, his legs wobbling. When he was close enough, he peered at his account. The balance ticked up again:$375,010,420,000,000.00Barry gas
Barry lived in a two-bedroom apartment situated in the district zone. The district zone contains individuals with D ranks. People in D ranks were regular folks, earning average salaries and holding common positions. They're literally average Joes. But Barry, who was an E Rank, had no hopes of paying the rent nor enrolling his sister in school all by himself. As Barry headed home, his head was spinning with the additional responsibilities on his hands. With his benefactor, dead, there was no one to support him anymore. The Raven family would only pay him $200 if he continued to slave for them. But $200 was barely enough to feed himself, pay the rent or see his younger sister through school. Standing outside his apartment, Barry took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal a cute sixteen-year-old high school girl wearing shorts and a sweater. “I'm home, Snow,” Barry said, forcing a wide smile on his face. “Here, I bought us dinner.”He stretched ou
Barry froze as he stared at the papers in her hand. "Laura, what is the meaning of this?" He whispered. "You can't divorce me.""Whatever gave you the stupid idea that I couldn't divorce you?" She laughed. "Everybody knows our marriage is a sham. I only pretended to be your wife for my grandmother's sake, but now that she's gone, I don't need to pretend anymore."Barry felt hot and cold at the same time. "But Laura.... I-I love you. I've always loved you since the day I set eyes on you. Please give me a chance. I made a promise to Evelyn.""Screw you and your love," Laura spat, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Don't tell me you love me. It makes my skin crawl. I hate you. I've always hated you since the day you walked into this family."Barry's heart broke in half after hearing her words. He wanted to say something but no word got out. Laura turned to face her family, waving the divorce papers in her hand. "Now that I'm divorcing this useless husband of mine, I'm entitled to 80% of w