OLIVER'S RISE TO INFLUENCE

CHAPTER NINETY-NINE. UNMASKING THE UNDERDOG

At first, Oliver had no intention of revealing himself. He preferred to stay in the background, letting his actions speak without the need for recognition.

But as he sat in the corner, watching Marcus's face light up with satisfaction, smug in the belief that no one would step forward, something shifted within him.

The knots in Marcus’s stomach tightened with each passing second, and the more he saw Oliver advancing toward the stage, the harder his heart pounded in anger.

Marcus’s mind raced. "No, it can’t be," he thought, a storm of disbelief and fury rising within him. His fists clenched, and his face grew red with frustration.

His carefully crafted superiority was crumbling, and it was Oliver, someone he’d always considered beneath him, who was responsible. The notion of Oliver donating such an enormous amount was like a punch to the gut, one he wasn’t prepared to take.

“This… this has to be a joke,” Marcus whispered to himself, trying to rationalize what was happening.

As Oliv