2025-01-22 00:40:57Life had a strange way of pivoting when you least expected it. Marcus sat in Sarah's coffee shop, "The Daily Grind," staring at his laptop screen in disbelief. He had come over himself to speak about the business venture that Sarah had told him about when he stumbled on the most exciting news he had ever gotten. Sarah had walked away for a moment to handle something which gave him the opportunity to surf the internet. That’s when he had seen it.
He'd bought a lottery ticket two days ago, a dollar spent on a whim while buying coffee. Now those six numbers glowing on his screen represented more money than the Wong family had ever dangled over his head.
$347 million.
“This can’t be real.” Marcus mumbled, his eyes widening at his luck. Just a few days ago, he was being thrown out of his home and left to fend for himself on the streets and now, he was the lottery winner of 347 million dollars just because he bought a ticket on a whim! It was unbelievable to say the least.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Sarah said, sliding a fresh cup of coffee across the table to him. Over the past week, her shop had become his unofficial office, a place where he could work on rebuilding his portfolio while serving as a consultant for her planned expansion.
Marcus closed the laptop slowly, his hands steady despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his mind still in disbelief.
"Just reviewing some numbers."
Sarah raised an eyebrow but didn't press. That was one thing he'd come to appreciate about her – she knew when to let silence do the talking. Instead, she nodded toward a man in an expensive suit who'd just entered the shop.
"That's Derek Zhao, the investment banker I told you about. He's interested in hearing your ideas about commercial space optimization."
Marcus tucked the lottery website away in the back of his mind. According to the website, he had sixty days to claim the prize, plenty of time to plan his next moves carefully. Right now, he had a different kind of opportunity to seize. Regardless of winning so big, it would mean nothing if he didn’t have a business or venture to grow the money. The money wouldn’t last him forever.
Sarah stood up and waved Derek over, her smile drawing people in as always. Derek got closer and shook Sarah’s hand with a smile on his face.
“Derek, this is the man I told you about. He’s a great architect. I’ve seen some of his detailed work and I can tell you that he is the one for you.” She praised Marcus.
Derek turned to Marcus, his once giddy demeanor turning cold.
“Sarah…” He began as he shook his head, no doubt not wanting to speak to a man whose image was being dragged through the mud by almost everyone.
“I know he’s in a tough spot now with the Wong’s but you know how they are, Derek. Do you really believe that a man who had everything would throw it all away in a night? I can vouch for him.” Sarah tried to convince him, her voice steady and sure.
Derek sighed. He’s never been able to say no to her since he trusted her judgement. He didn’t like the arrangement but he would try for Sarah. He took a seat across from Marcus, a stoic look on his face.
“Fine. Wow me.”
It had taken Marcus thirty minutes to speak on how he thought his designs would help Derek and his new project before Derek leaned back in his seat with a smile.
"Your perspective on mixed-use spaces is fascinating," Derek said, scanning Marcus's preliminary sketches. "Would you be interested in consulting on a few other projects? Off the record, of course, given your... current situation."
News traveled fast in certain circles. No doubt the Wongs had made sure their version of events had reached every corner of the business community.
"I'm available. Though I should warn you, my former father-in-law seems determined to make hiring me... complicated." Marcus explained, sure that if the Wong’s found out about this he would be out of another job.
Derek's smile held a hint of steel.
"Richard Wong and I have different opinions on many things. Including his methods of doing business."
“Meet me at my office in three days from now. I’ll set up the appointment.” Derek mentioned, handing Marcus a business card as he got up.
“I’d like to discuss the rest of this with a contract to sign at the end.” He said with a smirk.
Marcus caught on. He was being hired. He got up and grinned with pride, giving Derek a nod.
“Thank you Mr. Zhao. I’ll be there.” He replied before Derek waved at Sarh before walking out of the building and disappearing into the busy streets.
“See, I told you that you could do it.” Sarah brought up.
“Thank you for believing in me. It means a lot.” Marcus told her, genuinely grateful for her help.
“It’s fine. I was once where you are. What I wouldn’t have given for someone to help me out. So, what are you going to do in the meantime? Before the meeting I mean?” She asked, getting up from her seat, ready to get back to work.
Marcus’ mind went back to the lottery that he had won, the paper burning a hole in his bag. Without hesitation, he began to pack his things.
“I have to get a suit.”
“For the meeting. It’s in three days though.”
“There’s no better time than the present.” Marcus replied as he slung his bag and left the building, his next destination in mind but first, he had to meet with some lawyers to hash out some things. If he was going to cash out this huge amount of money then he needed to find out what he was getting into legally.
Soon enough Marcus arrived at the new law firm. Hedge and Co. A firm with a team of discrete financial advisors. A hint from Derek while they spoke some hours ago. It was a small firm with no connections to his former life, specializing in almost everything. It was perfect.
He walked into the building and made an appointment and within minutes, he was seated with one of the lawyers in his office.
"You understand," his new lawyer, Michelle Torres, said as she reviewed the paperwork he filled in, "that concealing lottery winnings during divorce proceedings is technically illegal."
"What if the ticket was purchased after separation?" Marcus asked, his voice neutral.
Michelle's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"The date of purchase becomes crucial. As does the definition of separation in our state. Physical separation, legal separation, intent to separate – these are all different things."
"Hypothetically speaking," Marcus continued, "if someone were to win the lottery after their spouse's infidelity was discovered, but before any legal proceedings began..."
"Hypothetically speaking," Michelle replied with a slight smile, "timing is everything. As is documentation. If the infidelity can be proven then you owe your spouse nothing. As you stated here, a prenup was obtained so grounds of infidelity would work in your favor.”
“So you’re saying that there’s a chance to keep the winnings. Hypothetically of course.”
“Hypothetically, yes, there is.” Michelle said, indulging Marcus in his little game.
Marcus smiled at the thought. Finally, he wouldn’t be bulldozed out of money he earned anymore. Finally, he would have all he needed to rise up in the world and also to bring the Wong family to their knees. All he needed to do was to prove Victoria’s infidelity, finalize the divorce and cash out his winnings. Then he would have his revenge.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Five: INSTANT MILLIONAIRE
Marcus didn’t hesitate to pick which thing he would do first. It was easy. He was going to cash out his winnings from the lottery. His lawyer and advisor, Michelle had already told him all that he needed to know. As long as he could prove infidelity during the marriage to a court then he could keep his assets. Technically, he and Victoria had gotten a prenuptial arrangement before they got married, courtesy of her parents, but Marcus knew the family. Once they found out that he was now going to be a millionaire, they would do everything possible to contest his winnings and swindle it all from under his nose. Hence, the urgent need to get evidence of Victoria’s infidelity with James. Marcus still wasn’t sure how to get such evidence as the only place he’d caught them was at the mansion. And although the mansion had cameras everywhere, he was sure that by now Victoria would have had it all erased to continue to be on the good side of her parents. Regardless, Marcus knew that since he w
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Six: EVIDENCE
The next day had come around far more quickly than Marcus had anticipated. Sure, he had cashed in his winnings and gone home a happy man but he had also not slept much due to his anticipation. The day before, he had watched Victoria and James give their speech about innovation and whatnot in front of a huge crowd. They seemed too chummy on the stage but as Marcus had expected, no one had seemed to notice that and when it was time for the interactive session, the questions always moved in his direction, focusing on why he cheated and how Victoria was doing after the great betrayal. It was sickening but Marcus held his tongue. After all, he would get his hands on something damning very soon and the world would see that he was the innocent one in this story. Marcus got down from the cab, still donning normal clothes and a smile on his face. The tall and imposing hotel building loomed above him. The Blue Oyster. Some days ago he would have been ashamed to go in looking the way that he wa
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Seven: EXPOSED
Henry had delivered the security footage from Victoria’s room to Marcus as promised and true to his word, he took no money for it. Marcus pondered on the recording, uploading it to his cloud so that he could have two copies. At first, his plan was to spend the night at the hotel and then at his divorce proceedings he would bring forth the footage as evidence but while he waited for Henry to bring up the evidence, he had seen online that Victoria’s press tour was not over yet. In contrast to her one day business trips, this one was three days. Three days of her and James together. Three days of gathering more evidence but it didn’t matter. Marcus had enough. More than enough and he would use it well.He checked his watch and smiled. It was noon. The same time that Victoria and James were supposed to have their presentation on a recent building project. A building project that he had drawn up but no matter. He was going to be there to congratulate them on their impromptu and well deserv
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Eight: THE INTERVIEW
Like Marcus planned, the world was on fire. Not literally but the news and media outlets had spread not only the story but the video of the footage that Marcus had released at the conference. It had only been three days and so far, the story had been topping all the charts on the blogs. No one could believe it. How could Victoria Wong of all people falsely accuse her own husband? It was unheard and definitely a story to gossip over by everyone. And although the videos were now being taken down and tagged as adult material, the intrigue behind it never died down. Victoria and her family had not been seen in public since the news broke and James went on a short vacation to the Maldives to clear his head. Well, that’s what the tabloids say anyways. No one had seen him too so everyone chose to believe that he had run away with his tail tucked between his legs. As for Marcus, while the world spun out of control, he reveled in the vindication. News outlets and blogs reached out to him for
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Nine: SIGNING THE PAPERS
The sun was high up in the sky and Marcus couldn’t help but smile when he looked up at it through his sunglasses. He stood in front of the Wong company building, Wong Facilities and let out a big breath, giddy that his long awaited dream was going to come to fruition in just some minutes as he didn’t plan to stay in that god-forsaken place for long. As he walked up the stairs and into the building, the murmurs that he expected started up again. This time, they weren’t words of malice or disdain. For once they were ones of pity and admiration. “Isn’t that Victoria's husband?”“Yeah, the one who exposed her affair.”“Damn, he went through a lot with the affair and then with the scandal that Victoria caused, he had every right to ruin her on national television.”“I hope he gets away from her. I’m just working for her and I even feel my soul being tainted by being this close to her.”“I wish him luck in the future. God knows he needs it.” Marcus slightly chuckled at the words. Instead
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Ten: THE DIVORCE
The day for the appointed court date for the divorce had finally come around. The courthouse buzzed with anticipation as reporters and spectators crowded the hallways, all eager to witness the final act of what had become the city's most talked-about divorce case. Victoria Wong versus Marcus Chen. It was electric and no one could get enough of the drama. Inside the courtroom, Marcus and his lawyer sat calmly at the table on the left of the room while Victoria and her legal team occupied the other, her perfectly manicured nails drumming against the wooden surface with barely contained irritation. For a second, Victoria and Marcus shared a look causing the pair to sneer and look away as soon as their eyes locked, neither of them wanting to be in the same room as the other for a second more. The Judge, Mark Harrison entered the courtroom, and the bailiff's voice rang out clear: "All rise. The Superior Court of the State is now in session, the Honorable Judge Mark Harrison presiding."
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Eleven: PRESS CONFERENCE
Almost twenty-four hours to the time of his divorce, Marcus stood at the podium in the Rivera Technologies conference room, cameras flashing from every direction as reporters clamored for his attention, all wondering how he had even managed to secure a room in the building for a press conference. The sleek, designer suit he wore was a far cry from the secondhand one he had worn in court yesterday. A necessary change for the announcement that he was about to give. Marcus stared at the crowd for a moment more before he waved his hands, calming them down. The room went silent, everyone waiting to hear what the now ex-husband of Victoria Wong was about to say."Good day everyone. I'm glad that you all thought that my press announcement today was worth a listen. I honestly didn't think that many of you would show up here today," he started with a small chuckle before moving on."Well, the reason I wanted you all to be here was to announce that as of today I am now the official CEO of Rivera
The Overnight Billionaire's Revenge Chapter Twelve: THE ASSISTANT
While Marcus was putting things in order for Victoria’s downfall, he still had a business to run. A huge business which meant that he had to hire an assistant to help him out. Hence, that’s why he was sitting in his office with a long line of women outside his door, waiting to be interviewed for the position. He would have loved for someone else to handle this but with the amount of pull that his ex-wife still had, he couldn’t risk a mole being sent into his administration. Marcus sat through most of the interviews either bored out of his mind or annoyed at what the applicants were trying to pull. The next lady trauma dumped on him about her four kids who she couldn't afford to take care of because her husband was sleeping around and begged him to give her the job although having no strong qualifications or even personal strengths whatsoever. She pleaded with him the whole time all while he asked her to stop and when she finally stopped she chose to try and seduce him. The lady had a
Latest Chapter
Chapter Eighty: THE BIG DAY
After a moment of hesitation and thinking, Rachel had made up her mind. She looked at all the men in the room, showing her firm stance on the answer she was about to give.“I'll do it. I'll go see Davon."Elias groaned in disapproval as Marcus sighed triumphantly at Rachel's decision. He gave her a small yet dignified nod thanking her for trusting in his plan when Elias walked up to her and held her by her shoulders as if trying to bring her back from an unyielding spell.“Rachel, you know if you do this you won't be safe anymore. We would help but are you willing to risk your life and your heart just for this? We can find another way. A better way. Think about this."Rachel stood up matching her godfather.“Like you said uncle Elias, it's my life and my heart. If I choose to bring down the person that hurt me, that's my decision. I want to do this and I have all of you so I'm sure I'll be fine in the end."Elias looked into her eyes, hoping to find a shred of doubt or fear but when h
Chapter Seventy-Nine: A NECESSARY DECISION
Marcus arrived at his mansion a bit happy that Chris Gibson, the chief prosecutor in New York, was willing to help him out in his mission to bring his enemies down. That was just one part of his plan that had been sorted out. He had his men go pick Lori's grandmother and brother up also which had lessened his workload. Now, he only had one other area to pursue and that was the actual catching of the Black's doing anything illegal in the eyes of the law. He wasn't sure yet how they were going to get that piece of information when they didn't have a mole inside their company or anyone at all who was close enough to them to be involved in what they were doing and inform Marcus of their deeds.He leisurely walked through the hallways of his home on his way to his room, still thinking of what he could do to get to that family when a walking and breathing answer popped up in front of him. Her raven stood out from the white gown that she had on and the frown that found its way to her face wa
Chapter Seventy-Eight: MEETING THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR
Marcus dropped Lori off at the mansion first with the promise that he was going to have his men bring back everything that she needed from her home once she wrote him a list for that. He was also going to have her brother and grandmother brought to stay with him for some time at the mansion. That is, before he could find a more secure and safe place to hide them from Davon in case the man had any new ideas but realistically, the mansion was the best place for them to stay at the moment. Marcus wasn't close to either of them but Davon might think otherwise and do something horrible just to mess with him.After giving Lori his word, he set out to go meet the only person in the judicial system who he was sure could help. He didn't know this person personally and had never spoken to them. Hell, he didn't have any appointment with the man but due to everything he had heard about the man from his integrity, to his good nature and then his no nonsense attitude when it came to illegal things,
Chapter Seventy-Seven: A TRADE
Regardless of his suspicions, once it was about getting to noon, Marcus hurriedly drove all the way to the meeting spot. The Café de Flore. He was not going to give Davon or Alexandra the satisfaction of holding late coming and Lori's suffering over his head. He already had what Davon wanted. The evidence. He wanted Rachel too but there was no way that Marcus was getting her involved in this nonsense. It didn't take long before Marcus pulled up to the restaurant that was located on the other side of the city. He got out of the car and checked his watch for the time. 11:57am. He sighed and confidently walked into the building.Just like always, he was greeted by the receptionist and the people who saw him awed that they had the chance to set their eyes on him but that was not what Marcus was interested in. What he was interested in was the familiar face he saw sitting at the corner of the restaurant and smirking at him while raising up a glass of champagne.The receptionist spoke to h
Chapter Seventy-Six: MISSING
Marcus was walking through the hallways of his mansion early in the morning, on his way to his home office when he heard a muffled groan and then a loud thud, like something hitting the carpeted ground. On hearing the sounds, he ran quickly to the room, not bothering to inspect what was happening but shoved the door open and ran into the room. He did not expect to see what he was witnessing at the time.Lori stood over a clearly broken and destroyed machine, huffing and puffing like she had just ran a marathon. She turned to Marcus, a barbaric and dangerous look on her face. Marcus gave her a confused look, wondering why she was standing over a piece of equipment with bloodlust."What are you doing?" Marcus asked with a brow raised at her.Lori stood up straight and le
Chapter Seventy-Five: BYPASSING FIREWALLS
Marcus sat in his spacious office in his home, gazing out at the amazing tapestry of artwork the gardener had done on the mansion grounds below. As the CEO of one of the largest corporations, he knew that there were some companies who used unlawful or illegal means to climb the ladder to success. One of those companies must belong to the Blacks. They had forced his hand and now it was time to take action. As he silently watched the butterflies perch on various exotic flowers, his secretary, Lori, entered the room, her eyes shining with determination unlike the last time she was called into his space. She had heard. In fact she had lived part of it. The assault that occurred at the company which shook the employees and everyone in the vicinity. She didn't know who set off the attack but she knew it was related to her boss. The Wong's couldn't do it. She had already helped Marcus to take care of them, so who else could it be? "You called for me.""Yes, I did." He said without moving h
Chapter Seventy-Four: ALEXANDRA BLACK
Marcus took the seat that was offered to him by the unknown woman. He sat on the chair, a bit relaxed but aware of his surroundings nonetheless. He didn't bother looking around and asked the woman a question."Who are you?"The woman shrugged and stood up. She walked over to her mini bar, picked up a bottle of scotch and tilted it towards Marcus."Care for some scotch? I promise it's to die for."Marcus shook his head, choosing to ignore her little quip that sounded like she already knew what had happened to him. He glared at her back as she shrugged and poured a glass for herself before going back to her seat."I'll ask again. Who are you?" He questioned her, going back to the matter at hand. She smiled at him."No one of importance until I know why you're here."She and Marcus shared looks. In that moment Marcus could pick out some key features that she had that resembled someone he knew. Looking at them, he was sure that he had seen this woman somewhere. She seemed vaguely familia
Chapter Seventy-Three: A NEW FACE
Marcus went back to his home after the massacre that Davon had brought to his place of work, after the sirens filled the air as police officers arrived on the scene, after the last man standing of the opposition was taken into custody, after some of his employees had to be wheeled away in bags and after Marcus had been interrogated by the officers on scene about the gunfight that happened in broad daylight.As he stepped foot into the building, the voice of a very worried Rachel echoed in the lobby."Marcus!"She ran towards him not at all minding her step on the tiled slippery floors. She cupped his face as she reached him. Marcus hissed as he felt a sting on his left cheek where Rachel touched. The cut must have been from the rain of glass that fell on top of him during the attack."What happened to you?" She asked as Marcus removed her hand from his face to avoid being smothered too much."It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He said to her, his voice low and ragged. In all honesty
Chapter Seventy-Two: THIS MEANS WAR!
As Davon left the office, the faint but sure cacophony of him causing trouble and disrupting the environment flooded Marcus' ears causing him to scowl at no one in particular. The noise, no doubt from the men that Lori had brought up to escort Davon out of the building. After some time, the noise subsided allowing Marcus to calm his tensed shoulders and focus on some other important things. He was thrown off guard when Davon appeared at his office and even though the man was on his home turf, Marcus couldn't do anything because at that point he didn't know what kind of power Davon himself held, the cartel notwithstanding. Marcus didn't think that the impromptu meeting turned out great but at least Davon didn't come in throwing hands. He puffed his chest to stand up to and counter Davon while he was here. Marcus knew he was more than capable, he couldn't help but feel that his opposition had the upper hand. Something about being raised in the underworld told him that. He sighed, brou
