1 I had just donated an entire building to the university campus of my son’s private school to serve as their new gymnasium. But the very next day, my son ran home crying, telling me he’d been beaten up by a pair of twin college athletes from the university division. I took my son straight to the school and demanded the Dean pull the security footage. I never expected the two college jocks to smirk and pull out two identical black credit cards. "Dean, how about we each donate a hundred grand to the school? Maybe the security cameras could just... happen to malfunction?" The Dean hesitated. My son was furious. But I smiled. Those two supplementary cards were the ones my wife had begged me for a while back. She said she liked the new card design and asked for two of them. It turns out it wasn't the card design she liked; it was the twin brothers holding them. I turned away with a cold sneer and immediately called the bank to freeze those two cards. Then, I sent a message to my company’s legal department: "My son was assaulted. Get a team down here immediately. I want them to pay a heavy price." "Also, pull the prenup. Draft a divorce agreement. Serena gets nothing." "Spending my money to keep a couple of toy boys and letting them bully my son? Keep dreaming." ... Right in front of me, the Carter twins, Jax and Jace, each handed a sleek black card to the Dean. The students gathered around gasped. "Holy cow, I’ve never seen real Centurion Cards before. And they have identical ones!" "Those require a massive spending history and liquidity. You need millions in cash just to qualify!" The Dean swallowed hard, respectfully taking the two cards with trembling hands. My son, Lucas, was crying tears of rage. "Dean Miller, you can’t just let them get away with beating me because they have money!" Dean Miller hesitated, his hand hovering in mid-air, caught between greed and duty. Jax and Jace looked at us with pure disdain. "Dean, even if you pull the footage and prove we beat him, what’s the worst that happens? We pay some medical bills." "But if the cameras 'break,' we donate that money to the school instead. Isn't that a win-win?" Other students, desperate to suck up to the wealthy twins, started lying through their teeth. "It was Lucas who started it! I saw it!" "Yeah! I was there too. Lucas threw the first punch!" Lucas was shaking. First, he gets beaten, and now he’s being framed and isolated. He couldn't swallow this injustice. "This is unfair! If this happens to me today, it could happen to any of you tomorrow!" Lucas shouted. But Jax and Jace just laughed maniacally. "Fair? Kid, fairness is a luxury for the rich." "Your dad is broke, and so are you. That’s fairness! Wait until you graduate; I’ll give you a job as a doorman at our Sugar Momma’s company. We’ll teach you all about the real world then!" Lucas wanted to argue, but the surrounding students told him to face reality. The Dean, hearing this, made up his mind. He praised the students for being "sensible" and swiped Jax's card through the machine. But the moment he swiped it, the machine let out a harsh, mechanical beep. "Transaction Denied. Account frozen due to suspicious activity." He tried again. Same result. The Dean looked at Jax awkwardly. Jace immediately handed over his card. "Use mine." Beep. "Transaction Denied." The twins looked confused. "Impossible. The school's machine must be broken!" The crowd agreed. It had to be the machine. The finance director was called in with a new terminal. Swipe. Beep. Denied. Sweat started to bead on the twins' foreheads. The Dean’s attitude shifted instantly. He glared at them. "You two punks, did you bring expired cards to play games with me?" Jax snorted. "These cards belong to our... god-sister. We’ll call her and ask what’s going on!" They pulled out their phones to video call their "god-sister." The call connected. I glanced at the screen. The woman on the other end was my wife, Serena. 2 They started putting on a show, cooing and flirting with the rich woman on the screen, completely ignoring everyone else. The Dean and the students, though internally judging them, understood the rules of the game. Money talks. Listening to the ambiguous flirting, everyone knew the money was coming one way or another. What they didn't know was that my wife, Serena, used to be a housewife. Every cent she gave these twins was money she had wheedled out of me. After hanging up, the twins shot me a provocative look. A minute later, my phone rang. It was Serena. Her tone was icy, as if she were my boss, not my wife. "Leo, I just finished lunch with the girls. I tried to pay, and the card declined!" "Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was? Go to the bank right now and fix it!" I sneered internally but kept my voice calm. "Our son got beaten up at school. I’m handling it. I’ll go to the bank when I’m done." "Lucas? He’s a boy, he’s tough. A few bruises won't kill him. Go to the bank now!" She hung up on me. I clenched my jaw. The urge to destroy her was overwhelming. Since marrying me, I supported whatever she wanted to do. Money flowed like water. She wanted a title, so I let her be the figurehead General Manager of one of my subsidiaries. I even jokingly called her "The Duchess" because of her spending habits. The nickname stuck. Now half the city called her "The Duchess." And this is how she repays me? Cheating on me, neglecting our son, and funding two college bullies? A moment later, the twins shouted at the phone again, calling out "Sis, Sis!" My phone started blowing up with calls and texts from Serena. I ignored them all. I stared coldly at the twins. I wanted to see exactly how they planned to pay. But then, the twins held up their phones triumphantly. "Look! The money's here!" "Dean Miller, we weren't lying! Forget a hundred grand; we can drop a million right now!" The Dean immediately bowed and scraped, a disgusting smile plastered on his face. He waved me away impatiently. "There is no footage! They didn't hit anyone! I'm the Dean, and what I say goes!" The twins looked at me, then at Lucas. "Kid, you're kinda cute. I know an investor who likes young boys like you..." Lucas’s chest heaved with anger. The crowd immediately started sucking up. "As expected of the campus kings. Handsome, rich, and connected!" A chill radiated from my eyes. I pulled out my primary Black Card and handed it to the Dean. "Five million dollars." Everyone froze. The Dean took the card. The silence in the room was deafening as he swiped it. Ding! "Approved." The crowd gasped. "Lucas's dad is the real tycoon!" The Dean’s face turned pale. "The footage! Yes, the footage is available! Our surveillance system is top-notch, donated by our esteemed alumnus, Mr. Leo Sterling!" I smirked. I am Leo Sterling, you idiot. The twins' faces turned ugly. They frantically texted their "god-sister." Then, they both held up their phones, showing bank transfer screenshots. One million each. The crowd gasped again. "They just matched two million!" "Maybe Lucas's dad isn't as rich as the Duchess after all!" "I mean, look at them. Tall, athletic... I can see why a rich female CEO would sponsor them." Serena really had some nerve. Spending my money on boy toys without blinking an eye, letting them bully my son. But this is all marital property. Every cent they took, I will make them vomit back up. But for now, I needed to humiliate these parasites. The Dean looked at me nervously. He knew if I didn't outbid them, the cameras would "break" again. I raised my card again. "Double it." 3 The entire office went dead silent. "Double? That's ten million dollars! Ten million for a security tape?" I glanced at the twins. Ten million was nothing to me. It was the price of a business dinner. But for these college kids? That was a lifetime of debt. Students started whispering. "Justice prevails! These twins have bullied so many people. Finally, someone is stopping them!" Jax gritted his teeth. "You're spending ten million for a video? Even if it proves we hit him, the medical bills are only a few thousand!" Before he could finish, the Dean's terminal beeped. "Ten million dollars approved." I looked at them coldly. To them, this was about money. To me, this was about my son's dignity. Jax and Jace weren't giving up. "Our money comes from the Duchess! Your money is probably your life savings, old man!" Lucas looked up, face beaming with pride. "My dad makes millions while he sleeps. He doesn't care about this pocket change!" He wasn't wrong. But that five million I just spent? I’m going to make sure the twins spend the rest of their lives paying it back to me. The Dean was trembling with excitement. He rushed over to shake my hand. "I had no idea we had such a titan of industry among our parents!" He turned to the twins, his face stern. "Are you going to outbid him?" "Our school has strict rules. If you really beat up a minor, you will be expelled immediately!" The threat was clear. Pay up or get out. The twins gritted their teeth. "We'll add more!" They looked at my faded t-shirt and jeans and seemed to regain confidence. "Our god-sister is 'The Duchess' Serena! No matter how rich you are, you aren't richer than her!" "See the donor wall outside? She's a distinguished alumna. That's our sister!" "You better take your kid and run. If you offend her, you won't just leave this school; you'll be run out of the state!" The crowd murmured. "I wondered who that mysterious female donor was. It's Serena!" "The library and science center were donated by her!" "This dad and son are screwed. Why mess with the Duchess?" The Dean’s face flipped again. He poured water for the twins apologetically. Then he turned to us. "Kids lie because parents teach them poorly! Accusing these fine young men of violence today, accusing someone of murder tomorrow!" The crowd swayed like grass in the wind. " Flashing a few million when you're up against real old money? Pathetic." "You offended a big shot. You better kneel and apologize to the twins now!" I laughed. "My son and I will wait right here for this 'Big Shot'." The money Serena donated to the school was money I gave her to build a reputation. I never thought it would be used as a weapon against our son. The twins called Serena, whining and exaggerating the situation, begging her to come save them. Before hanging up, they threatened me: "Our sister is coming. She has a security team like the Secret Service. They’ll chop you two up and feed you to the dogs!" Hearing Serena was coming, the Dean organized the students into a welcoming line. He even sent someone to buy flowers. I watched the circus act, suppressing a laugh. Soon, Serena walked in, wearing a tight designer dress and high heels, radiating authority. As soon as she entered, everyone bowed. "Hello, Sister Serena!" 4 The twins ran to her, faces full of fake grievance. As expected, Serena didn't even notice me in the corner. She rushed to them, looking concerned. "Who dared to bully you? I’ll handle them!" Damn it. Her own son was beaten, and she didn't care. Two boy toys spend money fighting, and she's heartbroken. Lucas recognized his mother immediately. But he didn't run to her like usual. Instead, he looked at me with teary eyes. "Dad, is that Mom? Why is she hugging the bad guys who hurt me?" I patted his back, whispering that I would make it right. Seeing "The Duchess" in person, the students went wild. "She's so beautiful and young!" "No wonder the campus kings are fighting over her attention!" After the praise, Jax and Jace flanked Serena, pointing at me. They put on whiny voices. "It's those two! They don't know their place. They claimed we beat up his kid!" "He forced the Dean to pull the tapes and wants us expelled!" "Sister, destroy him!" Serena straightened up, eyes flashing with anger. "Who has the audacity to bully my boys?" Following their fingers, she looked past the crowd and finally saw us. The arrogance on her face vanished instantly, replaced by pure shock and gray fear. "Leo... what are you doing here?"
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