Chapter 2: The Fire Sale
663 Words
POV: Sam(The Assistant)
My phone buzzed on my nightstand at 3:00 AM. In my business, a call at 3:00 AM usually means a million dollars was made or a million dollars was lost. I saw the caller ID: ELIAS – CEO.
"Sir?" I said, sitting up fast. "Is the Dubai deal ready? Do I need to sign the papers?"
"Sam," his voice was a whisper. It sounded like he was choking on tears. "There was a crash. The plane... Sarah is gone, Sam. She’s gone."
I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Sarah was the kindest woman I knew. She always brought snacks to the office. She always smiled at the guards. "Sir, I am so sorry... where are you? Where is Bella?"
"In the hospital," Elias said. His voice became hard, like iron. "The doctors say she is dying. They need billions for a special surgery. They want the money now, or they won't start. Sam, I want you to sell everything. Everything we own."
I stood up so fast I almost fell. "Sell... everything? Sir, you have five shipping companies! You have three luxury hotels! You have the biggest mansion in Lagos! If we sell those in one hour, we will lose half the value. We will be ruined!"
"I don't care about the value!" Elias roared into the phone. "I don't care about the hotels! My daughter is bleeding! Sell the stocks. Sell the gold. Sell my private jet. Empty the bank accounts. If I am not a billionaire by sunrise, I don't want to be alive. Do it now!"
The phone went dead.
I sat at my laptop, my heart racing. I had worked for Elias for twelve years. I watched him build this kingdom. I was there when he bought his first ship. I was there when he moved into the glass tower. Now, he wanted me to set it all on fire in one night.
I started typing. My fingers felt like they were made of lead.
Click. I sold the shares in the oil company.
Click. I put the mansion up for sale at a "fire price."
Click. I transferred the millions of dollars from the London account to the hospital’s medical fund.
By 5:00 AM, my email was blowing up. The other business partners were calling me. They were screaming.
"Is Elias crazy?" they asked. "He is destroying the market! Tell him to stop!"
I didn't answer them. I just watched the numbers on the screen go down.
$500 Million...
$100 Million...
$10 Million...
$0.00.
Elias was no longer the King of the City. He was just a man.
I drove to the hospital. I expected to see bodyguards and reporters. But there was no one. The world forgets you very fast when you have no money. I walked through the quiet halls until I found him.
Elias was sitting on a plastic chair. He looked small. He looked old. His suit, which cost five thousand dollars, was covered in dust and blood. He was staring at a red light above a door that said "SURGERY."
"It’s done, sir," I whispered, sitting next to him. "The empire is gone. You don't have a car in the parking lot. You don't have a bed to go home to tonight."
Elias looked at me. His eyes were red from crying, but for the first time in years, they looked peaceful.
"I traded a pile of bricks for a heartbeat, Sam," he said. He looked at his empty hands. "I used to think these hands were powerful because they held money. But today, I realized they are only powerful if they can hold my daughter again."
We sat together in the silence. The billionaire was gone. The boss was gone. There was only a father, waiting for a miracle he had paid for with his whole life.
- Writer
