OUT OF PRISON; HIS REVENGE BEGINS

0013

The whole venue went silent after the waiter announced the total amount. Nicholas had to bite his lip to contain his laughter. He couldn't imagine how stupid Ryan could be.

Since he never bothered to check the menu, he was ignorant of the price of each bottle, but Nicholas knew it more than anyone. It was a Romani Conti with a retail price of over one million dollars. By ordering more than thirty bottles, Ryan would sweep the floor and wash the dishes if he failed to pay for everything.

"Are you kidding me?!" Flustered, Ryan slammed the table and stood up. "There are more than three hundred people here. Are you telling me they ate over thirty million dollars?" he scorned, pointing at everyone. "I want to speak to your manager! Now!"

The two waiters lowered their heads and glanced at each other helplessly. They had no choice but to call the manager to settle the issue.

When he sat down, Ryan rambled about the hotel being unfair to VIP customers. They waited for a few minutes before the manager finally arrived.

He was a young man in his thirties, wearing a plain suit. When Ryan saw him, he abruptly stood up and stomped on his way to the manager.

"What's this bullshit? Explain to me how the total amount reached that much?! You have no right to do this! I'll sue you to the Consumer Association!" Irritated, he shouted, pointing his fingers everywhere. However, the manager stood there and waited for him to finish talking.

When Ryan stopped talking, the manager calmly explained, "Sir, the wine you ordered is the limited-edition Romani Conti. The distributor only produced eight hundred bottles a year globally with a market price of one million each."

Nicholas intently watched as Ryan's expression turned sour, overwhelmed by the numbers. Other guests began murmuring, and Ryan noticed it.

The manager smiled and continued, "You asked for more than thirty bottles, and we gave you a discount, sir."

Without a second to spare, Ryan grabbed the manager's collar. "f**k you! Do you have more than thirty bottles here? Who the hell are you kidding? Besides, who the hell even wants this rubbish?"

The manager was stunned for a second. In his almost six years of experience as the hotel manager, he encountered countless important people in Warlington. But it was his first time dealing with such an entitled person.

He decided not to put up a fight and steadied himself. "Sir, let me tell you three things. First, you said that you wanted the best and most expensive wine in our cellar. We have evidence for that." The manager tried removing Ryan's hand from his collar.

"Second, you requested, so we provided it. I also have no idea why the boss had that much in stock. Lastly, please show some respect to other people," he continued.

Before Ryan could react, a dozen tattooed men in black shirts entered the hall. Nicholas recognized them as the guards of the Paramount Hotel.

Being the most luxurious hotel in Warlington, only a few people dared to cause trouble because of the hotel's security measures. The president was also famously known for his background as a mafia member.

The guards surrounded the table where Ryan and the manager were standing. Wearing an old-fashioned suit with a cane, the leader walked toward Ryan. He was already a middle-aged man, but he still looked younger.

His presence would have brought Ryan to his knees if only Ryan weren't full of pride.

Paramount Hotel's President, Theodore Martin, stopped in front of them. His intimidating aura made Ryan panic as cold sweat trickled down his face.

Theodore finally broke the silence, "Doesn't the Clark Family belong to the second class? And didn't you ask for the best wine?" Ryan abruptly waved his hands in defeat. "We will pay!" he uttered and glanced at Barbara. 'I don't have that much money! If I don't pay, who knows what will happen to me?!' Ryan thought.

Nicholas only watched as the hilarious encounter unfolded.

"Mr. Martin," Barbara spoke and attempted to stand up. One of the family members helped her as she walked toward Theodore.

Barbara was older than Theodore, but in terms of status, she was not at his level. She could not afford to offend him in any way.

"It is my fault," Barbara said and lowered her head. "My grandson is young and insensitive. I am apologizing to you on behalf of him and the whole family. We will pay for what we ordered."

The family members watched as the old Barbara asked for the hotel boss's forgiveness. They all felt uncomfortable that she had to withstand the shame that Ryan brought to himself. After all, Ryan started it.

Some family members took the initiative to check the price of the Romani Conti online, and the luxurious wine was worth more than a million per bottle.

The whole venue got filled with murmurs as Barbara and Ryan kept apologizing to Theodore. Nobody dared to come close to them.

After a few minutes of silence, Nicholas tried to leave, nervous that Theodore would recognize him.

Nicholas remembered the year that Theodore had just started his business. He had nothing, no connections, and no money. Theodore went to the Godfreys to ask for help, but nobody entertained his request.

Nicholas was only fifteen then, but he found Theodore worth investing in. He decided to invest three hundred thousand dollars in Theodore's business, and Theodore was grateful for his help. It was more of a sponsorship than an investment for Nicholas since he didn't want the shares. He just wanted to help.

Many years passed, and Nicholas forgot about it, only now that he saw Theodore again. Nicholas smiled in relief. 'I was right about you from the start,' he thought.

However, Nicholas didn't want Theodore to recognize him despite it all. He tried to sneak away, but Theodore quickly caught on his attempt. "Young man, stay," Theodore demanded and went straight to Nicholas's direction.

The Clark Family members angrily glared at Nicholas. "Damn! He's making things worse!" one of the women said. "What is wrong with him? Is he running away? How stupid!" another woman commented.

Nicholas scratched the back of his head and remained quiet. "Georgina, why is your husband trying to run away?" one woman scoffed, trying to shift the blame to Georgina.

"I know, right? Weren't you informed to get a divorce certificate? You don't listen!" another woman cried.

"He wanted to run away to save himself! We can't let that happen!" Several women shouted at Georgina while pointing their fingers at Nicholas.

Georgina bit her lip, too ashamed to speak. She glanced at Nicholas, thinking that her husband wanted to escape was enough to make her wish to disappear.

Suddenly, Ryan stepped forward and roared, "Mr. Martin, please don't be mad. That man is my cousin's husband, but he's a piece of trash and a total loser. His decision to escape had nothing to do with our family!" Ryan cried, attempting to earn Theodore's favor.

"Get lost!" Theodore growled at Ryan. His attempt angered the president further. Ryan felt shivers down his spine and didn't dare move afterward.

Theodore faced Nicholas, who was silent for minutes. He couldn't believe that after so many years, he finally saw the young boy who solely invested in his business. Theodore could never forget him. If it weren't for Nicholas's support, Theodore would be nothing.

Theodore sent his men to find Nicholas when his business started growing, only to be informed that the Godfreys had driven out the young boy. Nobody even knew where he was staying.

Theodore had only seen his back, but he was confident that the young man trying to run away was the same boy who helped him years ago. "S-Sir Nicholas, is that you?" His voice trembled.

Their jaws dropped, confused because of the sudden shift in Theodore's behavior. They couldn't believe that the feared president would stammer in front of Nicholas.

Nicholas gritted his teeth. 's**t!' he cursed inwardly before turning to face Theodore.

Right at that moment, Theodore's knees had weakened. Tears slowly pooled under his eyes as he knelt on the ground. "I finally saw you again! I've been looking for you for three years!" he cried, placing his hands on the floor. It wasn't tears of pain but joy and relief for finally seeing Nicholas again—the man he owed his success.

Everyone went silent in shock. The owner of the prestigious Paramount Hotel was kneeling, crying excitedly like a child in front of Georgina's loser husband.

"What is happening?!" Whispers echoed in the hall once again, but Nicholas stood expressionless.

"Mr. Martin, what happened? Why are you kneeling? Did you fall?" Nicholas hurriedly bent over to help him up and winked at him discreetly.

With that, Theodore finally understood what he meant. Nicholas wanted to keep his identity hidden from everyone.

"Oh, I lost balance," Theodore casually responded. He sighed heavily and patted Nicholas's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

After hearing what Theodore said, the whole family sighed in relief. "I knew it. How could the president know that loser?" Nicholas heard someone say, smirking as he stood up while assisting Theodore.

"Listen!" Suddenly, Barbara demanded everyone's attention as he looked around. "The total is more than thirty million dollars. We can't let Ryan pay for it all!" Hearing her decision, Ryan couldn't help but smile. Barbara had always favored him; surely she wouldn't let him face the shame alone.

"Spend your money; I am sure you brought your cards?" Barbara raised a brow, and everyone nodded without a fight. Paying for their meal wasn't a big deal for a second-class family. However, two people seemed against their grandmother's decision.

Georgina and Esther had their heads down. Their family was experiencing a financial decline because of the company's problems. Their savings also had been emptied a few days ago.

After seeing Georgina's hesitation to take out her wallet, Ryan sensed the smell of victory. "You don't look so good, cousin. Don't tell me you don't have any money left?" Ryan mocked her in front of everyone for the ninth time that night.

He already knew that Georgina's family was having financial problems, but he purposely announced it to insult Georgina.

"I–" Georgina stuttered. She couldn't defend herself now that she had once again become a laughingstock in the family. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she fiddled with her fingers.

After a minute of silence, Georgina finally responded. "I haven't b-brought my card."

Ryan let out a snort, laughing loudly. "You didn't bring your card? Alright, that's a good excuse!" He held his stomach, trying to contain his laughter. Ryan turned to look at Esther, who had been silent the whole time. "Auntie, did you also forget your card?"

Esther averted her gaze and cleared her throat. "Well–" Ryan immediately understood what that meant and cut her off by laughing even louder.

The rest of the family joined in, laughing and making fun of Georgina and Esther. A young woman casually said, "Nicholas probably doesn't have a card either! Did this family just come here to eat for free?"

Georgina was speechless. She had endured enough mockery for one day and just wanted some peace. But to her surprise, Nicholas stepped forward, holding something in his hand. "I do have a card, but–"

Before Nicholas could finish his sentence, Ryan snatched his card and handed it to the waiter without a second thought. "Let's see if this card is enough to pay for everything!" Ryan announced, and Georgina couldn't help but stomp her foot in anger.

'I gave him two hundred dollars a day, but there's no way he has that much money!' Georgina thought, looking at Nicholas in disbelief.

'Nicholas, what are you doing?! You're going to embarrass yourself!' Georgina wanted to run to Nicholas and ask, but she couldn't. Everyone around her was trying to hold back their laughter, eager for the next act.

In seconds, Louise stood up, and all eyes turned to admire her beauty.

"Am I seeing this right? An Amethyst Bank Black Card?!"

Louise's words echoed in the hall, causing everyone to stop. The Black Card had a gold-plated smart chip with diamond engraved details. In the lower right corner, the name shocked everyone.