The Art of Wealth: I Became a Billionaire-Chapter 32: The $2.7 Billion Trap [1]

Evening.

The sky outside faded from orange to grey, but Alex couldn’t see it. He hadn’t seen anything in hours.

His head was still covered with a dirty sack. His hands were tied behind his back. His body ached in places he didn’t even know could hurt. The ropes had burned into his wrists, and his clothes were soaked with sweat and blood. Every movement was a cry from his bones.

The room had gone silent.

No more footsteps. No more shouting. No more beatings.

Just... silence.

It was the kind of silence that made you hear your heartbeat louder than thunder. That made every second stretch like an hour. That made hope feel like a lie.

Alex swallowed hard, but even that hurt.

His lips were cracked. His throat was dry. And for the first time in a long time, he felt his mind start to slip into that dark place, the place where you stop fighting.

"Is this... is this how it ends?" he thought to himself.

He leaned back slowly, resting against the cold wall, breathing through his mouth. Every breath shook his ribs. Every memory that came to him brought more pain.

"What if I die here?" he whispered under the hood.

The thought didn’t come like thunder. It slid in like a whisper. One that’s very cold, quiet, and definitely certain.

And in that moment, death didn’t seem violent. It seemed... peaceful. Like sleep. Like silence. Like letting go.

He thought of Emma, his little sister.

Her smile. Her laugh. Her annoying questions. Her dreams.

He had promised her the world. And now he couldn’t even promise her tomorrow.

Who would look after her if he was gone?

She had no one else. No father. No mother. No one but him.

"I promised to protect her..."

His chest tightened.

A tear rolled down from beneath the hood, burning down his cheek like acid. He tried to hold back, but more followed. Helpless. Silent.

He wasn’t crying from pain anymore.

He was crying from fear and guilt.

"Maybe I should’ve listened to Elliot," he thought. "He told me staying around Raymond could get me killed... That power like that attracts enemies like a fire attracts moths..."

He remembered Elliot’s warning:

"Don’t let ignorance blind you to danger, Alex."

But he had stayed. He had believed. And now, here he was.

Chained. Broken. Alone.

His heart raced faster than his body could handle. It felt like he was drowning in his own mind.

He tried to calm himself. But the panic was louder than reason.

Too late to go back now. That’s what they told him.

Too late to fix anything.

Too late to be saved.

The room stayed quiet. No one came. And in that stillness, Alex felt something terrifying: he was beginning to accept it.

That maybe... this was it.

The end.

And just as his body began to give in, just when he thought sleep might take him for good...

He heard it.

A sound.

Footsteps. Soft at first... then louder. Closer.

Alex’s heart jumped. His breathing became shallow. Panic gripped his chest.

Someone was coming.

He couldn’t see. His head was still covered. But he could feel it, the presence... the danger.

"Please," he whispered, barely able to speak. "Please... don’t hurt me..."

The footsteps stopped just inches away.

Then came a voice.

"Shut up, fool. You brought this on yourself."

That voice.

That voice.

Alex froze. His heart raced. That voice wasn’t strange. It was very familiar, one he couldn’t forget.

It was Elliot.

The one person he thought he’d never see here.

"Elliot...?" Alex gasped in shock under the hood.

"I said quiet!" Elliot hissed. "Before someone hears us."

In one smooth motion, Elliot pulled the sack off Alex’s head. The sudden rush of air stung his face. The dim light made him blink rapidly. Everything around him spun slightly, but he could now see Elliot, dressed in black, sweat dripping down his forehead, his hands working quickly to untie the ropes from Alex’s wrists.

Alex winced as the rope pulled at his sore skin.

"Elliot, what... what are you doing here? How did you even.."

"No time," Elliot snapped. "Get up. We have to go."

Alex was still weak, but adrenaline pushed him forward. His legs stumbled as he stood, his balance shaky.

Elliot grabbed him by the arm, practically dragging him out of the dark room.

They crept through a narrow hallway. Elliot moved like he had been here before; every step was precise, and every turn calculated.

The walls were stained with time, paint peeling, and old posters curling off the surface. The air was full of scent of rust and mold. Alex glanced into one of the side rooms as they passed.

A chair.

Bolted to the ground.

Blood on the floor beneath it.

He shivered. Somewhere down another hallway, a soft metallic clang echoed, followed by silence.

"What is this place and how do you even know it?" Alex asked in a whisper.

"I told you before," Elliot said, glancing over his shoulder. "They made me who I am. Gave me everything I have... I’ve been here longer than you can imagine."

They reached a back door, old and rusted. Elliot pushed it open slowly, careful not to make a sound. They slipped out into the night.

Behind the building was an overgrown path covered in weeds and broken bricks. Elliot led him through a zigzag route, where they were dodging lights and ducking under windows.

Finally, they reached a small iron gate, nearly hidden by tall bushes.

"This is it," Elliot whispered, pointing. "Go through here. Follow the path. It’ll lead you to the main road. From there, get as far away as you can." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Alex looked at him, stunned. "What about you?"

Elliot gave him a hard look. "Don’t worry about me. Just make sure you stay alive. You’re on your own now."

Alex hesitated for a second. He didn’t want to leave him. But Elliot wasn’t going to argue.

"Go!" Elliot barked, pushing him forward.

Alex nodded, still catching his breath. "Thank you," he whispered.

And with that, he turned and ran.

He didn’t look back. His legs were trembling, but he ran as if the devil was behind him. Every heartbeat echoed in his ears. Every tree looked like a person. Every sound made him flinch.

He finally reached the main road, quiet, almost empty.

His eyes scanned the street desperately.

"No phone... I need to call Raymond, he’s walking into a trap..." he muttered, panting.

Then he saw it.

A telephone booth.

Across the road. Just standing there, under a flickering streetlight. Hope filled his chest. He smiled faintly and took a step forward.

But then...

He saw something else.

A van.

That van.

The same one that had taken him earlier.

Coming slowly down the road.

Headlights off.

Windows black as night.

Coming straight toward him.

He remembered being dragged into it, screaming, kicking, a gun pressed to his ribs.

Alex froze. His breath caught in his throat.

What do I do? he panicked in his head.

Do I run?

Do I scream?

Do I hide?

His feet wouldn’t move. His mind raced.

The van crept closer...

He was exposed. In the open. And they had found him.

Again.

"..."