Chapter 2
The sleek luxury sports cars gleaming under the framed American flag seemed to tilt around Richard Vance.
Ten minutes ago, he believed he was the most powerful man in Harris County, Texas.
"That's impossible," Richard wheezed, his arrogant posture sagging as he stumbled back against a fifty-thousand-dollar leather display sofa.
"Garcia Automotive is a national conglomerate worth four billion dollars!" Richard gasped. "He's wearing a thirty-dollar white t-shirt!"
Mateo stepped forward slowly, his heavy leather boots crunching over the hundred-dollar bills lying on the tile floor.
He picked up a single bill, turning it over in his hand before casually sliding it into the breast pocket of Richard's light grey pinstripe suit.
"Wealth isn't about screaming how much you have, Mr. Vance," Mateo said, his voice dropping into a quiet, dangerous frequency.
"It's about having the power to buy your entire life out from under you without you ever noticing."
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Mateo pulled his mobile phone from his olive jacket, tapping a single button on his screen.
"Check your portfolio notifications, Richard," Mateo added softly. "I believe your chief financial officer is trying to reach you."
