Chapter 70: Money Can Change Men

My supercar purred to a quiet stop right in front of her family’s modest apartment building.

I stepped out, opened the boot, and hoisted the heaviest boxes into my arms while Amanda grabbed the smaller gear components. Her hands were noticeably trembling, her hyperactive confidence completely evaporating the closer we got to the front door.

"I’ve... I’ve literally never brought a guy home before," she whispered anxiously as we walked up the dimly lit stairwell, her voice tight with tension. "And now I’m bringing home a multi-millionaire carrying a small fortune in tech after my dad literally just smashed the last batch. This is going to be so insanely awkward... or a complete disaster."

"Take the lead," I commanded quietly, my voice calm and completely unbothered. "I’m right behind you."

Amanda swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and unlocked the front door.

The moment the door swung open, the suffocating aura of the apartment hit us. Sitting in the middle of the worn-out parlor, illuminated only by the harsh glow of a flickering television, was her father. His arms were crossed, his face twisted into an ugly, furious scowl as he glared at the door.

"Where the hell have you been?!" he barked, his loud, grating voice instantly booming through the room before he even looked up properly. "Do you have any idea what time it is?! You think you can just run off after putting my money to waste and—"

He froze mid-sentence as I casually stepped past Amanda into the full light of the living room, holding two massive, high-end PC towers in my hands, with the heavy duffel bag slung over my shoulder.

I looked down at the bitter old man sitting on the sofa, my eyes dropping into a freezing, dead calm as a cold, dangerous smirk touched my lips.

"Good evening," I greeted coldly, my baritone voice effortlessly slicing through his anger. "You must be the father."

I set the heavy boxes down on the parlor floor with a dull thud, not taking my eyes off him for a single second. Amanda stood paralyzed near the doorway, holding her breath.

Walking right past her father, I took a seat on the armchair directly opposite him, leaning back and resting my ankle over my knee with absolute composure.

"Nice to meet you," I said smoothly, my voice dripping with cold confidence. "You raised yourself a pretty good player."

His face flushed with instant rage, his fists clenching on his lap as he stared at the new gear stacked in his living room. "What is this trash doing in my house again?!" he shouted, pointing a shaky, angry finger at me. "Who the hell are you?! Did you help her steal my money to buy more of these useless toys? I told her she’s done with this garbage!"

I didn’t snap. I didn’t even raise my voice.

Instead, I reached into the duffel bag at my side, unzipped it, and pulled out the thick, heavy stack of crisp fifty thousand dollars in cash. I stood up, walked over to his sofa, and sat down right beside him. Before he could react, I slammed the banded stacks of hundred-dollar bills directly into his open hands.

"Consider this an appreciation gift," I said, leaning in close with a quiet, icy tone. "For allowing your daughter to be a gamer."

He froze. His aggressive posture collapsed instantly as his eyes locked onto the massive pile of cash sitting in his palms. His jaw practically hit the floor, his breath hitching as he stared at more physical money than he had likely seen in years. In a matter of seconds, the rage in his eyes completely vanished, replaced by pure, stunned greed. The entire dynamic in the room flipped upside down.

"I... I..." he stammered, his fingers instinctively tightening around the cash as his attitude did a complete 180. "Well... I mean..."

"Glad you like the gift," I interrupted, resting an arm on the back of the sofa, my smirk turning deadly sharp. "Because if you didn’t, it would’ve been a real shame. See, if you tried stopping Amanda from gaming tonight, not only would I take my fifty grand back, but I’d also have to collect the hundred and forty thousand dollars worth of property you destroyed earlier. And trust me, my legal team doesn’t play around."

His head snapped up, panic washing over his face as he frantically clutched the money to his chest.

"No, no, no! Hold on!" he said quickly, his voice suddenly desperate to please me. "I... I wouldn’t stop her! I didn’t know! I didn’t realize it was... serious like this! She can game all she wants! As long as she needs!"

Amanda stood by the door, completely speechless, watching her abusive, controlling father turn into a stuttering, obedient mess over a bag of cash.

I gave her father one last, lingering look of pure disdain as he sat on the sofa eagerly counting the stacks, before turning on my heel and following Amanda down the narrow hallway to her bedroom.

As soon as she closed her door behind us, shutting out the rest of the apartment, Amanda collapsed back against the wood, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders trembling with a mix of absolute disbelief and sheer humiliation.

"I am so... so embarrassed," she whispered, her voice muffled behind her palms before she snapped her hands down, her eyes burning with a furious, bitter heat. "God, I can’t even believe him! What kind of father does that?! He was screaming at me three hours ago like I was a criminal, and the second you put paper in his hands, he completely bows down like a coward!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, muttering a string of angry, silent curses under her breath, completely disgusted by the display she had just witnessed in her own living room.

"I hated every second of having to watch that," she choked out, looking up at me through a blur of frustration. "He didn’t even care about me or the tech... he just cared about the money."

I set the heavy boxes down near her desk, pulling up her desk chair and sitting across from him with a calm, unwavering gaze.

"I know," I said softly, my voice grounding her instantly. "He showed you exactly who he is. But more importantly, Amanda... he’s no longer an obstacle. The path is completely clear now. No more walking on eggshells, no more smashed setups, and no more excuses."

Amanda stared at me, taking a long, shaky breath as the reality of her new freedom finally began to sink in. She looked over at the brand-new, ultra-high-end hardware sitting in her room, then back at me, her flustered embarrassment slowly hardening into pure, razor-sharp resolve.

"Alright," she said, wiping her eyes and standing up on steady legs. "Let me unbox this monster. I have a 1v1 to win against my investor."