Chapter 7 Winning Hundreds of Millions of Dollars
Buying the bag was just my way of showing off my financial power.
Getting close to the store manager Julie and sending signals about potential cooperation—that was my real goal.
I originally planned to drop by regularly over the next few weeks, gradually becoming friends with Julie. I didn't expect to run into Lucas and Amelia.
My competition with Amelia over designer bags showed off my wealth, and Marcus's fight with Lucas proved we're strong enough.
Violence was the starting point of power. Whether in Dawnharbor or Starstream City, money alone won't keep you alive.
Lucas ranks in the top ten in Starstream City. As long as Marcus didn't lose to him, he'd become famous overnight.
That was why Marcus took the huge risk of fighting while injured—he wouldn't pass up this rare opportunity. Going all-out from the first strike was Marcus's strategy. While I acted calm in front of Julie, my palms were actually drenched in cold sweat.
Fortunately, Marcus succeeded.
Though the referee announced "no winner," Lucas was carried off by Alfred while Marcus walked off on his own—he basically won.
I was sure the owner behind Elite Emporium would be interested in what happened today.
Julie looked at me in shock. "Does Mr. Valeri know your identity?"
I smiled mysteriously. "He will soon enough."
Julie took my business card. "I'll pass this to my boss."
"Thank you." Mission accomplished. I didn't stick around and quickly took Marcus home.
Soon after, Gale and Brian showed up too.
Brian started cursing Marcus the moment he walked in. "You idiot, look at the mess you've made of yourself!"
"So what if I'm a mess? I beat up Lucas!" Marcus stuck his neck out defiantly. "You two only talk about teaching Lucas a lesson—I'm the only one who actually did it!"
Brian was fuming and raised his hand to smack Marcus, but seeing all his injuries, he softened and just grabbed his hair and tugged a few times as punishment.
"Let go! I'm gonna go bald!" Marcus hadn't made a sound while getting his wounds treated, but now he was kicking his legs and yelling like a kid.
I rested my chin on my hands, smiling as I watched them roughhouse.
Marcus broke free from Brian's grip and said to me sheepishly, "Bella, sorry about your twenty million dollars. If I hadn't been injured, I definitely could've knocked Lucas flat!"
I shook my head. "It's fine. Gale transferred me thirty million later, and I bet on 'no winner.'"
Brian and Marcus were shocked. "What!"
Gale raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wasn't 'no winner' a long-shot option?"
"Yes." My eyes crinkled with a smile. "I only won a few hundred million dollars."
Brian and Marcus looked at each other and started cheering together. "All hail Bella!"
Even the usually composed Gale joined in the shouting, making me feel embarrassed.
Brian said, "I heard Lucas and Amelia had a fight."
We all looked at Brian. Marcus asked, "What happened?"
Brian explained, "Lucas's men took him to the hospital and forgot about Amelia. She had to take a cab from the mall herself, then went to the hospital and threw a fit."
Marcus said, "That bitch has such a terrible temper. Lucas must be blind—he doesn't like Bella but goes for that idiot instead."
Brian snorted unhappily, glanced at me carefully, and changed the subject. "With your face beaten up like that, what are you going to do about Bella's birthday party in a few days?"
Marcus said casually, "With the special ointment Bella made for me, I'll recover quickly. Worst case, I'll wear a mask."
The next afternoon, I was home alone when the doorbell rang. Alfred was standing outside.
I opened the door and asked what he wanted.
Alfred smiled at me kindly, but he had a huge scar running from the corner of his mouth to his ear—shaped like a centipede. When he wasn't smiling, he looked scary. When he smiled, he looked like a demon.
Alfred immediately stopped smiling and asked expressionlessly, "Mrs. Valeri, could you tell me where to buy that ointment Mr. Valeri used most often after getting injured—the one that used to be kept at home?"
"I made it myself," I said.
Alfred was very surprised. "Really?"
"I told you I'm a pharmacist." That was the identity I'd made up when I first met Lucas, though neither he nor Alfred took it seriously.
My talent in pharmacy was no less than my talent in surgery. Over these three years, I'd devoted myself to studying pharmacology and formulas, creating quite a few anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving ointments that work extremely well on external injuries.
Alfred spoke hesitantly. "Could I have a few jars of the ointment?"
He bowed deeply to me.
"Sure." I knew he was fiercely loyal to Lucas and valued Lucas's life more than his own.
I asked him to wait at the door, went inside, and brought out four small metal tins. "These three are for external injuries, for Lucas. This last one is for you. That old gunshot wound in your left leg probably hurts terribly on rainy days, like ants gnawing at it. This ointment can help. Take it and try it."
Alfred thanked me gratefully. After hesitating a few seconds, he said, "Mrs. Valeri, actually Mr. Valeri really cares about you deep down."
I waved my hand. "Don't say things like that. You've got the ointment, you can go now. Next time you want more, it won't be free."
"Yes." Alfred bowed respectfully and didn't leave until I'd closed the door.
The next morning, I was jogging around the neighborhood when I saw Alfred's car parked outside Amelia's house. I turned to go a different direction.
But Amelia called out loudly to stop me.
I had to stop. "What is it?"
"They're Lucas's bodyguards. This is Alfred, Lucas's most important man." Amelia walked toward me. "They came to bring me breakfast. Since I'm not good at cooking, Lucas specially reserved daily meals for me at a three-Michelin-star restaurant."
She walked with a smug stride. "I hate kitchens—the cooking fumes make my skin lose its glow and my pores get bigger. Lucas feels bad for me and never makes me cook. But you—you were his cook for three years. That must have been tough."
Amelia was deliberately using what happened the day Lucas brought her back to get under my skin.
Back then, she didn't take me seriously and mocked me as a servant. After losing the upper hand several times since then, she finally realized I'm not someone to mess with.
Lucas sending breakfast, and instead of waiting inside, she deliberately waited at the door to show off to me—such a clumsy tactic.
I smiled, not caring, and called out to Alfred.
"Mrs. Valeri, good morning!" Alfred was his usual self, bowing to me.
He led the way, and the other men bowed neatly too. "Mrs. Valeri, good morning!"
Amelia's face turned dark. "Who are you calling 'Mrs. Valeri'? Lucas and Bella are divorced!"
"Lucas admitted last time that he's still technically my husband." I ordered Alfred, "Take the breakfast back to the restaurant. Since Amelia doesn't like kitchens, she probably doesn't like any food made in kitchens either."
"Yes, Mrs. Valeri." Alfred didn't hesitate and left following my orders.
Amelia stared in disbelief at the departing cars. When she came to her senses, she shouted at me as I continued my morning run, "You won't be acting high and mighty for long! Just wait—I'll crush you under my feet and make you regret crossing me!"