Come to the club tonight. At eight. We need to talk seriously.
Everyone will be there.» «I’ll think.» «You won’t think, Richard.
You’ll come,» Alejandro cut off and hung up. Richard slowly lowered the phone. He knew it wasn’t just an invitation.
It was a summons to judgment. Judgment of equals who suddenly imagined themselves above him. He looked at his reflection in the dark glass.
A tired forty-year-old man who spent his life building an empire of glass and concrete, not understanding he lived in it like in prison. Today he had to either return to his cell or blow up its walls. Exactly at eight in the evening, he entered the familiar hall of the cigar club «Olympus.»
Nothing changed here for decades. Heavy oak panels, smell of expensive tobacco and leather, muted light, and respectful silence of servants. This was his world.
A world he despised and cherished so much. His friends were already at their usual table in the far corner. Alejandro, gray-haired and authoritative, the true patriarch of their circle.
Marcus, eternally frowning financier for whom people were just numbers in reports. And Diego, smiling rake whose life consisted of an endless series of parties and scandals. «Here is our lost lamb,» Diego exclaimed theatrically, raising his glass.
«Decided to return to the fold?» Richard silently sat in the free chair. A waiter appeared noiselessly nearby, but Richard waved him away. «Not drinking?» Marcus asked with a smirk.
«Afraid to spill about your night adventures?» «Let’s get to business,» Richard said calmly, looking straight at Alejandro. «You wanted to talk. I’m here.»
Alejandro set aside his cigar and folded his hands on the table. His gaze was heavy, studying. «Richard, we’ve known each other almost twenty years.
We built this city together. We are its pillars. And one of the pillars started crumbling.
I want to understand why.» «I just saw what I didn’t notice before,» Richard answered. «And what did you see?» Diego interjected.
«The charms of life in poverty? The romance of slums? Don’t make me laugh. There’s nothing there but dirt, ignorance, and envy of people like us. There are people, Diego, real people with real stories, with real dignity.»
«Dignity?» Marcus snorted. «What dignity can a person mopping floors for pennies have? Their only dignity is silently doing their job.» And this girl broke the rules.
She dared to open her mouth. She didn’t just open her mouth. Richard’s voice became firmer.
She told the truth. She speaks eight languages. All three at the table burst into laughter, loud, sincere, humiliating laughter.
«Eight languages!» Diego gasped from laughter. «Richard, you’re a genius! Found the most educated janitor in the world. Maybe hire her to the board? She can curse our Chinese partners in their native language.»
«Stop,» Richard said in an icy tone. The laughter stopped instantly. In his voice were notes they hadn’t heard for many years.
Notes of that steel that allowed him to build his empire. «I talked to her,» he continued. «I learned her story.
Her parents were diplomats. They died. She was left alone with her sister, without money, in a foreign country.
And all she has is her mind and knowledge. She didn’t lie.» Alejandro thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
«Suppose,» he drawled slowly. «Suppose? It’s true?» «Tragic story, no argument. But what does it have to do with you? There are millions of such stories in the world.
You can’t save everyone. I’m not going to save everyone. But I can’t pretend they don’t exist anymore.
I can’t sit here in this chair, smoke a thousand-dollar cigar, and spout about brands and image when a few miles away a genius girl is forced to mop floors to survive. It’s wrong.» «Wrong?» Marcus leaned forward, cold fire flashed in his eyes.
«And what do you think is right? Give all your money to the poor? Build palaces for them?» «Richard, wake up. The world is arranged that way. There have always been rich and always poor.
We’re at the top. They’re at the bottom. It’s the natural order.
We earned our place with our mind, grip, ruthlessness if you will. And they earned theirs with laziness and stupidity.» «She’s not lazy and not stupid,» Richard exploded.
«She’s smarter, stronger, and more worthy than all of us combined. Do you hear me? She’s seen more, endured more, knows more than you can imagine.» «Looks like she bewitched you,» Diego drawled with an unpleasant smirk.
«Black magic no less. What did she promise you, huh, Richard?» «She promised me nothing,» Richard stood. He couldn’t sit anymore.
He felt the club’s walls pressing on him. «She asked nothing from me. She even refused my help.
And that’s why I’ll help her.» «What are you going to do?» Alejandro asked warily. Richard looked at him, the man he considered his best friend.
And saw a stranger, cold and empty person. «I’m going to use my money and influence to give people like her a chance. A chance they never had.
I’ll create a fund, build schools, find these kids, smart, talented, lost. And give them the opportunity to learn.» Marcus slowly shook his head.
«You’re crazy, it’s suicide. For business, for reputation, our investors…» «To hell with investors!» Richard interrupted. «To hell with reputation!» «To hell with your whole fake world! I built an empire for forty years, not understanding why.
Now I know. I’ll build something real, something that remains after me. Not just a skyscraper with my name, but a future for hundreds of children!» Alejandro stood too, approached Richard closely.
«Think well,» he said quietly but clearly. «This is your last chance. Take one more step in this direction, and for us you cease to exist.
You’ll be alone. Against all. We’ll destroy you.
Not physically, no. We’ll just erase you. Your contracts will be terminated.
Your stocks will crash. Your ‘friends’ in government will stop answering calls. You’ll become nobody.
An empty place. Are you sure you’re ready to pay such a price for your little janitor.» Richard looked into Alejandro’s eyes, then scanned Marcus and Diego.
In their eyes he saw nothing but cold rage and contempt. At that moment he finally understood the bridges were burned. And he was glad.
He felt incredible relief, as if dropping an unbearable load he carried all his life. «You know the difference between me and you?» he asked calmly. «You fear losing what you have.
And I fear nothing anymore. Because I already lost the main thing—myself. And only now am I starting to find myself.
So yes, I’m ready to pay this price.» He turned and walked to the exit. No one tried to stop him.
He walked through the whole hall past dozens of familiar faces looking at him with bewilderment and condemnation. He felt their gazes on his back but didn’t turn. The heavy oak door closed behind him, cutting off the past.
He went out to the night street. The air was cool and fresh; Richard took a deep breath. For the first time in many years, he breathed fully.
He was alone. Against all. And he never felt freer.
In the luxurious hall of the «Golden Tulip» hotel, an atmosphere of anticipation reigned. Chandeliers sparkled, reflecting nervous glints in the eyes of reporters and business representatives. Tables were perfectly set, microphones lined up, awaiting the main event.
Matthew, Richard’s personal assistant, bustled between rows, checking last details, though his nervousness showed despite professionalism. «Everything okay, Matthew? You look pale?» softly asked Ana, Lucia’s sister, leaning against the wall. Both sisters, dressed in modest but elegant dresses, seemed completely out of place in this glittering setting.
Their presence seemed a mystery to all present. «Everything’s fine, Ana. Just a bit nervous.
Today is an important day,» Matthew answered, trying to smile. His gaze slid over the hall where in the front rows sat Richard’s old partners—Alejandro, Marcus, and Diego. They seemed tense.
Their faces expressed a mix of curiosity and impatience. Lucia with a warm smile put her hand on Matthew’s shoulder. «Don’t worry, everything will be fine.
Richard knows what he’s doing.» «Yes, of course,» Matthew nodded, but his eyes betrayed doubts. «Just hope he doesn’t change his mind.»
«Change his mind? What do you mean?» Ana was surprised. Matthew hesitated before answering. «I’ve known Richard for many years…
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