All Chapters of The Fifty-Thousand-Dollar Bill: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Lindsay acted as though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. She covered her mouth with an exaggerated flourish and laughed so hard that her whole body swayed.A sharp, cloying perfume filled the cramped office and turned my stomach."Oh, please. Regret? Anson, did you forget to take your meds this morning?"You? Some poor kid fresh out of the countryside? What could you possibly do to make my brother-in-law regret anything?"Those cheap clothes from some street stall? Or that busted-up phone you've been using for three years?"She walked up to me and jabbed a manicured finger into my chest. Each jab landed harder than the last. Her nail was sharp, and it stung like hell."Let me tell you something. Don't push your luck."Mr. Worthington's secretary sent that 50,000-dollar bill straight to the company inbox. The evidence is airtight!"If you don't pay up, do you really think I won't have someone strip you down and toss you out of here right now?"I swatted her ha

The slap's force sent Lindsay spinning before she crashed to the floor. Half her face swelled almost instantly, puffing up like a balloon.She clutched her cheek and stared at me in disbelief. "You... You dare hit me? I'm the finance director! I'm the boss' sister-in-law! You're just a worthless little worker! You're dead!"Her hair had come loose and hung wildly around her face as she screamed like a madwoman, "Oscar! You're just going to stand there and watch him hit me? Are you even a man? Kill him!"The Skinner snapped back to attention at her screams. But by then, he had no room left in his head to worry about his sister-in-law getting slapped.His mind was completely consumed by the 200,000,000-dollar order and Caelum, who could come tearing through the door at any moment.He scrambled to his feet without even bothering to brush the dust from his clothes.He hurried toward me with a fawning expression, his entire posture bent low and servile. "Good hit! Good hit! That woman

The Skinner stared at the shredded paper scattered across the floor and let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered. "No! My money! My 200,000,000 dollars!"He threw himself onto the floor like a madman and tried to piece the scraps back together.It was obviously useless.I watched him make a spectacle of himself and felt nothing at all.Caelum burst out laughing and threw an arm around my shoulder. "That's the way! Now that's what I call guts! Who cares about tearing up a trash contract like that? I'll draw you up a bigger one later."Come on. Let your bro take you out for the most lavish spread in town. It'll settle your nerves."With that, he started to lead me away."Stop right there! Neither of you is leaving!"The Skinner suddenly sprang to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a mad dog backed into a corner. He rushed to the doorway and spread his arms wide to block our path."Anson Coleman! You destroyed my company, and you're not walking away from t

I had thought the whole thing was over.The Skinner was behind bars, the company had been shut down, and I had Caelum's backing to start something of my own.Everything seemed to be heading in the right direction.Unfortunately, I had underestimated just how ugly people could get.Three days later, I was back at my parents' place, sitting down to a meal with them, when a sudden burst of noise erupted at the front gate.A moment later, the gate was kicked open with brutal force. Eight rough-looking thugs poured into the yard.A bald man with a hard, muscular face led them, a steel pipe clenched in one hand."Which one of you is Anson Coleman?" the bald man bellowed, and the shock sent my mother's bowl clattering to the ground.My father was a simple, honest farmer who had never seen anything like this in his life.He scrambled to his feet and stepped in front of my mother to shield her. "Who are you people? What do you want? This is trespassing! I'm calling the police!""Call

A year later, the Cael & Cole Trading Group had grown into one of the largest trading companies in the State.My net worth had risen right along with it, and people now called me "Mr. Coleman."I had also brought my parents to the city, moved them into a large house, and hired a caretaker to look after them.But there was one habit I never gave up.Whenever I traveled for business, unless circumstances required otherwise, I still preferred to ride second class on the high-speed rail and eat at small, run-down roadside restaurants. Not to save money, but to remind myself never to forget where I came from.That day, I went to the prison.I wasn't there to see anyone in particular. I had come to cooperate with the police on a follow-up investigation.As I walked down the hallway, I unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure: Oscar Richmond.In just over a year, he seemed to have aged decades. His hair had gone completely white, his back was hunched, and he slowly swept the floor with