Kevin Price Novels & Stories

My stomach drops so fast it almost hurts. Six figures is more than my father lost in his final month before bankruptcy. More than my mother will earn in years. More than the total balance of every desperate calculation scribbled in the margins of hospital bills at home. Security starts moving toward me. I open my mouth. “I am so sorry. It was an accident. I will—” You will what, Andrea? Sell your kidney? The host pushes through the small crowd forming around the disaster, his expression strained but controlled. “This piece was specially acquired from a private European collection,” he says tightly. “It is not replaceable.”

If we report it to the insurance company, he might change his mind and never give us the car! Carmen, teeth clenched, tapped away on hers and Patrick's phones. Minutes later, she wired me 75,000 dollars. I caught a glimpse of their screens; they had taken out loans from a bunch of places. When she realized I had seen that, she put on a proud smirk. "Once I get the car tomorrow, I'll sell it. Think I'll sweat over a few bucks then?" Patrick just chuckled. "A few grand? It's like pocket change spent on a shopping spree."

“And I know she will never choose Vandwood. Not as home.” Keiran stared at me. I shrugged slightly. “Wherever we go, I will make sure we can visit. Mother is here. My father is here for now. You will be here. But I will not chain Nyra to the place that hurt her just because people now realise she mattered.” Keiran looked down. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he breathed out a laugh that sounded half disbelieving, half amused. “Prince Consort,” Keiran teased. I turned slowly. He looked far too pleased with himself for a wounded man standing in a burned hallway. “Who would not ditch the Alpha title for royalty?” Keiran added.

As long as it’s not the current company, anyone can rent it. Once I had arranged everything, I poured myself a glass of red wine and gently swirled it. Tomorrow was going to be lively. Mr. Parker will be coming for an inspection. The agent will be bringing people to view the office. Winnie will also be trying to prove herself. And I would start pulling in the net. I took out a sheet of paper and listed everything that could be calculated, one by one. Vehicle value: 4,000,000. Purchase tax: 320,000.

"You bought their entire company just to cut his funding?" "No," Ivan clarified patiently. "We bought the company because it was undervalued and inefficient. The endowment was a small, high-risk asset within that structure. As the new owners, we simply decided to reallocate that capital elsewhere. It's a standard business decision. Liam's gallery loses 80% of its operating budget overnight." "You ruined him," I whispered, appalled. "You destroyed his career, his dream, for touching my arm and asking me out for a drink."

Her words still echoed in my mind. “We originally planned a marriage of half a million but the girl’s family reeks of poverty. 200,000 should be more than enough to shut them up.” That night, I told Lionel about it. He criticized his mother for her insensitivity and promised to privately make it up to me. That promise never materialized. Three years into our marriage, after one too many drinks, Lionel finally confessed the truth. “Yeah, I knew about the reduced budget for the wedding. My mom asked for my opinion before doing it.”

After ten years studying interior design overseas, I came back to my hometown to do work that mattered to the people who raised me. I offered the full package, from site survey to soft furnishings. The materials were chosen by hand. The price was fair to the bone. The town had just gone through a redevelopment. Everyone was getting new units. With the new family policy, every family wanted a third bedroom too. My business was good. Customers from the next county were driving in. Then a girl just back from a city college kicked open my studio with her phone on a livestream and her neighbors at her shoulder. "This is the dishonest one. Look at her. She has been ripping the village off." "

He's acting like he could see nothing in front of him. What's the problem with him? "Will you going to buy?" Finally, he talked to me! I smiled broadly. "Yes." Suddenly, he nodded and pointed to the front so I turned around and was surprised that the saleswoman had been looking at me badly because I hadn't moved to order. My goodness! Embarrassing! "Ah... Two strawberry shortcakes then a chocolate cake and two ice coffees," I said and then handed over the payment. When I got my purchases, I bent down to leave the queue. I feel like Xalent has no intention of talking to me anymore.

Her voice shook with excitement. "This... this is century-old blood vine, the kind that grows only on sheer cliffs deep in the mountains. You can't buy this on the market. It's priceless!" Then she opened the bottle of salve, and her eyes nearly popped out. "Could this be... the black jade bone-mending salve lost for a century? My God, this purification technique, this potency..." Dr. Mercer suddenly looked up and stared at Mrs. Whitmore, asking urgently, "This half bottle of salve, plus these herbs, is worth at least three million!

I was beyond shocked. A man in a black suit has a sharp jaw, dark eyes that looked like they did not see much that surprised them anymore. He had no smile on. I scrolled down through the headlines. Youngest billionaire in the city. CEO of Knight Holdings. Known for ruthless business decisions. Has destroyed competitors without showing any mercy. Linked to multiple corporate scandals. Untouchable. I clicked on an article. There were photos of him at galas and business events, always in black, always with the same unreadable expression. People around him in the photos stood slightly apart, the way people stand when they are not completely comfortable.