Chapter 5: You Are a Billionaire

The VIP lounge inside UBS Private Wealth Management was silent.

The only sound was the soft hum of the climate control system.

Dark mahogany panels lined the walls.

The scent of expensive leather and polished wood filled the air.

Everything about the room whispered wealth.

Vera sat rigidly on the edge of a leather sofa.

She kept glancing around nervously.

"June," she whispered, leaning closer, "are you absolutely sure we're supposed to be here?"

"They're going to throw us out."

June calmly took a sip of sparkling water.

"No, they won't."

Before Vera could argue, the heavy oak doors swung open.

A man in a perfectly tailored three-piece suit hurried inside.

He looked slightly out of breath.

A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead.

The moment he spotted June, he stopped.

Then he bowed deeply.

"Miss Erickson," he said respectfully.

"Please accept my apologies for the delay."

"We have been hoping for your return ever since you froze your accounts four years ago."

Vera's mouth literally fell open.

"Four years ago?"

June set her glass down.

"Initiate the unfreezing protocol, Mr. Sterling."

"Immediately, ma'am."

Sterling placed a sleek silver briefcase onto the table and opened it.

Inside was a portable retinal scanner and a biometric fingerprint reader.

His voice lowered slightly.

"Your offshore security structure and encrypted asset network have remained completely hidden, exactly as requested."

"No unauthorized access has occurred."

"Good," June replied.

She leaned forward.

A red beam scanned her eye.

Then she pressed her thumb against the biometric pad.

A second later, the machine emitted a sharp beep.

A green light flashed.

"Identity confirmed."

Sterling immediately turned his tablet around and slid it across the table.

"Your current asset summary, Miss Erickson."

June glanced at the numbers.

Her expression didn't change.

She pushed the tablet toward Vera instead.

"Take a look."

Curious, Vera leaned forward.

Her eyes moved across the screen.

"Thousands..."

"Millions..."

"Wait..."

"What?!"

She nearly choked.

The account balance displayed:

$128,450,000.00

"One hundred and twenty-eight million dollars?!"

Vera shot to her feet.

"June! Did you rob a government vault?"

Sterling looked horrified.

June simply crossed her legs.

"That's the licensing revenue from the Neuro-X patent."

"Accumulated over the last four years."

Vera dropped back onto the sofa.

"The nerve-blocker treatment?"

"The one used in hospitals around the world?"

"You invented that?"

June nodded.

"Before I met Cole."

"Before the marriage."

"Before I buried my name."

The room fell silent.

Vera stared at her best friend as though seeing her for the first time.

Not as June Compton.

Not as a neglected wife.

But as June Erickson.

Scientist.

Inventor.

Millionaire.

Sterling cleared his throat respectfully.

"How would you like to proceed, Miss Erickson?"

"Transfer fifty million dollars into my primary checking account."

"Immediately."

"And issue a Centurion Black Card under my original name."

"Of course."

Sterling began typing rapidly.

"There is also the matter of your supplementary Compton family allowance account."

June laughed softly.

The sound contained no warmth.

"Give me a pair of scissors."

Sterling blinked.

"Ma'am?"

"Scissors."

"Right away."

Moments later, he returned with a silver pair.

June reached into her purse.

She removed a gold credit card.

The name printed across it read:

June Compton.

For years, that card had represented her dependence.

Her compromise.

Her sacrifice.

Her humiliation.

Without hesitation, she placed the card on the table.

Then she cut it in half.

The plastic snapped sharply.

The sound echoed through the lounge.

A strange sense of relief washed through her.

Like removing a chain from her neck.

"Mail the pieces to Cole's office," June said.

"Yes, ma'am."

Half an hour later, the process was complete.

June walked out of UBS holding a sleek titanium-black Centurion card.

The afternoon sun reflected off its polished surface.

Vera walked beside her in stunned silence.

Finally, she stopped.

"You are worth over a hundred million dollars," she said.

"And you let that man treat you like a burden for four years?"

A shadow crossed June's face.

"Because I thought it was love."

Her voice was quiet.

"Love makes people blind."

"Sometimes it makes them pathetic."

Meanwhile, across Manhattan, inside the glass penthouse headquarters of the Compton Empire, Cole sat behind his executive desk.

His phone buzzed.

He glanced down.

An automated banking notification appeared on the screen.

Supplementary card ending in 4092 has been permanently canceled by the cardholder.

Cole frowned.

He adjusted his platinum watch.

A habit he had whenever something irritated him.

"So that's the game," he muttered.

He tossed the phone aside.

"Playing hard to get."

Alycia's words echoed in his memory.

"She's being dramatic."

"The doctors said it wasn't serious."

Cole scoffed.

"She thinks canceling her own allowance will make me chase her."

"Ridiculous."

He pressed the intercom button.

"Sarah."

"Yes, Mr. Compton?"

"Cut off the maintenance payments on June's phone."

"And cancel the lease payments for her vehicle."

"Let's see how long she survives without my support."

"Understood."

Cole leaned back in his chair.

Certain he had already won.

Certain June would come crawling back.

Certain she needed him.

Back on Wall Street, June slipped the black card into her purse.

The cold wind swept through the streets.

She turned toward Vera.

"Come on."

"Where are we going now?"

June smiled.

This time, there was genuine excitement behind it.

"We're buying a house."

"A big one."

"I need a new headquarters."

For the first time since losing everything, June wasn't thinking about survival.

She was thinking about revenge.

And revenge required resources.

Fortunately, she had plenty of those.