Chapter 2 - The Interrogation at Aurum House
The heavy mahogany doors of the Sapphire Suite pushed open without warning, and the club’s general manager, a sharp-eyed man named Mr. Sterling who wore an immaculate bespoke suit and carried an air of absolute authority, stepped into the room. He didn’t look at Ryan. He looked directly at the unpaid bill resting on the table.
“Mr. Bennett,” Sterling said, his voice smooth and dangerously polite. “We seem to have a slight administrative issue with your settlement.”
Ryan forced a desperate, unconvincing smile to his face, stepping forward and holding out his hands in a placating gesture. “Sterling, listen, there’s been a clerical error. My bank’s fraud department flagged a high-value transaction out-of-state. It’s a simple mismatch with my security PIN. If you give me twenty-four hours—hell, give me until tomorrow morning—I’ll wire the funds directly from my primary investment portfolio.”
Sterling didn’t smile back. He didn’t even blink. “Mr. Bennett, Aurum House does not operate on credit for first-time table reservations, nor do we accept promissory notes from gentlemen whose corporate cards trigger immediate fraud alerts for credential tampering. Furthermore, our security desk has just received an automated notification from Vanguard Financial Services.”
Ryan froze. “Vanguard?”
“Indeed,” Sterling replied, pulling a sleek tablet from his jacket and glancing at the screen. “The corporate entity attached to the membership used to reserve this suite—*Carter Ventures*—has officially revoked all secondary user privileges effective twenty minutes ago. As of right now, you do not possess a valid membership, and the account used to incur these charges belongs exclusively to Ms. Rachel Carter, who has formally filed a notice of unauthorized usage with her legal counsel.”
Chloe gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. “Unauthorized usage? Are you saying she’s reporting this as theft?”
“That,” Sterling said coolly, “is a matter for the police to determine. However, until this bill is paid in full, neither you nor your guest will be leaving the premises.”
May you like
He gestured with two fingers. Four additional security guards stepped into the doorway, blocking the exit entirely. The party was over. The billionaires for a day were trapped.
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