Chapter 374

Chapter 374: Chapters first released on.net
Lucas’s smile was all business. “Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.”
He signaled the bodyguards, who moved through the crowd with choreographed precision.
Each person received a crisp bundle of cash—ten thousand dollars—and the distribution flowed like water.
Over a hundred people had gathered outside the restaurant, and within minutes, more than a million dollars had changed hands with breathtaking efficiency.
Hailee watched the display with her mouth slightly open, unable to process the casual distribution of wealth happening before her eyes. Before she could gather her thoughts, the street had emptied as completely as if a magician had waved a wand.
Lucas shook his head in amazement at the locals’ refreshing honesty—they’d taken their money and vanished without drama or demands for more. He led his team through the restaurant’s front door to finish the job.
Inside, a mix of regular customers and opportunists waited with barely contained excitement.
Lucas surveyed the room and began announcing, “Everyone, my employer would like to—”
“Skip the speech, buddy! Your boss wants the place to himself, and we’re totally cool with that!”
“Yeah, we get it. Just pass out the cash and we’ll make ourselves scarce!”
The interruption caught Lucas off guard, and he simply gestured for the bodyguards to proceed.
Money exchanged hands with remarkable speed as each person claimed their bundle.
When the last dollar left the suitcase, the restaurant had transformed from a packed house to an empty shell.
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Lucas surveyed the deserted Loftus’s Comfort Eats and chuckled. “These people are refreshingly direct!”
After sharing his observation, he returned to the car to brief Merlin on their success.
Merlin felt a surge of satisfaction at how smoothly money had solved their privacy problem, and he pushed open the car door to step into the quiet restaurant…
Hailee stood rooted to the spot, her mind struggling to process what had just unfolded.
Loftus’s Comfort Eats normally seated thirty people comfortably, but today it had been crammed with over a hundred bodies, many standing shoulder-to-shoulder without chairs.
Anyone with eyes could see that most were opportunists masquerading as customers, drawn by the promise of easy money. Yet, Merlin hadn’t batted an eye—he’d distributed cash to every single person present, burning through over two million dollars in mere minutes. That sum could purchase dozens of small eateries like theirs. Hailee was still stunned. Merlin had treated two million dollars like pocket change, all for a ten-dollar plate of spaghetti. The universe of the ultra-wealthy remained incomprehensible to her.
Lost in these thoughts, she barely noticed Merlin stepping out of the vehicle. He positioned himself beside her, his height casting her in shadow.
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