Chapter 130: The Final Warning

Hours earlier that night, back on the stage of the Heavens Club in Midtown...

General Manager Vanessa was walking up to the stage with the contract folders.

Truth was, Vanessa had known long before tonight’s party started that the club’s mysterious owner, Chelsea Lee, was handing the place straight to Jude.

Every page of the deal had been drafted and stamped hours ago.

Walking up the stairs under the bright chandeliers, Vanessa set two matching leather binders on the table... one in front of Jude, and one in front of Chelsea.

Even though Jude still hadn’t gotten the real truth out of Chelsea about why she had put on this whole circus, his Insight scanned the twelve-page contract in three seconds flat.

The terms were clean: no hidden debt, no voting traps, no strings attached. The second his ink hit the paper, every square inch of the Heavens Club was his.

Pausing for just a second, Jude popped the cap off the pen and signed his name across the bottom line.

Beside him, Chelsea signed her own name with a smooth flourish, and they traded copies under the flashing lights of the stage.

Down below, three hundred of New York’s richest elites watched with stunned, looks. Nobody walking through the doors tonight could have seen this ending coming.

With one stroke of a pen, Jude Lawson had swept the board.

Not only had he bought the Heavens Club for a pocket-change joke of $100,000, he also walked away with the entire $1.03 billion cash pile wired in by the losers!

Even if the club never sold another drink, that $1 billion pot alone could run the place at max luxury for the next 30 years!

For anyone else, a hit like that would feel better than winning the lottery 200 times back-to-back... launching a man straight to the top of New York society in 1 single afternoon.

To Jude, though, with his personal stash already sitting deep in the billions, neither the building nor the billion-dollar bonus made his heart beat any faster.

What he really cared about was the woman standing two feet away: nobody handed over an empire for free, and he was getting Chelsea’s real reason before the night ended.

Seeing Jude’s ink dry on the page, a satisfied smile broke across Chelsea’s lips. She turned back to the mic.

"With that signature, tonight’s sale of the Heavens Club is officially done," Chelsea announced. "From this moment on, every single call inside this building belongs to Chairman Jude Lawson. I want to thank all of you for five years of support, and I expect every table here to keep spending money just as hard. After all, if I look at the books next month and see business slowing down under Jude’s watch, I might have to invite a few of you out for a private chat..."

The warning had steel behind it, and the rich crowd jumped to kiss the ring immediately.

"Don’t worry, Miss Lee! We’ll host all our corporate dinners right here!"

"Count us in... after five years, no other club in the city even comes close!"

"I’m booking my whole board in tomorrow night!"

Even the guys still nursing the burn of losing ten percent of their bids slapped fake smiles on their faces and cheered loudly to stay on her good side.

"One last thing before I step off," Chelsea added, her eyes looking straight across the front tables. "Even though I handed the keys to Jude, my name is still on the founding charter. I hate messy drama... so if anyone thinks about testing the new boss or starting trouble under this roof, don’t be surprised when I stop being nice."

Nobody in the room missed who that was aimed at.

"Miss Lee, you have our word... nobody here would dare start trouble!"

"Anyone who messes with the club deals with my family first!"

"We wouldn’t dream of crossing you!"

Knowing the global shipping and private security empire backing Chelsea, not a single tycoon in the room had the guts to push her.

"Then thank you all in advance," Chelsea smiled, putting the mic down and stepping smoothly off the stage.

From this second on, the Heavens Club answered only to Jude Lawson... and before the markets opened tomorrow morning, his name was going to blow up every private boardroom in Manhattan.

Seeing the man coming down the steps was someone they couldn’t afford to ignore, dozens of CEOs rushed forward with champagne glasses, dying to toast him and get his private number.

Back in the shadows near the front tables, Felix Belmont... who had been crushed by Jude during the Queens business war limped over to Arthur Snyder’s side.

"Arthur... what the hell is the deal between Jude Lawson and Chelsea Lee?"

"How the hell should I know?!" Arthur snarled, his face twisted in rage as he watched the crowd swarm Jude. "Five hundred million of our money gone in a second, and Jude Lawson walks out the biggest winner in the room! Who the hell is this guy, and why is he standing in my way every damn time I make a move?!"

Felix Belmont kept his mouth shut.

Originally, Felix and his old crew from Queens had planned to ride Arthur Snyder’s coattails tonight, using the Snyder money to crush Jude into the dirt and get revenge.

Instead, they just watched Jude flatten Arthur without even trying... making it painfully clear that the gap between them and the guy in the spotlight was an absolute ocean.

Across the room by the archway, Lyla stood watching Jude talk to half a dozen multi-billionaires.

Letting out a sigh, she turned to the girl beside her. "Maya... let’s go home."

Maya whispered softly, "Lyla, I know you still care about him... but he lives in a world we can’t touch now. Letting go now is the only way to save yourself."

"I know," Lyla nodded, turning around and walking toward the doors behind Arthur Snyder and Felix Belmont.

Through the crowd of CEOs, Jude caught a glimpse of Lyla walking out.

For half a second, he thought about calling her over to say goodbye... then let it go.

Since he couldn’t give her what she wanted, calling her now would only keep hope alive when a clean cut was kinder.