Chapter 114: Trouble at the Club

Walking across the room, Terrence gave a deep bow.

Jude had bailed him out just a month ago with a quick $15 million cash injection when loan sharks tried to bleed his venue dry. To Zhou, Jude was the reason the lights were still on.

"Chairman Lawson! The front desk didn’t tell me you were on the third floor tonight, sir," Terrence said, his voice tense.

He rounded on Kyle, his face dark with fury. "Kyle, what the hell are you doing causing problems in Chairman Lawson’s room?! Take your uncle and get out of here before I call your father myself!"

Kyle froze. His family was trying to buy into the club, but seeing Zhou bow like that told him everything: this wasn’t a fight he could win...

Without a word, Kyle grabbed his uncle’s arm and rushed out into the hall with his bodyguards.

After nodding to Zhou that things were cool, Jude left Warren and the drivers with another round of drinks and stepped out onto the balcony at the end of the hall with Chloe Liu.

Looking out over Midtown, Chloe kept her voice low. "Kyle Zhu acting like he owns this place wasn’t just him being cocky, Jude. My team looked into their offer this afternoon. The Zhu family’s $90 million bid to buy this club isn’t their own money... Jacob Ward is backing it."

"Jacob Ward?" Jude’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Ward managed secret money for the massive Vanguard-Rockefeller group...

If a heavy hitter like him was pulling the strings, it meant they wanted the Ginza Lounge to spy on deals and gather VIP gossip.

"So Ward is the real money behind the bid?" Jude asked.

"Almost certainly," Chloe said. "A local contractor like Zhu can’t pull together $90 million in cash in two days without someone backing him."

Jude leaned against the railing, looking down at the street. "If Vanguard is using them as puppets to grab the building, we won’t let them have it."

"Got a plan to stop it?"

"We’ll look at the books first," Jude said calmly. "If Zhou is being bullied into signing, I’ll talk to him tomorrow. If cash doesn’t fix it, we’ll handle it the hard way."

Chloe nodded, knowing how he worked.

"Keep me posted if they make a move on the deed tonight," Jude added, turning back toward the doors.

"Jude, one more thing," Chloe said, hesitating. "About my third uncle and the family elders..."

"Don’t worry about it," Jude stopped briefly. "We set clear rules at Sutton Place. As long as they stick to the deal, we’re good."

He pushed through the door, heading back toward the main floor.

Chloe watched him walk away, letting out a breath before heading back to her room.

Walking into the third-floor lounge, Jude looked around for Luna Ning, who had stepped out earlier to get some air, but she wasn’t there.

He pulled out his phone to call her when someone called his name from the stairs.

"Jude?"

Jude turned and saw five women standing near the steps.

At the front was Sabrina, whom he’d run into back in Queens, along with Sadie and three others.

"Sabrina," Jude said with a faint smile. "Surprised to see you in Midtown."

"It really is you!" Sabrina stepped forward. "I didn’t think I’d see you here."

Two steps behind her, Sadie stayed frozen, keeping her mouth shut.

She looked stiff, her eyes glued to the floor.

Back in Queens, she had treated Jude like a nobody delivery driver...

Finding out later that he was an undercover billionaire controlling massive businesses had completely crushed her pride.

She had dumped Sheldon right after, but seeing Jude now just reminded her how far out of her league he really was.

"Sadie and I came to the city with friends," Sabrina said, her voice flattening. "Harold Phillips got us VIP passes for a party upstairs, so we tagged along."

Five months ago, she only knew him as a scruffy courier on an electric scooter. Seeing her cling to a complimentary $500 VIP pass while standing in front of a man who moved $500 million before noon was almost tragic...

"Have a good night, then," Jude said, gesturing down the hall. "I’ve got things to wrap up. Call me if you run into any trouble."

"Sure. Good seeing you, Jude," Sabrina said as he walked away.

One of the girls crossed her arms, glaring after him. "Who the hell was that? Didn’t even bother saying hi to the rest of us."

Sabrina hissed under her breath immediately. "Shut up, Tiffany! You don’t want to mess with him."

"Mess with him?" Tiffany scoffed, fixing her jacket. "He’s wearing a cheap work vest! What’s there to be scared of?"

"That’s Mr. Lawson," Sadie said flatly, speaking up for the first time.

Tiffany turned to her, her smug smile vanishing when she saw Sadie’s face. "Sadie, are you serious? That’s Lawson?!"

Sadie stared at the hallway, her tone chilling. "Do I look like I’m joking?"

Near the champagne fountain, Tiffany and the other girls stood frozen, staring at the empty hallway.

The name Lawson had been buzzing through Manhattan for weeks... a mysterious boss who had taken over massive businesses in just a few months.

Finding out that the legendary mogul everyone was whispering about was the same guy in a courier vest completely broke their brains.

Sabrina kept staring at the hallway, feeling tiny.

The gap between their worlds was too big to ignore...

"Jude isn’t in our world anymore, Sabrina," Sadie said after a while. "You’re better off accepting it now."

Sabrina glanced at her, said nothing, and looked down at her drink.

As he walked away, Jude’s phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a quick text from Warren: Luna’s back in the suite. Safe and sound, enjoying the desserts.

Satisfied she was fine, Jude slipped the phone away and turned his attention toward the stairs.

Fifty yards down the hall, where the building opened up into the exclusive upper lounge, known as the Heavens Club Jude kept a steady pace...