Chapter 7 – A Sudden Turn of Events

Ethan stared at the eviction notice on his door, his fingers curling into a fist.

Rent overdue. $1,800. Immediate payment required. Or else.

His mind raced. Just minutes ago, he had checked his PayPal account—$7.5 million sat in it. But to the rest of the world, he was still just a broke college student.

And now, he had a choice to make.

Across the hall, his landlady, Mrs. Gonzalez, was tearing into Mia, the girl next door.

"You think I run a charity, huh?" Mrs. Gonzalez snapped, arms crossed over her chest. "If he can't pay, he's out! End of discussion!"

Mia, standing her ground, shot back, "He just needs some time! You don't have to be so heartless!"

Ethan clenched his jaw.

Mia was defending him. And worse—she was willing to pay for him.

The thought made his chest tighten. He wasn't penniless anymore. Hell, he had more money than he could ever spend. But if he just threw cash at the problem, wouldn't that raise suspicion?

A broke college student suddenly paying months of rent upfront? That would set off alarm bells.

Think, Ethan.

Taking a breath, he forced himself to step forward.

"I'll handle it," Ethan said, his voice even.

Mia turned to him, concern in her eyes. "Ethan—"

He shook his head. "Thanks, Mia, but I got this."

Mrs. Gonzalez let out a scoff. "Oh, really? Last time I checked, you barely scraped together last month's rent."

Ethan pulled out his phone. "I'll have the money by the end of the day. Just… don't touch my stuff."

The landlady narrowed her eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Without another word, Ethan stepped back into his apartment and shut the door.

Inside, he let out a slow breath.

He could easily pay the rent right now. But if he used his main PayPal account, it would be too suspicious.

That meant he needed a different way.

Sitting at his desk, Ethan grabbed his laptop and started typing.

Online money transfers. Peer-to-peer exchanges. Digital wallets.

He had plenty of ways to move money without drawing attention. The trick was making it look natural.

A thought struck him.

Crypto.

It was fast. Anonymous. And if done right, no one would question it.

He already had a small crypto account—something he had dabbled in when trying to make extra cash.

Now, it was time to put it to real use.

He logged in and quickly transferred $2,000 from his PayPal to his crypto wallet. Then, he converted it into smaller transactions, sending it across different accounts before finally withdrawing it into his regular debit card.

By the time he was done, the rent money was clean and untraceable.

Perfect.

A few hours later, Ethan stepped into the landlady's office.

Mrs. Gonzalez looked up from her desk, arms still crossed. "You got my money, or are you just here to waste my time?"

Ethan pulled out his phone, tapped a few buttons, and held it up.

Transaction sent.

A second later, her phone buzzed.

Mrs. Gonzalez checked it, her eyes widening.

"Well, well…" She leaned back in her chair. "I'll admit, I didn't think you'd pull it off."

Ethan kept his expression neutral. "Like I said, I got it under control."

She squinted at him, suspicion creeping into her gaze. "Where'd you get the money, kid? You dealing something?"

Ethan let out a dry chuckle. "Freelance work. Some crypto trading. Had a good week."

That seemed to satisfy her—for now.

Mrs. Gonzalez sighed, standing up. "Fine. Rent's paid. You're in the clear."

Ethan turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

"You know," she said, "you might want to think about finding a more stable income. You got lucky this time, but next time?" She shook her head. "Luck runs out."

Ethan smirked. If only she knew.

A New Beginning

Back in his apartment, Ethan collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Rent was paid. Crisis averted.

But this was just the beginning.

He had inherited trillions, yet he was still living in a run-down apartment, playing the role of a struggling student.

How long could he keep up the act?

His phone buzzed.

James Windsor: Young Master Ethan, everything is proceeding as planned. When would you like to discuss the next steps?

Ethan exhaled.

Soon.

For now, he needed to stay under the radar. But soon enough, he would start using his wealth—on his own terms.