Rise of an Alpha Male

"Hello?" Inside the VIP room, David Villa, the bank manager, was leaning against the sofa, looking at his phone. When the door suddenly opens, he quickly sits down and hid his phone away. Normally, when a VIP was coming in, Karen would notify him in advance.

As the customer manager, he is responsible for sixty-one VIPs, and he knows them like the back of his hand. He immediately begins to launch into his normal professional greeting, hoping to undo the poor impression he'd made by slouching against the sofa, but when he sees Silvio, his expression freezes.

He is certain that Silvio is not one of his VIPs, nor is he a relative of one.

"May I ask who you are?" David asks, looking at the young man, who appears to be around twenty years old. David has no idea who he is.

Silvio gets straight to the point. "I'm here to get my money." 

"You have one of our cards?" David asks, suspicious of Silvio's calm expression.

"No," Silvio admitted frankly.

Robert is relieved to seemingly be proven right, but even more confused. Access to the VIP room requires a minimum worth of five million dollars, but this man doesn't have any money. Why is he so composed?

"I'm sorry, sir. We can't give out money without a card. Do you require anything else?"

He's crazy, David thought. Why on earth did Karen let him in? "I'll have to speak to her about this at Monday's meeting". He shouts in his heart.

"You have fingerprint recognition here, right?" Silvio suddenly asks.

The fingerprint ID system at the bank is for the wealthiest families and businesses to use. Only a few people had their fingerprints recorded in the system, at least in the New York branch, and no one had used it to access their holdings yet.

"You want to use it?" David could no longer bring himself to call Silvio "sir."

"Yes." Silvio nods.

David is feeling more confused by the second. Why would someone who isn't even a customer request to use a fingerprint ID?

To be honest, even though he is curious, David feels that it is barely worth entertaining the request. But after considering for a few seconds, he finally decided to let Silvio make the attempt rather than risk making him angry.

He opens the safe and brings out the fingerprint identification device, which he had never used before.

"Place your thumb here." David indicates the verification area to Silvio, who places his thumb on the sensor.

[Beep!]

David Villa resolves that if the young man's fingerprints aren't accepted this time, he would immediately call the police and have him arrested.

[Beep!] A green light appeared on the device and new details flashed up on the LCD screen: [Verification successful. Family account: 01. Verifier: Silvio Gesell. Account: 001007.]

David gapes at Silvio in disbelief for a moment, and then hurriedly squeezes out a smile. "Mr Gesell, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I'm David Villa, the customer manager for the New York branch. Please allow me to assist you."

"It's fine," Silvio says lightly and stands up. "Can I see how much money I have left in my account?"

"Please wait a moment." David sits in front of the computer and typed away for a while. On his instructions, Silvio provides a few more fingerprint scans as authorization.

"It's done, Mr Gesell." David clicks the "OK" button on the screen, and Silvio's account appears.

David points to the computer screen and says, "Mr Gesell, the balance of your account is currently one hundred million dollars."

David couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

This young man has an enormous fortune. It places him in the topflight of the one per cent. Most people would never be able to even dream of that much money.

Silvio feels strange as he stared at the numbers on the screen. He reminds himself that he needs to get used to his status as a rich kid as soon as possible.

"Oh, and you have other assets as well. Let me show you now." David clicks through to check several pages in a row. Finally, he clicks the "OK" button again.

The computer brings up a 4 x 4 grid of display screens.

"This surveillance screen displays all the physical assets that you hold elsewhere," David explains. He clicks on the upper left corner of the screen and brings up the feed from the bank's branch at The Hague, which reveals a bungalow.

David opens up other screens for Silvio, one after another.

The Hawaii branch displays a blue pearl bracelet and ten stacks of gold bars.

The feed from the French branch in Nice revealed paintings and statues.

And the Cape Town branch has fifteen 10-carat diamonds, ten pieces of ivory, and another couple of stacks of gold bars. David's eyes almost pops out as he looks at Silvio's assets. He has never seen anyone so rich. Maybe not even one-tenth as rich.

"All right, I'd like a card," Silvio says before David could collect his thoughts.

"Yes, I will see to it right away. Please wait a moment." David immediately starts to make the necessary arrangements. Within ten minutes, a Divine Card is produced.

David looks at the Divine Card and thought about Silvio's assets. It was the highest grade of card they were authorized to issue at the New York branch.

David hands the card over. "Mr Gesell, your card."

"Thank you." Silvio takes the card, stands up, and goes to walk out of the room.

Karen was anxiously waiting in the hall. What's been going on in there for so long? she wonders. Could that brat have murdered Mr Mr Villa in the VIP room?

The more she considered it, the more scared she became. She was on the verge of banging on the door and demanding a response when Silvio walks confidently out of the room.

"Stop!" Karen shouted. She strides quickly over toward him and grabs at his coat. "You can't leave. You broke into the VIP room. Once we confirm that nothing is missing, I will call the police and have them hold you for questioning."

"What are you talking about?" Silvio asks. "Let go!"

Karen grapples with him for a while, but she couldn't manage to search his pockets.

What's wrong with this woman? Silvio thought. He isn't even arguing with her, but she is manhandling him.

"What is this?" Karen spots the Divine Card that is peeking out of Silvio's pocket. She quickly pulls it out and looks at him triumphantly, as if she has found evidence of his guilt. "Oh, you stole a card. This is a crime, and I have to call the police."

With the two of them creating such a scene, other customers start to walk over toward them, intending to help Karen keep Silvio from getting away.

Just then, David, who had finished tidying up, strides out of the VIP room.

Having seen Silvio's assets, David now knows he is the most important customer the New York branch of the bank has ever had.

So, when he sees Karen struggling with Silvio, he is enraged.

"Stop!" David dashes between Silvio and Karen.

Mr Villa's face had always been a little glum, but as she watched, his expression grew darker and darker. Before she could figure out why, she was startled by his explosive roar, leaving her entire body trembling.

"Let go of Mr Gesell!" As he yells, Mr Villa knocks the Supreme Card out of her hand, and she is so scared that she let go of Silvio. Mr Villa pushes her aside and benda down to pick up the card. "Mr Gesell, your card. I'm very sorry. I haven't trained Ms Swift properly. I do apologize."

Mr Villa's expression shows a mixture of respect, embarrassment, and unease, as the bank's customers look on in amazement. Karen is stunned.

Could the Divine Card be his? she wonders.

Her eyes widened. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make sense of it.

If this young man has a Divine Card, then he has at least five million dollars, yet he appears to only be around twenty years old. A poor, lower-class loser with that much money? No, it is just too unlikely. 

David Villa shouts at Karen, "Why are you just standing there, Ms Swift? Apologize to Mr Gesell immediately!"

Karen immediately bows her head at Silvio. "Mr Gesell, I'm very sorry for my rude behaviour. I made a mistake, created a fuss over nothing, and put my hands on you. It was my fault, and I will reflect on my behaviour—"

Silvio ignores her and walks away.

"Mr Gesell," David calls after him. "If you ever need anything, just give me a call, and I'll do my best to help."

Silvio exits the bank and hails a taxi to take him back to his university.