Greed

chapter 22

Prapai POV

Gut instinct told me it had to do with the rumors roiling Wall Street this past week, and a quick click of the mouse proved me right.

The stock market closed in one minute. It was prime time for anyone who wanted to drop a bombshell that would upend the next morning's trading session, which was exactly what an anonymous whistleblower had done.

Mangkorn had sent me a dyslexic-friendly version of a white paper alleging major fraud at DBG, a massive regional bank. Bogus transactions, solvency issues, cover-ups at the highest level of management. If the allegations were true, it'd be one of the largest bank fraud cases in Bangkok history.

Implications and possibilities flooded my mind with a crackling, swirling buzz. Adrenaline pumped harder through my veins and kicked my heart into overdrive.
This was it. The crisis I'd been waiting for.
"Sir." Namtan appeared in the doorway, her face pale. The cacophony behind her told me we weren't the only ones who'd read the white paper.

Shouts and curses layered over the shrill ring of phones; an associate rushed past and nearly knocked namtan over. She didn't ask if I'd heard the news;

she knew better. "What do you want to do?"
I'd waited my entire career to make my mark and I had, in many ways, but my previous accomplishments weren't enough. What I had in mind though? It would be more than enough. It would make me a legend.

"Call in everyone, including legal, finance, and the board." I stood, my blood electric with possibility. "We're buying a bank."

The chaos started the second I woke up on Friday and continued well into the night.
As predicted, DBG's stocks plunged to record lows, and the media frenzy incited a run on deposits that brought one of the biggest regional banks in the eastern Thailand to the brink of ruin in less than twenty-four hours.

My plan was simple. In order for DBG to remain solvent, it needed capital, quick, and I had plenty of capital-enough to buy it out over the weekend before it fully collapsed.
The tight turnaround meant my team was working around the clock to get everything in order. DBG was fully onboard, and we kept in constant communication with them throughout the day.
We were still in the hastily set up war room next to my office at midnight when my phone rang.

Unknown caller.
It was either the person who'd been messing with me in the fall- Sailom said it wasn't him, but I was still skeptical-or it was another journalist. News of my impending buyout had leaked from DBG's side, and I'd been fielding calls all fucking day.

"What?" I barked. I motioned for my general counsel. He rushed over and took the stack of papers I shoved in his arms.

"Don't buy the bank." The distorted voice sliced through my work fog like a dagger. I stilled, a cold sensation crawling down my throat and into my lungs. "If you do, you'll die."

I DIDN'T GO HOME FRIDAY NIGHT. I GRABBED A FEW hours of shut-eye in the room I'd set up right after sky left, when I couldn't stand to sleep in our bed alone, and woke up before sunrise to finish the paperwork. Most of my team crashed in the office as well.

Buying a bank was a huge deal not only for me but for the entire company, and the air teemed with a whirling cocktail of nerves, excitement, and tension. Anything could go wrong before Monday; it was our job to make sure nothing did.

By the time Saturday evening rolled around, I'd already pushed last night's call to the back of my mind. There were plenty of people who were against the buyout, including the heads of the other regional banks. DBG's collapse would benefit them in the long run, and none of them were above intimidation. However, I doubted any of them would follow through on the threat of murder.

"We're almost done." Dark circles ringed Namtan's eyes. Behind her, takeout boxes, coffee cups, and stacks of documents littered the conference table.

"Contracts will be ready by morning at the latest."

"Good." I checked my watch. I had to leave soon to make it to sky's grand opening on time. "Call me only if it's an emergency. I don't want a single text unless someone died or the building is burning down."

The DBG crisis had bulldozed us during the worst weekend possible, but I would make it work. Like Namtan said, we were in the home stretch, and I trusted my team to hold the fort down until morning. The rest of the night was about Sky.

Namtan took my order in stride. "Understood."
I quickly showered and changed in my office's en suite bathroom. Two minutes to get downstairs. Thirty minutes to get to the grand opening, depending on how bad traffic was. Timing was tight-I'd stayed longer than I should've to nail down an essential clause in the contract-but it was doable.

I rushed into the elevator and jabbed at the button for the lobby.
Forty. Thirty- nine. Thirty- eight. The elevator passed each floor with excruciating slowness. For the first time, I regretted situating my office on the highest floor of headquarter.

It stopped on the thirtieth floor. The doors opened, but there was no one waiting on the other side. Twenty-fifth floor, same thing.
I checked my watch again. My window for arriving on time narrowed by the second. I hoped like hell the traffic gods were on my side, or I was fucked.

I stopped again at the seventeenth floor.
"For fuck's sake!" I needed to talk to building management about these damn elevators. I reached out to press the close button, but a soft click pulled my attention up.

Black metal glinted inches from my face, its barrel as steady and unwavering as the hand that held it.

Shock waves rippled through my body. No. Perhaps I was delirious from lack of sleep because this made no fucking sense. Except, in a perverse way, it did.
I should've known. The coppery taste of betrayal welled in my throat when sailom's gaze met mine.

"I'm sorry."
Sincere regret laced his voice as he looked me in the eyes and pulled the trigger.

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Let's not panic guys everything is gonna be fine but P'pai might get late for sky's grand event or maybe not. I Don't know.

Next chapter soon.... ☺️