Step Aside, Mr. President.

Chapter 9 - The Challenger

The crystal glasses clinked softly in the grand ballroom of the Washington Hilton. It was the 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner, and Matthew Fitzgerald sat at his assigned table, his jaw clenched tight enough to crack walnuts. The room sparkled with the elite of Washington society, but Fitzgerald's eyes remained fixed on one man: President Gabriel Morrison, standing at the podium with that characteristic smirk that made Fitzgerald's blood boil.

"And speaking of people who question my military service," Morrison's voice carried across the hushed room, his prosthetic leg visible beneath his perfectly tailored tuxedo, "we have Matthew Fitzgerald here tonight. Matt's been telling anyone who'll listen that I wasn't really injured in Afghanistan. Well, Matt, I'd show you my battle scars on my body but" Morrison paused for effect, "...then I'd be giving the whole room an anatomy lesson they'll never forget."

The laughter that rippled through the room felt like acid in Fitzgerald's ears. His wife, Maria, placed a gentle hand on his arm, but he barely felt it. At forty-four, the former Miss Universe winner had an uncanny ability to read her husband's moods, even after just eleven years of marriage. Tonight, she saw something different in his eyes – not just the usual anger, but a cold, calculated resolve.

"You know," Morrison continued, his voice dripping with mock sincerity, "Matt's been saying he's going to run for president since the '90s. Well, I dare you, Matt. Come on up here and take your shot. Though I should warn you – the last time someone with no experience tried to take me on, it didn't end well for them."

More laughter. More crystal glasses clinking. More Washington insiders congratulating themselves on being insiders. Fitzgerald maintained his poker face, learned through decades of billion-dollar deals and three marriages before Maria. He'd built Fitzgerald Enterprises from his father's modest real estate company into a $20 billion empire, and he'd done it by recognizing moments of opportunity. This, he decided, was one of them.

"So, Mr. Fitzgerald says that I might go down as the worst president in history of the United States of America." The room fell silent as Gabriel spoke. As his smirk widened. "Well, at least I'll go down as a president."

The assembled crowd erupted in applause and laughter, but Fitzgerald didn't hear them. He was already planning his next move.

Eight months later, Congressman James Martinez of Florida's 12th district died of a heart attack while jogging. Within hours, Fitzgerald had announced his candidacy for the special election. The party establishment laughed – what did a billionaire businessman know about representing a congressional district?

They stopped laughing when he won with 75% of the vote.

From his first day in Congress, Fitzgerald made no secret of his true ambitions. "I'm here to learn the system," he told reporters bluntly, "because in 2016, I'm taking the whole damn thing." The political class dismissed him as another rich man's vanity project. But they didn't understand what that night at the Correspondents' Dinner had awakened in him.

Fitzgerald had always been different. Born into wealth, yes, but he'd turned his father's loan into an empire that dwarfed his inheritance. His first venture into hedge funds had raised eyebrows – who was this brash young man promising unprecedented returns? But he'd delivered, and more importantly, he'd repaid his father's investment with interest within eighteen months.

Real estate came next. While others built luxury condos, Fitzgerald built entire neighborhoods. While others renovated hotels, he created destinations. Every deal was bigger than the last, every victory sweeter than the one before. His personal life was equally dramatic – three marriages before Maria, each ending in headlines. Elena Fitzgerald left him when he cheated on her with June Cooper-Fitzgerald who ended up becoming his second wife. He treated the divorce with Elena like business deal and didn't give her a single percent of his company and she had to settle for fraction of his empire.

Matthew left June when reports circulated that June and her bodyguard were found together under a lifeguard stand on a deserted beach at 4:00 a.m. He then married his third wife Alexandra Rico... Alexandra's death from cancer within 3 years of marriage had nearly broken him.

Then came Maria. The media painted her as a gold digger, a former Miss Universe looking for a wealthy husband. They didn't see what Fitzgerald saw: a strategic mind sharp enough to match his own, wrapped in a public persona that disarmed his critics. She understood him in ways his previous wives never had, including his need to say whatever he thought, whenever he thought it.

The 2016 Republican primary was supposed to be a coronation for the establishment's candidates. Instead, it became a bloodbath. One by one, Fitzgerald eliminated his rivals, using the same tactical precision that had built his business empire. The party leaders tried to stop him, but Fitzgerald had learned long ago that institutions were only as strong as the people running them. And these people, he knew, were weak.

Maya Norris, Morrison's Secretary of State and former first lady as the wife of Richard Norris, was supposed to be unbeatable in the general election. She had experience, intelligence, and the full weight of the Democratic machine behind her. What she didn't have was Fitzgerald's understanding of the American psyche in 2016. While she talked policy, he talked passion. While she presented plans, he presented possibilities. The greatest political upset in modern history wasn't really an upset at all – it was simply business as usual for Matthew Fitzgerald.

The victory was sweet, but brief. Four years later, he would face his greatest political defeat at the hands of Nicholas Hayes, Morrison's former Vice President. The loss had stung deeply, more than he'd ever admit publicly. He had never conceded, claiming election fraud, though Maria had consoled him privately, suggesting that scandals within his own party had been the true cause of his downfall.

But Matthew Fitzgerald wasn't finished. He'd built his empire on second chances and comeback stories. Now, as the 2024 election approached, he found himself once again at the center of American politics, having clinched the Republican nomination despite all predictions that his career was over.