Two months on, and things weren’t getting any better.

Cynan still could not be contacted. Those he worked with claimed he was out of town on a special assignment and would return quickly. They also dispelled the rumours and assured all their members that their business was as legit as could be, and that they would be issuing a communique to give full details of everything that was going on, in the interest of transparency.

These assurances did very little to calm Leonard’s soul. He was still on the edge, and it was hard to get him to be calm. He was now very irritable, and was easily set off by any requests for money. Meaning most of his escorts were on the receiving end of quite a rollicking from him.

Abida had received the most vicious of these, after she came to his room to register her displeasure at him for refusing to send her ‘skincare allowance’ when she demanded it. He absolutely decimated her, calling a dumb, selfish and senseless tramp, and had her sacked from the room, warning her to never set foot in his place again.

A heated disagreement occurred between him and the trio as well. His fury at their intentional ignorance of his problems and constant demand for money led to quite a shout down between him and them. After driving them out angrily, he had not spoken to them in a while, and was honestly glad that they were not around. Less money to spend.

That’s all they ever did, anyways. Spend his money and expect him to spend more on them.

So much for being ‘brothers’.

That afternoon, he sat on the bed, all by himself, quietly watching the television, in the hope that the movie would take his mind off matters.

Suddenly, the movie was interrupted for a breaking news report.

“Welcome to PokTV News Center, and we have just received breaking news. The Poki FBI has arrested the management of Plotina Association after intelligence gathered indicates that the association is all part of an elaborate Ponzi scheme where the owner, Cynan Plotina, has duped members of the association up to the tune of 60 million kinans. Further intelligence indicates that Mr. Plotina has absconded and is on the run…”

The rest of the newscaster’s words barely registered in the ears of Leonard. His heart sank.

Just as he was trying to get his mind in good shape, this had to drop.

No, this can’t be! This can’t be!

He quickly reached for his phone and hurriedly opened the app, hoping this was a trick.

An error appeared on his phone screen: THIS SITE DOES NOT EXIST.

Panic levels shot up really high.

So the rumours were real? Really? His money was gone?

He refreshed the app repeatedly, praying that it would somehow open and he would find the funds intact.

No luck. Ten minutes of trying, and it was crystal clear that the app was not working.

And that meant one thing: no access to his funds.

Dropping the phone on the bed, he fell off the bed and let out a piercing scream.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

It took little time for the terrifying reality to come crashing down on him with no sympathy cushioning whatsoever.

This had to be one of the lowest moments of his life.

All of Leonard’s money. All that money he used to splurge on his friends, keep his escorts and side pieces happy, and generally just spend to have fun with his life.

Gone in the twinkle of an eye.

***

Leonard stared at the phone in his hand and sighed.

On the screen was the number of Samuel.

He had not spoken to any of them in quite a while, and he knew they were not happy with the way he spoke to them the last time they met. But this was an emergency. He was certainly going to be booted out of the hotel in a few days, and he needed help. Surely the bros would be kind enough to help out? They did say every now and then that they would be there for him; this was the perfect time to show how true those words were.

He picked up the phone and dialled the number.

It rang for a while before it was answered.

“Yes, Leonard?”

He winced. The guy sounded very blunt, and it was to be expected. “Uhhh, yeah, Samuel. It’s me, Leo… you know. Umm, how are you doing?”

“Good.”

“Oh, great, great… that’s good to hear. I hope the others are also-“

“What do you want, Leonard?”

He winced again. The man did not sound ready to engage in chit chat with him. He needed to just go straight into begging mode. “Please, man, I beg you, I’m so desperate right now. I need your help. See, this Cynan issue has left me in a hole right now and I-“

“And how is that my problem? Huh?”

Leonard shut his eyes tight. “P-p-p-please, Samuel, I know I did you guys dirty. I’m sorry…”

“Gentleman, foret about that. I said, how is your losing money my concern? Tell me. Was I the one who told you to be that stupid? Giving all your money to some dude you barely know? Well, it’s not like you’ve shown wisdom with money, anyways. Blowing it fast like a damn brainless fool. What else do you expect?”

Leonard’s jaw hung open. He had expected some hostility, but never this kind. “Samuel! But… but you guys-“

“You guys what? Bruh, if you ain’t got no sense with money, it ain’t our place to tell you how to use it. We just hung along for the ride. But that’s just by the way. Listen, there’s no space for you here, so don’t even waste time asking. You’re not welcome here. And whatever happens to you, please be sure that neither me, Allan nor Sirus give a fraction of a damn. Now if you’ll excuse us, we were just having one hell of an orgy over here with Abida, Pryann, Japhia and Bixie. Later, loser!”

To say that Leonard was shocked would be putting it mildly. And the sounds of Allan and Sirus laughing in the background and uttering scornful words were like blades sinking deep into the skin.

His hand trembling as it came down once Samuel hung up, tears filled his eyes.

Sure, he had been mad at them for being leeches, only concerned about getting monetary benefits from his riches. But he had never expected them to harbour that amount of scorn toward him.

So all that time they moved around with him and partook in all that spending, they were insulting him and mocking him backstage?

Suddenly, he truly felt like a fool for all the spending he had indulged in. He realized just what he had done.

He had wasted his inheritance buying stuff to impress people who didn’t like him.

***

“Come on, man! Just let me have one suitcase!”

“Sorry, we can’t allow that. Everything’s been calculated, and this is the only way to clear your debt.”

“Come on! This isn’t fair! All I have are the clothes on my back and this backpack! I don’t even have a phone!”

“Well, sorry, sir, but it is what it is.”

A few days had passed since the news broke about the scam association. Leonard’s hotel bill had not yet been fully paid, and the outstanding amount was pretty high. Upon discovering that he had no money left, the hotel manager immediately ordered that his items be valued and auctioned off to settle the debt.

The result of that was a horrifying one.

Literally everything Leonard owned had to be sold in order to settle the debt.

And as the hotel security roughly escorted him out of the premises, his pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. The hotel manager was not one to play with his money, and no amount of begging was going to suffice. Especially with the fees Leonard owed.  

At the ground floor, they continued to drag him along, holding him by the trousers and pulling him as if he had just been caught stealing. At the reception stood the hotel manager, whose face was as hard as steel when he was passed by.

Leonard, who was already super embarrassed by the rough handling of the security men, as it was attracting the attention of guests and visitors around, looked in his direction. “Sir, please, don’t do this to me! Please! Have a little mercy, please!”

“Get him out of here!” the hotel manager sternly ordered, without even as much as a glance at Leonard. The guards duly obeyed, dragging Leonard out amidst his loud pleas and cries for mercy.

He was dragged to the front door, and once it was opened, was roughly pushed out.

“And don’t you come back, or we’ll have you arrested by the police!” one of the guards warned before they reentered the hotel.

Standing outside Elite Star Hotel, with nothing but a blue T-shirt, tattered pair of jeans, and a simple backpack, Leonard fell to his knees, beginning to cry bitterly.

Oh, how life had switched up on him in an instant!

Indeed! Life switched up on him really quick, didn’t it? Now he has nothing to his name…