Cari looked down at the two thousand dollars now sitting in her available balance. A cold, hard smile touched the corners of her mouth.

Loud, chaotic footsteps echoed from the hallway behind her.

Hamlin rushed out of the room, his hand still pressing against his red, swollen cheek. Cody and the others followed close behind. Trina trailed them like an angry guard dog, screaming for security.

Hamlin stepped in front of Cari, blocking her path. "You think you're tough? You just lost your pathetic twenty-cent-a-day job."

Cody stepped up beside him, crossing his arms. "I'm going to get you blacklisted on every gig app in Manhattan. You're going to starve on the street."

Harper walked out of the room slowly. She leaned against the doorframe, looking at Cari with the eyes of a victorious queen.

The noise in the hallway finally caught the attention of the hotel's General Manager, Mr. Franklin Palmer. He hurried down the hall, followed by two large security guards.

Trina immediately ran up to him. "Mr. Palmer!" she cried out, pointing at Cari. "She went crazy! She smashed glasses and attacked the VIP guests!"

Mr. Palmer frowned deeply. He looked at Cari with strict authority. "Apologize to the guests immediately, or I am calling the police."

Surrounded by their angry faces and threats, Cari suddenly laughed. The sound was light, but it echoed strangely in the wide hallway.

Everyone stared at her like she had lost her mind.

"Did the shock finally break your brain?" Hamlin asked, stepping back slightly.

Cari stopped laughing. Her eyes swept over the group, resting on Palmer. Her voice was completely calm and steady.

"Mr. Palmer," Cari asked. "How much does it cost to buy the Cloud Crest hotel?"

The hallway fell into a dead, heavy silence.

Then, the group erupted into loud, mocking laughter. Trina laughed so hard tears formed in her eyes. "You can't even buy a burger, and you want to buy an eighty-dollar hotel?"

Hamlin grabbed his stomach, pointing at Cari. "That is the funniest thing I've ever heard."

Palmer's face turned dark red with anger. He thought Cari was playing a stupid game. He waved his hand at the guards. "Drag her out."

The two large guards took a step forward.

Cari looked at Palmer with a chilling calmness. "You can call your Board Chairman to confirm. Tell him Cari Butler is acquiring this property."

She pulled out her phone. She had already sent the purchase offer to the hotel's board earlier that day through her assistant. The chairman had confirmed receipt. Now her fingers flew across the screen as she initiated the final payment through her unlocked funds.

Palmer scoffed, and the group erupted into another round of mocking laughter, treating her like a delusional beggar. The hallway was filled with their cruel giggles for several long, agonizing minutes.

Suddenly, the encrypted phone in Palmer's suit pocket began to vibrate violently.

Palmer pulled it out, annoyed, but his breath hitched when he saw the caller ID of the hotel's Board Chairman. He immediately held up a hand to stop the guards and answered the phone, his face shifting into a mask of deep respect.

The voice on the other end was loud. Even Cari, standing a few feet away, could hear the words "full acquisition" and "change of ownership."

Palmer's respectful expression shattered. His eyes widened in shock, and then pure, physical terror took over his features. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

He slowly lowered the phone. His head snapped up, and he stared at Cari like he was looking at a ghost.

His legs shook. He stumbled forward, practically tripping over his own feet to reach her.

In front of everyone's disbelieving eyes, the powerful General Manager bowed deeply to Cari, bending past ninety degrees.

"Boss," Palmer said, his voice trembling violently.

The laughter in the hallway died instantly. It was as if someone had choked the sound out of their throats.

Trina's jaw dropped open. Her eyes were wide with desperate confusion.

Hamlin and Cody stood frozen like statues. Their brains completely stopped working.

Cari looked down at Palmer's shaking shoulders. She slowly raised her hand and pointed a finger directly at Trina, who was shivering against the wall.

"Fire that idiot," Cari ordered, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Now."

Trina heard the order. Her knees gave out, and she collapsed onto the thick carpet of the hallway.

"No, please!" Trina cried, reaching out to grab Cari's leg.

The two security guards moved instantly. They grabbed Trina by the arms and dragged her to the side of the hallway, pinning her against the wall.

Cari brushed her pant leg in disgust.

She turned her attention back to Hamlin and Cody, who were still frozen in place.

Harper Zamora's face cycled through shades of pale white and angry red.

She could not process that the dirt beneath her shoes had just become the owner of the building.

Harper lifted her chin, trying to hold onto her pride as the real daughter. She let out a cold huff, turned around, and signaled her followers to leave.

"Stop," Cari said.

The word was quiet, but it carried a heavy, crushing weight.

The two security guards immediately released Trina and stepped sideways, forming a solid wall that blocked Harper's exit.

Cari turned to Palmer, who was still sweating nervously.

"Go get the bill for their VIP room," Cari ordered.

Palmer wiped his forehead with his sleeve and ran to the nearest terminal.

He came back a minute later, his hands shaking as he held a long, printed receipt.

"The total comes to... eighteen dollars, Boss," Palmer said respectfully.

Eighteen dollars. In Cari's original world, that was one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. In this world, it was a fortune that could bankrupt a normal family.

Cari took the receipt.

She walked over to Hamlin and slapped the paper hard against his chest.

"Pay your bill," Cari demanded.

Hamlin looked down at the massive number on the paper. His whole body began to shake.

If he emptied every bank account he had, he wouldn't even have a single dollar.

"I... I didn't organize this!" Hamlin stammered, pointing a shaking finger at Cody. "Cody wanted to come here! He should pay!"

Cody's face twisted in rage.

"You broke parasite!" Cody screamed at Hamlin. "You booked this room to show off for Harper!"

The two of them started pushing each other in the hallway, their expensive suits wrinkling as they fought to escape the debt.

The other rich kids quickly backed away, holding their hands up.

"We just came to eat," one of them said quickly. "We aren't paying a single cent."

The tight circle of wealthy friends crumbled into a pathetic, screaming mess over eighteen dollars.

Hamlin realized he was trapped. He turned to Harper, looking at her with desperate, pleading eyes.

"Harper, please," Hamlin begged. "Help me cover this."

Harper took a step back, looking at Hamlin like he was a piece of trash on the floor.

"I don't spend my money on useless garbage," Harper said coldly.

Hamlin fell to his knees. He had lost Cari, and now he had lost his only ticket into the upper class.

Cari watched the dogs bite each other.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the camera app. She hit record.

She filmed their screaming, their pushing, and their pathetic begging.

Cody saw the red recording light. He lunged forward to grab the phone.

A security guard kicked Cody hard in the stomach, sending him crashing to the floor.

Cari stopped recording and put the phone away.

"Mr. Palmer," Cari said, her voice completely flat. "This hotel does not tolerate dine-and-dash criminals. Call the NYPD."

Palmer immediately dialed the police.

Within minutes, the loud wail of police sirens filled the street outside.

Several heavily armed NYPD officers marched down the hallway.

They grabbed Hamlin and Cody, pulling their arms behind their backs and snapping cold metal handcuffs onto their wrists.

Cari stood under the bright hallway lights, watching the police drag Hamlin away.

The last bit of anger left in the original owner's body finally faded away.