The people began closing in around Felicia, desperate, anxious, half-strangers acting like lifelong friends.
“Felicia, we’re all your friends, right?” one woman pleaded. “Can you ask this handsome man to help us too? The credit union wants to take our organs—this is insane! It’s illegal!”
Some were real acquaintances. Most were just passersby pretending to know her. Others were just hoping proximity could save them.
Felicia lifted her chin, smug and untouchable.
“Oh, that’s not up to me. Count Gustav is here to help me. He doesn’t know any of you. Why would he help total strangers?”
The crowd shifted toward Gustav like water finding a new path.
“Mr. Klein, please! Be merciful, help us!”
“Yes, we’re Felicia’s closest friends!”
“We always treated her like a sister!”
Gustav found them irritating—people who borrowed money and then cried when the bill came due. But Felicia’s glowing pride amused him, so he offered a smooth smile.
“Well,” he said, slow and casual, “if you’re Felicia’s friends, then helping you isn’t impossible. But only if Felicia agrees.”
Heads snapped back toward Felicia. Dozens of faces stared at her, begging for a scrap of hope.
Felicia smirked, savoring the moment.
“I’ll help you—but only if you promise to pay me ten thousand each.”
“What? Why?” someone protested. “We’re here to shut down the credit union! If it closes, they can’t come after us anymore, right?”
Felicia laughed in their faces.
“You think a big credit union like this can be shut down by a street protest? The most that will happen is they’ll erase my loan—not yours. You’ll still owe every cent. If you pay me ten thousand dollars each, I’ll ask Count Gustav to help all of you. Acceptable?”
The reaction was instant. Most people owed hundreds of thousands at least. Ten thousand felt like a bargain next to losing an organ.
“No problem—I’ll give you ten thousand, just remember my name!”
“Yes, yes, we’ll pay—just help us!”
Felicia’s heart shot straight into the sky.
Nearly a hundred people were crowding the credit union entrance. If each one paid her ten thousand… that was a million.
A million dollars.
She felt dizzy with joy. She had never imagined a protest could turn into the most profitable day of her life.
Just as Felicia was bursting with excitement, Gustav raised his voice for everyone to hear.
“Everyone, calm down. I’ll go in and speak to them now. Wait here for my good news.”
The crowd perked up, and Felicia practically glowed. With Gustav at her side, she felt invincible—untouchable. She blurted out, breathless and thrilled,
“Gustav, I’m coming with you!”
Alex stepped in quickly. “Felicia, you should stay out of this. If Gustav can’t fix it, you might get dragged into trouble.”
“Bah!” Felicia snapped, rage burning in her eyes. “How dare you question Count Gustav’s ability, you useless loser? He can hit anyone he wants and no one dares hit back. What on earth do I have to fear?”
The crowd stiffened. They were hoping Gustav would clear their loans.
Alex’s warning didn’t sit well with people hanging onto desperate hope. Their glares turned sharp, irritated, unfriendly.
Alex felt the weight of their hostility but stayed calm.
“I just don’t want Sofina upset,” he said flatly. “If something happens to her mother, she’ll be devastated. It’s better if you wait here. Count your money. Be a bystander.”
Felicia recoiled as if his voice itself was filth. “Shut your disgusting mouth! This is not your place to speak!”
Gustav’s arrogance dripped off him like cheap cologne. He stepped forward with a sneer.
“You’re jealous because you’re good at nothing. Do you think I’m like you—a pathetic loser who stands here and whines?”
Alex saw Felicia wasn’t going to listen. He let out a slow breath and shrugged.
“Fine. I’ll tell Sofina I did everything I could to stop you.”
Felicia didn’t understand he was genuinely trying to protect her. She shot him a murderous glare, then turned to Gustav with syrupy devotion.
“Gustav, don’t mind anything that loser says. I trust you completely…”
Gustav flashed a smug, triumphant grin.
“Don’t worry, Felicia. I don’t lower myself to a wimp’s level.”
Then he straightened his jacket, squared his shoulders, and nodded toward the credit union entrance.
“Felicia, let’s go.”
“Alright!”
Gustav pushed through the crowd with Felicia clinging to him like a trophy, and marched straight toward the entrance of the Königsberg Credit Union.
The moment he reached the doorway, he planted himself there like he owned the building and barked at the employees inside.
“Listen up! Go tell your boss to clear their loans right now! If he doesn’t, I’ll come back with my legal team and my security detail, and we’ll tear this door off its hinges. I’ll have you and your boss dragged out in handcuffs!”
Felicia jumped in, her voice sharp and shrill.
“You heard him, you clueless idiots! I’ve got someone powerful backing us now! If you refuse to clear our loans, Mr. Klein will throw every single one of you in prison!”
The employee at the front—a young man clearly not paid enough for this—went pale. He raised his hands nervously.
“I—I’m sorry, sir. I’m only customer service. I’m not authorized to clear any loans.” Gustav’s expression iced over.
“Then call your boss,” he snapped. “Tell him Count Gustav Klein of the Klein family in Winchester is here, and he’d better deal with me personally. Don’t say I didn’t warn him.”


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The readers' comments on the novel: The Almighty Dominance (by Sunshine)
Great novel...