Ghost Billionaire
Chapter 69: Living Outside

Chapter 69: Living Outside

"The ones for the gala."

Matthew clicked his tongue. "Oh, those. They should be there already. They knew where to send it."

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door.

One of the male classmates opened it. A group of delivery staff entered, carrying garment bags.

Lenox let out a breath. "Thanks," he said into the phone. "Got them."

"Great. Enjoy the gala," Matthew said before he ended the call.

"Who here is Mr. Lindberg?"

Lenox turned to the delivery man. "I’m Mr. Lindberg."

The man nodded. "Then you’ll need to sign here and handle the remaining balance. We accept cheques, bank transfers, or cards."

Lenox blinked. "What payment?"

The delivery man didn’t blink. "The payment for the suits and accessories. This includes tailoring, overnight delivery, and venue drop-off. Total’s twenty-eight thousand four hundred dollars."

Lenox stared at him. "That was supposed to be taken care of already." He gritted his teeth in silence. That bastard, Matthew!

The man raised a tablet. "According to our records, it was placed under Mr. Lindberg’s name but only a ten percent deposit was made. Balance is due now."

Lenox looked back at the others in the room. John and Christian had already started unzipping garment bags, clearly assuming everything was fine. He stepped aside and pulled out his phone again.

He tried calling Matthew again, straight to voicemail.

He dialed again. Same result.

Lenox clenched his jaw, turned back to the delivery man, and forced a breath through his nose. "Fine. I’ll pay."

The man handed him the tablet with the payment options. Lenox pulled out his card, entered the details, and tapped the screen harder than necessary.

"Thank you, sir," the man said, handing him a receipt. "Enjoy the event."

As the delivery team left, Lenox turned and sat on the edge of the couch, the edge of his mouth twitching. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not tonight. Not to him!

John pulled out his suit jacket. "Hey, these are really nice. Tailored fit, even the shoes match. Are you sure we can keep this?" Months ago, Lenox promised them that they could keep the items. However, seeing it’s quality now, John couldn’t help but wonder if he would still let them keep it. After all, these are all designers and custom made just for them.

Christian whistled. "Lenox really went all out."

Lenox didn’t say a word. He just stared at his phone, the screen still dark.

Matthew wasn’t helping him anymore, and he wasn’t even pretending to. Lenox sighed, pulled out his phone, and typed a quick message to an unregistered number: I need your help with something.

"Hey, Lenox, what are you waiting for? Go and get ready so we can get our partners," Christian said.

As if on cue, Lenox’s phone started ringing. He eyed the screen. It was Catherine.

She must be asking for the payment again.

....

"What do you mean by that? This gown was gifted by Mr. Lindberg!" May’s voice echoed against the walls of the hotel room, sharp enough to make one of the assistants flinch.

The staff member from L Boutique stood by the door, tablet in hand. "Sadly, only fifty percent of it was paid. The remaining balance is still outstanding."

Elisa crossed her arms. "That can’t be right. This was ordered months ago. Lenox Lindberg arranged everything."

The woman shook her head. "Correct. Mr. Lindberg placed the order two months ago. The total was forty-five thousand. Half was paid upfront. The gown took weeks to complete, and several of the materials were sourced from outside the U.S. like the hand-beaded silk from Milan, specialty lace from Kyoto, and imported crystals from Prague. This is not a rental. This is a custom gown."

May scoffed. "It’s already paid. You’re just trying to scam us because you know who she is."

The staff didn’t blink. "I have all the documents. If you don’t want to pay, we’ll have to ask her to remove the gown immediately. Our team will be forced to take it back and we will be calling the cops."

Catherine stood by the mirror, her hands clenched at her sides, eyes shimmering. She didn’t say a word, but inside, she wanted to scream. Everything had been going so well. How could something like this happen?

May turned to her. "Catherine—"

Before she could say anything else, the door opened.

Lenox stepped in, a worried look plastered on his face.

"What’s going on?" he asked, his voice calm, eyes scanning the room.

Elisa pointed. "This is the staff from L Boutique. She’s claiming that the gown was only half paid for. Now she’s saying we need to pay the rest. She’s trying to scam us."

Lenox exhaled through his nose. After the makeup artists and the suit delivery, he had a good idea of what this really was.

"How much?" he asked the staff directly.

She raised the tablet and tapped the screen. "The remaining balance is twenty-two thousand. We accept cards only. No cash, no transfers."

Then she pulled out a sleek card machine from her bag. "Debit or credit?"

Lenox stared at the device. Then he reached into his coat and pulled out his wallet. "Debit," he said, taking the machine.

He slid the card in and entered his pin, eyes never leaving the screen.

Transaction approved.

"Thank you," the staff said, handing him the digital receipt. "We’ll inform the boutique that the balance has been settled."

She turned without another word and left the room.

Lenox put the card back in his wallet and then looked at Catherine.

She still hadn’t moved and it looked like she was about to cry. "Sorry, I completely forgot about it," Lenox said.

"No, I wasn’t blaming you or anything," Catherine replied. At some point, Elisa and May had stepped out. It was just the two of them now. "It’s just... I wished my mother could see this."

Lenox blinked. He knew about her situation. Her mother’s condition hadn’t improved, and they still didn’t have the money for the operation. And with Matthew suddenly acting cold, it wasn’t looking good.

"You know..." Lenox started. "I hope your mother gets better soon. But there’s no point thinking about that right now. She wouldn’t want to know you spent tonight crying instead of enjoying this gala."

Catherine quickly blinked away the tears.

"Still," Lenox said. "I think it’s time you apologized to Matthew."

"What?"

"In the past few weeks, Matthew’s gotten closer to my father. It’s obvious my father favors him now."

"Lenox—"

"Shhh." Lenox raised a hand. "I’m fine. You don’t have to say anything. Since we were kids, he never liked me. But the moment Matthew came in, it was like everything changed. They spend time together. He listens to him. Even trusts him."

"Lenox..."

"In fact, I even asked my father to help you. He has the resources. He could make one phone call and your mother would be in surgery tomorrow. But..."

"But what?" Catherine asked.

"We argued. It turned into a real fight. Now he’s kicked me out of the mansion. Told me to leave and cut off my access to everything. My cards. My drivers. I’m living outside with whatever money I have left."