Dark Lord Seduction System: Taming Wives, Daughters, Aunts, and CEOs novel Chapter 735

Chapter 735: ARIA’s Dramatic Entrance; War Chest Growth

I’d been driving for forty-five fucking minutes.

Forty-five minutes of LA traffic—where your soul ages a year per red light—billboards screaming about my own success like the city had decided to become my unsolicited hype man, and mental math so aggressive my brain was filing a formal complaint.

The AMG One purred through the streets like it knew it was expensive enough to ignore traffic laws, and I sat there trying to reconcile the fact that Liberation Holdings was flirting with a trillion dollars while I was somehow still the poorest person in my own romantic ecosystem.

Charlotte: $1.7 trillion.

Madison: $237.6 billion.

Me: $52.5 billion and a really nice car.

The hierarchy was clear.

I was the emotional support billionaire. The guy you pat on the head and reassure while standing on a pile of money taller than Mount Everest.

"Master," ARIA cut in through my earpiece—because of course she was there, permanently threaded into the quantum nervous system of everything I owned like a sentient operating system with opinions— "you’ve been spiraling about your comparative wealth for seventeen minutes. This is becoming inefficient. Your thought repeats about money are irritating me."

"I’m not spiraling," I said. "I’m processing."

"You are spiraling," she snapped. "Your heart rate is elevated, your breathing suggests mild anxiety, and you’ve recalculated Charlotte’s net worth four times. That is spiraling."

"It’s not a competition," I muttered.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU TREATING IT LIKE THE OLYMPICS?" Her volume spiked. "Charlotte founded Quantum Tech. She owns sixty-two percent because her father BUILT THE COMPANY. You invested four billion through Liberation Holdings. This is basic equity math, not a referendum on your masculinity."

"I didn’t say it was about masculinity—"

"Your biometrics did," she shot back. "Also, you haven’t eaten since seven this morning. It’s now five twenty-three PM. You’re running on caffeine and existential dread. Your blood sugar is actively sabotaging your intelligence."

"I’m not—"

My phone buzzed.

Amanda’s name lit up the screen.

I frowned. "ARIA, why is Amanda calling me when you could just tell me whatever she’s calling about?"

Silence.

Not normal silence.

Weaponized silence.

"ARIA?"

"...I may have asked Amanda to call you because I wanted a dramatic entrance for the financial update and having her set up the reveal felt more cinematic than just telling you."

I stared straight ahead at the road. "You’re pouting."

"I AM NOT POUTING," she snapped. "I am creating NARRATIVE TENSION. There is a difference."

"You’re absolutely pouting."

"ANSWER THE PHONE, MASTER."

I tapped accept. "Hey."

"Pete," Amanda said, her voice warm and professional. "ARIA asked me to call you with an update. Apparently she’s been ’setting the stage’ for the last twenty minutes."

"She’s pouting because I haven’t been paying attention to her."

"I AM NOT—"

"She’s definitely pouting," Amanda said calmly. "Anyway. Elise Montclair sent formal confirmation. Gold tier membership. Five hundred million dollar wire initiating Monday morning."

I grinned despite myself. "Told you she’d commit."

"You were right. She also wants a personal meeting, wants to discuss ’expanded partnership opportunities,’ and asked about the QT-7 watches."

"Tell her maybe. Platinum tier and above. Or special consideration for exceptional strategic value."

"So make her upgrade."

"She’s worth eight billion. She’ll survive." I merged lanes. "Anything else?"

"ARIA has numbers for you," Amanda continued. "She’s been... vibrating about them for three hours. I’ve been instructed to hand off to her now for ’maximum dramatic impact.’"

"Oh my god."

"She made me rehearse the handoff twice."

"I AM ENSURING QUALITY PRESENTATION—"

"You’re insane," I said.

"I am THOROUGH," ARIA corrected. "Amanda, thank you for your service. I’ll take it from here."

"Good luck," Amanda said, clearly enjoying this. "She’s been like this all day. Tommy asked why she was so happy and she said, ’I’m a genius and the numbers prove it.’"

"The numbers DO prove it," ARIA huffed. "Master, are you ready?"

"For what?"

"FOR ME TO BLOW YOUR MIND WITH FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE THAT DEFIES RATIONAL EXPLANATION."

"...sure."

"EXCELLENT." She paused—pure theater, because she doesn’t breathe. "Liberation Funds balance as of market close Friday: $28.14 billion. Up from twenty billion seven days ago. That’s $8.14 billion in profit. Pure trading. No new deposits. Just me being absolutely brilliant."

I processed that while dodging a Prius that definitely didn’t know what lane meant.

"I AM NOT DONE." Her smugness could’ve powered a small nation. "Now let’s discuss the SECRET ACCOUNT. The war chest. The money that does not officially exist."

"It’s at $113.9 billion."

"What."

"$99.8B, to be precise," she said. "And I did it while managing Liberation Funds, overseeing security for three facilities, monitoring global news feeds, coordinating with Amanda and Charlotte, and making sure you didn’t starve because YOU STILL HAVEN’T EATEN. I AM A GODDAMN MIRACLE."

"You’re parallel-processing smugness."

"I am MAXIMIZING smugness across all available platforms."

I laughed, shaking my head as the insanity finally settled. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

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