5 More than Ten Billion!

Marcel frowned as he watched Venya guide Meru towards a glass cabinet filled with small tubes.

“What have you been doing here?” Venya asked in a soft tone as she looked at Meru. “Do you know what those tubes are for?”

Marcel was silent as he observed Meru’s sudden silence and inactivity.

“I ... my daughter used to accompany me!” said Meru while nodding.

“I am your daughter,” Venya said patiently and compassionately. “We used to do research here together, there was Mr Fabi too ....”

“No! My daughter is still young, she doesn’t understand anything yet!” Meru argued.

Marcel continued to observe the interaction between Venya and Meru, after all, the two of them were his only hope of extricating himself from his current situation.

“My father has been like this since Mr Fabi and Mrs Lana left,” Venya said slowly. “Maybe with us resuming this research, who knows, my father could recover?”

Marcel was silent for a moment.

“The problem is that we also need a lot of money to continue the research,” he said later. “My mum and dad haven’t left a single penny since they left, and I even had to pay the Delvino family’s compensation using every drop of my sweat.”

Venya paused in thought.

“I see, I myself have some savings, but certainly not enough to be able to support our research in the future. Unless we can find a big sponsor who is willing to fund us unconditionally,” she said at length.

Marcel almost despaired at this.

“That’s rather impossible,” Marcel commented as he flicked through the files he’d found a while back. He had nothing to look forward to accept a settlement.

“Wait a minute!” Marcel’s eyes narrowed as he found a special envelope that had escaped his notice. He quickly took the envelope and opened it.

“It’s a card!” Marcel exclaimed in disbelief. “Yesterday I didn’t find this ... I found a card and an empty account book.”

Venya, whose focus was divided between her father and Marcel, couldn’t say much until Marcel approached her.

“I’ll check this card at the bank,” Marcel said as he showed Venya an elegant black card. “Who knows if there’s some money on it, but I’ll keep looking for sponsors who will fund our research.”

Venya smiled brightly and replied, “Very good! I’ll try to help you, as well as recover my father’s condition .... As for sponsors, I’ll also look for more ....”

Marcel nodded happily, at least a ray of hope was beginning to shine through.

“Let us stay here for a while, okay?” Venya asked after Marcel put the card back. “Later, when our house is repaired ....”

“No,” Marcel shook his head firmly.

“Ah, but at least for tonight ... Please, my poor father ....” Venya pleaded again.

“I mean, you no longer have to stay here temporarily ... Whenever you want, feel free to use this lab as a place to stay.” Marcel emphasized. “Just one message, don’t let your existence be known by the Delvino family.”

Venya nodded quickly.

“Of course, they were the ones who kicked my father out after the research stalled and didn’t produce any satisfactory discoveries.” She told Marcel. “After this lab was abandoned, I was forced to use it when my house was hit by the wind.”

Marcel folded his arms across his chest and said, “It’s good that you understand, I don’t want you and your father to be kicked out again.”

“Thank you, Marcel.” Venya smiled with sparkling eyes.

***

As planned, Marcel went to the only bank closest to the Delvino residence. Shirley had threatened that she would throw Marcel in jail if he travelled far and returned late.

“How can I help you, Sir?” one of the customer service representatives asked Marcel.

“Look, I’d like this card checked.” Marcel asked. “I got it from my parents’ estate.”

“May I briefly check the card, Sir?” the customer service officer asked kindly.

“Here, please.”

“Thank you, please wait a moment.”

Marcel sat down to wait and glanced around, where a few more customers were arriving and being served by an empty clerk.

“Sorry, Sir. I’d like to check your identity cards,” the clerk pleaded.

Marcel took out his wallet and pulled out a piece of ID card and handed it to the customer service officer.

After that, Marcel went back to waiting quietly, hoping that there would be some money on the card.

“Thank you for waiting,” said the customer service officer as he faced Marcel. “On this card, the account is filled with more than ten billion funds, Sir ....”

“What, more than ten billion?” Marcel’s eyes widened in surprise when he heard the customer service representative’s explanation.

“Yes, I can print it in the passbook if you want.”

Marcel sat down weakly, he didn’t expect that the funds on this card were beyond his original estimation.

“Is it compulsory to get a printout?” asked Marcel after he had got over his shock.

“Oh no, Sir!” shook the customer service officer. “You can still access the fund amount at any time, by installing an app that supports your mobile phone.”

Marcel was stunned.

“That’s the problem, I don’t have a powerful mobile phone that can be used to install the apps I need.” Marcel explained.

“Oh, well ...” The officer smiled with an inexplicable expression, he was somewhat doubtful about Marcel’s statement which contradicted the contents of the account he had just checked. “Perhaps you’d like to withdraw some of the funds to purchase a supportive mobile phone, Sir? I can help you install it and also link it to your registered account.”

Marcel considered the officer’s suggestion and agreed to make some withdrawals. After that, he quickly went to the mobile phone shop and bought a brand-new unit equipped with advanced features and near-perfect specs, according to the shop owner.

As soon as he got his new mobile phone, Marcel went back to the bank to install the app and link it to the account his parents had set up for him.

Marcel had deliberately completed all his business on the same day, so that tomorrow he wouldn’t have to leave the house again.

But of course, this angered Shirley, who had warned Marcel not to stay away for too long.

“Where have you been?” asked Shirley as Marcel walked up the stairs. “Ronnie went back and forth looking for you, but ....”

“What do I have to do?” interrupted Marcel rather than listen to Shirley lecture.

“Wash Ronnie’s car, then shine his shoes!” replied Shirley, holding back her anger that Marcel had dared to interrupt her. “Ciko also asked you to tidy up his room, don’t forget!”

Marcel nodded and said, “I’ll do it one by one ....”

“Whatever,” Shirley snapped while scrunching her waist.

Marcel walked away with a faint smile on the corner of his lips, his heart so light when he knew that there were billions of funds stored in his account.

To Be Continued—