Chapter 2 - The Fall of the Platinum Cards
Derek watched me with a smug, condescending grin, assuming I was about to call the restaurant manager to complain or quietly excuse myself in tears. Instead, my thumb flew across the screen with practiced speed, executing the pre-authorized instructions my corporate attorney, Arthur Vance, had meticulously prepared that very morning. With three simple taps, the financial scaffolding holding up Derek and Kelsey’s lavish lifestyle evaporated. I hit Confirm on Derek’s primary platinum card: canceled. I hit Confirm on Kelsey’s secondary card: canceled. Next went the unlimited business expense account Derek treated like an endless personal ATM, frozen instantly pending a forensic audit. Finally, I terminated the monthly lease payments on both of their matching luxury European sports cars. One by one, silent digital confirmation notices popped up across my screen. Across the table, Derek’s arrogant grin remained intact until the head waiter approached him with a polite, strained apology, whispering that the champagne charge for the table had just been declined by the issuer. Derek frowned, pulling out a backup card and handing it to the waiter. Declined. He tried a third card. Declined. Beside him, Kelsey stopped laughing, pulled out her own smartphone, and went completely, chalk-white. “Derek... my card won’t go through either,” she stammered, her voice pitching into sudden panic. Derek slammed his hand onto the table, rattling the crystal glassware, and glared at me. “What did you do?” he demanded. I took a calm, unhurried sip of water and looked him dead in the eye. “I stopped paying for people who despise me,” I replied evenly.
