That night, after Lima and Alessandra had fallen asleep, Raphael stepped onto the balcony and dialed Ari.
Ari answered on the first ring.
"Raphael? It's late — what's up?"
Raphael leaned against the railing, gazing out at the glittering New York skyline.
"I need you to sign two people."
Ari paused.
"Sign who?"
"Lima and Alessandra."
Ari went quiet for a beat.
"…Say that again?"
"Their film and TV representation contracts. Get them signed."
Ari sounded genuinely thrown.
"Why? They're models, not actresses—"
"I know."
Raphael cut him off. "But they'll have plenty of cameo opportunities going forward."
Ari stayed silent.
Raphael kept going.
"Just sign them. Money's not an issue, terms are flexible. Once they're on board, find them good roles — push what needs pushing, give what needs giving."
Ari let out a long, resigned sigh.
"Alright, boss. You're the one writing the checks."
Raphael hung up, then immediately called Philip.
Philip answered sounding half-asleep.
"Raphael? What time is it—"
"Find them some endorsements," Raphael said, straight to the point. "High-end luxury brands preferred. Money's negotiable."
Philip sounded wide awake now.
"Endorsements? For who?"
"Adriana and Alessandra."
Philip rubbed his temples so hard Raphael could almost hear it through the phone.
"…You're serious?"
"Dead serious."
"Fine. I'll start making calls tomorrow."
After hanging up, Raphael glanced back toward the bedroom and reminded himself: No time to relax yet.
Earlier that day, Philip had called with the final number — the $1.38 billion from the World Cup was now fully cleared into the company accounts.
In other words, Raphael could finally open the wallet wide and start spending like he meant it.
Of course, even $1.38 billion wasn't infinite compared to the eye-watering prices on the system panel. He still had to be smart.
He pulled up the panel with practiced ease and began scanning for the right purchases.
The options were limited.
The Fast universe's "Heavenly Eye" system was built for governments and agencies — useless in the hands of a Hollywood actor.
The Matrix items all required building an actual Matrix platform first; without it, even Neo's flight powers at ten billion dollars would be pointless.
Pirates abilities were mostly sea-bound — useless on dry land unless he wanted to sail the Black Pearl down Fifth Avenue.
Underworld? He had zero interest in becoming a blood-drinking vampire or werewolf.
That left only one universe that translated cleanly to the real world.
Star Wars.
After careful selection, Raphael locked in the abilities that felt perfect:
[Force Push/Pull]
Price: $2,000,000
Description: Push or pull objects with the Force. Master level can move multi-ton masses or hurl enemies in combat. Requires Force aptitude.
[Force Speed]
Price: $2,500,000
Description: Briefly surge the Force to accelerate body movement beyond human perception. Best paired with enhanced physique.
[Force Heal]
Price: $3,000,000
Description: Accelerate natural healing in self or others. Can mend broken bones, internal bleeding, and severe trauma. Consumes significant mental energy.
[Force Shield]
Price: $28,000,000
Description: Generate a protective barrier of pure Force energy around the body. Blocks energy weapons and physical impacts.
[Force Leap]
Price: $1,200,000
Description: Amplify leg strength for superhuman jumps up to ten meters. Perfect for rapid repositioning in combat.
[Force Mastery (Master Level)]
Price: $10,000,000
Description: Comprehensive upgrade to Force control, reaching Jedi Master proficiency.
[Light Judgment]
Price: $8,000,000
Description: Ancient forbidden Jedi technique drawn from the "Electric Judgment" of legend. Unlike Sith lightning fueled by rage, Light Judgment requires absolute inner calm and unwavering commitment to the light side. The longer the charge, the purer the heart, the greater the golden-white lightning released. Deals extra damage to dark-side targets.
Limitation: One-time use per full charge.
Raphael stared at the carefully chosen list and felt genuinely satisfied.
Force Push/Pull was basically Bigby's Hand from D&D.
Force Speed + Force Leap together were straight-up qinggong — walking on snow without leaving footprints.
Force Heal was cellular regeneration on steroids.
Force Shield was an invisible wall of pure will.
Force Mastery was like downloading Yoda and Mace Windu's entire lifetimes of training in one shot.
And Light Judgment? That was the ultimate finisher — the super move that drained the whole blue bar in one go.
He selected them all.
The total flashed up.
$151,000,000
One hundred and fifty-one million dollars.
Raphael's eye twitched once.
Just half a month ago his entire net worth had been forty-seven million.
Now he was dropping one fifty-one on skills alone.
Fortunately the system wasn't a loan shark. He only needed to pay one million before Attack of the Clones released next month — the Fast debt installment.
The remaining one hundred and sixty-two million could wait until Step Up hit theaters in September.
"System, clear the Fast debt first. Remind me about the rest before Clones drops."
The panel updated instantly.
[Debt Settlement in Progress…]
[Payment received: $1,000,000]
[Source: Personal account balance — $1,300,000 remaining after payment]
[Current Debt Breakdown]
Dominic Toretto skill set: $1,000,000
Anakin Skywalker Force aptitude: $10,000,000
Complete Jedi training memories: $500,000
Jedi Mind Trick: $500,000
Force Push/Pull: $2,500,000
Force Speed: $2,000,000
Force Heal: $5,000,000
Force Shield: $10,000,000
Force Leap: $1,500,000
Force Mastery (Master): $50,000,000
Light Judgment: $80,000,000
[Total Debt: $163,000,000]
[Paid: $1,000,000]
[Remaining: $162,000,000]
[Next Deadline: Full remaining balance ($162,000,000) due before Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones release or…]
Raphael rubbed his throbbing temples and headed to the spare bedroom. He needed the rest of the night to integrate the new powers.
Absorbing this many abilities at once made his head feel like it was about to split open.
Thankfully most were passive. Only Force Mastery required real digestion, or he would have been in serious pain.
---
One night later.
The next morning Raphael's phone rang — Goldman Sachs.
"Mr. Lee, your car is downstairs."
He hung up, checked himself in the mirror.
He'd trained until the early hours, but Force Heal had one huge perk: two hours of sleep and he was fully recharged.
He changed into a relaxed suit and headed down.
A black stretch Lincoln waited at the curb. The driver in uniform opened the door with a respectful nod.
"Mr. Lee, please."
Raphael slid into the soft leather seat and watched the New York streets roll past.
Goldman Sachs.
The world's most powerful investment bank.
He remembered Philip's warning: "Jerry will try to keep it quiet, but Goldman has no walls that don't leak."
Clearly the leak had reached all the way to Henry Paulson.
Thirty minutes later the car stopped outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The gray stone building stood solid and imposing in the morning sun.
A row of luxury cars already lined the curb. Well-dressed men and women drifted inside in small groups.
Raphael stepped out. A woman in a sharp business suit approached.
"Mr. Lee, it's an honor. I'm Emily, senior wealth manager in Goldman's private client division. I'll be escorting you today."
Raphael nodded and followed her into the museum.
Today's theme was Jackson Pollock.
Raphael had a vague memory — American abstract expressionist famous for "drip paintings." Basically splattering paint on canvas until it looked like colorful spaghetti.
He followed Emily into the gallery. Huge canvases covered the walls — red, yellow, black paint flung and swirled with no obvious pattern.
Raphael stared at one for three seconds, then looked away.
He remembered an old internet joke from his past life: "A three-year-old could paint that."
Back then he thought it was exaggeration.
Now he was pretty sure it wasn't.
Emily kept up the professional tour.
"This is Pollock's 1952 work Blue Poles. It sold for twelve million at Christie's last year."
Raphael raised an eyebrow.
Twelve million.
For this?
He kept his mouth shut and moved on.
The gallery was full of finance and art world types.
A few people recognized him and gave curious glances, but no one approached.
Raphael kept walking, already wondering how long he had to stay before he could politely leave.
---