Rewind With A Superstar System-Chapter 92: Wasted Ken

<🎧 Song Recommendation: i walk this earth all by myself by EKKSTACY>

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A moment after ringing the doorbell, the door swung open. Uncle Ken stood there in a silk bathrobe, holding a half-empty glass of scotch.

He was a balding, heavy-set man with a permanent scowl that instantly morphed into a wide-eyed smile the second he recognized his nephew.

"Von! My boy!" Ken cheered, almost spilling his drink. "I saw the news! Top of the charts! I told everyone at the club, that’s my nephew! Come in, come in! I always knew you had the talent to make it big!"

Von didn’t move an inch. "We aren’t staying. We’re here to settle the debt."

Ken’s smile faltered slightly, his eyes darting to Emily, Naomi, and finally resting on the figure of Zack. The fake warmth evaporated, replaced by the greedy calculation of a hustler.

"Right, the debt," Ken sighed, adopting a faux-sympathetic tone.

"It’s a tragedy what your father left you with. With the principal, the missed interest, and the late fees... you owe me three hundred and ten thousand, Von. But since you’re family, and you’re doing so well, I’ll keep it at a flat three hundred. Cashier’s check is fine."

Zack stepped forward, physically placing himself between Von and the doorway. He slid a thick manila folder out from under his arm.

"Good afternoon, Ken. I am Zachary Tuna, Head of Legal for Absolute Records. And my client will not be paying you three hundred thousand dollars."

Ken was left wondering for a second, but he got into character, sneering and puffing his chest out.

"Listen here, suit. I have IOUs signed by his father. If he doesn’t pay, I’ll take him to court. Or better yet, I’ll go to the tabloids right now and tell them how the great Von Varley is a deadbeat who steals from his own family!"

"Actually," Zack smiled smoothly, opening the folder, "he’ll survive it just fine. You, on the other hand, will be looking at federal charges."

The blood drained from Ken’s face. "What are you talking about?"

"I did a little digging on the drive over," Zack lied flawlessly, tapping the blank papers in his folder.

"You are operating as an unlicensed money transmitter. The interest you’ve been forcing Naomi to pay exceeds 45% annually. Under Florida usury laws, anything over 18% is a third-degree felony. Furthermore, the IOUs you hold are legally unenforceable without proof of actual fund transfer. In short, you’ve been extorting orphans."

Ken swallowed hard, the glass of scotch trembling in his hand. He looked at Von, expecting mercy, but Von just stared back with indifference.

"So," Zack continued, pulling a pen from his jacket. "Here is the deal. We are offering a one-time, final settlement of eighty thousand dollars to completely buy out this fabricated debt. In exchange, you will sign this Release of Claims and a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement. If you protest, or if you ever breathe a word of this to the press, I will personally hand this folder to the District Attorney, and you will spend the next five years in a state penitentiary."

Defeated and outplayed, Ken snatched the pen. He furiously scribbled his signature on the legal documents, his face flushed with humiliating rage.

Emily handed him a certified check for eighty thousand dollars, pocketing the signed contracts.

Ken looked down at the check, fuming. He looked back up at Von, trying to salvage whatever scrap of dignity he had left.

"Is this how you treat your own blood?" Ken spat bitterly. "After everything I did for you? You’re a cold-hearted punk, Von. At least... at least let me get a picture with you for my Photogram. Show people we’re good."

Von reached up, slowly pulling down his sunglasses so his uncle could see the absolute disgust in his violet eyes.

"Is this how you treat your own blood?" Ken spat bitterly. "After everything I did for you? You’re a cold-hearted punk, Von. At least... at least let me get a picture with you for my Photogram. Show people we’re good." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Von didn’t say a word. He simply reached up, pulled off his dark sunglasses, and stepped right up next to his uncle.

Ken was momentarily surprised by the silent compliance, but his greedy instincts quickly took over. He whipped out his smartphone, threw a heavy arm around Von’s shoulder, and snapped a quick selfie, making sure the Vanguard jacket was clearly in frame.

Without missing a beat, his thumbs started tapping away rapidly on the screen.

"What are you using it for?" Von asked casually seeing how quickly he was acting.

"Haha, you’ll see," Ken chuckled with a triumphant grin spreading across his face. He hit the Share’button, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. He laughed like he had just outsmarted them, securing the ultimate marketing tool to boost his used car business off his superstar nephew’s back.

A moment later, Emily’s phone chimed with an alert. She glanced at her screen, and a wide smirk broke through her professional facade. She turned her phone around to show Zack the notification.

"He really made the post," Emily laughed.

Von let out a relaxed laugh as well, shaking his head at his uncle’s predictable greed.

It was a trap Zack had carefully laid out in the SUV on the ride over. Zack knew Ken’s massive ego wouldn’t let Von leave without trying to squeeze out some social media clout to save face. They just needed him to take the bait on his own.

Zack stepped forward.

"Excuse me, Ken. Did you just publicly post that photo to promote your dealership?"

Ken frowned in annoyance. "So what? He’s my blood. It’s good for business."

Zack sighed dramatically, shaking his head. He tapped the freshly signed documents in Emily’s hand. "Section four, paragraph two of the strict Non-Disclosure Agreement you signed exactly two minutes ago explicitly prohibits the use of Von Varley’s name, image, or likeness for any public association, social media clout, or commercial gain."

Ken blinked, the words slowly registering in his scotch-addled brain. "Wait... what?"

"The stipulated penalty for a direct, immediate breach of this contract," Zack continued, "is the immediate forfeiture of all settlement funds. Liquidated damages."

Before Ken could even process the legal jargon, Zack casually reached out and plucked the $80,000 certified check right out of Ken’s loose, trembling fingers.

"You... you can’t do that!" Ken sputtered, panic rising in his chest as he reached for the paper. "Give that back!"

"I can, and I just did," Zack said smoothly, tucking the check safely into his suit pocket. "If you’d like to contest it, we can go to civil court. But remember, the moment we do, the District Attorney gets a phone call about your illegal lending practices."

Von stepped back, slipping his dark sunglasses back over his eyes.

"You should really read what you sign, Ken," Von said with pity, too. "Dad made that mistake. And thanks to my buddy, Zack, I don’t."

Ken stood frozen in the doorway of his McMansion, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. His brain simply couldn’t comprehend how he had gone from demanding three hundred thousand dollars, to settling for eighty, to being left with absolutely zero in the span of five minutes.

Without another word, Von turned and walked down the driveway with his sister, leaving his uncle ruined, outsmarted, and completely speechless in the Florida heat.