how did astor make his money

Chris Leary inherits a failing corner shop and, desperate to raise money for his girlfriend's treatment, discovers that the store's back door opens into other worlds. His first crossing takes him to a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where he trades food to survivors in exchange for gold and jewels, enough to clear his debts in one run. Pushing further, he stumbles into the immortal realm and negotiates a deal with the goddess Dark Lady: exquisite food in exchange for celestial medicine. But the arrangement carries a dark caveat — the apocalypse world's wealth is bound to the lives of its people. Chris returns with the elixirs, saves an entire survivor base, and locks in a long-term partnership that changes everything. What began as a desperate scramble quietly becomes an empire: one shop, a dozen worlds, and a trader who moves freely between all of them.

Jaden Smith willingly marries the daughter of his father's murderer. However, that isn't because he loves her, but because he wants to make her life a living hell. Although she suffers from a terminal illness, he still refuses to let her go.Every night, he'll pin her under his body, saying, "I'll never divorce you, Chloe. I'll even get the best doctor to treat you. I need to make you suffer for the rest of your life!"

Joanna Yates owned a successful company originally. After giving birth to a daughter for her husband Kell Robinson, she decided to focus on her family. Yet Mama's boy Kell and his mother colluded with Joanna's older sister Lily Yates to get Joanna's money and kick her and her daughter out. Later, Joanna met Charles Marshall, the president of the Marshall Group and developed a crush on him. Finally, under Charles's help, Joanna got her vengeance and found her biological mother. She even became the princess of the Sullivan Group!

The world's top mercenary, Paul Wood, believed money could solve anything. An assassin from the top ten assassin list? With more payment, he could wipe out all ten of them. The top assassin was Green Onion Hater? With more payment, anyone who hates green onions would become his enemy. While Paul was on a mission, disguised as a delivery guy, he ran into Kelly Josh, who insisted that Paul used to be her classmate and bully her. But Paul didn't even know her! "Lady, please have some self-respect. I only do delivery."

Modern-day gamer Leo Kane dies suddenly after an all-night gaming session and wakes up in another world as Grecan's most feared assassin, Cipher. Upon awakening, he's hired by Imperial Guard officer Hugo Spence to kill a woman named Lady Brooks. Intending to take the money and slack off, Leo's plan collapses when he's captured by his target, Poppy Brooks, who discovers his assassination mission. After Leo bravely drives off a group of bandits, Poppy's view of him changes. When she later learns that Leo once saved her life, their relationship begins to thaw, sparking a bond neither expected in a world built on blades and secrets...

All eyes are on the Burke family's only heir, Hugh Burke, as he returns home and is swarmed by the media. Just then, his cousin publicly announces a wife search—only for a little girl, Lorna, to show up calling Hugh "Daddy." He denies it, but a DNA test is set in motion.Lorna's mother, Verna, is in prison. Fearing for her daughter's safety, she sent her to find Hugh. But to Hugh, Verna is the woman who once betrayed and abandoned him for money and power.Lorna's sudden appearance becomes the key to unraveling years of heartbreak and misunderstanding—giving Hugh and Verna a second chance at love.

After six years together, Felix Gray breaks up with Mindy Rae Carter, holding his new lover close. Mindy doesn't argue. She grabs her suitcase, takes the breakup money, and leaves without a word. Everyone in the capital expects her to come crawling back within days—after all, she has loved him blindly, without pride or temper. But three months pass, and she still hasn't returned. Felix, once confident and unbothered, grows restless. Regret creeps in, and the silence between them begins to weigh on him. He misses her.

While working part-time as a delivery girl, Trudy accidentally stumbled upon her boyfriend and her sister registering for marriage. Heartbroken, she rushed into a flash marriage with Henry, an Ubor driver. Henry agreed to marry Trudy to appease his mother's pressure for him to settle down, but he had been holding onto a promise he made five years ago to the girl who saved his life. In their marriage, Henry hid his true identity, but as they spent time together, he gradually became attracted to Trudy and realized his feelings for her. At the same time, under Henry's care, Trudy's heart began to open up to him, and she unexpectedly found herself falling for him. Just as Trudy worked hard to earn money and nurture their marriage, she discovered a shocking secret: this handsome Ubor driver was actually a billionaire CEO! Even more astonishing, Trudy was the girl from five years ago!

Marie, the daughter of the wealthy Salvin family, mistakenly believed scoundrel Bowen was her savior. She agreed to hide her identity as her father requested, pretended to be an ordinary person, and dated Bowen, who used her money and cheated on her with Yadira. On the day Marie returned home after academic success, Bowen and his family conspired to steal her house and then broke up with her. Realizing the truth, Marie revealed her identity, confronted Bowen and Yadira, and demanded restitution. Just then, the head of the Smith family, who had been betrothed to Marie since childhood, appeared to help her reclaim her dignity and future.

Lisa Philip had an affair during her marriage. She trusted Elvis Turner,her first love, and mistakenly believed her husband, Allen Lucas,married her only for her money and was using their daughter to extort wealth from her. This led her to abandon her own child in a critical moment. However, what she didn't know was that Allen had been secretly supporting her career all along, hiding his true identity.Meanwhile, Elvis was just using Lisa, aiming to steal Allen's research results and swindle her family fortune. When the truth finally came to light, Lisa was filled with regret. But Allen and their daughter chose not to forgive her. Allen turned to his long-time secret admirer, his junior schoolmate. And Ann, their daughter, also wanted her to be her new mother, leaving Lisa to wallow in her remorse.

Hailed as the Federation's greatest mecha master, Dylan was betrayed by his disciple Loki at the Demon Abyss. To prevent the Ark Core from falling into enemy hands, he chose to self-destruct and sacrifice himself. However, Dylan did not truly die. Reborn in the body of a child named Howard, he carried the Ark Core within him, while two bonded mechas lay dormant in his soul. In this world now overrun by demons, Howard, armed with the memories of his past glory and betrayal, vows to exact vengeance and is determined to protect his newfound family…

Under his disguise as an ordinary odd-job worker, Hugh Lane suffered unending humiliation and witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly of mankind. Now that he had been restored to his former formidable identity, he vowed to make everyone who once humiliated him grovel at his feet!

Hailed as the Federation's greatest mecha master, Dylan was betrayed by his disciple Loki at the Demon Abyss. To prevent the Ark Core from falling into enemy hands, he chose to self-destruct and sacrifice himself. However, Dylan did not truly die. Reborn in the body of a child named Howard, he carried the Ark Core within him, while two bonded mechas lay dormant in his soul. In this world now overrun by demons, Howard, armed with the memories of his past glory and betrayal, vows to exact vengeance and is determined to protect his newfound family…

In my previous life, my girlfriend's childhood friend impersonated a rich heir and messed around with the fake power he had. I exposed him, and he crashed his car into me. In my final moments, my girlfriend's sister begged on her knees, pleading for my girlfriend's aid, hoping she could save me, but my girlfriend did nothing. "He wouldn't do that. Zacharias is beyond this. He would never dirty his hands for a nobody like this guy. He might be my boyfriend, but that doesn't mean he can do anything he wants. He'd better know his place." My girlfriend's sister remained on the ground for three days. In the end, Zacharias dragged her away, violated her, and killed her. Even at my dying breath, my girlfriend was still covering up for her childhood friend. She refused to believe Zacharias hit someone with a car and violated her sister. And then I was reborn. This time, I did not beg and plead for my girlfriend to give me a moment of her time. I called my brother instead. "Hey? Yeah, it's me. Some bastard impersonated me and is dragging my name through the mud. I need you to take that guy out. Also, I'm not marrying Annabelle Lawson. I'm taking her sister instead." I gave the Lawsons a lot of resources so they could grow, and what did I get in the end? An ungrateful woman who would leave me stranded and dying all for another man. With all their resources pulled, Annabelle and her childhood friend would be saying goodbye to their good old days and hello to their personal hell.

"Today's our wedding anniversary, but my husband spent it celebrating his ex-girlfriend's birthday..." Natalie resolves to end her marriage and return to her true identity. Once the misunderstanding is revealed, her ex-husband regrets what he did and tries to get Natalie back. But another man appears by Natalie's side: her ex-husband's half-brother...

After the divorce, Ella Blaine's ex-husband, John Jones, asked, "We were married for a year. Did you ever love me?""No!" Ella replied, walking away without a hint of hesitation.Later, a manipulative friend revealed a pregnancy involving John's child. Ella responded by exposing his infertility secret.Years later, when questioned about Ella's decision to marry the seemingly perfect Zac Smith, Ella, with unwavering confidence, declares, "If I can't be his bride, I'll be his new mother. Will he dare not to marry?"

Zoe's husband was the CEO of the Hall Group as well as the wealthiest man in Heide City. On her first day working at a company, she was impersonated by the cunning Lizzie, who even humiliated her in front of everyone. Little did Lizzie know, Zoe was just playing it cool, waiting to see what tricks she could pull off. Later, Charles, the nation's wealthiest man, arrived in Heide City in search of his long-lost daughter. His arrival exposed Zoe's hidden identity...

Avery, a struggling call girl, seizes the chance to marry the sole heir of the rich Waldorf family to earn money for her mother's medical bills. However, her future husband, Elliot, is a vegetable. Can Avery fulfill her commitment in this unexpected situation?