All Chapters of The Roman Walter Effect: Chapter 121
- Chapter 130
134 chapters
Chapter 121
Roman stood up already. He knew his wife was already upset and confused. He had to mitigate before anything else happened. “What are you doing here?” He asked her. “Well, I was heading home when I saw your car.” She replied to him. “This is Elara, babe. A part of the national board of economics and CEO of Mega extents.” He introduced. “Elara, this is my wife, Lena. She's a new member of the board.” “I've seen her a few times this week.” Elara said to Lena with a smile. She recognised Lena very well, but Lena couldn't really place the fingers on her. Since Lena was new, she definitely didn't have all the knowledge about the national economics board. “It's nice to meet you, Lena.” Elara said to her, offering a handshake. Lena was uncomfortable, but had to yield to it. “I was just talking to your husband about the progress of our contract. I have to repeat to the Congress tomorrow and we really needed to sit it out. I hope you don't mind.” She said to Lena. “Not at all.” Lena re
Chapter 122
The celebration of the relationship was done at Roman's house. Just Roman, Lena, Carlos and Zara. Roman wanted to make a toast to it and welcome Zara to the family officially. The next few days were good, everything followed the smoother path. Well, until a fine morning. A press story broke out from an anonymous source claiming Roman used political connections to secure the infrastructure deal unfairly. The heading was ghastly. “Roman secures infrastructure deals from frolicking rather than bidding.” The story went on to accuse Roman of being in a relationship with Elara, labelling it as the reason he got the job. Photos of him and Elara in the restaurant were also surfacing. The claims that he was cheating on his wife also surfaced and his image was slowly getting tarnished. The story was of major concern. It wasn't just a business story, but a public and moral one. Roman had always been seen as a moral person and this definitely made people question him. Even though the stor
Chapter 123
The study remained silent except for the soft drone of the air conditioner and the faint shuffle of papers. Carlos sat opposite Roman with a tablet resting in his hands, his expression instantly looking familiar to Roman. Over the years, he had come to know that particular look well. It was the expression Carlos was carrying whenever he uncovered something troubling.“Tell me what’s going on,” Roman said.Carlos rotated the tablet and pushed it across the desk toward him. “About the information sent to the reporter, it came from a disposable phone. At first, it looked impossible to track, but I kept on digging deeper.”Roman lifted the tablet and scanned the display. Rows of information filled the screen, including IP records, timestamps, streams of data. His eyes moved carefully across every detail as he processed it all.“The device was linked to a front company,” Carlos went on. “One of those businesses that only exists on documents. On the surface, it looked like a dead trail. But
Chapter 124
Carlos got up, took the tablet, and walked out of the room without saying anything else.Roman stayed where he was, looking at the empty spot on the desk where the tablet had been. His jaw twisting as he thinks about it, he always knew politics was messy and unfair, but this felt entirely different. It wasn’t just business anymore, it was personal, and Roman Walcott treated that very differently.His phone vibrated on the desk, and he looked at the screen.It was Halden.Roman waited for two rings before answering the phone. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm and friendly, showing no trace of anger or betrayal.“Senator.”“Roman!” Halden’s voice came through loud and full of energy. “Good, I was hoping to reach you, how’s everything going? How’s your family?”“Everyone’s fine. How about you?”“Very busy right now,” Halden said. “You know how campaign season is, that’s the main reason I called.”He was sounding more focused now. “We’re doing a major rally in three days. In the c
Chapter 125
Later that evening, Roman walked into the living room and saw Lena curled up on the couch, reading through a stack of reports from the National Economic Advisory Board. The moment she noticed him, she immediately put the papers aside.“What’s the matter?” she asked.Roman paused in his step after hearing the question. “What makes you think something is the matter with me?”“Because I know your facial expression, Roman Walcott. I know you too well,” she replied. “And that’s the face you carry when something is weighing on you.”A little smile almost appeared on his face, but he held it back. Instead, he went over and sat down beside her, allowing the room to be silent a bit. Everywhere was quiet, the children were already asleep. Through the tall windows, the city lights were shining from afar.“Eventually, he finally said something. ‘A political ally might have changed sides,’ he said. ‘There’s some evidence, nothing tangible is certain yet, but it’s leaning in a worrying direction.’L
Chapter 126
Later that night, after Lena had already gone to sleep, Roman was still doing his research. The house was quiet, and the world outside had gone into silence as well, but his thoughts were anything but calm.He turned on his laptop and wrote a message. It was short and heavily encrypted, and sent to an account that would automatically delete itself once the message was opened.Smith, new job for you, go into Halden’s donor network. I need full details of the money, every donation, fake company, and offshore transfer. Start with the last 60 days and go backwards. I want to know who is paying him and what they want in return. Only report to me, use Crestfield channels to do it. Don’t leave any trace.He went through the message twice, then sent it.Smith worked inside Crestfield, a private intelligence company Roman had quietly gained control of two years earlier. Smith had experience moving through political networks, uncovering information others tried to hide. He worked quietly, got
Chapter 127
The apartment was so tiny that Mira could nearly reach both walls at once while standing in the middle. During her first week there, she had tested it out, almost like a cruel little experiment. Earlier before everything, she could carry designer handbags and lived high above the city in a luxury penthouse. Now, she measured the size of her life by the stretch of her arms.The bedroom window offered nothing impressive either, only the blank side of the neighboring building.The view was full of grey brick, a metal fire clung to the wall outside, and beneath it sat an old air-conditioning unit streaked with rust. Every so often, some water would drip from it onto the ledge below in unusual beats, like a broken clock that no longer cared about keeping accurate time.Nearly three weeks earlier, she had parted with the last valuable thing she owned, a pair of diamond drop earrings passed down from a wealthy great-aunt who’d never truly understood their value. The jeweller offered far le
Chapter 128
Mira said nothing for a few seconds. On the outside, the traffic was noisy through the city streets while the neighbor’s air conditioner continued its uneven dripping against the ledge.“How much are you offering?” she finally asked.A short silence followed after the question, the kind that sounded almost like someone smiling on the other end of the line.“Fifty thousand dollars,” Dana Reeves said. “It’s a fixed price. We record the interview, we manage the editorial framing, and you’ll have the right to review the primary quotations. It would go to broadcast within forty-eight hours of filming.”Fifty thousand dollars.Mira kept her eyes fixed on the grey brick wall beyond the window. Fifty thousand dollars. It was enough to cover months in this cramped apartment, a fragile buffer, but still a buffer. It wasn’t close to what she had once been used to, not even a shadow of it, but it was something real. Something that could start to shift the weight pressing in on her. It meant a li
Chapter 129
Angela Webb, his chief legal counsel, was known for her speed and precision. She arrived in seventeen minutes with the agreement already pulled up on her tablet.“Clause nine,” Roman said as she entered.Angela was already in the room.“Non-disclosure,” she said without hesitation, scanning the document. “It’s broad and strict. It covers any public statements, interviews, written accounts, broadcasts, and social media posts involving Roman Walcott, Walcott Corporation, Walter Group, and all connected people or organizations. Mira Donaldson signed it as part of her early release from the legal case.”She paused and looked into his eyes.“It’s solid,” she continued. “Completely enforceable.”“Send a formal notice to The Meridian Pulse tonight,” Roman said. “If you have to, wake their legal team. Make it clear that airing any part of that interview breaks a binding legal agreement. The first step will be an injunction. After that, a lawsuit that will make their quarterly profits irreleva
Chapter 130
The boardroom at Crestfield Group smelled of old wood polish and stale coffee. Twelve people sat around the long mahogany table, and not one of them looked comfortable. Smith sat near the middle, hands resting on a thin leather folder. He wore a grey suit and had arrived early. He spent those extra minutes sitting silently, watching the others file in.They knew who he worked for. Everyone in the room knew.Harold Vance, the chief financial officer, barely glanced at him. Gerald Crane, head of operations, shuffled papers loudly. Two junior board members looked at Smith like a door they had been told not to open. Smith gave no reaction. He had been a butler for twenty-three years. He knew how to sit still while being watched.Edward Finch, the chairman, called the meeting to order at ten. The agenda was routine for forty minutes. Revenue reports. Supply chain updates. A dispute with a shipping partner. Smith listened and said nothing. He took no notes. He didn't need to.When Finch ask