All Chapters of Ring of Power: The Billionaire's Secret: Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
103 chapters
11 - The Gala Slap
The gun hits the floor. CLANG. Everyone jumps.The guard's face goes white as a sheet. "Ms. Chen, I—I didn't mean—I was just—""Don't care." Sora doesn't even look at him. Her eyes are locked on Jake. For half a second, her face does something weird. Softens. Like she's checking if he's hurt. Then it's gone. The Ice Queen is back.William Zhao straightens his tie and steps up, wearing this huge smile like he just won the lottery. "Ms. Chen! Thank God you're here. This guy crashed our event with a fake card. I handled it exactly like—""Handled it?" Sora turns her head slow. Real slow. Like a shark circling. "That's what you call this? Guns? Really?"William's smile cracks a little. "The card is fake! Stevens checked it himself. He knows what he's—""Stevens," Sora cuts him off flat, "wouldn't know a real card if it smacked him in the face. Hand it over."Stevens nearly drops the card twice trying to give it to her. His hands are shaking like crazy. Someone in the crowd giggles. Can't
12 - Payback
"I slapped you," Sora corrected, her voice unnaturally calm. "Big difference. If I'd hit you, you'd be on the ground." She turned to look at Derek, whose face had drained to the color of old paper. "And you. Take your girlfriend and leave. Before I call your father and explain what kind of trash his son brings to professional events."Derek's anger died instantly. His father. The deal. The money. Everything his family needed."We're going," he said quickly, grabbing Maya's arm. "Right now. Let's go.""Wait!" Maya was crying now, tears streaming down her face. "My family knows people on the board! We have friends—""Don't care," Sora cut her off flatly. "You showed everyone who you really are. Now deal with the consequences." She waved toward security. "Remove them. They're banned from all Titan events. Permanently."Four guards appeared. Maya tried to pull away, but her heel caught on something. Derek had to hold her up, and for just a second, Jake saw Derek's real expression. He wasn
13 - An Intern's Secret Power
The morning after the gala disaster, he sat in his father's office, trying to forget Maya's swollen face and Sora Chen's cold eyes. His phone buzzed. The private investigator he'd hired."Mr. Mitchell? Got some news about Jake Morrison."Derek sat up straighter. "Tell me.""He's broke. Like, completely broke. Bank account shows $847. That's it. No assets. No property. Nothing. The suit he wore to your event? Rented. The card? Still investigating, but it looks like he borrowed it or something."Derek's grin was vicious. "I knew it. I knew he was faking.""There's more," the PI continued. "He just started working at Titan Enterprises. Today. As an intern.""An intern?" Derek laughed. Actually laughed. "That's perfect. Sora Chen probably felt sorry for him after defending him. Gave him a pity job.""Yeah, well, the title says 'Executive Intern' but from what I can see, it's basically a closet office. Real small. No windows. Bottom of the ladder.""Beautiful." Derek ended the call and imm
14 - Shielded Identity
"What? Robert, what did you do?""Nothing! Just... get here. Please."He hung up. Looked at his safe. At all the folders he'd planned to move. To hide.'If I move them now and they find out, it's obstruction. If I don't move them, they'll find everything.'He was trapped. Completely trapped.His office door opened. His secretary, pale-faced. "Mr. Mitchell? There are men here to see you. They say they're from OSHA. Something about the Thompson project?"Robert felt his world tilting. "Send them in."Three investigators walked in with clipboards and grim expressions. "Mr. Mitchell, we're here about the three worker fatalities that occurred fourteen months ago at your Thompson Street construction site. We have some questions about your safety protocols and incident reports.""That was investigated. Closed case. Accidental deaths.""We've received new information suggesting the reports were falsified. We'll need access to your original documentation."Robert's hands started shaking. "I'll
15 - Falling Apart
At 4:47 PM, Robert Mitchell made his first major mistake.With investigators still combing through his office files, he slipped into his private bathroom with a box of documents. Financial records. The real ones. Showing every bribe, every kickback, every illegal payment.He locked the door. Turned on the vent fan to cover the sound. And started shredding.Page after page. Years of evidence turning into confetti.What he didn't know was that OSHA investigator Marcus Donovan had noticed his nervous behavior. Had positioned himself in the hallway. Heard the shredder running.He made a note in his file. Sent a text to his FBI counterpart.{Subject is destroying documents. Recommend escalation.}The response came back immediately: {Agreed. Prepare warrant.}Derek left his father's office at 5 PM, his head spinning. The investigators were still there. Still asking questions. Still taking notes.His phone rang. Maya. Finally calling back."What do you want?" Her voice was cold. Distant."Ma
16 - Reaching Greater Heights Through Meditation
"I don't know, Mom. I don't know." He hung up. Sat on his bed. Stared at the ceiling. Tried to think. Tried to understand. How did this happen so fast? Who had this much power? Sora Chen. Had to be Sora Chen. She was the only one with resources like this. Connections. Influence. But a small voice in the back of his mind whispered: 'What if it's not her? What if it's someone else? Someone you never saw coming?' Derek shook his head. Pushed the thought away. Jake Morrison was a broke intern. A nobody. This was Sora's doing. It had to be. His phone buzzed. Text from an unknown number: {Your father made his choices. Now he pays. You're next.} Derek dropped his phone like it burned him. Someone was watching. Someone was coming. And Derek had absolutely no idea who. His phone rang again. He grabbed it without looking. "Hello?" "Derek." Maya's voice. Soft. Hesitant. "I saw the news. About your dad." Derek's throat tightened. "Maya—" "I'm sorry. I know I said I needed time
17 - A Break-in
The drive to Titan was quiet. Morning traffic. People heading to jobs they hated. Living lives they hadn't chosen.Jake used to be one of them. Used to think that was all there was.Funny how fast things could change.He parked in the employee garage. Took the elevator to the eighteenth floor. Walked past rows of cubicles where people were already typing away. Complaints about coffee. Gossip about someone's divorce. Normal office stuff.Nobody looked twice at him.Jake unlocked his tiny office. Sat at his desk. Turned on his computer. Logged in with his intern credentials.Then opened the hidden command prompt. Entered his chairman codes."Full System Access Granted."He spent the morning reviewing operations. Approving budgets. Making decisions that would affect thousands of people. All from a closet office that barely fit his desk.At ten, Lisa from HR knocked on his door. "Jake? There's a department meeting in Conference Room B. Ms. Chen asked for you to sit in and take notes.""Su
18 - At The Auction
"To see the damage. And to make sure they didn't plant anything. Bugs. Cameras. Tracking devices." Sora slid into the driver's seat. "Harrison, you're coming too. Extra eyes."They drove across the city in tense silence. The research facility was on the industrial side. Warehouses and office parks. Not much security at night.Police cars were already there when they arrived. Yellow tape. Uniforms. The whole show.Sora badged them through. Led Jake and Harrison inside.The place looked untouched. Nothing broken. Nothing obviously stolen. Just a few filing cabinets hanging open. A computer terminal left running."Professional job," Harrison muttered. "They knew exactly what they wanted."A security officer approached. "Ms. Chen. We've reviewed the footage. Two people. Masked. They were in and out in under eight minutes. Bypassed our alarms like they weren't even there.""Show me," Sora said.They went to the security office. Pulled up the footage on screens.Jake watched two figures in
19 - The Auction Showdown (I)
He turned slowly. Two figures stood a few feet away. A man in a dark blue suit and a simple black mask. A woman in a cream-colored dress with a white mask that had little diamonds around the edges. Even with the masks, Jake knew those voices. Knew those postures. Derek and Maya. 'What the hell are they doing here?' Jake thought. His grip on the champagne glass tightened. Derek stepped closer. "Didn't expect to see certain people at an event like this. You know. People who should probably be working overtime right about now instead of playing dress-up." Maya giggled. It was a mean sound. "Some people just don't know their place. Think they can buy their way into circles they don't belong in." Several masked guests nearby turned to watch. Sensing drama. Sora's hand tightened on Jake's arm. A warning. But Jake could feel her body coiling. Ready to strike. "Interesting," Derek continued. His voice was loud enough for others to hear but vague enough to maintain the auction's
20 - The Auction Showdown (II)
The entire room gasped. Actual gasps. People turning to stare.Derek's head whipped around. "What?"The auctioneer's eyebrows rose above his mask. "Fifteen million. A substantial increase. Do I hear sixteen?"Derek stood up. "This is ridiculous! Who are you? You can't just—""Sir," the auctioneer cut him off. "Outbursts are not permitted. Either bid or sit down."Maya tugged on Derek's sleeve. "Derek, we can't. We don't have more than eleven. That's everything we have. Everything.""I don't care!" Derek's voice cracked. "I'm not losing to some nobody! Sixteen million!"The room went dead silent.Jake could see Maya's face go white even behind her mask. Her hands were shaking."Sixteen million," the auctioneer confirmed. "Do I hear seventeen?"Sora touched Jake's arm. "You don't have to do this.""Yeah," Jake said. "I do."He raised his paddle again. "Twenty million."The explosion of whispers was immediate. People talking over each other. Pointing. Staring.Derek made a sound like a w