All Chapters of Ring of Power: The Billionaire's Secret: Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
103 chapters
31 - A Message To Your Boss
"Let him go first."The man laughed. Harsh. Mocking. "That's not how this works. You give us stone. We give you friend. Maybe. If boss is feeling generous.""That's not a deal. That's you asking me to trust criminals.""You have no choice." The leader gestured at Tommy. At the other eleven armed men. "We have guns. We have your friend. You have nothing. Give us stone or we start breaking your friend's bones. One at a time. Starting with fingers."Jake looked at Tommy. Really looked at him.His friend was trying to stay brave. Trying not to show how scared he was. But Jake could see it. The tremor in his shoulders. The way his breathing was too fast.'He's terrified. And it's my fault. He got dragged into this because of me.'Then Jake looked at the twelve armed men. At their weapons. At their confident stances. They thought they had this in the bag. Twelve trained killers versus onep unarmed guy.And Jake smiled.Not a happy smile. A predator's smile."You know what?" Jake said. His v
32 - Eyes On Her
"Y-yes. I understand. I'll tell him.""Good."Then Jake turned. Pivoted on his heel. And threw the SUV.It sailed through the air like a toy. Twenty feet. Thirty. Forty. Crashed into a stack of shipping containers with a sound like the end of the world.Metal screaming. Glass exploding. The containers crumpling like aluminum cans. The SUV's frame twisted into something that didn't even look like a car anymore. More like abstract art. Violent art.Alarms started blaring. Loud. Echoing across the pier.Jake turned back to the leader. "Go. Now. Before I change my mind about letting you live."The man didn't need to be told twice. He ran. Stumbled over his own feet. Fell. Got back up. Kept running. Disappeared into the darkness.Jake went back to Tommy. "Come on. Let's get you checked out."They walked toward Jake's car. Tommy kept looking back at the destroyed SUV. At the wreckage. At the eleven men still groaning on the warehouse floor."Dude." Tommy grabbed Jake's arm. "DUDE. You just
33 - The Unexpected Warrior
Fifteen minutes that felt like fifteen years. Finally. Titan Enterprises building looming ahead.Jake slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a stop in the parking garage. Smoke pouring off the tires. Burnt rubber smell everywhere.Tommy lurched forward against his seatbelt. "Jesus Christ, Jake!"But Jake was already out of the car. Running toward where Sora's car should be parked.His heart was pounding. Ring burning hot on his finger. Mind racing with worst-case scenarios.'Please be okay. Please be alive. Please.'He turned the corner. Expected blood. Bodies. Kidnapping. Terror.What he saw instead made him stop dead in his tracks.Sora stood calmly next to her car. Hair slightly messed up. Business jacket torn at the shoulder. Blood on her knuckles. A bruise forming on her left cheek.But she was checking her nails like she'd just finished a boring meeting.Around her. Six men. All unconscious. All in black tactical gear. All sprawled on the concrete in various positions that
34 - Do Your Worst
"Not long. Few weeks maybe.""And the superhuman strength thing? The throwing cars? When did that happen?""Even more recent than that.""Man." Tommy leaned back. "I feel like I missed like three seasons of your life. Last time we talked you were washing dishes. Now you're a superhuman bodyguard intern with a scary CEO boss who can apparently fight better than you.""She can't fight better than me," Jake said. Then paused. "Actually. I don't know. Maybe she can. I've never fought her.""Please never fight her. I feel like that would destroy the city."Jake almost smiled. "Probably."They reached the hospital. Jake took Tommy inside. Got him checked out. Bruises. Minor cuts. Nothing broken. The doctors wanted to keep him overnight for observation."I'll be fine," Tommy said from his hospital bed. "You should go. Get some rest like your terrifying boss ordered.""You sure?""Yeah. Besides, I need time to process everything. My brain feels like scrambled eggs right now." Tommy grinned. "
35 - Something's Missing
Across the city, in his luxury office, Victor Kozlov stared at Jake's text message.{Do whatever you want. Sora's my boss. I'm just an intern who needs to show up to work tomorrow. Got to enjoy my mundane life. See you around. -J}Victor's smile faded. His eyes narrowed."Confident," he said to the empty room. "Too confident. What are you hiding, Mr. Morrison?"He pulled up security footage. From earlier tonight. The parking garage at Titan Enterprises.The video loaded. Showed Sora Chen walking to her car. Then six men approaching. Then...Static. The footage cut out completely. Just black screen with a timestamp.When it came back, the men were on the ground. Unconscious. Sora was on her phone. Security guards arriving.Victor replayed it. Same result. The critical moments were completely missing."Interesting," he murmured. Pulled up the metadata. The file had been accessed. Modified. By someone with high-level clearance."She has good security teams," Victor said. "Very good. The
36 - Board Meeting
Jake dragged himself through the revolving doors of Titan Enterprises at exactly seven fifty-five in the morning. His eyes felt like someone had poured sand in them. Every muscle ached from last night's warehouse fight. Tommy was safe now, recovering at his apartment with strict instructions to lie low. That was something, at least.But now Jake had a different battle to survive.A board meeting. Where he had to sit quietly and take notes like the nobody intern everyone thought he was.The elevator ride up felt too short. His reflection in the polished metal doors showed dark circles under his eyes. Great. He looked as exhausted as he felt. Jake straightened his cheap tie and tried to look alert instead of like someone who'd thrown a two-ton SUV at armed thugs a few hours ago.The boardroom was already half full when he slipped inside. Twelve leather chairs around a table so polished he could see the ceiling lights reflected in it. The kind of room that screamed money and power and de
37 - The Seduction Begins
Hands went up. All of them. Even the ones who'd supported William five minutes ago suddenly couldn't raise their hands fast enough."Motion carries," Harrison said calmly. Like they'd just voted on office supplies instead of destroying a man's entire career.The meeting dissolved. Board members gathered their things and filed out, whispering to each other. Jake caught fragments as they passed."Did you know he was stealing?""Offshore accounts, Jesus...""I always thought he was shady..."Sure you did, Jake thought. Right up until Sora proved it.Within five minutes, the room was empty except for Jake, Sora, and Harrison.Jake stayed in his corner, still playing the part. Just the intern. Just the nobody.Sora looked at him. Their eyes met for maybe half a second. She gave the tiniest nod. So small anyone else would've missed it.'Good job staying invisible,' that nod said.Then she was all business again. Ice Queen mode fully activated. She gathered her tablet and walked out, heels c
38 - Classic Honey Trap
Three days earlier, the setup had been perfect.Victor's office occupied the top floor of a building downtown. Floor to ceiling windows. View of the whole city. Everything dark wood and leather and the kind of furniture that cost more than most people's cars.Elena Volkov stood in front of his massive desk. Hands clasped behind her back. Posture perfect. Face neutral.She looked different than she would at Titan. Hair down instead of up. No makeup. Dressed in all black like she was going to a funeral or a heist."You understand the mission?" Victor asked. He sat behind his desk, fingers steepled under his chin."Perfectly." Elena's Russian accent was thicker here. More natural. "Infiltrate Titan Enterprises under the Elena Volkov identity. Get close to Jake Morrison. Create problems between him and Sora Chen. Gather intelligence on their operations and the artifacts they're protecting.""Morrison is Chen's kept man," Victor said. He pulled up photos on his tablet. Surveillance shots o
39 - Persistence In Flirting
Over the next week, Elena executed her plan perfectly.Every encounter was calculated. Rehearsed. Designed to unsettle Jake Morrison and make him think about her.Day one. Coffee machine on the third floor. Nine fifteen AM.Elena positioned herself there because Jake's routine had him getting coffee at nine twenty every morning. Predictable. Useful.She heard the break room door open. Turned with her brightest smile."Jake! What a coincidence!" Her voice was warm. Friendly. Just a touch too enthusiastic. "I was just thinking about you. Wondering how your day was going."Jake looked surprised. Caught off guard. "Oh. Hey, Elena. It's going okay. You settling in alright?""Getting there." She stepped closer while pouring her coffee. Invaded his personal space just slightly. "Do you drink coffee often? I love a man who needs his caffeine to function. It's charming somehow."She touched his arm while saying it. Light. Casual. But deliberate.Jake shifted his weight. Uncomfortable. "Yeah, u
40 - Uncomfortable Attention
Jake couldn't figure out what the hell was going on with Sora.For the past week, she'd been acting weird. Not normal weird. Ice-cold-don't-talk-to-me weird.They had a chairman meeting that morning. Just the two of them and Harrison in the secure conference room where they could actually talk freely. Jake had questions about a potential acquisition. Needed Sora's input on the financial side."So about the Meridian Tech acquisition," Jake started. "I was thinking we could—""Focus on your duties, Mr. Vale." Sora didn't even look up from her tablet. "We have a company to run."Mr. Vale. She called him Mr. Vale. In private. When it was just them and Harrison.Jake blinked. "Uh, okay. But did you get a chance to review the—""I'm busy. Excuse me."She stood up. Walked out. Heels clicking on the marble floor like little angry hammers.The door closed behind her with a solid thunk.Jake sat there. Stared at the empty chair she'd just vacated."Did I do something?" he asked Harrison.The ma