All Chapters of Ring of Power: The Billionaire's Secret: Chapter 61
- Chapter 70
112 chapters
61 - Poisoned Truth
His voice cracked. Couldn't help it. All the fear. All the panic. All the hours of waiting and not knowing."Poison." Marcus's voice was stronger now. Clearer. "Someone's been poisoning me. Slowly. For months. The doctors don't know yet. Won't know unless they specifically test for it. But I know. I can feel it."Sora's face went ice cold. "Who?""I don't know exactly who. But it's someone close. Someone with access to my food. My drinks. My daily routine." Marcus tried to sit up. Grunted. Pain flashing across his face."Don't move," Jake said. "You need to rest.""No. I need to talk. Now. Before they monitor me again." Marcus grabbed Jake's hand tighter. His grip was weak but desperate. "There are things you need to know. About the Hearts. About Victor. About what's really happening.""Save your strength," Sora moved closer. "We can talk when you're better. When you're out of here.""No." Marcus's voice was firm despite the weakness. "Now. Because if I die tonight, you need to know e
62 - Truth Unveiled?
Alarms blared.Loud. Piercing. Every machine at once.Marcus's eyes rolled back. His body convulsed. The monitors showing things Jake didn't understand but knew were bad."Code blue! Code blue! Room 347!"The door burst open. Doctors. Nurses. Medical equipment. All rushing in at once."Out! Everyone out! Now!"Hands grabbed Jake. Pulled him back. Away from the bed. Away from Marcus.'Dad!' He wanted to call out as he fought against them. Tried to get closer. 'Dad!' He screamed in his thoughts, desperate to call out, but too conscious of the implications."Sir, you need to leave! Let us work!"Sora grabbed his arm. Pulled him toward the door. Her grip was iron. Unyielding.They were pushed into the hallway. The door slammed shut.Through the small window, Jake watched. Medical team swarming. Machines. Medication. Controlled chaos.His fists clenched so hard his nails cut into his palms. Blood. Pain. Didn't matter.'Not like this. Please. Not like this. I just got him back. I just foun
63 - The USB Revelation
Jake pulled the USB drive from his pocket. Turned it over in his hands. Such a small thing. Barely weighed anything. Could be answers. Could be lies. Could be both. "I don't know," he said honestly. "But we need to find out what's on it. Soon. Before Marcus..." He couldn't finish that sentence. Couldn't say the words out loud. Saying them made it real. Made it possible. Sora's expression softened. Just slightly. Just enough for Jake to see the person underneath the CEO mask. "We'll watch it. Together. In my office. Somewhere secure." She glanced around the parking garage. Concrete. Shadows. Too many places for cameras or listening devices. "Not here. Somewhere we control." They walked back to the elevator. Jake kept the USB drive in his fist. Couldn't let it go. Like holding it tight enough would make the answers inside be good ones. The ride up was silent. Elevator music played. Some generic corporate instrumental that was probably supposed to be calming. It wasn't working. S
64 - Just A Little Meeting
Before he could decide, his phone buzzed. Unknown number. Text message.{Looking forward to tomorrow. Thank you for giving me a chance. I won't waste it. I promise. -E}How did she know he'd agree? Had she been watching? Listening somehow?Jake showed the text to Sora.She frowned. "She's confident. Either because she knows you'll come. Or because it's definitely a trap and she knows we can't resist.""Or because she's desperate and hoping.""Hope is dangerous. Hope makes people stupid." Sora finished her last call. "Security team will be in place at the café an hour before you arrive. Six operatives. Posing as customers. Armed. Trained. At the first sign of trouble, they extract you. No questions. No debate.""What about Elena?""What about her?""If things go wrong, do we leave her? Or extract her too?"Sora considered. "If she's genuinely trying to defect, we extract her. If she betrays you, we leave her to Victor's mercy. Or lack of it."Fair. Cold but fair.Jake pocketed his phon
65 - The Rosewood Meeting (I)
Different location. Different life. Same war.Derek Mitchell woke up at 8 AM. Unusual for him. Usually slept until noon. But today was special. Today required preparation.He made instant coffee. Tasted like chemicals but had caffeine. That's all that mattered.His phone sat on the nightstand. Silent since M's message last night. The instructions were clear. Simple. Be at the café. Watch the east exit. Stop Morrison if he runs.Derek opened his laptop. Pulled up the café location. Studied it. Again. For the hundredth time.Rosewood Café. Downtown. Three exits. Front entrance on Main Street. Side door to an alley. Back door leading to the parking lot.M, had said to watch the east exit. That was the alley. Made sense. If things went wrong, if Morrison panicked, he'd run for the closest escape. The alley exit.And Derek would be waiting.He pulled out his supplies. Things he'd bought over the past week. Preparation for whatever M needed.A taser. Legal to own. Barely. Strong enough to d
66 - The Rosewood Meeting (II)
Across the street. Different coffee shop. Different perspective.Derek Mitchell sat at his window seat. Third latte going cold. He'd been here since 11:30. Watching. Waiting.The alley exit was perfectly visible from here. Narrow. Dark. Easy to control. If Morrison tried to run, Derek would see him. Would stop him. Would do whatever M needed.His backpack sat between his feet. Heavy. Full of tools. Taser. Pepper spray. Knife. Gun.Derek's hands were sweating. He wiped them on his jeans. Again. For the hundredth time.'Come on. Just walk into the trap. Just make this easy.'He watched Morrison enter Rosewood Café. Watched him sit with some woman. Elena probably. The spy M had mentioned. The one delivering Morrison.Any minute now. Any minute M's people would move. Would grab Morrison. Would end this.And Derek would be there. Backup. Insurance. Making sure Morrison didn't escape.He checked his phone. Nothing from M. That was fine. The plan was set. Just wait. Be ready. Don't fail.His
67 - The Rosewood Meeting (III)
Jake was moving before his brain caught up. Instinct. Training. The Hearts activating.He grabbed Elena. Pulled her down. Under the table. "Stay here! Don't move!"The café's front window exploded. Glass everywhere. Bullets tearing through the walls. Through furniture. Through the space where Jake had been sitting two seconds ago.People screamed. Dove for cover. Ran for exits. Pure chaos.Jake's ring flared white-hot. All three Hearts engaging at once. Power flooding through him. The world slowing down. His perception sharpening.He could see the attackers outside. Men in tactical gear. Black. Professional. Forty of them. Maybe more. Surrounding the café. Covering every exit.'Trap. It was always a trap.'But not Elena's trap. Her face was pure shock. Pure horror. She hadn't known. Couldn't have faked that reaction.Victor had tracked her. Used her confession. Turned her defection into bait.More gunfire. The café was being shredded. Bullets hitting everything. People hiding behind o
68 - Threats Neutralized (For Now)
They found her still under the table. Shaking. Hands over her head. Eyes squeezed shut. In shock.Jake crouched down. Kept his distance. "Elena. It's over. You can come out."She opened her eyes. Saw him. Saw the café. Saw the destruction. Started crying.Not manipulation crying. Real crying. Ugly crying. The kind that comes from terror and relief mixed together."I didn't know," she sobbed. "I swear I didn't know. I thought I was careful. Thought I'd been smart. But Victor was tracking me. The whole time. Using me."Sora checked Elena's phone. Pulled it from her hoodie pocket. Ran some kind of app. "She's telling the truth. Tracking software. Military grade. Installed three weeks ago. She wouldn't have known unless she was specifically looking for it."Elena's face crumbled. "He knew. Knew I was defecting. Knew I was trying to help. So he used it. Turned my confession into bait. Led you into an ambush. Used me to try to kill you."She looked at Jake. Eyes red. Face destroyed. "I'm so
69 - Fast But Not Furious!
"During the café attack, someone hit the research facility anyway. Different team. Different target. Forty men at the café were a distraction. The real objective was the facility."Jake's stomach dropped. "Did they steal the data? The Hearts research?""No. They didn't steal anything." Harrison's voice got quieter. More grim. "They planted something. Explosives. The entire building is rigged to blow. Professional work. Military grade. Enough to level the block.""Can you disarm it?""We're trying. But sir. We can't find the detonator. It's not wired. Not on a timer. Someone has a remote trigger. Someone who can blow the building anytime they want. And we have no idea who or where."Jake looked at Sora. She'd heard. Was already moving. Already planning. Already ten steps ahead."How much time do we have?" Jake asked."Unknown. Could be hours. Could be minutes. Could be right now." Harrison's voice was steady but Jake heard the fear underneath. "We're evacuating the surrounding building
70 - A Bomb Threat? Really?
Sora stepped forward smoothly. Taking over. Saving him. "How much time do we have?"The attention shifted. Focused on her. The CEO. The person who should be asking questions.Harrison caught on fast. "Unknown, Ms. Chen. Could be remote detonation. Could be timer. Could be motion sensor. We can't risk disarming until we know the trigger mechanism.""Evacuate everyone within three blocks," Sora ordered. Voice sharp. Commanding. "Get the bomb squad inside. Find that detonator. I want updates every five minutes. No one enters until we know what we're dealing with.""Yes, ma'am."People moved. Following orders. Doing their jobs.Jake stayed back. Trying to be invisible. Trying to fix his mistake.Elijah drifted over. Casual. Like he was just standing around. But he leaned in close. Whispered so only Jake could hear."So. Secret bodyguard, huh?"Jake didn't look at him. "What?""Come on. I'm not stupid. Mr. Vale said you were important. Said to protect you and aid Miss Chen." Elijah's voice