Empire of Betrayal

Chapter 5: The First Strike

Jackson Forbes stood over the screens in the underground command center, the faint glow reflecting off his sharp features.

Tonight, there would be no subtlety. No whispering chaos. Tonight, the Oakwood Consortium would feel the first tremor of a storm they never saw coming.

“Are you sure about this?” Harris asked, voice low, cautious. “It’s high risk. If they trace it…”

Jackson shook his head slowly. “They won’t. We’ve prepared for every angle. Every contingency. Every weak link is ours. And remember…” His gaze hardened, eyes sharp as blades. “…the higher the risk, the sweeter the victory.”

Lina, at the financial console, nodded. “All systems are ready. Proxy accounts, backdoor access, and encrypted communications are live. One false move and it’s on us, but so far, everything is secure.”

Jackson leaned back, hands steepled. “Good. Tonight, they’ll learn exactly what happens when you betray Jackson Forbes.”

Meanwhile, Jenna Oakwood was hosting a high-profile meeting in the consortium’s boardroom. Executives, investors, and media representatives crowded around the polished table, unaware that their empire’s foundation was about to quake.

“Everything must appear flawless,” Jenna said, her voice confident, yet betraying a trace of underlying anxiety. “We cannot afford mistakes tonight. This merger sets the tone for the next fiscal year.”

Carver, sweating slightly, nodded. “Of course, Ms. Oakwood. Everything is prepared, reports, transfers, investor communications… all on schedule.”

Victor, secretly loyal to Jackson, concealed a smirk behind his tablet. Every move he made in the meeting had been carefully directed by Jackson’s instructions.

Even minor hesitations, innocuous as they seemed, would ignite tension and expose vulnerabilities.

Back underground, Jackson’s fingers flew across the keyboard, initiating the first phase of the strike: a coordinated financial disruption.

Small but noticeable discrepancies appeared in the merger accounts, funds shifted in and out, minor but critical errors introduced at the right moment.

“Phase one is active,” Jackson said, eyes scanning monitors. “Now, watch the chaos unfold.”

Harris leaned closer. “They’ll notice immediately. They’ll try to fix it.”

Jackson smiled faintly. “Exactly. Panic makes people reckless. And reckless people make mistakes.”

In the Oakwood boardroom, alarms rang softly in the executives’ heads as reports began showing unusual activity. Carver froze, staring at the screen.

“This… this can’t be right,” he muttered. “Why are these transfers showing discrepancies?”

Victor watched silently, pretending to check his tablet. Inside, he followed Jackson’s instructions precisely: minor delays, subtle hints of insider manipulation. Each moment amplified the panic Jenna felt rising in the room.

Jenna’s eyes narrowed as she realized something was wrong. “Explain this!” she barked. “Who authorized these transfers? Who touched these accounts?”

“No one, ma’am,” Carver stammered. “Everything… it just… it’s wrong. The system, it’s showing errors I didn’t authorize…”

Jenna’s face paled. A flicker of fear flashed in her eyes. “No… no, this can’t be happening. Not tonight… not now!”

Victor glanced at her subtly, his heart pounding. Wait for the moment… Jackson had whispered this in their encrypted feed. Patience was part of the strike.

Underground, Jackson watched every reaction. His pulse was steady, but inside, adrenaline coursed. “Phase two,” he murmured.

With a few more keystrokes, internal communications were manipulated, emails misdirected, approvals delayed, key memos sent to wrong recipients.

Harris watched the live feed as board members argued, confusion spreading. “They’re turning on each other already.”

Jackson’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Good. Let them squabble. Let them question their own competence. The moment they lose control… that’s when fear becomes a weapon.”

Back in the boardroom, Jenna slammed her hand against the table, her face flushed with anger and anxiety. “Victor! Explain yourself. Did you authorize these transfers?”

Victor’s pulse raced. He hesitated, pretending to be unsure, before carefully replying, “Ms. Oakwood… I, I didn’t. I’m as shocked as everyone else.”

Jenna’s eyes darted to the other executives, suspicion flashing like lightning. “Then who?”

No one had an answer. Every minor error, every small disruption, every hesitation was calculated to make the board feel helpless. And all the while, Victor kept playing the perfect unwitting participant.

Underground, Jackson leaned back, satisfied. The first wave of the strike was working. Panic was seeping through the Oakwood boardroom like a virus.

Harris spoke quietly, tension in his voice. “Do we escalate further?”

Jackson’s gaze sharpened. “Not yet. Let them unravel a little more. Watch them burn in confusion. Let Jenna feel it personally. Then, when they’re weakest… we’ll hit the next phase.”

Lina frowned. “She suspects something though. She’s beginning to realize it might not be random.”

Jackson’s eyes glimmered. “Let her. That suspicion will make her desperate. Desperation clouds judgment. And clouded judgment… makes people predictable. Fear is the greatest weapon we can wield, Harris. And she’s already trembling.”

Later, after the meeting ended in chaos, Jenna retreated to her private office, trembling. She reviewed the reports, emails, and memos piling up, every executive blaming each other, every system glitch amplified by minor financial discrepancies.

“This… this isn’t random,” she whispered to herself, voice cracking. “Someone is… someone is manipulating everything. But who…?”

A thought she refused to consider crept into her mind: Could it… be him?

Her breath caught. “Jackson…”

Meanwhile, underground, Jackson allowed himself a rare moment of satisfaction. The first high-risk strike was a success: the board was destabilized, trust within the company fractured, and fear was beginning to spread like wildfire.

“This is just the beginning,” Jackson said softly, gazing at the glowing screens. “They think they’re untouchable. They think I’m gone. But tonight… tonight they learned how dangerous the shadows can be.”

Harris nodded. “The Oakwoods won’t recover from this easily. And Jenna… she knows something’s wrong, even if she can’t pinpoint it yet.”

Jackson’s gaze softened, just for a moment, as he pulled out a small photo of May. “For her… every risk, every strike… it’s worth it. I’ll bring her home. And they’ll pay for every second of fear they’ve caused us.”

The underground room fell silent, humming with quiet anticipation. The first strike had been executed. The first wave of chaos unleashed.

And high above the city, Jenna Oakwood sat alone in her office, pale and terrified, realizing a terrifying possibility: The man she thought dead… was alive. And he had just begun.