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Chapter 34: And The Lion
“You’ve been living from paycheck to paycheck. You sleep four hours a night, chase tips like a dog, and then expect me to believe we’re going to have a future together? I’m sorry—no, I’m not sorry—I just can’t keep pretending you’re not dragging me down. If you were in my shoes, you’d probably do the same. No one wants to suffer!” The crowd went still. No one expected that level of venom. Jason stared at her like she’d just gutted him. “You think I’ve been dragging you down?” he whispered, voice razor-thin. “You wanna talk about weight? About management?” He took a step forward. Carson tensed beside her. “Who paid for your textbooks when your dad stopped sending money because his business crashed? Who walked three miles in the damn snow to bring you your meds when you had mono and your roommates bailed on you? Who sat with your mom for fourteen hours in that roach-ridden clinic while she was fighting pneumonia, because all three of her sons were too busy ‘networking’ at brunch?”
Chapter 33: The Lamb
PRESENT DAY Jason almost tripped out of the boardroom, disbelief draping over him like a second skin. One minute, he was just Jason, a campus nobody with a part-time job at Billy’s Diner Grill. The next, he was walking out with a Lexus at his side, ready to be presented to the most powerful man in the world as “his son for the evening.” The surreal nature of the moment made his heart drum in his ribs—but it also ignited something else: a fierce, electric thrill. He paused in the lobby, hands trembling, doubt creeping in. Me? But Elena’s voice had been firm, unwavering. “You fit the role, Jason. Just be yourself—carry yourself like you already own the place.” So he’d smiled, nodded, climbed into the car that cost more than a starter home, and drove away from everything he thought he knew. By midday, he was back at college—his second home, and his daily battlefield—sunglasses masking his fatigue, hidden in a sleek but borrowed jacket. The campus buzzed with the usual midday fre
Chapter 32: A Boi From De Streetz
Jason's shift at Billy’s Diner dragged toward night like molasses down a dirty counter. One more coffee. One more plate of fries. One more fake smile for a customer who wouldn’t tip anyway. He wiped the grease off his brow with the back of his hand, apron stained and shoes soaked from the busted dishwasher pipe beneath the sink. “Hey, Jason. Make sure you lock the doors on your way out. I don't want them niggas sniffing around my restaurant at night,” Mr. Billy barked, keys already dangling in his hand as he slipped on his ancient windbreaker. “If anything goes missing, you're paying for it. You hear me?” Jason nodded without looking. “Got it, sir.” Mr. Billy grunted something about ungrateful youth and disappeared into the night, leaving the creaky screen door flapping behind him. Jason exhaled. He worked as a waiter. A chef. A cleaner. And apparently now, a security guard. All for seven bucks an hour, under the table. No benefits. No breaks. Just bitter coffee and the promise
Chapter 31: Smoke And Mirrors
Rowan’s private lift opened straight into the top-floor suite of Echelon Eight. It still felt strange, riding up fifty stories alone. No chime, no polite “ding,” just doors that parted like stage curtains whenever the biometric scanner recognized his pulse. Inside, Elena already had the war-room look on her face: hair twisted in a low knot, glasses perched halfway down her nose, one finger flying across a tablet while the other hand paged through three color-coded folders at once. She never seemed rushed, only calibrated. Rowan stood before the glass, the skyline sprawled beneath him like a chessboard on fire — towers glowing, cars streaming through arteries of light. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, subtle but real. Elena saw it. She’d been watching him for years, and she could count on one hand the times that smile had appeared like that — genuine, not calculated. The last time, if she remembered right, was the day he found out his secret investment in a failin
Chapter 30: The View From The Top
Victoria Lang’s office was suspended near the summit of LangCorp’s glass tower, commanding a full, ruthless view of the city below. The skyline stretched beyond her floor-to-ceiling windows, its jagged beauty reflected across panels of taaffeite, a rare violet gemstone mined only in trace amounts deep in East Africa. The stone shimmered faintly in the daylight — subtle, almost unreal — worked seamlessly into the walls like it belonged there more than concrete ever could. Rowan’s gaze lingered. “That’s not marble.” Victoria didn’t look up from her tablet. “It’s taaffeite.” He let out a low whistle. “You lined your office with stones rarer than diamonds.” She finally looked up, one brow lifted. “What else would I use? Wallpaper?” Then she stood, heels clicking softly against polished stone. “Sit, Rowan. Let’s talk.” Not a single object in the room was placed without purpose — the furniture was sharp, clean-lined, the air tinged with the faintest note of sandalwood and something
Chapter 29: When The Queen Came Downstairs
Far above the Manhattan skyline, nestled on the uppermost floors of the Monarch Tower, stood LangCorp Innovations LangCrop, a sleek empire of steel and tinted glass with its own gravitational pull, sat beautifully over a huge space of land. Thirty-eight stories of technology, luxury, and influence. The name LangCorp alone turned heads in global boardrooms. Their revenue could cripple small countries. Their clientele included governments, oil conglomerates, and elite institutions. It was the kind of company people bowed to, but even LangCorp couldn’t compare to a single unit of Echelon Eight. And that, perhaps, was what made today interesting. A black Bugatti Divo hummed low into the private underground entrance, its matte finish reflecting nothing, just like the man inside it. The driver stepped out, tall, unreadable. Rowan Kane adjusted the cuff of his jacket and glanced once at his reflection in the mirror by the elevator. Clean lines, clean eyes, clean intentions — and a hidde
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