Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 34: Sabotage on Stage

The ValeStream Showcase was a spectacle. Every inch of the arena glowed under sapphire and red lights. The camera drones hoovered around above the crowd. This was no ordinary gig; it was the kind of stage that could stamp your name into the entertainment sky forever or bury it in humiliation.

Jaylen stepped out of the black SUV. He was guarded by Zee’s discreetly armed security contractors. Even through tinted glasses, the flashbulbs burned his vision. His black satin bomber jacket dazzled under the strobes. It was a statement piece embroidered with silver linen.

The air buzzed with high tension. Roman Vale’s name was etched into the very branding of the showcase. Jaylen knew this wasn’t just an invite; it was an open challenge.

Inside, the backstage corridors smelled of fresh paint and the people's nervous sweat. Celebs milled around with their escort. Stylists adjusted their collars and brushed glitter from their shoulders. A stagehand holding a clipboard did a double take when Jaylen passed, murmuring something into his headset.

Zee’s voice hummed in Jaylen’s earpiece. “They have tripled security near the sound booth. And… heads up, three of Roman’s people are in the green room. They are not here for autographs.”

Jaylen kept walking, holding tightly to his jaw. “Noted.” He responded.

The MC’s voice boomed from the stage as he started hyping the crowd for the next act. “And now… a newcomer who has been making serious noise, Jaylen Cruz!”

The roar that followed sent a surge through his chest. He stepped onto the platform, the LED screens behind him bloomed into his name in bold white fire. The bass thumped under his sneakers, and smoke cannons hissed at the edges.

He grabbed the mic and he started the first verse. It was sharp, rhythmic and continuously sliced through the arena air. The crowd moved as one with their hands up, swaying and bouncing. The hook hit, and cheers erupted from the crowd.

Then there came a long silence.

It wasn’t the crowd. It wasn’t him.

Every light in the arena went black. The giant screens shut off mid-flash. The bass cut so hard the sudden quiet rang in his ears.

Confusion rippled through the audience, voices of the crowd started overlapping.

Jaylen’s instincts flared. This was no accident.

Zee’s urgent whisper confirmed it, “Sound feed manually killed. Power relay tampered with. Roman’s fingerprints are all over it.”

From somewhere in the dark, a voice mocking Jaylen, called out, “Guess he ain’t ready for the big leagues!” Laughter followed. It was scattered and deliberate.

Roman’s trap had sprung on the live television.

Jaylen inhaled, letting the hush settle.

Then, without warning, he started to rap with no beat and no backing track. Just his raw voice resonating through the dead space. The mic was still hot on battery power, and he used it like his only weapon of survival.

Every lyrics dropping was a dagger:

It was lines about snakes who smiled in your face while poisoning your drink. About vultures circling before your wings had even dried. About turning silence into a stage and betrayal into a crown.

The crowd’s murmurs shifted. They brought out their phones and started flashing the beams of their cameras. This performance became a spotlight immediately attracting dozens, then hundreds. Jaylen moved across the stage with deliberate rhythm, each word he spoke was louder, sharper and he was unstoppable at that point.

“You can cut the lights,

kill the sound,

shut me down

but you can’t kill what’s been underground.”

It was more than just lyrics, it was a declaration. The audience was loving the moment. Their energy swelled into something almost dangerous.

Fans chanted his name, syncing with his cadence. Camera drones ran on independent power and it caught every second of the moment broadcasting it across all the livestream. Roman couldn't get to stop what was happening.

By the time he ended the song, sweat slicked his face but his posture was unshaken. The arena lights flickered back on and the bass returned but now, it felt pointless. Jaylen had already stolen the show without them.

The moment he stepped off stage, chaos swirled from the crowd. Assistants scrambled, tech staff shouted into headsets, and one producer was red-faced, barking at an engineer.

A ValeStream rep tried to approach Jaylen with a forced smile. “Its just technical difficulties. You should understand…”

Jaylen walked right past him without saying a word.

Zee intercepted in the hallway. “That wasn’t just sabotage, Jaylen. I realized it was recorded. I traced a live feed sent to Roman’s private servers. He wanted you humiliated in real time.”

Jaylen’s hands curled into fists, but his voice stayed cold. “Then we flipped it. Make that moment bigger than their trap.”

A ping in his vision, the System’s silver user interface flared to life.

“Questline Activated: Crush the Vale Machine

Objective: Turn sabotage into a momentum spike.

Bonus Objective: Expose Roman’s media control network.

Reward: +6 Fame, +4 Influence, unlock “Spotlight Surge” passive.”

Jaylen smirked. “It looks like they just gave me my next hit.”

He barely made it to the loading dock before the paparazzi descended with blinding camera flashes and questions thrown to him like rocks.

“Jaylen, what happened to the sound?”

“Was that staged for publicity too?”

“Are you beefing with Roman Vale?”

A lot of questions was pointed at him. But he didn’t answer. Even if he wanted to - it's not here. Every word needed to be calculated. Instead, he stepped into the SUV, pulling the door shut just as a security guard blocked more reporters from swarming.

Inside, Zee was already pulling up fan videos. “It’s going viral. The hashtags #LightsOutBars and #UnpluggedVictory are trending.”

But not everyone was clapping. Across the city, in a tall glass-walled office, Roman Vale watched the footage on a massive screen. The video didn’t look like humiliation, it looked like he just made him a legend. His jaw tightened.

A figure stepped beside him, it was Dahlia Vale. Her lips curved in a faint smirk. “You are losing control of the narrative, uncle.”

Roman didn’t look away from the screen. “Then we will take control of him.”

………..

Back at Jaylen’s loft, he tossed his jacket aside. His adrenaline was still humming in his veins. Before he could sit, Zee’s holographic avatar flickered into the air.

“New update,” Zee said in a sharper tone than usual. “Roman’s network just moved three high-value assets into position. They’re gearing for a sustained campaign.”

A new notification pulsed in Jaylen’s vision.

“Questline: Crush the Vale Machine - Phase 2 Ready.”

Jaylen cracked his knuckles. “Good. Let’s start breaking the gears.”