Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 40: Face-Off with the Whistleblower

The rain hammered down like nails on the rooftops as Jaylen stepped into the cracked parking lot of an abandoned freight depot.

His hood was up. The shadow of the hood covered his face. The system’s map pulsed in his vision. It was an AI overlay courtesy of Zee highlighting the exact coordinates of Carlis Venn.

Zee chimed in, “Target confirmed. Warning: multiple escape routes. Subject is highly evasive.”

Jaylen’s jaw tightened. “He won’t slip away this time.”

The depot doors creaked as he pushed them open. The stench of mold and rust hit him instantly. Inside, a lone figure sat at a folding table, tapping his fingers nervously. Carlis Venn looked exactly like someone who had been running for years. He was gaunt with his eyes darting like a rat in a trap. His hair was a mess under a beanie.

“You came alone?” Carlis asked in a sharp and suspicious voice.

Jaylen didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stepped forward until the dim light from the single hanging bulb caught his face. “You know why I’m here.”

Carlis smirked faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Roman Vale has many enemies. You are just another face in the crowd. What makes you think I’ll help you?”

Jaylen slid a small encrypted drive across the table. “Because I can pay any amount you wish for.”

Carlis eyed the drive but didn’t touch it. “That’s not enough. My silence is worth millions. I want triple whatever you’re offering plus a clean ID and extraction out of the country.”

Jaylen tilted his head, studying him. Carlis’s greed practically dripped off him. And then Zee’s quiet voice echoed in his mind.

Zee chimed in, “The playback is ready. Shall I?

Jaylen gave the smallest nod.

The bulb turned ON, and a series of audio clips played from Jaylen’s wrist device. Carlis’s own voice was taken from encrypted files Zee had hacked an hour earlier.

“If they don’t pay up, I’ll leak everything. Vale is laundering the charity scams… all of it.”

“Roman doesn’t scare me, as long as I get my cut.”

“People think I am just an accountant. I am the one who made the machine run.”

Carlis froze, his hands curling into fists. “You… how did you…?” He stammered.

Jaylen leaned forward. His voice was low and cutting. “I don’t buy loyalty from cowards. I expose them. And you are not going anywhere until you give me every detail of Roman Vale’s offshore accounts.”

The accountant’s bravado cracked. His shoulders slumped. His eyes darted toward the dark corners of the room as though salvation might be hiding there. “If I talk, Vale will kill me.”

Jaylen’s lips curved in a dark smile. “If you don’t talk, I’ll make sure everyone knows exactly what you’ve been doing. Cops. Journalists and the families you scammed.”

For a long moment, Carlis just stared at him with his chest rising and falling with quick breaths. Finally, he reached under the table and slid out a battered briefcase.

“Inside are ledger copies, offshore routing numbers, and records of every fake foundation Vale used to move money. But you didn’t get this from me. You never even saw me.” He wore a shocking face.

Jaylen opened the case. Inside were stacks of printed documents, a few USB drives, and a burner phone with encrypted contact logs. Zee’s interface instantly scanned the contents, converting them into secure data files.

Zee chimed in, “Data capture complete. Integrity check… 99.8%.”

Jaylen stood. “This is enough to burn him down.”

Carlis swallowed hard. “We are done here.” He reached for the case, but Jaylen’s hand slammed it shut.

“You don’t get to walk away,” Jaylen said in a razor-sharp voice. “You are going to testify in public.”

Carlis’s face went pale. “You can’t force me!”

Jaylen played another clip, this one is a video. A grainy footage of Carlis in a nightclub laughing with two women while exchanging envelopes with a man in a leather jacket. The timestamp matched a week when a major charity fund under Roman’s control mysteriously “lost” a million dollars.

Carlis’s eyes widened. “That… that’s out of context.”

“It’s all the context I need,” Jaylen interrupted. “It’s either you testify, or this goes viral. And trust me, the court of public opinion is a lot harsher than Roman Vale.”

The accountant’s lips trembled. Then, finally, he sagged in defeat. “Fine. I’ll talk.”

The system pinged in, “System Update: Face-Slap Complete — Carlis (The Cowardly Accomplice)

Reward: +5 Talent, Z-Security Protocol Level 1 Unlocked.”

Zee’s voice chimed softly in Jaylen’s ear. “New security measures are active. Personal data shields increased by 30 percent.”

Jaylen turned toward the door, motioning for Carlis to follow. “We’ll arrange your protection. But make no mistake. You're part of this now.”

Outside, the rain had turned into a mist. The city lights smeared into faint light blurs. Jaylen walked Carlis to an unmarked SUV parked a block away. His eyes scanned the entire area for tails.

Halfway there, Zee’s tone came in urgently.

“Multiple heat signatures are approaching very fast.”

Jaylen’s muscles tensed. “Vale’s people?” He echoed.

“Probability: 93%.” Zee replied sharply.

Sure enough, two black cars screeched to a halt at either end of the street. Men in dark coats pulled out. Their movements were sharp as if it was rehearsed.

Carlis panicked, stumbling back. “You said I would be safe! What's this?”

Jaylen grabbed him by the collar, dragged him toward the SUV. “Move!” He said.

The first gunshot cracked through the air, shattering a streetlamp above. Glass rained down. Jaylen shoved Carlis behind the SUV and slid across the hood. He pulled out the compact stun-baton Zee had upgraded last week.

Two attackers closed in from the left. Jaylen ducked low, sweeping one man’s legs out before jamming the baton into the other’s ribs. The man convulsed before dropping.

From the other side, more footsteps came closer. Jaylen caught a glimpse of a muzzle flash. He ducked and the bullet ricocheted off the SUV door.

Zee pinged, “Suggest deploying smoke subroutine.”

Jaylen tapped the control on his wristband, and a canister under the SUV hissed to life. Thick grey smoke oozed out, covering the atmosphere in the street.

Through the haze, he dragged Carlis into the passenger seat and gunned the engine. Tires squealed as they tore out of the trap with smoke still coming from the back bumper.

By the time they merged onto the highway, Carlis was clutching the briefcase like a lifeline. “They won’t stop. You know that, right?”

Jaylen kept his eyes on the road. “Neither will I.”

Hours later, they arrived in the safehouse, Carlis sat at a small desk, going over every file with Zee’s holographic projections floating in the air. Offshore accounts, shell companies, charity scams…. Everything was all there, clearer than Jaylen had hoped.

“This will ruin him,” Carlis said quietly.

Jaylen’s voice was flat but firm. “Good. That’s the point of all these.”

But in the back of his mind, he knew Roman Vale wouldn’t take this lying down. This was just the beginning.

Zee pinged in, “Warning: Vale’s network is shifting. Expect retaliation within 72 hours.”

Jaylen looked at the swirling holographic map of influence and corruption. “Let him come. We’ll be ready.”