Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 9: Sabotage Protocol

Inside his system feed, a warning suddenly flared.

“DANGER DETECTED: AGENTS DEPLOYED. Roman Vale has initiated countermeasures. Expect attacks from PR handlers, tabloid leaks, legal traps, and paid influencers.

Phase 1: Career Sabotage Incoming.”

Across the city, in dimly lit conference rooms and penthouse suites, Roman’s agents whispered.

“Take him down quietly. But thoroughly.”

Jaylen Cruz had just made his most dangerous enemy yet.

……….

Jaylen woke to something smelling like chaos.

His phone buzzed non-stop. Ping after ping. Texts, emails, trending hashtags, even missed calls from people he hadn’t spoken to in years.

He rubbed his eyes, still half-asleep until he saw the headline flashing on his screen, “Jaylen Cruz: Violent Past and Stolen Lyrics?”

He sat up fast. His heart thuds slowly. “Zee,” he muttered. “What the hell is this?”

“Sabotage,” Zee replied flatly. “Welcome to Phase One.”

Jaylen clicked open the article. It was a full exposé, fabricated timeline, twisted tweets and photoshopped screenshots of Jaylen supposedly in fights, stealing verses and even clips of him arguing with his landlord twisted to look like threats.

“Jaylen Cruz has a history of violent outbursts, say sources. The rising star is allegedly using ghostwriters and attacking ex-friends who helped him in the past…”

Jaylen’s jaw clenched in surprise. “These are fake. None of this is true.” Jaylen's face hardened.

“Of course they are,” Zee replied. **“But the truth doesn’t trend. Controversy does. Roman Vale’s machine is working overtime.”

Jaylen tossed his phone onto the couch and paced the room. He turned on the TV. Every entertainment segment played a variation of the same story.

“He was homeless, now he’s heartless.”

“Jaylen Cruz might be just another industry scam.”

“Did he steal his hit track from Blake Voss?”

Jaylen froze. He didn't expect this. Not at all.

“That’s it,” he said. “They’re building the narrative to protect Blake. They’re going to drop that song next week and paint me like a jealous fraud.” He wrapped his head around it.

Zee chimed in immediately. “Confirmed. Upload detected: Blake’s version of Fever Dreams scheduled for release in six days. “Title: Paradise Burn.”

Jaylen sat down slowly. “He’s going to try to beat me to the spotlight with my own song.”

Zee replied, “That’s the plan. And with this smear campaign softening your image, they’re hoping the public sides with him. Even if the song’s stolen.”

Jaylen sighed. “We need to do something about this very fast.”

Zee replied, “Agreed. Let’s dissect the enemy.”

“SYSTEM UPGRADE: Z-SCAN – DEEP MODE UNLOCKED. Now allows forensic scan of content metadata, studio logs, royalty pathways, and ghost contract signatures.

Target: Blake Voss.”

Jaylen nodded. “Scan him and expose everything.”

“Z-SCAN: BLAKE VOSS: DEEP MODE IN PROGRESS…”

Jaylen watched as lines of data and files flooded the interface.

“Z-Scan Results: Blake Voss - Project: Paradise Burn. Track Origin Match: 94%.

Metadata Timestamp: Jaylen Cruz - Studio Session (Feb 4th).

File Owner Switch: March 10th – Acquired via ‘VB Studios LLC’

Label Handler: ValeStream Entertainment (Roman Vale)

Ghost Contract Found: Rights to demo transferred under NDA in exchange for 2,000 dollars and industry referral. Jaylen Cruz: Signature forged.”

Jaylen stared at the screen. His eyes flared and fury building in his chest.

“They faked a contract. Made it look like I sold my own demo. And now they’re pushing that lie everywhere.” He clenched his fist.

“Yes,” Zee replied. “Which means we will expose them. But timing is key.”

Jaylen’s phone buzzed again and this time, it was a call from a archived number.

He hesitated for a moment but then, he answered.

“Jaylen Cruz,” the voice on the line said smoothly. “I assume you're aware of the pressure coming your way.”

“Who’s this?” Jaylen asked.

“I represent SkyVerse Records. One of the majors. And we’re calling because we respect your talent and survival instinct.”

Jaylen stood with his brows furrowed. “Cut the flattery.”

“I’ll be direct, then. We know about Fever Dreams. We know Blake is dropping it next week. We also know you leaked your demo first.” The voice explained.

Jaylen’s heart beat faster. “So you believe me?” He asked.

“Oh, absolutely,” the man said. “But truth isn't the only factor, Stability is. You’ve become unpredictable. You humiliated our partners. Turned public sympathy into a weapon. Now you’re staring down a billion-dollar wall. And you think you can climb it?”

“I don’t think I will,” Jaylen said coldly.

There was a beat of silence. Then…

“Then understand what that means. If you take on Blake, if you try to prove he stole from you, you’re not just fighting one artist. You’re declaring war on all of us.”

Jaylen’s breath caught.

“Back down,” the voice continued. “Take a deal. Fade out gracefully. Or you’ll be erased, not just from charts but from everyone's memory that you ever existed.”

He clicked the red button and the line went dead.

Jaylen stood in the silence for a moment.

Then he turned to the mirror.

“They want war?” he said. “That’s Good. Because I’m done playing nice.”

“QUEST UPDATE – “Expose Blake’s Scandal

Proof: 92% Complete. Final Phase Unlocked – Proof Bomb.

Objective: Leak hidden footage showing you performing Fever Dreams months ago during a private session.

Reward: +4 Fame, Unlock: Blackout Protocol level 1.”

“One last blow, Jaylen. One final face-slap to burn the lies down.” Zee expressed warmly.

Jaylen turned back to the screen and loaded a locked folder from his old studio sessions. It was an hidden footage the studio tech had forgotten to delete. It showed him live-recording the original demo with a timestamp, freestyling the same hook Blake had lifted.

He uploaded it into the system.

“Ready for launch. Countdown begins: 72 hours.” “Let’s light it up,” Jaylen muttered.

But before he could rest…. His phone buzzed. It was a new message received from an Unknown Id. And it reads, “Heard you won’t back down. Then get ready. They’re coming for everything you love. And everyone who ever helped you.”

Jaylen stared at the screen blankly. He hissed after reading.

“Let them come,” he said under his breath.“I’ll still be standing when the smoke clears.”

...............

As Jaylen begin preparing to drop the proof video against Blake. A new edited video suddenly trends online.

In the clip, Jaylen appears to be mocking low-income fans by saying things like "You can't sit with me unless you're rich."

The video is quickly picked up by gossip pages. All the influencers painted Jaylen as arrogant and out of touch.

Zee scans the footage immediately.

"Warning: fake video Detected. Source: Zenith Circle PR Subdivision"

This revelation shocks Jaylen. It means the Zenith Circle is now actively involved in the takedown, not just Roman Vale.

He took in deep breath.