Strike Back Of The Secret Billionaire

006

Sarah's mother always said pride came before the fall. But even she couldn't have predicted just how far her daughter would fall.

Brent watched the security footage on his phone. Sarah's mother, Elizabeth Chen, was making quite the scene in the lobby of his building.

Her Hermès scarf was askew, her designer sunglasses couldn't hide her red eyes, and her voice carried that shrill tone of someone unused to being ignored.

"My daughter built this company!" she screamed at the security guard. "You can't treat us like this!"

Brent remembered Elizabeth.

She'd been at that Christmas party two years ago, the one where Sarah had made him serve drinks while wearing a Santa hat.

Elizabeth had "accidentally" spilled red wine on his new shirt – the only designer piece he'd saved up to buy. Then she'd laughed and told him to send her the dry cleaning bill. Like twenty dollars was some kind of generous gesture.

He pressed the intercom. "Send her up."

Five minutes later, Elizabeth Chen stood in his office. She'd fixed her scarf, but couldn't fix her desperation.

"Mr. Walker," she said, like she'd never called him 'that boy' behind his back. "Please. Sarah's not eating. She's not sleeping. She needs help."

"Funny." Brent didn't look up from his computer. "I wasn't eating or sleeping much either when your daughter made me work thirty-six hour shifts. When she'd call at 3 AM because she needed someone to pick up her dry cleaning before the shop opened."

"That was different. She was your boss."

“My boss… huh? But you forgot I was in a relationship with her right?”

“But… Uh -”

"And now I'm hers." He finally met her eyes. "How does it feel, Elizabeth? Watching your daughter lose everything? Knowing you can't help her?"

"We can pay you back. Whatever she owes—"

"It's not about money." Brent pulled up some files on his screen. "Did you know Sarah kept recordings of every meeting? She liked to play them back, laugh at people's mistakes. I found some interesting ones. Like this conversation from last May."

He hit play. Elizabeth's voice filled the room: "Darling, you can't keep dating that nobody. What will people think? He's practically a servant."

Sarah's laugh crackled through the speakers.

"Mom, relax. I'm just having fun. Besides, he's useful. Always available, never complains. Like a puppy."

"But people are talking. The other board members—"

"Won't say anything because they know better. Trust me, when I'm done with him, he'll wish he'd never walked into my office."

Brent stopped the recording. Elizabeth's face had gone pale.

"There are hundreds more like that," he said quietly. "Every insult. Every scheme. Every little cruel joke at my expense. Your daughter documented it all."

"What do you want?"

"Want? I already have everything I want. Your family's company. Your reputation. Your social standing." He smiled. "But since you're here, you can deliver a message to Sarah. Tell her I just bought her favorite charity – you know, the one she used for all those tax write-offs? I'm shutting it down. The press release goes out tomorrow."

"You can't! Those children—"

"Will be fine. I'm transferring all the funds and programs to a better-run organization. One that doesn't spend 80% of its donations on 'administrative costs' like Sarah's charity did." He checked his watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the FBI's financial crimes unit. They're very interested in those administrative costs."

Elizabeth's legs gave out. She sank into a chair, her perfect posture finally breaking. "Please. She's my only daughter."

"And I was someone's only son. Did that matter to you when you were laughing at me? When you were treating me like dirt?" Brent pressed the security button. "We're done here."

As security led her out, his phone buzzed. A text from James: "Sir, you need to see this."

Attached was a video from Sarah's I*******m story. She was clearly drunk, mascara running down her face, ranting about how she'd been betrayed. How she'd trusted the wrong person. How she'd lost everything because of "that lying snake."

Brent forwarded it to his lawyers. They'd add it to the defamation suit.

His next meeting wasn't for an hour. He used the time to review the files his investigators had gathered. Every person who'd laughed at Sarah's jokes. Every executive who'd excluded him from meetings. Every assistant who'd spread rumors about him sleeping his way into the job.

They all had secrets. Affairs. Fraudulent expenses. Hidden accounts.

And now Brent had proof of every single one.

He'd learned from Sarah: information was power. But unlike her, he knew how to use it properly. Strategically. Patiently.

The sun was setting when James brought in the evening reports. "Sir? The Chen family's lawyers are trying to negotiate again."

"Let me guess – they want to keep the family name on something?"

"The charitable foundation. They're offering forty million."

Brent laughed. "Counter-offer: they can keep the name if Sarah publicly admits everything. Every lie. Every scheme. Every person she hurt."

"She'll never do it. Her pride—"

"Is all she has left." Brent stood, walking to the window. "And that's exactly why she needs to lose it."

In the reflection, he could see his old desk at Chen Industries. The one with the wobbly leg. The one where he'd sat for two years, planning, waiting, gathering evidence.

Sarah thought she'd been teaching him lessons about business. Really, she'd been teaching him about revenge.

And he'd learned every lesson perfectly.