Strike Back Of The Secret Billionaire

007

Marcus Chen's hands shook as he read the email. His last hope – a VP position at Morgan Stanley – was gone. The hiring manager's words burned into his brain: "Due to recent revelations about your role in the Chen Industries scandal..."

He'd been Sarah's right hand. Her enforcer. The one who made sure Brent got all the worst assignments, the broken equipment, the impossible deadlines.

Now he couldn't even get a job as a bank teller.

His phone rang. Unknown number. These days, that usually meant debt collectors.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Marcus." Brent's voice was calm. Almost friendly. "How's the job hunt going?"

Marcus's throat went dry. "How did you get this number?"

"I get everything I want these days. Like your personnel file. The one with all those harassment complaints Sarah helped you bury."

"Those were lies—"

"Were they? Because I found the victims. All six of them. They're very interested in speaking to the press."

Marcus sat heavily on his couch – the only piece of furniture the repo men hadn't taken yet. "What do you want?"

"Remember that day you bet everyone I wouldn't last a month? You put down five thousand dollars."

"That was just a joke—"

"I want that money. Plus two years of interest. Calculated at the same rate you charged on Sarah's predatory loans."

"I don't have that kind of money anymore!"

"Then I guess you'll have to sell something. Like that watch you're wearing. The one you bought with embezzled company funds."

Marcus looked at his wrist. How did Brent know?

"You have until midnight," Brent continued. "Wire the money, or tomorrow morning every news outlet in the country gets proof of your creative accounting."

"Please, I have a family—"

"So did Antonio in the mail room. Remember him? The guy you fired because he wouldn't spy on me for Sarah? His kids had to change schools. His wife had to sell her wedding ring. All because you wanted to prove your loyalty to Sarah."

The line went dead.

Marcus stared at his phone, then at his watch. It was worth maybe half what he owed.

He started making calls.

Across town, Patricia from HR was having an even worse day.

"What do you mean, blacklisted?" she screamed into her phone. "I have twenty years of experience!"

Her recruiter sighed. "And a pending federal investigation. No one will touch you."

"But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"The recordings say otherwise."

Patricia froze. "What recordings?"

"The ones where you and Sarah Chen planned to fire people right before their stock options vested. Where you helped her steal employee ideas and patent them in her name. Where you—"

Patricia hung up.

Her phone buzzed with a text. Unknown number.

"Remember when you told me I'd never work in this city again? Funny how life works out. - B"

She blocked the number.

Another text, different number: "You can block me all you want. But you can't block karma."

In his office, Brent watched the dominoes fall.

Kevin from Finance had just lost his country club membership – amazing how fast they kicked you out when your assets were frozen.

Jennifer from Legal was being investigated by the bar association for helping Sarah hide evidence of corporate fraud.

Even the security guard who'd always "forgotten" to validate Brent's parking was feeling the heat. His side business selling company secrets wasn't so secret anymore.

"Sir?" James appeared with fresh coffee. "The Chen family's trying a new angle. They're offering to make a public apology."

"Too late." Brent pulled up his calendar. "The press conference is tomorrow. By noon, everyone will know exactly what Sarah and her enablers did."

"Some of them are saying you're being too harsh."

"Harsh?" Brent thought about all the nights he'd worked until his eyes burned. All the times Sarah had "forgotten" to pay him. All the holidays he'd missed because she suddenly needed something urgent done.

"They're lucky I believe in karma," he said finally. "Because if I believed in revenge, I'd be doing much worse."

His phone lit up with another news alert. Sarah had been spotted trying to pawn her engagement ring – the one she'd made him pick up from the jeweler last Christmas, back when she was dating that hedge fund manager.

The pawn shop had turned her away. Apparently, someone had warned them it might be considered stolen property.

Brent smiled. He hadn't even had to arrange that one. Sarah's reputation was doing all the work for him.

"What's next?" James asked.

"Now?" Brent looked at the Chen Industries building again. By tomorrow, the sign would be gone. The empire would be dust. The queen would be nothing.

"Now we remind everyone of an important truth: treat people well on your way up. Because you never know who you'll meet on your way down."

He turned back to his computer. There were still so many people who needed to learn that lesson.

And Brent was an excellent teacher.