Strike Back Of The Secret Billionaire

009

The Chen Industries building had always reminded Brent of a glass castle.

Seventy storeys of steel and mirrors, reaching into the clouds like some modern fairytale.

He'd spent two years looking up at it from the street, watching his reflection distort in its perfect surface, feeling as small as Sarah and her friends wanted him to feel.

Today, they were taking down the sign.

He watched from his office as workers dismantled each giant letter. C-H-E-N coming down one by one, like a countdown to the end of an era.

Each letter that fell sent another ripple through the business world. Another reminder that empires built on cruelty had glass foundations.

"Sir?" James entered with a stack of papers. "The board members are starting to turn on each other. It's getting ugly."

"Show me."

The documents revealed a beautiful mess. Harold Chen was accusing Thomas Chen of stealing company funds. Thomas was blaming Patricia for covering up losses.

Patricia was threatening to expose everyone's secrets. The same people who'd once presented a united front against him were now tearing each other apart.

"They're like rats on a sinking ship," James observed.

"No." Brent leaned back in his chair. "Rats are loyal to each other. These people... they're more like scorpions in a bottle. Each one trying to sting the others before they get stung themselves."

His phone rang. Sarah's younger brother, Michael. The only Chen who'd ever been decent to him.

The one who'd sometimes slip him warning texts about Sarah's bad moods or try to cover for him when Sarah's demands became impossible.

"Michael."

"Brent... I know I have no right to ask—"

"You want me to help Sarah."

"She's living in her car. Our parents cut her off. She can't even afford food—" Michael's voice cracked. "I know what she did was wrong. I know she hurt you. But she's still my sister."

"Like your cousin Tommy was your family? When Sarah accused him of theft and blacklisted him from every bank in the city?" Brent cut in.

"The security tapes proved he was innocent, but Sarah buried the evidence. Tommy lost his house. His wife left him. Where was your concern then?"

Silence filled the line, heavy with unspoken guilt.

"That's what I thought." Brent softened his tone slightly. "You were always kind to me, Michael. That's why I made sure none of this touched you. Your job at G****e is safe. Your investments are protected. Consider that payment for your basic human decency."

"I... thank you. But Sarah—"

"Made her choices. Now she's living with them." Brent ended the call, turning back to watch another letter fall from the building's facade.

His computer chimed. Another email from Sarah, this one from a public library computer: "I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please. I'll do anything to fix this. I understand now what I did to you. The humiliation, the pain, the helplessness. Please give me a chance to make it right."

He thought about responding. Then remembered how she'd laughed when he'd begged her to let him attend his grandmother's funeral.

How she'd said, "If you leave now, don't bother coming back." How he'd had to watch the service via FaceTime from her office while she took lunch meetings.

Delete!

James cleared his throat. "The PR team wants to know how to handle the media questions about the sign removal."

"Tell them the truth," Brent said. "Tell them Walker International is rebranding the building as part of our corporate expansion. Tell them we're turning it into something better. Something built on merit instead of malice."

"And the Chen family?"

"They can watch from the street. Like they made everyone else do."

His phone lit up with notifications. Photos of the falling letters were already going viral.

#ChenFall was trending on T*****r. The business news channels were running special reports on "The End of a Dynasty."

Brent smiled. Sarah had always loved being the center of attention. Now she had all the attention she could handle.

Outside, the workers removed another letter. Soon there would be nothing left of the Chen name but memories and cautionary tales.

Some things couldn't be fixed. Some bridges, once burned, stayed ash forever. And some lessons could only be learned the hard way.

The sun set behind the half-dismantled sign, casting long shadows across the city.

Somewhere out there, Sarah was probably watching too, finally understanding what it felt like to be powerless.

To be nothing.