The Man Behind The Empire

Chapter 4

Hearing that familiar voice, Jack nearly jumped out of his chair, hard enough that the whole thing slammed into the wall behind him.

“Boss?! Harvey?!”

His face went pale, but underneath the shock was pure relief, the kind that almost brought tears to his eyes. “W-where are you? Everyone’s been looking for you! I thought—”

“Take a breath. Listen to my instructions.” Harvey’s voice was calm, cutting straight through his assistant’s rambling.

Jack forced a long breath, his voice still shaky. “Yes, Boss. I’m ready. Whatever you need.”

“Contact every member of the core team.”

“Are you … really coming back?” Jack still sounded like he was afraid he’d misheard.

Harvey stopped walking at the edge of the sidewalk. His eyes turned cold, nothing like the simple, quiet man his wife’s family had spent years looking down on.

“Yes. Reactivate my main account. Starting today, I’m done hiding.”

Jack’s face lit up. “Understood, Boss! The entire business world is going to lose its mind when they find out you’re back!”

His voice nearly blew out the speaker. Harvey pulled the phone a few inches from his ear. “You’re still as loud as ever.”

“How am I supposed to stay quiet? I’ve been waiting six years for you to turn that main account back on! Do you have any idea how many companies have contacted me just trying to work with Mr. H?

International groups, tech firms, even investment consortiums from Europe, they’re lined up. I had to turn all of them down because I couldn’t reach you. Some of them offered commissions in the tens of millions just for a single meeting!”

“And?” Harvey asked casually, like none of it interested him.

Jack went silent for a second, stunned. “Boss! That’s tens of millions of dollars!”

“If you wanted it that badly, you should’ve married one of their daughters.”

“Boss!”

Harvey finally let out a quiet chuckle. It had been a long time since he’d heard someone talk to him without putting on an act.

But Jack suddenly remembered something. “Wait. Did you finally tell Mrs. Judy about your identity? Is that why you’re coming back?”

Harvey’s smile vanished instantly. “Don’t bring up that rotten marriage again.”

The excitement drained from Jack’s voice. “Yes, Boss.”

“Get the villa I bought on the outskirts of the city ready. I’ll be staying there. Starting this afternoon, reactivate every access point that’s been frozen.”

“Understood.”

“Jack.”

“Yes, Boss?”

“Make sure no one can access my identity without permission.” The order was absolute.

Jack took a deep breath. “Got it. Consider it done.”

Harvey ended the call. He planned to attend his father’s funeral the next day. Right now, there were more important things to handle first, starting with the divorce.

A few hours later, Harvey stood in front of the small villa he’d bought before the marriage. It wasn’t nearly as flashy as the Smith family home, but it was the one place he could breathe without pretending to be a useless man.

Jack’s people had already cleaned the place and set up his equipment.

Harvey opened his laptop, entered a series of layered passwords, and logged into the account that hadn’t been touched in years.

H — MASTER ACCOUNT: ONLINE.

Within seconds, the internal system flooded with partnership requests.

Harvey leaned back in his chair. “All right. Let’s get started.”

The next morning, the business world exploded. Word that Mr. H was active again spread like wildfire among major executives.

No one knew his face or his real identity, but almost everyone knew the reputation. An investor and strategist who could take a company on the brink of collapse and turn it into an industry giant.

A lot of people were especially interested in the cybersecurity systems he’d designed, especially with cyberattacks spiking worldwide.

At the same time, a call came through on Harvey’s phone. He hesitated for a second, then answered.

“Is this Mr. H’s private number?” The woman’s voice was firm, though a thread of anxiety ran underneath.

“Who is this?” Harvey asked coldly.

“Kate Hilton. President of Hilton Enterprise.”

Harvey raised an eyebrow. Hilton Enterprise was the biggest rival to Judy’s company. That alone made him mildly interested. “What do you want?”

“I need your help. My company is in crisis. I’ve tried reaching your people through every official channel, but I keep getting rejected. I was lucky to get this number, it wasn’t easy.”

“If you already know every official channel turned you down, you should understand the answer.”

“Give me five minutes. If my proposal doesn’t interest you, I won’t bother you again.”

“I don’t have time.”

Harvey moved to end the call, but Kate rushed out, “Wait! I haven’t even explained the problem yet!”

“And I already said no.”

The line went dead.

Five minutes later, Kate called again. Harvey stared at the screen with a flat expression. “Does this woman not have a job?”

He answered. “If you call again, I’m blocking your number.”

“Okay, okay! I just want one chance. I’m not asking for free money. I’ll pay whatever we agree on!”

Harvey rubbed his temple. “Tomorrow. Send the proposal to the address my assistant will give you. Don’t call again.”

“Thank you, Mr. H!”

“Don’t thank me until I’ve actually decided something.” He hung up before she could reply.

What Harvey didn’t know yet was that this woman was about to walk into his life in a way he never expected.

That afternoon, Harvey sat on a park bench on the edge of the city. He was testing the system he’d just brought back online.

He’d chosen the spot because of the heavy CCTV coverage and traffic lights, perfect for checking whether his intrusion tools still worked smoothly.

Not far away, Judy and Kane were walking through the park with Lily. They looked like the perfect happy family.

Kane’s smile disappeared the second he spotted the man on the bench. But when he saw Harvey in a plain T-shirt and ordinary pants, phone in hand, he smirked.

“There’s that broke guy again. What’s he doing here?”

He nudged Judy’s arm with his elbow and pointed with open contempt. “Looks like your poor ex-husband really hit rock bottom. Pitiful. His mind must’ve snapped if he’s just sitting out here on the street.”

Judy stopped walking and glanced over with lazy disdain. Her eyebrows drew together, but a selfish spark of satisfaction lit her eyes.

“Just ignore him. He’s probably just fishing for attention after I signed the divorce papers. He thinks if he acts pathetic enough, I’ll feel sorry for him and take him back.”

“In that case, let’s teach this late-blooming hero a little lesson,” Kane said with a wide grin.

Judy was still a little curious. They walked over.

Kane stopped right in front of Harvey and looked down at him with pure disgust.

“One day out of Judy’s house and you’re already begging on the street.”