2026-01-21 03:39:45The Grand Hall was usually loud. It was full of music, laughter, and the sound of crystal glasses touching. But now, it was silent.
The silence was heavy. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. Every eye was fixed on the double doors.
A man stood there. He wore a sharp black suit. It did not have a single wrinkle. His shoes shined under the bright lights. He stood tall, with his shoulders back and his chin up.
The crowd began to whisper. The sound was like the buzzing of bees.
"Is that him?" a woman in a red dress asked.
"No," a man replied. "That cannot be Ronan. Ronan is… messy. Ronan looks at the floor. That man looks like a tiger."
"It is the useless husband," another whispered. "But he looks different."
On the stage, Elena froze. She was the CEO. She was always calm. She was always in control. But now, her hand shook. She held her wine glass too tight. She stared at the man at the door.
Ronan.
He was supposed to be gone. He was supposed to be broken. But he walked into the room like he owned the building. He did not look at the guests. He looked straight at her.
Elena took a deep breath. She put on her best fake smile. It was a smile that did not reach her eyes. She walked down the stairs from the stage. Click, clack, click, clack. Her high heels hit the marble floor.
She met him in the middle of the room. The crowd made a circle around them. They wanted to see the drama.
Elena leaned in close. She stood on her toes so only he could hear.
"How are you alive?" she hissed. Her voice was cold ice. "You are ruining the launch."
Ronan looked down at her. His face was blank. He did not look angry. He did not look sad. He looked bored.
"I am here for the demonstration, Elena," Ronan said. His voice was smooth and deep.
"Go away," she whispered urgently. She grabbed his arm. Her fingernails dug into his jacket. "Leave now. If you go, I will give you a settlement. I will write you a check tonight. You can live in luxury. Just go."
Ronan pulled his arm away. He did it slowly. He brushed his sleeve where she had touched him, as if she were dirt.
Then, he laughed.
It was not a shy laugh. It was loud. It echoed off the high ceiling.
"A settlement?" Ronan asked. He spoke loudly now. Everyone could hear him. "You want to pay me for the company I built?"
Gasps filled the room. The guests looked at each other. “He built it?”
“But he is just the house husband.”
Jax, the man standing next to the stage, turned red. Jax was the new Chief Technical Officer (CTO). He was Elena’s business partner. He was tall, broad, and very arrogant. He hated Ronan.
Jax marched toward them. He pushed a waiter out of the way.
"Shut up!" Jax yelled. He stepped between Elena and Ronan. He puffed out his chest to look bigger. "You built nothing! You are a loser, Ronan. You wash the dishes. You are a babysitter!"
Ronan tilted his head. He looked at Jax like a scientist looking at a bug. "Is that so, Jax? Then tell me, how does the new code work?"
Jax did not answer. He clenched his fists. He wanted to hurt Ronan. He wanted to embarrass him in front of the cameras.
"Get out!" Jax shouted. He pulled his arm back. He threw a heavy punch aimed right at Ronan’s face.
The crowd screamed.
But the punch never landed.
Ronan did not panic. He did not flinch. He simply moved. He shifted his weight to the left. It was a small movement, smooth like water. Jax’s fist hit nothing but air.
Jax stumbled. He had put all his power into the punch. Now, he was off balance.
Ronan watched him fall forward. With one simple motion, Ronan stuck out his foot. He hooked Jax’s ankle.
It was over in one second.
Jax flew forward. His arms waved wildly. He looked like a bird that could not fly.
CRASH!
Jax slammed into the long table behind him. It was the display table. On it was a tower of champagne glasses. Three hundred glasses.
The sound was terrible. Glass shattered everywhere. It sounded like an explosion. Champagne splashed all over the floor. It soaked Jax’s expensive grey suit.
Jax lay on the floor, covered in broken glass and sticky gold liquid. He groaned. He tried to stand up, but he slipped on the wet floor and fell again.
The room was deadly silent once more. No one moved.
Ronan did not look back at the mess. He adjusted his cufflinks. He walked past Elena, who stood with her mouth open. She looked pale.
Ronan walked up the stairs to the stage. The lights shined on him. He looked powerful. He looked like the true boss.
He reached out and took the microphone from the stand. He tapped it once. Thump, thump. The sound boomed through the speakers.
He looked at the crowd. Then, he looked down at Jax, who was still struggling in the puddle of champagne.
Ronan smiled. It was a dangerous smile.
"Since the Chief Technical Officer is on the floor," Ronan said calmly, "perhaps I should explain the true feature of the new software."
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Chapter 10: Foundation
The neon sign outside the window buzzed like an angry fly. Bzzzt. Click. Bzzzt.Elena hated that sound. She hated the smell of the room, which was like old wet towels and stale smoke. She hated the peeling yellow wallpaper. Most of all, she hated that this was her life now.Three days ago, she was the queen of the city. She had a penthouse, a limousine, and millions of dollars. Now, she was in room 204 of the Sunset Motel."Elena, please sit down," Jax said. He sat on the edge of the lumpy bed. His expensive suit was wrinkled. He looked ten years older than he did last week. "We are out on bail. We are lucky to be here."Elena did not sit. She paced back and forth on the stained carpet. Her hair was messy. Her eyes were wide and red. She looked like a trapped animal."Lucky?" she snapped. She pointed a shaking finger at the door. "They took my company, Jax! They froze my accounts. The news calls me a fraud. I have nothing.""We have our freedom," Jax whispered. "Let’s just run. We can
Chapter 9: The New King
The air outside the Grand Lumina Hotel smelled like burning plastic and expensive perfume. Black smoke rose into the night sky. It looked like a dark stain against the moon.Ronan pushed open the heavy side door. He stepped out onto the cold pavement. The noise hit him instantly. Sirens screamed from every direction. Red and blue lights flashed, blinding anyone who looked directly at them.A crowd had gathered behind the yellow police tape. There were hundreds of them. Reporters held cameras high above their heads. They shouted questions that no one answered."Is the CEO inside?" one reporter yelled."Did the servers explode?" asked another.Ronan walked straight toward them. He wore a faded black hoodie and jeans. He kept his head down. His hands were deep in his pockets.To the crowd, he was nobody. He was just a scared guest escaping the fire. A cameraman actually shoved Ronan’s shoulder to get a better shot of the burning building."Move, kid! You're blocking the view!" the camera
Chapter 8: Served Cold
The lights in the penthouse office died instantly. A heavy click echoed through the room, followed by the low hum of the backup generator.Suddenly, red emergency lights flashed on. They bathed the luxury suite in a bloody, pulsing glow. The shadows in the corners grew long and twisted.Jax jumped back. His confident smile vanished. "What did you do, Ronan?" he shouted. His voice cracked a little.Ronan stood by the window. He did not move. He did not blink. The red light washed over his face, but he looked like a statue made of ice. He looked down at the street below."Listen," Ronan said softly.From far away, the sound grew louder. Wail. Wail. Wail.Sirens. Many of them.Jax let out a nervous laugh. He adjusted his expensive tie, trying to look brave. "You hear that? That is for you, little brother. I told you. You lost. They are coming to take you away for fraud."Ronan turned slowly. He put his hands in his pockets. He looked relaxed. "Are they?"Elena was sitting at the heavy oa
Chapter 7: The Crash
The air in the boardroom was hot and heavy. It smelled like sweat and expensive coffee. On the giant screen at the front of the room, a digital clock counted down.00:59… 00:58… 00:57.Jax sat at the main control desk. He was not looking at the crowd. He was looking at his laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard. Click-clack-click-clack. He hit the "Enter" key hard.A red box popped up on his screen. ACCESS DENIED."No, no, no," Jax whispered. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. His skin was wet and shiny. He typed again, faster this time. He tried to break through the firewall. He was the CTO. He was supposed to control the system. But the system was fighting back."Jax?" a board member asked from the table. "Why is the screen turning red?""Quiet!" Jax snapped. He typed a new code.ACCESS DENIED.Ronan stood on the stage. He was perfectly still. He looked like he was waiting for a meal, not destroying a billion-dollar company. He watched Jax struggle."It is a comp
Chapter 6: Panic in the Penthouse
The air in the luxury penthouse was cold, but the people inside were sweating. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling like frozen rain. Below them, twenty of the city’s richest investors held glasses of expensive champagne. They wore Italian suits and fake smiles.Ronan stood near the window. He looked calm. He wore a simple black suit that made him look like a shadow in the bright room. Next to him, Elena stood tall. She wore a dress the color of blood. She looked like a queen, but her eyes were darting around the room. She was nervous."Ladies and gentlemen," Elena said, raising her glass. Her voice was smooth like silk. "Forget the drama. Today, we launch the new system. Today, we double your wealth."The investors clapped. They liked money.Then, Ronan touched his phone. He did not look at it. He just tapped the screen once.On the giant wall monitor, the green line stopped. It froze.A loud beep echoed through the room. It sounded like a hospital heart monitor when a patient
Chapter 5: Source Code
The feedback noise was like a knife in every ear.Screech!The high-pitched sound blasted through the massive speakers of the Grand Hall. Investors covered their ears. Expensive champagne glasses shattered on the floor."Cut it!" Elena screamed from the side of the stage. Her face was twisted with panic. She pointed at the sound booth in the back. "Cut the mic! Turn it off now!"Inside the glass booth, the technician was frantically hitting buttons. He looked terrified. He pressed the master power switch, but the lights on his board stayed green. He grabbed his walkie-talkie. "I can't, Ms. Elena! The system is locked out. I have no control!""Pull the plug!" Elena yelled, her voice barely audible over the screeching noise."It’s not the hardware!" the technician yelled back, his face pale. "It’s the software. Prometheus… it has taken full control of the building. It won’t let me in!"Suddenly, the screeching stopped.It didn't fade away. It cut to total silence instantly.The silence
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