The Shadow Billionaire

CHAPTER 8: FEAST OF WOLVES AND HIDDEN POISON

Clinking meat knives clashing against fine bone china plates pierced soft classical music playing inside Suryanegara Residence's main dining hall. Rich aromas of truffle broth and roasted A5 wagyu beef filled an expansive room, where billion-rupiah colonial-era paintings adorned every wall.

Tonight, the Suryanegara family celebrated their glorious victory at a grand dining table. Having successfully thwarted a transaction Kaelen used to pressure them, absolutely no one felt any need to hide their overwhelming satisfaction.

Herman Suryanegara sat at the head of a rectangular mahogany table, slicing his steak with calm, precise movements. He had barely spoken since dinner began, yet his gleaming eyes clearly proved how much an old man enjoyed this victorious atmosphere. To his right, Bastian sat comfortably beside Valerie.

On Herman's left sat Sisca Suryanegara, his eldest daughter who simultaneously served as Suryanegara Capital's Director of Corporate Communications. Her straight bob hair fell neatly framing her face, while an emerald silk blouse she wore made her appearance look incredibly classy.

Occasionally, Sisca's lip corners twitched upward whenever she checked incoming reports on her tablet screen. She tried maintaining a composed expression, but sheer satisfaction dancing in her eyes was impossible to conceal. For the past seven years, she always felt her corporate position was entirely overshadowed by Kaelen. Whenever massive crises arose regarding media, legalities, or corporate reputation, Herman consistently summoned Kaelen rather than seeking his own biological daughter's opinions.

Tonight, for the first time in her life, Sisca felt that annoying shadow had been permanently eradicated.

Sisca finally turned her tablet screen off, placing it gently beside her plate with elegant movements. She looked at Herman, barely suppressing a smile tickling her lips all evening.

"My hired intelligence agent just sent a report from Four Seasons Hotel," Sisca revealed with a highly satisfied tone while looking directly at Herman. "Richard Chen officially canceled Sector Four's transaction, while security cameras caught Kaelen fleeing our hotel through a backdoor service area."

Sisca picked up her wine glass, taking a delicate sip before continuing.

"He is still using crutches, Father. His clothes were completely soaked by rain, and more interestingly, several of Baskoro's men were seen chasing him from behind," Sisca added with a mocking tone while swirling her red wine.

Sisca lowered her glass, letting a cynical smile bloom.

"It seems Baskoro truly wants to ensure his debt is paid tonight," Sisca concluded with a faint smile while leaning back in her chair.

Bastian chuckled loudly, stabbing his fork into a remaining piece of meat on his plate. After chewing thoroughly, he wiped his lip corners with a napkin before looking at his older sister.

"If that is the case, we do not need to bother looking for him anymore," Bastian mocked with an arrogant tone while confidently leaning forward. "With a thirteen-billion debt and a crippled condition, I am certain Baskoro has prepared his own creative ways to make Kaelen pay."

He let out a short laugh, adding a sinister sneer. 

"If he gets lucky, Kaelen might still walk out of that hotel alive. If not, maybe Baskoro will ensure both his legs become completely useless," Bastian laughed softly while adding a cynical smile.

Sisca picked up a linen napkin, dabbing her lips slowly. Her beaming smile refused to fade, especially whenever Kaelen's name was brought up as a joke. 

For seven long years, she had to swallow a bitter reality that an adopted stray was trusted far more by Herman than her. When their company faced media crises, Herman summoned Kaelen. When legal troubles surfaced, Kaelen was ordered to find loopholes. Even during crucial executive meetings meant to serve as a stage for his blood family, Kaelen's opinions were frequently treated as final verdicts.

Sisca never forgot a single ounce of that humiliation. Because of that, tonight felt far more satisfying than a mere business victory.

"I have repeatedly told you, Father, Kaelen never actually possessed great business instincts like you all thought," Sisca stated proudly while directing her gaze back to Herman. "For seven years, he only looked formidable because he had absolute access to Suryanegara's capital and networks."

She crossed both arms over a table, raising her chin slightly in triumph.

"Once all those facilities were revoked, his true results showed immediately. He even had to borrow money from dirty loan sharks just to try fighting us," Sisca chuckled softly while crossing her arms over a table.

"That is not bravery, Father. That is sheer desperation," Sisca concluded mockingly while raising her chin slightly.

Valerie, sitting directly across from Sisca, raised her wine glass with a thin smile. She seemingly enjoyed every single insult directed at her former fiancé.

"He is indeed overly confident," Valerie chimed in with a soft voice while making her insults sound even sharper. "He genuinely thought his analytical skills were enough to face your absolute power, Father."

Valerie placed her glass down, leaning her back against a plush dining chair comfortably.

"Yet this afternoon he even failed to disrupt our Data Center project. You only needed to move a few ministry officials to completely ruin his plans," Valerie added gracefully while placing her glass down and leaning back.

Herman, who had let them chatter away all evening, finally placed his knife and fork beside his plate. He picked up a linen napkin, wiped his mouth clean, then folded it neatly before setting it back on a table.

His sharp gaze slowly shifted from Sisca to Valerie, before finally stopping dead on Bastian.

"Kaelen is merely a tool," Herman stated with a heavy, calm voice while looking from Sisca to Valerie, then finally stopping at Bastian.

Instantly, soft laughter previously filling their dining table died out entirely.

Herman picked up his wine glass but did not drink from it.

"A sharp knife is indeed useful when it can still cut," Herman continued while staring at red wine inside his glass. "However, when that knife starts rusting and threatens its owner's hand, keeping it becomes absolute stupidity."

He set his crystal glass back down.

"So, do not waste your time discussing a broken item I have already thrown away," Herman ordered strictly while setting his glass down.

Herman rubbed his fingertips using a napkin before glaring at Bastian.

"NexaCorp already backed out of our Data Center project," Herman announced with a flat tone while wiping his fingers with a napkin. "Sector Six land is now nothing but a dead weight. During our quarterly meeting next week, shareholders will definitely ask how we plan to cover that five-hundred-billion loss."

Bastian immediately adjusted his sitting posture the second Herman mentioned corporate losses. He knew this was his golden opportunity to prove he deserved a much larger position within Suryanegara Capital.

"I have already prepared a perfect solution, Sir," Bastian replied quickly with a much more serious tone while adjusting his sitting position. "I see massive opportunities from an ESG trend currently booming across international markets."

Herman raised a single eyebrow.

"ESG?" Herman asked briefly while raising an eyebrow.

Bastian nodded enthusiastically.

"Environmental, Social, and Governance," Bastian explained confidently while placing both palms firmly on a dining table. "Foreign investors are currently racing to find companies bearing green technology labels. They are even willing to pay sky-high valuations for startups possessing eco-friendly patents."

Sisca leaned her body forward slightly, intrigued by his pitch.

"Then how does this relate to our Sector Six loss?" Sisca asked curiously while leaning forward slightly.

"That is exactly where our opportunity lies," Bastian answered with a returning wide smile while looking at his sister.

"We do not need to build this technology from scratch," Bastian continued with a highly confident tone. "We simply need to acquire a startup already holding patents, but currently struggling to secure funding."

He paused briefly to ensure Herman was paying full attention to his grand scheme.

"Once acquisition is complete, we inject Suryanegara Capital funds to aggressively scale that company. Simultaneously, Valerie's family media will build a narrative that this startup is developing revolutionary technology," Bastian explained while pausing to ensure Herman was paying attention.

Valerie instantly smiled, fully understanding his manipulative intent.

"So, we build public perception before their product actually succeeds?" Valerie asked smartly while smiling upon understanding his intent.

"Exactly," Bastian laughed arrogantly while nodding. "Investors do not buy technology. They buy a future narrative we sell them."

Valerie leaned her back comfortably against her chair.

"If that is our play, I can handle all narrative aspects," Valerie agreed enthusiastically while leaning back in her chair.

"And when its valuation skyrockets?" Herman asked calculatingly while evaluating numbers in his head.

Bastian smiled widely, baring his teeth in confidence.

"We sell a portion of our ownership to foreign investors. Those profits can cover our Sector Six losses multiple times over," Bastian smiled widely while answering his father.

Herman did not answer immediately. He swirled his wine glass slowly, calculating risks and rewards behind this plan. A thin, satisfied smile appeared on his aging face upon realizing how easily this scheme could be executed using their combined family networks.

"How much acquisition budget do you need?" Herman asked sharply while swirling his wine glass slowly.

"Two hundred billion rupiah for initial capital. But we need a startup that truly possesses revolutionary technology on paper, so foreign auditors will believe us," Bastian answered firmly while meeting his father's gaze.

Herman finally raised his wine glass in approval.

"If that is the case, execute it," Herman ordered with a decisive tone while raising his wine glass. "Bastian, find a company perfectly fitting this plan. Do not bring a company lacking tangible assets before our board of directors."

Bastian nodded firmly, his ego inflating tremendously.

"Understood, Sir. I will find a perfect candidate," Bastian nodded firmly with absolute confidence.

Herman then shifted his sharp gaze toward his daughter.

"And you prepare our media campaigns," Herman instructed while shifting his gaze toward Sisca.

Sisca smiled proudly, raising her own crystal glass.

"Leave it to me, Father. I will make entire markets recognize this company's name before they even get a chance to question what they are actually buying," Sisca smiled confidently while raising her glass.

Herman raised his glass even higher.

"To a new era for Suryanegara Capital," Herman toasted proudly while raising his glass higher.

"To Suryanegara," Bastian chimed in eagerly while raising his own drink.

"To our victory," Valerie added with a highly satisfied smile while clinking her glass.

Clink.

Three crystal glasses clattered together above a dining table filled with expensive delicacies and arrogant laughter of supposed winners.

They had absolutely no idea that on this exact same night, far away from their luxurious residence, someone was carefully constructing a master plan designed to turn their glorious victory into an inescapable death trap.

And that trap would spring directly from Bastian's own boundless greed.

***

Far away from glittering business districts, Kaelen sat inside an underground warehouse of an abandoned textile factory on city outskirts, a location long dead from any production activities. Four portable air conditioning units roared nonstop along concrete walls, yet intense heat radiating from dozens of massive computer servers kept indoor air feeling incredibly stuffy.

Thick black cables, wide as an adult's arm, snaked across concrete floors and plugged directly into rows of server racks standing tightly against walls. LED indicator lights blinked silently in darkness, while several giant monitors displayed endless streams of flowing data. This place looked absolutely nothing like an office, yet it was exactly here where Obsidian's command center operated for years without a single soul outside knowing.

Blue light from two giant monitors illuminated Kaelen's pale face as he sat in a simple wheelchair. His left leg, still bound in a heavy cast, rested horizontally on a wooden crate to prevent unnecessary movement. He had swapped his torn suit for a plain gray sweater, but this casual attire did nothing to soften his ruthless expression.

Every time his leg shifted even a fraction of an inch, searing pain shot straight to his groin. Kaelen repeatedly clenched his jaw, swallowing his agony, before forcing his focus entirely back onto his glowing screens. He had zero time to dwell on physical suffering. As long as his brain could still function, a broken body was no excuse to stop fighting.

Not a single official document tied Kaelen's name to Obsidian. This agency's name only existed as whispers within elite underworld circles, and even those working inside rarely ever saw their true owner's face.

Out there, Kaelen was hunted as a pathetic fugitive who lost his money, status, and Suryanegara Capital's protection. But inside this freezing bunker, every major intelligence decision still awaited his absolute command.

Leon walked in carrying two cups of black coffee, heading straight for Kaelen's workstation. After placing one cup near a keyboard, he pulled up an iron chair, sitting down with slightly heavy breathing.

"I have scoured our markets exactly as you requested," Leon revealed while opening several files on a right-side monitor. "Most Green Tech startups I found are struggling to survive due to exhausted capital. However, there is one company I believe perfectly suits our trap."

Leon clicked a specific folder, displaying a corporate logo brightly on screen.

"Its name is Verdant Innova," Leon stated while pointing at a company logo on his screen.

Kaelen stared intently at a monitor. Leon rapidly typed several commands, and a complete corporate profile materialized within seconds.

"They claim to possess patents for machines capable of capturing carbon emissions from factories, then converting them into solid building materials," Leon explained while zooming in on a machine blueprint. "If true, this technology could indeed be extremely valuable. Our problem lies in numbers they use."

Leon swiped his screen, dragging it toward an energy calculation section.

Kaelen studied an energy table for several seconds before tapping a specific number with his index finger.

"Right here," Kaelen pointed out while tapping his screen twice. "Energy they need to process carbon is vastly greater than energy they claim to save."

Leon nodded slowly, confirming his boss's sharp eyes.

"So?" Leon asked knowingly while nodding slowly.

"So that machine can never actually work as they claim," Kaelen answered with a deadpan tone while leaning closer to his monitor. "If they force large-scale production, electricity costs alone will completely obliterate any profit. This technology is not just immature. Numbers in their presentations were deliberately fabricated to scam investors."

Leon nodded, opening background profiles of three listed founders.

"That is exactly what I discovered," Leon agreed while opening profiles of three founders. "These three are college dropouts who are far better at selling presentations than building actual machines. Two minor investors already poured money in, but never received promised results."

He scrolled down, his voice growing noticeably more serious.

"Last week, their prototype caught fire during testing. After that incident, several creditors started collecting debts. If no new investors step in within a few days, this company will most likely shut down permanently," Leon continued with a much more serious tone while scrolling down his screen.

Kaelen reached for a coffee cup Leon had placed near his hand. After taking a small, bitter sip, he calculated his next move.

"How much are they asking for one hundred percent of their shares?" Kaelen asked calculatingly while taking a small sip from his coffee cup.

Leon opened a final financial document, raising one eyebrow skeptically.

"Its owners are asking for five billion, but I highly doubt they can survive until next week," Leon answered while raising one eyebrow. "If we swoop in as saviors and pay off portions of their debt, I can easily press their price down to around two billion."

Kaelen set his coffee cup down smoothly.

"Buy it tonight," Kaelen commanded without hesitation while setting his cup down. "Do not let any other investors spot this same opportunity."

Kaelen could already predict Bastian's exact next move. Facing a five-hundred-billion loss, that arrogant heir would desperately hunt for investments promising massive short-term profits. Green Tech was an easiest narrative to sell to Herman.

"Use Obsidian's emergency funds," Kaelen ordered firmly while sliding a file toward Leon. "Acquire Verdant Innova tonight."

"I want this company's entire track record of failure wiped clean from surface levels," Kaelen instructed coldly while shifting his documents.

Leon read a few pages before looking up in surprise.

"You want us to delete their failure evidence?" Leon asked curiously while looking up from reading several pages.

"Not delete," Kaelen answered calmly while shaking his head slightly. "Original archives will remain stored on a separate server. What changes is only information prospective investors will see."

Leon fell silent for a few seconds before a wicked smile tugged at his lips.

"So we make a completely failing company look like a startup on the verge of massive success," Leon concluded with a rising smile after a brief pause.

"Exactly," Kaelen confirmed with a faint nod while looking at his screen. "A lie too perfect will invite unwanted suspicion. Because of that, we only need to make it look highly plausible."

Leon leaned back against his iron chair, pondering their logistical next steps.

"Our problem is, how do we make Bastian discover this company without sniffing out your involvement?" Leon asked thoughtfully while leaning back in his chair.

Kaelen slowly rotated his wheelchair to face his right-hand man directly.

"Do not let him know we are offering this company," Kaelen answered smoothly while turning his wheelchair to face Leon. "Bastian must believe Verdant Innova is a golden discovery he made entirely on his own. Find someone possessing a clean name and great speaking skills to act as owner and CEO in public."

Leon frowned slightly.

"A proxy?" Leon frowned slightly while asking for clarification.

"More accurately, someone we pay to run this company. On paper, Verdant Innova belongs to him. We remain strictly behind the scenes," Kaelen explained thoroughly while rubbing his chin.

Leon nodded, reviewing his intelligence notes regarding Bastian's corporate habits.

"If that is our play, we just have to wait for Bastian to come knocking," Leon nodded understandingly while reviewing notes regarding Bastian.

"He will not wait long," Kaelen assured with a confident tone while crossing his arms. "His father desperately needs a way to cover Sector Six losses, while Bastian just proposed a Green Tech investment."

Kaelen picked up a printed dossier, handing it straight to Leon.

"Make sure Verdant Innova enters a recommended companies list provided by two investment consultants Suryanegara regularly uses," Kaelen instructed strictly while handing a file back to Leon.

Leon accepted those documents, instantly grasping Kaelen's brilliant psychological trap.

"So we are not offering this company directly to Bastian," Leon deduced sharply while accepting those documents.

"No," Kaelen replied with a thin smile while narrowing his eyes. "We are manipulating him into feeling he found this company himself."

Leon let out a low whistle after reading through Kaelen's complete master plan. However, his excited smile slowly vanished as he realized just how colossal a risk they were currently manufacturing.

"If everything goes according to plan, fallout will not stop at Verdant Innova," Leon noted seriously while his smile slowly faded. "Once forgery evidence comes out, auditors will heavily question Suryanegara Capital's entire investment portfolio."

Leon stared at Kaelen with an intensely grim expression.

"They will drag Suryanegara Capital down into a massive federal investigation," Leon stated with a grim expression while staring at Kaelen.

Kaelen did not reply immediately.

"And by that time," Leon added in a much lower voice, "their money will already be permanently locked inside."

Kaelen sat in utter silence for a long moment. His fingers stopped typing entirely, while his cold gaze remained fixed upon Suryanegara Capital's golden logo glowing brightly on his monitor.

"They exiled me because they falsely accused me of committing fraud," Kaelen finally spoke with a low, calm voice completely devoid of anger. 

It was precisely this terrifying calmness that stopped Leon from saying another word. 

Kaelen closed his physical files, leaning his weary back against his wheelchair.

"So, let them see for themselves exactly what it feels like when a lie they blindly believed turns into an absolute disaster," Kaelen declared with a freezing tone while staring at his screens.

Leon took those files and left to execute his next string of commands. After heavy iron doors locked securely behind him, Kaelen turned back to face his main monitors.

Up there, Suryanegara Capital's logo still floated among dozens of corporate data points currently monitored by Obsidian's network. 

Kaelen picked up his coffee cup, yet he did not drink from it immediately. His eyes remained locked onto that golden emblem filling his primary screen.

"You people chose this path yourselves," Kaelen muttered softly while holding his coffee cup.

His finger pressed a single key.

His main screen went pitch black.

Seconds later, a secure folder materialized dead center. 

VERDANT INNOVA. 

Directly beneath that name, a single sentence slowly materialized in glowing red text.

ACQUISITION APPROVED. 

Kaelen leaned back in his wheelchair, his face completely devoid of expression.

For the first time since being brutally thrown out of his adopted family, he no longer needed to chase them. 

They would be the ones crawling straight into his jaws.