2025-04-22 04:31:43Tiana turned to Carlos, her heart bursting with gratitude, her eyes shining with raw, overwhelming relief.
Without a second thought, she rushed and hugged him tight, a gesture so humble and full of sincerity that it caught Carlos completely off guard.
He blinked, his mouth falling slightly ajar as he stared at her, clearly not expecting such a public display of gratitude.
For a split second, Carlos hesitated, a flicker of guilt darting across his face.
But it didn't take long for his true nature to surface.
Straightening his shoulders arrogantly, Carlos smirked, soaking in the moment like a man who believed he deserved every ounce of praise the world could offer. He tucked one hand into his trouser pocket and raised his chin slightly, as if he were some knight who had rescued a damsel in distress.
“Of course,” Carlos said smugly, brushing invisible dust off his sleeve. “I made it happen.”
Standing nearby, Sonia caught the entire scene unfold.
She couldn't help it; a small, knowing laugh slipped from her lips, so low that only Jalen heard it. The sheer shamelessness of Carlos was almost too entertaining.
Sonia toyed briefly with the idea of exposing him there and then. She imagined the look on his face when the truth would slap him clean across the room — the panic, the shame, the desperate backtracking.
A very tempting thought.
But before she could open her mouth, she felt a gentle touch on her arm.
Jalen.
He shook his head lightly, his eyes steady, carrying a quiet message: Leave it. Not now.
Sonia understood immediately. The moment for revenge would come, but it wasn't tonight.
Carlos, meanwhile, basked in the false admiration, unaware of the dangerous eyes watching him.
Still, even in his fake glory, a deep discomfort gnawed at him.
He knew he had done nothing. He knew the truth was as bitter as raw bitter leaf, hidden just beneath the sweetness of Tiana’s gratitude. Yet, seeing everyone believe his story puffed up his pride like a bloated toad.
He turned sharply toward Jalen and Sonia, curling his lips into a sneer.
“If it wasn’t me who helped,” he jeered, his voice loud and dripping with mockery, “then who would it be? You two losers?”
The words, childish and desperate, hung heavily in the air.
Tiana, standing proudly beside Carlos, felt her courage surge under what she thought was her savior’s protection. She turned a cold gaze to Jalen, her voice sharp, her words designed to slice.
“I know you wanted to help, Jalen,” she said icily, her lips tightening into a thin line. “But you must recognize your limits. During our marriage, all you ever did was cook for me. You made breakfast, lunch, and dinner while I built my dreams. So, please, don’t brag about things you can’t do.”
Each word hit Jalen like a slap.
He had prepared himself, in his mind, for her anger. For her pride. For her disbelief.
But the casual cruelty in her voice… he hadn’t expected that.
He stood there, silent, breathing carefully through the sharp sting her words ignited in his chest.
The crowd, sensing the tension, began to disperse, some whispering behind raised hands, others pretending not to notice.
Carlos chuckled softly beside Tiana, pleased with himself, and together, they turned away, walking into the night, their laughter a mocking tune trailing behind them.
Jalen remained still, his figure almost swallowed by the darkening evening around him.
Beside him, Sonia watched carefully, her sharp eyes never leaving his face. She had seen a lot of things in her life, but there was something about Jalen’s quiet endurance that pierced deeper than any drama she had witnessed before.
Minutes passed, long and heavy. Then Sonia, after much thought, broke the silence.
“Why would you rather let her misunderstand you than just tell her the truth?” she asked finally, her voice low, respectful, but pressing.
She could not understand it — this deliberate silence he wrapped himself in, even when it hurt him the most.
Jalen’s eyes remained fixed ahead, staring into the dim street as if he could find answers in the shadows.
When he spoke, his voice was calm, almost painfully steady.
“I can’t reveal my identity yet,” he said simply, almost like he was reminding himself as much as he was telling her.
Sonia frowned slightly, her brows knitting together. “Why not?” she asked gently. The question wasn’t out of curiosity alone; it was genuine concern.
A faint, almost bittersweet smile tugged at the corners of Jalen’s mouth.
“I made a promise to my mother three years ago,” he said quietly, his words carrying the weight of years hidden away, buried beneath pride and loyalty. “But in two months... everything will change.”
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Chapter 180: The Cost of Surrender
Desperation did not arrive loudly. It crept into Jalen’s bones quietly, settling there as the hours ticked away on the device sitting at the centre of the table. Every glance at the countdown felt like a punch to the chest. Time, once something he controlled with meetings and strategies, had become an enemy he could no longer outrun.By morning, he was already making calls.Private accounts. Emergency liquidations. Quiet requests to people who owed him favours he had never intended to cash. Money began to move, numbers stacking up rapidly, but not fast enough to silence the dread clawing at him. If the Syndicate wanted a ransom, he would meet it. Whatever it took to keep the hostage alive.Mira watched him from the doorway, her expression unreadable.“Stop,” she said finally.Jalen looked up sharply. “I don’t have time for this.”“You don’t have time to make a mistake,” she replied. “Paying them won’t end this.”“It will save a life,” he shot back.“No,” Mira said firmly. “It will
Chapter 179: Twenty-Four Hours
Chaos erupted the moment Jalen realised the compound was a trap.Floodlights blazed on from every angle, turning night into harsh white glare. Armed men emerged from behind parked vehicles and low concrete structures, their movements fast and coordinated. The silence that had felt wrong moments earlier now made sense. This place had never been empty. It had been waiting.“Down!” Mira shouted.Gunfire cracked through the air before Jalen could react. Bullets slammed into the side of the SUV, shattering glass and forcing him backward. Mira grabbed his arm and dragged him behind the engine block just as another round tore through the space where his head had been seconds earlier.“Stay low,” she ordered, already moving.Jalen’s heart pounded violently as adrenaline surged through him. He had walked into dangerous situations before, but nothing like this. This wasn’t intimidation. This was an execution attempt.Mira moved with frightening precision. She fired back, not wildly, but str
Chapter 178: The Price of Defiance
The news of the kidnapping did not just shake Jalen, it cracked something open inside him that had been tightly sealed for years. He sat in the living room long after Aisha had gone to the bedroom, the photo still glowing faintly on his phone screen like an accusation. He had faced hostile takeovers, public humiliation, and threats disguised as polite warnings, but this was different. This was personal in a way he had never prepared for.Now, he considered doing the unthinkable.Negotiating.He hated the thought of it. Everything inside him resisted the idea of bending to people who thrived on fear and blood. But the face in that photo, tied, frightened, vulnerable, kept pushing the idea back into his mind. Principles felt heavier when weighed against a human life.Mira worked through the night.She had converted one of Jalen’s conference rooms into a temporary command center.She spoke little, her focus razor-sharp as she traced possible routes, analysing vehicle movements, interc
Chapter 177: Giving Way...
The truth settled heavily on Jalen’s chest, pressing down with a weight he hadn’t anticipated. What he had overheard the night before refused to loosen its grip on his thoughts. The betrayal inside Adesins Corp was not a single crack, it was rot, old and deeply rooted, stretching back to choices made long before he ever took over the company. His father’s shadow loomed larger than ever, not as a source of strength, but as an unfinished story that had poisoned the present.He sat alone in his office long after everyone had left, staring at the darkened city beyond the glass. Every familiar memory now carried doubt. Every old decision replayed itself with new meaning. He had always believed that whatever enemies his father made had been settled or buried. Now he understood how wrong that belief had been.Mira stood quietly across from him, arms folded, watching his silence stretch longer than she liked.“This is why you don’t confront them yet,” she said carefully. “What you’re deal
Chapter 176: Cutting Deep
The name stayed on the screen long after the room went silent.Jalen did not speak immediately. He simply stared, his eyes fixed, his body rigid, as if reacting too quickly might make the truth even more painful than it already was. The person identified as the mole was someone he had defended repeatedly, someone he had argued for in boardrooms, shielded during internal crises, and trusted with access that very few people ever received.“Turn it off,” he said finally, his voice low.Mira hesitated for a second, then closed the file. The screen went dark, but the damage had already been done.Jalen moved away slowly, like someone walking through smoke. He leaned against the desk, his hands gripping the edge as memories flooded in. Moments when this same person had stood beside him, offering advice, loyalty, reassurance. He felt sick.“I should confront them,” he said.“No,” Mira replied immediately. “Not yet.”He looked at her sharply. “You expect me to sit with this?”“I expect you
Chapter 175: Escalating Tension
The attack came quietly, wrapped in official language and stamped authority.By midmorning, Adesins Corp was drowning in audit notices. Regulatory emails flooded the compliance department, each one more urgent than the last. Requests for records spanning years. Demands for explanations on transactions that had already been cleared long ago. Flags raised on accounts that had never before attracted suspicion. Within hours, the finance team was in panic mode, whispering about account freezes, legal sanctions and reputational collapse.Jalen was summoned from one emergency call to another.He stood in his office, phone pressed to his ear, listening as his Head of Finance explained the severity of the situation. “Sir, if this audit escalates, they could suspend access to our operational accounts temporarily. Even payroll could be affected.”“Temporarily?” Jalen repeated sharply. “Or indefinitely?”There was hesitation on the line. “That depends on how cooperative the regulators decide to
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