2025-04-22 04:32:43After everything that had happened that evening, Jalen knew he couldn’t linger any longer.
Standing beside Sonia under the soft glow of the garden lights, he offered a small, tired smile.
"Thank you for everything tonight," he said, his voice low, heavy with the exhaustion he could no longer hide.
The night air was cool, carrying with it the faint scent of rain and flowers. Sonia, who had been silently hoping he would ask to stay longer, shifted slightly on her heels.
"You could come to my place," she said quietly, almost shyly. "Rest a little. Clear your head."
Jalen looked at her, seeing the genuine concern hidden beneath her poised exterior. For a moment, he considered it. It would be easy, slipping into a warm, welcoming space, allowing someone else to share the weight he carried alone.
But he couldn’t.
He needed space. He needed the silence of loneliness, the kind that would allow him to wrestle his thoughts without distraction.
With a soft but firm shake of his head, Jalen declined. "Not tonight, Sonia. Thank you, but I need to be alone for a while."
He caught the flicker of disappointment that clouded her eyes, a quick flash before she masked it with a graceful nod. She didn’t push.
She only watched as he gave one last nod of gratitude and turned, disappearing into the cool night.
Walking through the sleeping city, Jalen kept his hands buried deep in his pockets, his mind restless.
Tonight had been a harsh reminder.
He was tired. Tired of being looked at as if he didn’t belong. Tired of living in the shadows of other people’s success stories, even when he knew, deep down, he had paved the road for some of them.
It was time to start treating himself the way he deserved.
No more dim lights. No more hiding. No more cheap hotels in rundown streets.
His steps grew firmer as he headed straight toward the Orion Hotel — the crown jewel of the city’s hospitality scene. A seven-star palace, reserved only for the untouchable elite.
The building loomed above him, its sleek glass exterior catching the city lights and throwing them back like a thousand tiny suns. Inside, the marble floors gleamed like rivers of cream, and the air smelled of fresh lilies and silent wealth.
He stepped through the grand revolving doors, drawing a few subtle glances from the sharply dressed guests lounging in the lobby.
At the front desk stood a receptionist, dressed immaculately in a navy-blue uniform, her hair pulled into a severe bun.
Jalen approached calmly, shoulders relaxed, clothes simple but clean. The day’s battles had left a faint wrinkle here and there, but he still carried himself with a kind of quiet pride that no fabric could diminish.
The receptionist barely spared him a glance. Her eyes, sharp and judging, skimmed him from head to toe in less than a second.
Without even checking the computer, she gave a rehearsed smile, the kind that barely touched her eyes, and said, "Good evening, sir. I’m sorry, but all our rooms are fully booked."
Jalen frowned slightly, sensing immediately that something was off.
The lobby was not full. In fact, it was unusually quiet for such a bustling place.
He kept his voice polite but firm. "Are you sure? Could you kindly check the system?"
The woman’s smile froze a little. She tapped lazily at her keyboard, making a show of it, before repeating her claim. "All rooms are taken, sir."
Before Jalen could respond, the heavy glass doors swung open behind him.
A rotund man with a loud laugh stormed into the lobby, his arm wrapped possessively around the slim waist of a stunning young woman in a red sequined dress.
Their presence was like a thunderclap — loud, showy, demanding attention.
They swaggered straight to the desk, not sparing Jalen even a second glance.
"We need your finest suite," the man declared loudly, his words slurred slightly, betraying the alcohol in his veins.
The receptionist, the same woman who moments ago had sworn there were no rooms available, lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Of course, sir!" she chirped, bending over her computer with exaggerated eagerness.
Within seconds, she was handing them a golden keycard, her face a study in servile sweetness.
Jalen watched the scene unfold, a slow, bitter anger simmering beneath his calm exterior.
He stepped forward, his voice cutting through the fake laughter around him.
"I thought you said there were no rooms available?"
The receptionist’s hands froze over the counter.
For a moment, silence hung in the air. Then, panic flashing in her eyes, she straightened and raised her voice unnecessarily, drawing attention from all corners of the lobby.
"Sir, please do not cause a disturbance!" she barked sharply. "I will have to call security if you do not leave immediately!"
Several heads turned, guests pretending to be discreet while openly watching the unfolding drama.
Jalen stood his ground, his face unreadable.
Before he could utter another word, the fat man turned toward him with a loud snort of laughter.
"Ah-ah, my brother," the man jeered, shaking his belly as he laughed. "You think you can find a room here? With this your ordinary jacket and sad face? huh?"
The girl clinging to his arm joined in the mockery, tossing her silky hair and wrinkling her nose as if Jalen’s very presence offended her.
"This one probably thought Orion was a place to eat pizza and drink cheap beer," she said loudly, earning a round of snickers from a few nearby onlookers.
Jalen’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t move.
Pride wouldn’t allow him to beg. Anger wouldn’t allow him to explain.
He simply stood there, letting the wave of humiliation wash over him like a man used to enduring storms.
It was at that moment that a middle-aged man appeared from the back office.
He wore a crisp black suit, his face polished into the perfect mask of hospitality. The gold tag on his breast pocket announced him as the Manager.
He walked briskly to the front desk, took one look at the scene unfolding, and gave a quick, almost invisible signal.
Immediately, the security guards stationed around the lobby moved.
They surrounded Jalen with mechanically, like a hyena circling its prey, forming a tightening circle, their faces blank but their message very clear: Leave. Now.
Jalen inhaled deeply, feeling the familiar, ugly sting of injustice pricking at his chest.
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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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