CHAPTER 52: DOWNFALL

James Brock sat in his office, a faint smile on his lips as he swirled a glass of wine in celebration.

Celebration for what exactly?

For fixing the mess, of course. Although it required him to use up some black market favors, connections, and spend a whole lot, it was all worth it because the Avance situation had finally started to settle.

The public outrage over their predatory lending schemes had been neatly swept under the rug with the help of some aggressive PR, political donations, and a lot of sacrificial firings.

James had made sure to wipe both his and Avance’s names squeaky clean, placing all the blame on the actions of "unsupervised employees" and presenting their firings as evidence that he was doing the "right" thing.

A move that had worked well in his favor because the regulators had been pacified, the media had found a new scandal to obsess over, and internal leaks had completely stopped.

The firestorm that nearly consumed the company just days ago... now felt like just a bad dream.

Of course, there were going to be some lingering doubts from the public, but it was nothing that wouldn’t fizzle out with the passage of time.

He leaned back in his leather chair, basking in the sweet taste of victory. He had done all this without the help of Nathaniel.

Now, the next step was regaining Nathaniel’s trust and favor. His backing was a golden bone, and James was the desperate mutt clinging to it with everything he had.

And what better way to regain that favor than by acquiring the high-value land that Drake Systems sat on?

This time, he didn’t plan on targeting OmniTech Corp. After all, it seemed someone powerful was backing it, and James wouldn’t risk putting himself and Avance in that situation again... No.

Instead, this time he was going to specifically target one person: Camila Drake.

James was sure there had to be a way to pressure Camila Drake into double-crossing OmniTech Corp. Everyone had a weakness, whether it be greed, fear, or desperation. He just needed to find hers.

After all, she had sold the land once. What was to stop her from doing it again? Especially if he made the offer sweet enough... or the consequences for refusal bitter enough.

He was confident that even if OmniTech Corp decided to sue after that, he’d still have the upper hand—because he had Nathaniel.

In his mind, Nathaniel’s influence outweighed whatever mysterious power was backing OmniTech Corp.

But James’s "brilliant" plan had failed to account for one tiny detail: OmniTech Corp was the one that paid off the debts owed by Drake Systems after completely acquiring it.

Even if he somehow managed to pressure Camila, which was highly unlikely since Avance had nothing on her anymore, it wouldn’t matter.

Camila Drake no longer held any ownership or authority over the property. She was no more than an employee of OmniTech Corp now.

James, in all his arrogance, haste, and stupidity, had overlooked that critical fact. Blinded by desperation and his obsession with regaining Nathaniel’s favor, he had built his entire scheme on a foundation that didn’t even exist.

Worse still, any attempt to force Camila’s hand would only alert OmniTech Corp. He’d be poking the very giant he had just barely escaped from.

But this time, it seemed OmniTech,bor rather, Ethan, wasn’t going to wait for James to poke his nest.

Soon enough, James’s assistant, Darwin, barged into his office looking panicked.

James frowned, annoyed at the interruption. "Darwin, what the hell—"

"We have a problem, sir," Darwin spoke quickly, his tone urgent. "A big one."

His wine glass froze mid-air as he said, "Talk."

Instead of a reply, Darwin walked toward his desk, picked up the TV remote, and pushed the on button.

James was a bit confused until the TV turned on and he saw the news. His expression quickly turned ashen as blood drained from his face.

The news anchor’s expression was grave as she read the news, the banner beneath her reading:

BREAKING NEWS: Massive Leak Exposes Criminal Ties Between Avance Financial and Underworld Network

"...shocking revelations coming to light this morning regarding Avance Financial and its CEO, James Brock. According to an anonymous source, Avance has not only engaged in systematic predatory lending practices but is also allegedly tied to illegal money laundering operations, black market dealings, and connections to known criminal syndicates."

James’s fingers tightened around his wine glass until it cracked.

"This has to be a mistake," he muttered.

But the segment continued on, with the screen now showing blurry photographs—one of James shaking hands with a known underworld broker, another of Avance’s internal memos referencing "silent acquisitions," debt recycling schemes, and offshore accounts.

Then came audio clips of his very own voice.

"If the bastard can’t pay, take the house. If he complains, then make him disappear for a while."

Darwin was pale. "Sir... these recordings..."

James immediately threw the wine glass in his hand at the TV.

The glass shattered against the screen, sparks flying as the impact left a spiderweb of cracks across the display.

The TV let out the sound of static before it fizzled out and the screen turned black.

He stood motionless for a moment, his chest rising and falling as he took shallow, ragged breaths.

His face was contorted with rage as he slammed both palms on his desk, rattling everything on it.

"Who did this!?" he bellowed.

He was really sure that he had taken care of every single loose end after the first leak. He was sure that every single skeleton in his closet had been cleared up, so how could this be happening?

He paced, fists clenched, mind racing. The documents, the audio files, and even the videos, those were never supposed to be found. He had completely swept it under the rug.

Not unless someone had access to records even he didn’t know still existed.

"Check our internal systems," James barked. "I want to know if we’ve been hacked, breached, compromised—anything!"

"W-we’ve already done that, sir," Darwin nervously let out. "There’s no trace of hack—"

"Then how the hell did they get all this!?" He slammed his palm on the desk again, his anger reaching a boiling point.

James stared at Darwin for a few minutes as his breathing turned heavier. The weight of it all began to settle on his shoulders, and for the first time, panic began to replace rage.

Ever since he got involved with OmniTech Corp, it had been one issue after another. The first mess had been swept under the rug because proofs like these were not presented.

But right now, James saw no way of escaping this, and he couldn’t hope for Nathaniel’s help—not after he had been one disappointment after the other.

James slowly sank into his chair, the weight of the moment crushing the last remnants of his earlier smugness. His hands trembled slightly as they hovered over his desk, unsure what to do next.

He had no more favors to call in, no more dirt to cover this up with. He was utterly and completely alone.

James had burned every safety net he’d ever had in the first leak and now had nothing to rely on anymore. He felt like he was being crushed.

And for the first time, he couldn’t help but think—was this how the people he collected debts from felt? Was this how suffocated they felt before he came knocking at their doors?

James’s thoughts spiraled as the realization settled in, heavy as a boulder on his chest. His empire, built on extortion, manipulation, and carefully concealed corruption, was unraveling. And this time, he had no scapegoats left to throw to the wolves.

Darwin shifted awkwardly, still standing by the desk, unsure if he should speak or quietly slip away.

"Sir..." he carefully called out, "what do we do now?"

James didn’t answer at first. He just stared at the cracked TV, at the warped reflection of his own haunted face in the shattered screen. Then slowly, his eyes lifted to Darwin.

"Call everyone," James said finally, voice low and hoarse. "The PR team, legal, crisis management get them here. Now!"

Darwin nodded and rushed out, phone already in hand.

James was left alone in his office, with his elbows on the desk and both hands closed above his lips. How would his team salvage this situation?

He had no idea, but he’d try anyway.

[Now that’s not a good look for you, Mr. Brock,] a voice from his PC broke him from his thoughts, causing his head to snap toward it.

On the screen was a chibi character sitting on a huge cube, with a pitying expression on its face as it looked at him through his computer screen.

"Who the hell are you?" James asked, a bit cautious since he had no idea how this person had gotten access to his PC.

[Let’s just say,] the chibi avatar leaned forward with a smile on its face, [I’m here to offer you a way out, if you grant me a small favor in return.]