Chapter One
725 Words
Simon Jimenez always said mountains had a different kind of silence. Not the empty kind, but the kind that listened back. A silence with teeth. And that morning, he walked into the penthouse conference room carrying that silence with him, settling into the air like a warning or a promise. People often mistook his quiet for softness, but at six foot one with the kind of dark, carved features that made boardrooms straighten up, Simon was anything but safe.
Tall, broad shouldered, dressed in a charcoal suit that looked like it had been tailored directly onto him, he moved with the calm confidence of a man who didn’t need to raise his voice to dominate a room. His eyes carried a sharpness that came from years of navigating power, wealth, and the heavy expectation of being born into a dynasty. The Jimenez blood gave him privilege. His own ambition, though? That was what gave him teeth.
He could’ve coasted on inheritance and still been one of the richest men in the Philippines, but Simon wasn’t interested in being rich. He wanted a seat in the trillionaire era. He wanted something so big it outran even the Jimenez shadow.
And today, he brought proof.
Andrew Lorenzo was already there, legs crossed, scrolling on his phone as if he weren’t the man behind Lares Development, a company that built skylines the way other people built IKEA shelves. Andrew carried the relaxed arrogance of a billionaire who didn’t care about anyone’s opinion, mostly because no one could afford to give him one.
Simon placed a thick folder on the glass table. The thud echoed.
“I found something,” he said, calm, like he wasn’t about to rewrite the northern economy.
Andrew didn’t even look up. “You always find something. Usually expensive. Often illegal.”
Simon smirked. “Relax. This one’s legal. Mostly.”
Andrew finally glanced up with mild interest. “Alright, I’m listening. Impress me.”
Simon opened the folder. Land surveys. Geological data. Aerial scans. Drone photos of a mountain so green it looked unreal. And at its center, the jewel, a wild, roaring waterfall system untouched by any developer’s greedy hands.
“Barangay Madanunan,” Simon said. “Santa Agueda, Ilocos Norte.”
Andrew’s brow rose. “Ilocos Norte? Your turf?”
“Turf is generous.” Simon shrugged. “I’m just the middle child. Marco gets the empire. Alfonso gets the ad campaigns. I get… mountains.”
Andrew laughed, low and amused. “Right. The tragic life of Simon Jimenez. Born into the wealthiest clan in the north. Son of the owners of Northphil Air, the airline that thinks it’s Cathay Pacific with longganisa. Truly heartbreaking.”
Simon rolled his eyes, but there was a truth buried under the sarcasm. Northphil wasn’t his. The empire wasn’t his. Not by right, not by inheritance. And he refused to sit quietly in a gilded cage built by someone else’s success.
“This,” Simon said, tapping the waterfall photo, “is mine.”
Andrew sat forward, predator’s grin forming. “What exactly are you planning up there?”
“A world class mountain resort,” Simon said. “Luxurious. Iconic. Not a recycled beach concept. Think Sagada and Switzerland had a child, then raised it with billionaire sensibilities.”
Andrew whistled softly. “You’re thinking big.”
“Nine hundred fifty billion big,” Simon corrected. “Integrated resort. Casino carved into the cliffside. Mountain villas. Skybridge. Helipad. Cable cars. Something the Philippines hasn’t even imagined yet.”
Andrew leaned back, impressed. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“But you’ll need partners. Serious ones.”
“That’s why you’re here,” Simon said. “Lares takes the casino ridge and upper residences. PrimeRise handles the heavy structures. Ardent Lex for… the messy political ballet.”
Andrew chuckled. “Madanunan is remote. Stubborn. Their landowners barricade for sport. You sure about this place?”
Simon’s gaze softened on the photo. “It feels right. Like the land’s been waiting.”
Andrew didn’t laugh. He understood instinct when it came from someone dangerous.
“That’s destiny,” he murmured.
He extended his hand.
“Lares is in.”
Simon clasped it with quiet certainty.
“Welcome to the Madanunan Crown.”
And somewhere in the mountains of Santa Agueda, fate shifted its weight.
- Writer
