THE SILENT BILLIONAIRE

CHAPTER 20: THE GLASS SHOWDOWN

Ang conference room ng Alcoveza HQ ay malamig, minimalist, halos parang glass cage sa taas ng Makati skyline. Sa labas, flashing city lights, sa loob, flashing screens ng real-time analytics at financial feeds.

Jance at Hanna ay nakatayo sa tabi ng central console, bawat galaw synchronized, bawat eye contact silent command.

Bonifacio, naka-suit, posture rigid, lips thin. “You think you can corner me?” boses niya, low but sharp, kaya lang may hawig ng pagtataka sa confidence ng dalawa.

“Not think,” sagot ni Jance, cold calm. “We already have.”

Ang tablet ni Jance ay nag-flash ng encrypted logs—financial transactions, access attempts, employee irregularities—all linked. Every move Bonifacio thought discreet ay naka-map na sa foresight network ni Jance.

“Hindi lang ito demo account,” Jance continued. “Hindi lang surveillance. Every step, every plan mo… visible. And we adapted.”

Hanna hawak ang secondary control panel. “If he tries to escape, lockdown is automatic. We control all exits.”

Bonifacio’s eyes narrowed. “And yet… I have a card you haven’t seen.”

Bumukas ang sliding drawer ng desk—isang small drive, metallic, ominous.

Jance’s fingers hovered over the console. “That’s fine,” sabi niya, steady. “Every move you thought was secret? Pre-empted. Every leverage, countered.”

Bonifacio’s smirk faltered, subtle. Hindi siya sanay na may katapat sa intelligence niya.

Ngunit bago mag-react, may sudden alert sa tablet: “Suspicious network activity detected. External breach.”

Hanna, mabilis: “It’s coming from the east server cluster. Someone is bypassing your firewall.”

“Impossible,” sagot ni Bonifacio, mabilis na kumilos. Pero sa bawat step niya, Jance ay nag-set ng digital traps—redirects, mirrors, isolations. The “external breach” was actually Jance’s own strategic decoy, designed to confuse, contain, at control every potential move.

“Hindi ka sanay sa foresight, Tita Bonifacio,” Jance said, hawak ang tablet, calm but lethal. “Everything you counted on, manipulated. You underestimated me… underestimated us.”

Ang tension sa room ay palpable. Ang bawat flash ng screen, bawat microexpression ni Bonifacio, bawat microadjustment ni Hanna sa system—parang chess game sa high stakes.

Bonifacio slammed his fist. “You… how?!”

“Planning,” sagot ni Jance, boses calm. “Discipline. Patience. Mastery sa sarili. Kaya natin ‘to, hindi dahil sa lakas, kundi sa foresight at precision.”

Ngunit bago pa man mag-final move, alarms nag-flash: “Secondary breach detected. Emergency override initiated.”

“External intrusion?” Bonifacio’s eyes widened, finally off-balance.

Hanna, calm, “No. It’s controlled. Just making sure you have no easy way out. Every exit, every shadow, mapped.”

Jance took a slow step closer, eyes never leaving Bonifacio. “It’s over. Every strategy, every manipulation… accounted for. You tried to corner us, pero ngayon… ikaw ang nakatali sa sariling laro mo.”

Bonifacio, lips tight, realizes he’s been outmaneuvered. “You… you’re just… boys playing?”

“Not boys,” Jance corrected, calm but deadly. “We’re the architects. And every empire, every empire… is only as strong as the ones who build it with foresight.”

Hanna stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Jance’s shoulder. Silent support, unspoken message: together, unbeatable.

The masked layers of deception, betrayal, and silent power in the room dissolved, leaving only the raw tension of a duel between foresight and pride.

And as the city lights reflected in the glass walls, Bonifacio knew—the war he thought he controlled, had already shifted. The empire, the legacy… was quietly, firmly, in Jance’s hands.