Volume 4: The Counterattack
Summary: Jack, armed with crucial evidence, launches a full-scale counteroffensive against Richard. Using financial tactics to disrupt Richard's plans, he also searches for the key person who can bring Richard down completely. His battle with Richard intensifies, and Wall Street is thrown into turmoil.
Chapter 1: Secret Maneuvers
The icy wind howled like a swarm of bloodthirsty flies, buzzing toward Jack. It didn't just pierce through his thin, nearly transparent brown coat—it felt as though it were burrowing into his bones, freezing him into an insensate ice sculpture. He exhaled a puff of white breath that quickly vanished into the damp, frigid air. Pulling his collar tightly around his neck, he curled himself into a ball behind the gnarled roots of an old oak tree on the southern edge of Central Park, trying to hide from the cold.
The bare branches of the oak reached skyward like skeletal claws, offering no shelter—only a symbolic barrier against the wind. But at least they gave him a small sense of concealment, a fragile illusion of safety.
His gaze was sharp and venomous, locked onto the towering glass-and-steel monolith across the street—the headquarters of Kane Enterprises. Against the dark Manhattan skyline, the metallic beast appeared even colder and more ruthless, like an untouchable temple mocking his downfall. Not long ago, he had been one of its chosen elite, basking in its protection and glory.
"Richard..." Jack growled the name under his breath, each syllable laced with unrelenting hatred, as if chewing on shards of ice. That hatred coursed through his veins like poison, keeping him alert despite the freezing night.
Just months ago, he had been Richard Kane's most trusted right-hand man, the shining star among traders at Kane Enterprises, hailed by Wall Street as a young genius destined for greatness. Private jets, lavish dinners, endless wealth—he had possessed everything that could dazzle the world, standing at what seemed like the pinnacle of existence. Then, in a single night, it all collapsed, hurled into the abyss by Richard's own hand.
The conspiracy had been meticulously orchestrated—every step calculated, every move synchronized. Fabricated trading records, bribed insiders, and even Emily... Her testimony had struck like a dagger, piercing his heart without mercy. He was accused of embezzlement and market manipulation, sentenced to prison, and permanently blacklisted from Wall Street. After his release, he had nothing—his reputation destroyed, his life in ruins. Even Emily, the woman he had loved so deeply, chose to walk away, leaving him utterly broken and turning him into a ragged, starving homeless man.
Thinking of Emily sent waves of pain slicing through Jack's soul. He had loved her fiercely; together, they had dreamed of a beautiful future. He had believed that no matter what happened, she would stand by him. Yet in court, her eyes had looked at him with unfamiliarity and fear—as if he were a wild beast ready to tear her apart. He knew she had been coerced by Richard, but he couldn't forgive her betrayal, nor could he forget how she had abandoned their love.
"Enough!" Jack screamed inside, suppressing the urge to rush out and confront Richard head-on. He couldn't let the past consume him any longer. He needed revenge. He needed to make Richard pay for everything, with the highest possible cost. He would drag Richard from his lofty throne and force him to taste the fires of hell.
During the darkest days of his homelessness, Jack hadn't surrendered to despair. With his extraordinary intellect, unbreakable will, and the experience and connections he had built over years on Wall Street, he had fought to survive in New York's brutal underworld. He scavenged discarded food, took odd jobs at construction sites, and even earned meager income in underground gambling dens using his sharp instincts for financial markets and superior gambling skills.
More importantly, during this time, he had met people of varied backgrounds—each possessing unique talents. Among them was one key figure: an elderly hacker known only as "Pixel," living in a shabby apartment in the Lower East Side. Pixel was unkempt, with a tangled mess of hair like a bird's nest and clothes stained with grime, yet he wielded hacking abilities powerful enough to breach even the world's most secure systems.
"Pixel, are the data files ready?" Jack whispered softly into a tiny earpiece hidden inside the collar of his worn jacket, barely audible. He had found the earpiece in an electronics junkyard and Pixel had modified it into a device capable of eavesdropping and transmitting voice.
"Don't worry, Jack. You know I never fail," Pixel's raspy voice crackled through the earpiece, confident and teasing. "These files will set Richard's ass on fire, burning him to ashes. But you better be careful too—old fox isn't easy prey."
A few weeks earlier, with Pixel's help, Jack had exploited a security loophole to infiltrate Kane Enterprises' internal network and covertly copied massive amounts of confidential documents. These included detailed records of Richard's illegal trades over the years, evidence of bribes and kickbacks between government officials and business partners, and forged financial statements and audit reports created to cover up his crimes.
These files were Jack's sharpest weapons—his foundation for revenge, and his ticket back to Wall Street.
"This time, I'll make him taste the bitterness of betrayal from someone he trusted most. I'll show him the agony of falling from heaven to hell." A cold, razor-sharp glint burned in Jack's eyes. He wanted Richard to understand that the man he once crushed beneath his feet could now destroy him entirely.
But Jack didn't rush to expose the evidence to regulators or the press. He knew that with Richard's deep-rooted influence on Wall Street and his carefully woven web of connections, he could easily suppress any allegations—or worse, twist them to frame Jack again and send him back to prison. Instead, Jack decided to use Richard's own methods—financial warfare—to slowly corner him, ultimately leading to his ruin and disgrace.
Jack knew Richard was currently pushing hard for a multibillion-dollar energy merger. If successful, the deal would not only generate enormous profits but also solidify Richard's power and prestige on Wall Street.
"This is where it begins," Jack said with a cruel, icy smile. "I'll sabotage his plan, make him lose everything, turn all his efforts into dust!"
Over the next several days, Jack and Pixel worked tirelessly, analyzing every document like two stealthy leopards in the dark, searching for cracks in Richard's defenses. They had to be extremely cautious—no trace could be left behind, or else they would face annihilation.
Finally, after relentless effort, they uncovered a critical vulnerability.
In order to expedite the completion of the energy merger, Richard had ordered his subordinates to alter environmental assessment reports, deliberately concealing serious pollution risks associated with the targeted energy company. If these environmental issues were exposed, the merger would face intense resistance—and might even be halted by regulatory authorities.
"This is it!" Jack clenched his fist in excitement, his eyes gleaming with triumph. He knew this was the sword he needed—one that could pierce straight through Richard's ambitions.
He immediately contacted an old friend at The Wall Street Journal, Mark Thompson. Once a promising financial journalist with sharp insight and strong moral convictions, Mark had been fired after exposing a story that threatened Richard's interests. Like Jack, Mark harbored deep hatred toward Richard and had long awaited the chance to see him brought to justice.
Using an anonymous email account, Jack sent Mark copies of the altered environmental report along with supporting evidence. In the message, he told Mark that the report was directly tied to Kane Enterprises' energy merger, urging him to investigate and publish the truth.
The very next day, The Wall Street Journal published a front-page exposé titled: "Hidden Environmental Crisis Behind Kane Enterprises' Energy Merger." The article revealed Kane Enterprises' fraudulent manipulation of environmental assessments, intentionally hiding severe pollution risks, supported by extensive documentation—including internal memos, anonymous whistleblower accounts, and expert analyses.
The report ignited a media storm across Wall Street like a detonated bomb. Major news outlets picked up the story, environmental groups staged large protests demanding government intervention, and regulatory agencies launched immediate investigations. Kane Enterprises' stock plummeted like a waterfall, wiping out billions in market value overnight.
Inside Richard's luxurious top-floor office at Kane Enterprises, chaos reigned. He roared in fury, hurling files, computers, phones—anything within reach—onto the floor, venting his rage and terror. Like a trapped beast, he paced back and forth, his eyes bloodshot with panic.
"Who did this?! Who dares oppose me?!" His voice cracked with desperation. An unprecedented wave of fear crashed over him. He sensed someone lurking in the shadows, orchestrating everything behind the scenes, waiting to deliver the killing blow. He didn't know who it was or what would come next—and that uncertainty nearly broke him.
From the trees of Central Park, Jack gazed at Kane Enterprises' headquarters in the distance. He could feel Richard's anger and fear, imagining his current state of desperation and disarray. But he knew this was only the beginning—a first step in his revenge. He would strip Richard of everything, bit by bit, until he tasted the bitterness of complete defeat.
Clutching his fists tightly, Jack vowed silently: "Richard, you will learn that crossing me was the biggest mistake of your life. I will make you suffer a hundredfold for the pain you caused me!"
The night deepened, and New York's lights dimmed one by one—except for a few stubbornly glowing windows in Kane Enterprises' tower, as if resisting its inevitable collapse. Jack turned and disappeared into the darkness, blending seamlessly into the city's shadows, like a hunter lying in wait for his next strike.
He knew the path of vengeance would be long and perilous, filled with danger and uncertainty—but he would never give up. He would return to Wall Street, reclaim everything that was once his, and make Richard pay for every crime he committed. He would ensure that everyone on Wall Street understood one thing:
Never underestimate a homeless man—for he may once have been your boss, and now, he has become your executioner.