Wealth Domination System-Chapter 19: The Audit Showdown

Charles woke at dawn, heart hammering with nerves. Today was the public crossover—his invitation to Victor was accepted. Now they’d go live together on a national business talk show, with millions watching. This was either the final test or a trap.

Lena met him downstairs. Her expression was cool, collected.

"Let’s do this," she said, and they climbed into their ride.

---

7:45 AM – Studio Backstage

A bustling mess of crew, cameras, lights. Charles stepped into makeup and headphones. Victor paced nearby, surrounded by Reed Global staffers.

They locked eyes briefly.

Victor’s smirk said it all: this was his territory.

A producer tapped Charles’ shoulder.

"Five minutes to air."

He closed his eyes. Lena straightened his tie.

"You’re the storm today," she whispered.

He nodded.

---

8:00 AM – Live Broadcast Begins

Host Monica Reyes introduced them: "Today on Business Spotlight—an unprecedented faceoff: Charles Kane, founder of The Wealth Domination System, versus Victor Kane, investor and executive at Reed Global."

The screen split: Charles on the left, Victor on the right. Victor nodded coolly. Charles held Lena’s gaze via monitor.

Monica dove in: "Victor, why accept the invitation?"

Victor smiled: "Because I want the world to see the system’s legitimacy. And my side is clear—it needs checks, not domination."

He paused: "This invitation was... clever, Charles."

Charles pressed his lips: "I invited him. Because I believe transparency wins."

---

8:05 AM – First Round: Code Integrity

Monica: "Victor, do you have proof of back-door code in Charles’ system?"

Victor hesitated. "I reviewed early segments. I’m concerned there may be unsecured calls to my network. I’ve submitted paperwork for forensic analysis."

Charles replied: "We removed and sealed all third-party protocols—blocks confirmed live yesterday. We have blockchain timestamps to prove it."

Lena shot him a quick thumbs-up.

Monica pressed Victor: "Then why proceed?"

Victor’s voice dropped: "Because code integrity isn’t just about lines—it’s about ownership, funding influence, control."

---

8:15 AM – Second Round: Investors’ Trust

Monica looked at Charles: "Serena, your firm funded this. Are you comfortable with Reed’s influence?"

On a monitor, Serena gave a short nod: Yes.

Charles said: "We locked out Reed’s control. Investors had full transparency. Their money is safe."

Victor leaned forward: "But you went back on your invitation. We agreed not to fight dirty."

Charles straightened: "He froze our assets without due process."

Victor shot back: "He owns publicly-listed shares—his move was defensive."

---

8:25 AM – Surprise Bombshell

Monica turned: "Charles, you made bold claims yesterday—calling yourself the weapon of the people. Today, Reed alleges you’re building a ’Weaponized Fintech Empire.’ How do you respond?"

Charles paused.

"Our goal is empowerment—not domination. We give users investment choices, financial tools. If people use it as a weapon—it’s by choice. Not our design."

Victor interjected: "But design matters. Can your system manipulate markets?"

Charles met his eyes: "Only if someone abusive programed it. I’m telling you—such code is gone."

Monica nodded. Then both men stared silent as the seconds ticked on air.

---

8:30 AM – Live Security Alert

Suddenly, alarms blared in the studio.

"Everyone stay calm!" the producer shouted.

Monica looked bewildered.

Victor rose: "What’s happening?"

A tech assistant rushed in.

"There’s a breach—attempted takeover of both your systems. Looks like a virus targeting the Wealth Domination System—live."

Charles’ blood ran cold.

> [System Prompt: Emergency Lockdown Initiated. Intrusion Source: Unknown]

He whispered: "They’re hitting us."

Lena gripped his hand.

Victor looked pained. "This wasn’t in the deal."

---

8:33 AM – On-Air Crisis

Monica bravely held the mic.

"We interrupt with a security alert. Gentlemen, is everything okay?"

Charles cleared his throat: "Yes. Minor technical incident. Nothing affecting our operations."

Victor nodded, but his jaw wore tension.

Monica looked at camera: "Stay tuned."

Broadcast cut to ad-break.

---

8:40 AM – Off-Air Tension

Backstage was chaotic. Lena led Charles into a side room.

He pounded a fist. "This is sabotage. Who’s behind it?"

She pointed to a screen log. "IP traced back to Reed and a secondary node—looks like internal betrayal."

Charles swallowed.

> [System Task: Trace the Intrusion Source to Human Actor]

He watched code flow spinning.

He turned to Lena. "We invited him in. Now they’re nuking us."

Before he could react, Victor stormed in.

"I didn’t authorize this," he spat. "Reed doesn’t know till now. Someone higher..."

Charles winced: "Someone put them at your table."

Victor’s eyes locked on Charles. "Fix it."

---

8:55 AM – On-Air Return

Lights flickered. Monica returned.

"We’re still here. Let’s continue with the debate."

Charles squared his shoulders. "I’m ready."

They resumed.

Victor pressed: "Who are you in control of? The business? The system? The people?"

Charles looked straight ahead.

"The system belongs to the users. The business belongs to us—built ethically. I answer to them."

Victor’s face twitched. He grabbed a glass of water.

---

9:05 AM – The Revelation

Monica brought the final round.

"Charles—who’s behind this sabotage?"

Silence.

Then Charles said: "I don’t know yet—but I will. And I promise, if you attack the system again, you attack the people who believed in us."

Victor’s face changed—not surprise, respect... or something darker.

Monica ended the segment.

She paused.

"But Charles—you used the term ’attack the people’... we have personal messages from users celebrating the shutdown. You made them complicit."

Charles’s throat tightened.

---

9:10 AM

Behind the glass, Lena stared at him.

He stared back.

Victor leaned in, voice low: "You just gave me the leverage I needed."

Charles froze.

On the public live feed, viewers’ comments poured in: confusion. Support. Fear.

Then the lights flickered again.

Backstage, alarms screamed.

Someone screamed.

Monica’s voice wavered as on-camera lights went dark.

Cut to black.

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