Xin Yin Jin pulled both Ryona Monroe and Belle Monroe gently toward Shen Goddem. Their faces were etched in disbelief, unable to fathom how far Shen had reached the pinnacle of his life.
From the runaway abandoned boy, to the Sovereign across the globe.
"Ryona, do you know?"
Belle turned to her daughter with questioning eyes, her voice trembling with wonder.
"I had my suspicions," Ryona admitted softly, her lips curving into a faint smile. "But knowing Shen? Only he could pull off this kind of sensation."
Xin Yin Jin guided them gracefully until they stood before him. Shen walked with measured steps toward Ryona, his wife, and her mother Belle Monroe—the woman who had treated him as her own son.
Without hesitation, Shen lowered himself, kneeling to touch Belle Monroe's feet. Gasps rippled through the gathered crowd. Belle's eyes widened, and she quickly bent forward, lifting him by the shoulders.
"Calm yourself, dear boy!" she scolded gently, her southern accent thick with affection. "You don't have to do that, not here in the public eye."
"Why not?" Shen replied, his voice steady, almost breaking. "You are like a mother to me. My own mother never treated me as her son, nor did the Tucker Family. It was you—and Ryona—who made me feel whole in those years of my youth after I left at seventeen."
Belle pressed her lips together, tears shimmering in her eyes. The crowd hushed, watching the exchange like a sacred performance.
Shen turned now to Ryona, taking her trembling hands into his.
"Ryona," he said, locking his gaze with hers. "You suffered so much after I left that day. You endured humiliation from your own family, the Monroes. Even in their workplace, they reduced you to a mere desk worker, as if you were nothing."
Shen straightened, and with a commanding snap of his fingers, Xin Yin Jin stepped forward. The hall lights caught her black gown, flowing like liquid night, exuding an aura that screamed goddess. She presented him with a sleek leather file.
Shen took it, then handed it directly to Ryona. His hand lingered over hers.
"Ryona, this file contains a company I want you to run."
Her eyes widened, her voice stammering. "Me... me? Why me? I'm just a simple southern girl, husband."
Shen tilted her chin upward with gentle fingers, lifting her face to meet his unwavering eyes.
"Because you are my wife—my little southern belle. And because you are knowledgeable, a fast learner, and punctual. You are everything they never acknowledged, and more."
Ryona's eyes welled with tears. She let out a sharp breath, then pulled Shen into a fierce, desperate kiss.
Cameras flashed wildly, media voices rose in chaos, and the crowd outside the gala gates erupted in thunderous cheers.
In that single kiss, the world shifted. The high-status families—the Tuckers, the Monroes—watched with pale faces and clenched jaws.
Their reckoning was coming.
The biggest karma in history was about to unfold before their very eyes.
Shen took both Ryona's and Belle's arms, locking each one at his side, and pulled them proudly toward the entrance.
Xin Yin Jin followed just behind, her heels clicking with precision, her expression calm yet satisfied.
She was glad to see her boss happy, and in truth, she shared in that joy. The four of them moved as a single unit, stepping toward the glowing hall.
On each side, the Tuckers and the Monroes stood frozen, watching as if the very sight itself was a slap to their pride.
But just before they crossed the threshold, Shen suddenly stopped. His boots ground to a halt against the marble floor.
He turned slowly to see a lottle girl tucking his black trench coat. He looked down and see that she was giving a crown to him. Gesturing hin to wear it.
He smiled and leaned down to take the crown, but instead he place it on the girl's head instead and carried her up and gave her a big kissed on her cheek.
Shen Goddem handed the child back to her mother at the side of the gala entrance. A hint that anyone can wear the crown, if they believe in themselves.
His sharp gaze sweeping back over the restless masses outside of countless melayus, chineses, and indians as the witness his humbleness.
With measured steps, he walked to the forefront. The moment the people caught sight of him, their voices rose like a tidal wave. The air vibrated with raw anticipation.
Shen lifted his arms skyward, twisted his thumbs together, and spread his fingers wide into the unmistakable wings of an winged dragon.
"RRRAAAGGGHHH!!!"
The crowd erupted. They knew that gesture—it was his signature. As Shen shifted it slightly to the left side of his hand to wave at the crowds, the chant exploded, rolling across the plaza like thunder.
"GODDEM! GODDEM! GODDEM!"
The stomps of thousands began to sync like war drums, pounding against the ground in rhythm. The plaza shook with their unified roar.
Lights from phones flashed across the night sky like stars bowing to their Sovereign. Some dropped to their knees, others raised fists high, all surrendering themselves to the moment.
"Can you feel that, Mother?"
The voice cut through the madness—Hana Tucker, Shen Goddem's biological mother. She stepped forward, trembling, and stood beside her own mother, Hela Tucker.
"The ground trembles with their stomps," Hana whispered, eyes wide with awe. "That one hand gesture… and the roar of the people—it is the sound of a real dragon taking flight."
Hela's gaze drifted to the banquet tables inside the hall. The silverware rattled violently against porcelain.
The chandeliers swayed ever so slightly. The energy of the people seemed to bend reality itself, and all the lights overhead converged on one man.
Hana's voice broke, her hand clutching her chest. "Mother, we were the fools. The true rise is not Zac Tucker—it is Shen Tucker. No… Shen Goddem, reborn."
Shen took the microphone from its stand, raising it slowly. The chants dimmed, but the stomps continued like a heartbeat, the earth itself waiting for his words. His Malaysian accent rang out, deep and commanding:
"Goddem kamu! Sudah tiba!"
(Your Goddem! Is Here!)
The declaration shattered the silence. The crowd's answering roar shook the heavens, a dragon's cry born from thousands of throats, sealing Shen's rise in living legend.
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Chapter 18 — End.