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2024-10-29 19:42:56“By keen observation. I noticed the tattoo on the arm of one of the masked men as I took him down. I also observed the hidden glances that your driver and the leader of the kidnappers exchanged.” From the moment Ethan wore the medallion, he noticed he could not only see the future but his senses had become heightened, giving him the ability to think and observe things very quickly.
Ian instantly took a liking to Ethan as he sensed that there was something special about him. Ian was a man vast in years and as such had acquired wisdom. The same wisdom that had enabled him tremendously increase the fortune of the Lopez family in the last few years, so he was no fool.
“I have something for you Ethan.”
He immediately signaled his butler who handed Ethan a briefcase.
As Ethan opened the briefcase, his eyes widened as he had never seen such amount of money before.
“That's 5 million dollars. Consider it a token of our deepest appreciation.” Ian added, to the surprise of other members of the Lopez family.
Maurice Lopez, Loretta's father chipped in, “You may not know what you have done for us young man, do you have a child?”
The question brought painful memories that Ethan had only just been struggling to suppress. His mind drifted briefly to Jake and tears welled up in his eyes.
Ethan quickly shook off the painful thoughts as he nodded, “No Sir, I don't.”
Maurice continued, “Ah, then you may not understand, but someday you will. Thank you.”
“In addition, we are offering you the position of Head of operations in Lopez conglomerate. You would be working directly with Loretta, the Vice President of Lopez conglomerate. The position comes with an apartment in sunrise villa in your name.” Ian revealed the last part with a warm smile.
“You also have an official car but I would prefer you move around with Loretta at least that way we are sure of her safety. If that's okay with you?” He asked with raised brows.
Ethan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had worked so hard and hard earned so little, with no one ever appreciating his efforts but here he was being offered a life changing opportunity for doing almost nothing.
“Of course it is Sir. It's an honour.” To Ethan, this was a sweet deal. He would own a house and drive around with the most beautiful woman in all of Stanberry, though Ariella could be referred to as the most beautiful in Cedarwood, her beauty was nothing compared to that of Loretta.
Sarah was displeased with Ian's generosity, “Grandfather, don't you think you are doing too much. You are giving the wrong notion to the public. Anyone can put up a similar stunt, with the hope of getting similar treatment from our family.”
Ian smiled, “We can only do our best and hope for the best.”
Sarah managed to put up a fake smile as she knew once Ian's mind was made up, he rarely ever went back on his word.
Ethan and Loretta left as she wanted to take him to his new apartment at sunrise villa. Half way to Ethan's new villa, a vehicle parked across Loretta's latest range Rover with four burly looking men waving at them to alight.
Ethan signaled to Loretta to remain in the car as he got out.
“State what you want and get out of our way, we are in a hurry.”
One of the burly men who appeared to be the leader of the group smiled, “Just hand over the money and we would be on our way.”
Ethan smiled, as his initial impression of them had been wrong. “So you are just low-life thieves, looking for another payday! Alright come and get it!”
As Ethan finished speaking, his eyes took on the color of the medallion hidden beneath his shirt. The burly men became terrified and hesitated attacking him but their leader instigated them to proceed.
Ethan lifted the first burly man that rushed at him like he was a piece of paper, throwing him hard against their car.
He slapped the knuckles of another attempting to punch him and gave him two slaps across the face that sent him to the ground.
The remaining two burly men decided to attack him simultaneously but Ethan sent them flying with just a single kick.
The burly men struggling to pick themselves up, got up and drove away speedily.
As Ethan got back into Loretta's car, she looked at him in awe as she had never seen anyone fight like him before.
“I have never seen anyone fight like you before. You took out those men like they were nothing. Now I'm certain that I'm in safe hands,” she said while staring at him.
Ethan was startled by the sincerity of her words. She was not just beautiful but she was also humble and well brought up for someone coming from her kind of background.
In all honesty, Ethan couldn't fully comprehend what was happening to him. He had never taken martial art classes before but yet he could take down men far stronger than he was with very minimal effort.
He knew what move his opponent was going to make even before they took it and how to counter each and every one of those moves. He felt like an entirely different person with sharper senses, better reflexes and the ability to see the future.
His life had drastically changed in mere hours and deep down he knew it was all thanks to the medallion he had found.
It was Loretta's charming voice that brought Ethan back to reality, “A penny for your thoughts?” She asked, sensing his mind had been somewhere else.
Ethan immediately regained himself, “I was actually just wondering how those men knew I was with money.”
Loretta nodded as she had also thought the exact same thing.
“Maybe they just guessed we had money since we were in a really expensive car.” She responded.
Ethan didn't share her thoughts. He knew what regular thieves looked like and the men he saw didn't look like any of those.
“I took down their plate numbers. We should look into who they are and who sent them,” he replied as she started the engine.
“All this fighting has made me hungry. Can we stop somewhere for lunch?” She asked.
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"Yes, sure. I'm starving myself.” Ethan's remark reminded him that he had not eaten anything since he left jail.He couldn't help laughing at what Loretta had just said. Loretta noticed it and asked, “What's making my hero laugh?” She asked sweetly. Ethan felt a bit flattered at her statement, “It's amazing that I did all the fighting and yet you are the one talking about hunger.”She bursted out in laughter. “I never knew you had such a great sense of humor, Ethan Banks.”Something in him enjoyed hearing her call his name and he joined in her laughter.As they entered the restaurant, a waitress hurriedly attended to them. Within minutes, she returned with their order. After she left, a well dressed man suddenly approached their table, “If it isn't Ethan Banks. What is a poor peasant like you doing in a place like this?” His tone was both condescending and insulting.It was none other than Raphael Thornton and like his name he had been a thorn in Ethan's flesh in highschool.Before E
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“Thank me for what exactly?” She asked, feigning ignorance.She was different from most ladies that came from wealthy families like herself. Her grandfather would always tease her that she had a good heart like her grandmother but then her father used to say the exact same thing to her; that she had the heart of her mother, so Loretta didn't know exactly who to believe.It was true that both men loved their late wives so much and maybe because of that saw similar traits in her, but whichever was the case, they both agreed one thing, that she had a good heart.“For covering my ass out there. I will never forget it,” he responded, gratefully.Loretta couldn't help blushing at his statement as they approached sunrise villa.“We are finally here,” she announced happily.Ethan could hardly believe he actually owned sunrise villa. A little while ago he was literarily homeless but now he owned an entire villa. Life was indeed truly unpredictable afterall, he thought to himself.As they enter
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The melodious jingle from Ethan's phone woke him up from sleep the following morning. As he peered at the caller id, he became furious, “Why is she calling me. What does she want now.”Still pissed that his sleep had been interrupted so early in the morning, he ignored the call as he struggled to go back to sleep.Ethan had left Lopez conglomerate with Loretta earlier in the day for the Lopez estate before he drove the Range Rover back to sunrise villa, so he was extremely tired.His phone rang out again, forcing him to pick the call in anger, “Ariella, what do you want? Why the hell are you bugging my phone?”Before she could respond, he ended the call abruptly. Ariella’s voice only brought back painful memories and Ethan wasn't sure he was ready to deal with all that just yet.But Ariella wasn't ready to give up as she kept calling over and over again, until Ethan couldn't take it anymore.“Yes! What do you want. You have ten seconds.” He spoke sternly.“Ethan, it’s Jake. He won't
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As Ethan drove, he thought about Samantha and what she had said to him. A bad feeling crept within him.“I looked up the plate number of those hooligans that tried to rob us.” Loretta announced.“It turned out nothing. The vehicle was stolen some minutes before they stopped us.”Ethan wasn't too surprised to hear how fast Loretta had found out about the stolen vehicle. She was not just beautiful and smart but she was also a sophisticated tech genius. It was no wonder the red dragons tried to kidnap her a while ago.Ethan furrowed his brows, “They sound like pros. Can you try pulling surveillance footage from the street?”“Alright, I'll handle it.” She affirmed.Loretta’s eyes suddenly fell on Ethan's lottery ticket, “Don't tell me you believe in this game of…..” She stopped before completing her statement as she caught sight of the amount he had staked on the ticket.Loretta looked at Ethan with shock written all over her face, “You spent five million dollars on it? Wait, wasn't it th
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The manager was taken aback by such a strong statement from such an ordinary looking man.Not wanting to jump into any conclusions, he approached Ethan carefully, “Such a strong statement should be backed up by proof, young man! Can I know who you are?”On hearing this, Joshua blurted out, “He’s a nobody. He’s the divorced live-in-son-in-law of the Gray's family. I even heard he recently got out of jail.”There were mocking comments from other customers in the store at that point.“So he was the useless son-in-law of the Gray’s family. He must have really been a burden to them.”“How did he get out of jail so quickly? Such a fellow should never have been let out in the first place!”Ethan ignored the comments as he responded to the manager’s question, “He is right, I'm not anyone important.”The manager furrowed his brows. Initially, he felt Ethan was someone important who was an expert in authentic fabrics but now it turns out that he was just a nobody that had just recently been fre
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“And where do you think you are going to? You can't leave until we figure out where you got the money to purchase such an expensive outfit.” Andrew's response angered Ethan even more.“You have four seconds to get out of my way!” Ethan's voice thundered.Ethan's bold response shocked Andrew momentarily. In the past, Ethan would always cower at his presence but his demeanor now was the direct opposite, a behavior that somewhat terrified Andrew.But not wanting to back down in front of his entire family, he pushed away the doubts within him and continued with his condescending behavior.Andrew laughed scornfully, in a final attempt to convince himself that he was in charge of the situation. He was used to beating Ethan for no reason in the past and he had been looking forward to doing it again especially now that Ethan came with a really gorgeous woman.“If I show her what a wimp he is maybe she would consider leaving him for me,” he thought secretly in his heart.“Or wha…” Before Andre
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Ethan's response came out with such force that it sent shivers to Carmelo and his men.Carmelo signaled to one of his men and he left only to return in seconds with iron clubs as they surrounded Ethan, each one of them smiling deviously.Loretta was frightened for Ethan. She quickly stood between Ethan and Carmelo, “Why don't you just take the car and we'll leave. No one has to get hurt.”Carmelo smirked, “Negotiations are over. You had your chance.”Signaling to one of his men, he screamed, “Bring her to me.”But before he could even touch Loretta Ethan sent him flying with only a jab to the abdomen.Carmelo was stunned, swallowing hard he signaled to the rest of his men so they attack him at once.Ethan swiftly moved Loretta away as he dodged the metal clubs while raining heavy punches on each of them. Painful screams could be heard from miles away as they all landed on the floor with broken bones and ribs.Carmelo in so much pain, could only speak above a whisper, “You have no idea
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Gripping the club, Chuck suddenly swung it hard in Ethan’s direction, aiming for his head, but Ethan's sturdy grip easily caught the club in mid-air.Chuck struggled to retrieve the club from Ethan's powerful grip but all his efforts were in pain.“Is that all you've got?” Ethan suddenly asked after watching Chuck struggle to retrieve the club from his grip.Chuck’s frustration was immediately palpable as he tried to land a punch on Ethan’s face but Ethan stopped it with only one finger and swung the club at Chuck's face.“Bang!” In another second Chuck was on the ground with blood oozing freely from his mouth.All the other customers who had initially looked down on Ethan, suddenly gawked at him.“You've simply been a pawn, so I'll spare you and your men. Leave now and don't ever come back!” Ethan warned Chuck as he and his men struggled to get to their feet.Mr. Orlando was also about to leave but Ethan stopped him, “Not you! You deserve a little time out like Chuck, don't you think
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Mr. Orlando’s discomfiture was palpable as he clenched his fists in rage, almost launching an attack on Chuck, “You moron, what do you think you are doing?”He yelled at Chuck who simply frowned, “We have a bit of a setback but I'm handling it. I was just about to put this poor fool in his place before you showed up!” Chuck responded, ignoring Mr. Orlando's outburst.Mr. Orlando gritted his teeth. It was almost impossible for him to deny his involvement any longer, “You had a very simple task! Take the money quietly and leave, yet you blew it, you and your incompetent crew!” Mr. Orlando ended his statement, with an irritated expression on his face.Loretta couldn't contain her shock! She and several other customers, including Gabriella, gawked at Ethan and Mr. Orlando.“Let me guess, the last robbery incident here was also planned but you took the fall for it while Orlando here pulled some strings to get you out!” Ethan responded glaring at both Orlando and Chuck.“I'm also guessing t
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“What was I even thinking when I turned down his proposal initially?” Clarissa asked herself, smiling as she watched the security guard preparing to hit Ethan with his baton.Ethan’s unwavering gaze remained fixated on Darius, even though he was speaking to the security guard, “I would think carefully about my next step if I were you!”The security guard chortled, “What's there to think about? I have the backing of Mr. Darius! Besides, what can a nobody like you do to me, huh?”A well-dressed man came out of the building at that instant wearing a discombobulated expression on his face, “What the heck is going on here?”The security guard wore an excited look as soon as he saw his boss, “Sir, I'm glad you are here! I was just about to call to inform you of Mr. Darius' arrival.”Clarissa chuckled, “Darius is a very important fellow, even the executive director of the museum came out to personally welcome him. You should have pleaded for mercy when you had the chance….”“Slap….. Slap….”
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“What was I even thinking when I turned down his proposal initially?” Clarissa asked herself, smiling as she watched the security guard preparing to hit Ethan with his baton.Ethan’s unwavering gaze remained fixated on Darius, even though he was speaking to the security guard, “I would think carefully about my next step if I were you!”The security guard chortled, “What's there to think about? I have the backing of Mr. Darius! Besides, what can a nobody like you do to me, huh?”A well-dressed man came out of the building at that instant wearing a discombobulated expression on his face, “What the heck is going on here?”The security guard wore an excited look as soon as he saw his boss, “Sir, I'm glad you are here! I was just about to call to inform you of Mr. Darius' arrival.”Clarissa chuckled, “Darius is a very important fellow, even the executive director of the museum came out to personally welcome him. You should have pleaded for mercy when you had the chance….”“Slap….. Slap….”
