Rags to Stardom

Chapter 3

“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.