Everyone in the store was rendered speechless by his words, but the very next second, they were all glaring hard at Ethan and harrumphing loudly in disdain."Where did this thick-skinned bastard crawl out from?""It doesn't look like he's from around here. Maybe this is how people from where he comes from behave.""He must think everyone he comes across is a fool then."The salesperson who was the first to call Ethan a thief turned to Camille and sighed deeply."Manager Stark, responding to this loser would be a waste of your time. It's obvious he's just looking for a way to get us to let our guards down. Permit me to call the police so they can drag him away."Camille ignored the words of the people swirling around her and focused her attention on Ethan."What? We may be in this part of the city, but people from wealthy families all over the world come to Springdale and our store in particular to get their cars and motorcycles.""The twentieth most expensive car in our VIP showroom i
"Hmph! I told you he was a thief, didn't I?""Guard the door very well. It would be very bad of us to miss an opportunity to teach this thief a lesson!""A pity what is about to happen to you. Ms. Stark gave you so many opportunities to back out and find a way out, but you refused to heed it. You only have yourself to blame now."Rickon Martell flicked his stylish watch to his eyes to see the time, then folded his hands on his chest and grinned at Ethan."Lucky you, my schedule is free today. So I have all the time in the world to mete out your punishment to you."After saying that, he turned to the three security men in the store and nudged his head at them. "Grab him and strip him of his clothes. Then drag him to my car."The security men nodded and quickly advanced towards Ethan. However, an icy glance from Ethan made their brains temporarily shut down.Their limbs halted, and their outstretched hands, which were ready to grab Ethan, hung midair.Their brains had sent a warning sig
It took Camille's lawyer less than ten minutes to draft the transfer agreement and make his way to the store.It was just a piece of paper with fewer than ten lines written on it. No hidden clause in it.Ethan went through the words on it twice before he lowered his pen to the place where his name was needed.When he was done writing, he handed the agreement to Camille, who signed almost immediately.Then he took back the paper, neatly folded it, and slipped it into his pocket.Afterward, his eyes flickered across the faces in the room before he smiled at the man and woman in front of him."The transaction was successful. Now I want my apologies. And I want them with you both on your knees. Surely you haven't forgotten you made an agreement like that with me, have you?"Rickon Martell didn't move an inch, and neither did Camille Stark.Seeing this, the salesperson who had lost his job the moment Ethan signed the transfer agreement thought it was their way of standing up against him, s
Ethan stopped somewhere on his way back to the house and called Josiah Haworth.The man arrived a few minutes later with another who immediately began working on the Ducati.It took him less than thirty minutes to cover the 'Ducati' written on the motorcycle and anything that'd make Chloe suspect Ethan bought it for an exorbitant price.As Ethan climbed the Ducati after the man was done with it, Josiah stepped forward and cautiously suggested, "I could've ordered you a better motorcycle and had it customized for you, President."Ethan plugged in the key in the keyhole and turned it without looking at him. "I could've told you about it, but it's taking you so long to fix my Koenigsegg Jesko. I can't wait for a year to get a motorcycle. You can't exactly blame me, can you?"Without another glance at Josiah, he revved the car engine and shot forward with it like a bolt of lightning.Josiah sucked in his teeth as he watched Ethan disappear out of sight. Then he turned around and whipped o
Ethan stared blankly at the unfamiliar woman for a long time before tearing his eyes away from her and ignoring her.The lady was wearing an elegant silk dress, transparent from her legs to her thighs.She wore little makeup, and Ethan thought she bore a slight resemblance to Chloe. However, he didn't pay much attention to it.Seeing the man ignore her, the lady inched closer to him and snapped her fingers in his face, chiding, "Hey, didn't you hear me call you? Or are you not only a loser but also deaf and dumb?"Ethan looked unbothered as he continued staring ahead, ignoring her pesky actions.She continued snapping her fingers in his face and yapping until eventually, she got tired and stopped.It was at this moment that two girls walked towards the lady and asked, "Violet, do you know this man?""Of course I do. This is my cousin's good-for-nothing husband!" Violet responded, and the thought of who she was finally seeped into Ethan's brain.Violet Brown. Chloe's maternal cousin. F
Ethan didn't know who the man with Violet was, but as an engaged woman, she wouldn't be bold enough to show up in public holding hands with another man.So he just concluded he was her fiancé, Vincent Dutchman.Vincent Dutchman brazenly stepped into the limelight and twirled himself around as he looked into the faces of those close to him."Why, you may ask? Look around you. This place is filled with most of the wealthy and famous people in Springdale.""He's not famous and he's definitely not from a rich family, so how did he come in here?"Violet cleared her throat noisily and glared at Ethan."Didn't you hear him? Tell everyone where you got the invitation you showed the guards at the door because they wouldn't have let you in without you showing them an invitation!"The girls who had been outside with Violet immediately stepped forward and chipped in, "That's true. When we saw him lurking outside the parking lot, he didn't have an invitation.""If he had an invitation card he woul
His response got everyone talking, and the loudest voice belonged to Vincent."What? You do not have an invitation? How did you get in then? I'm pretty sure the security men at the front would never let anyone in without confirming your invitation card," Vincent exclaimed."I didn't say I didn't give them an invitation to confirm. I said I'm not with it," Ethan nonchalantly rephrased.Vincent's brow furrowed into an annoyed frown. "If you gave them your invitation card, then you should be with it. What the hell are you saying?""I was with it, but I don't remember putting it back into my pocket when I walked past them. I think I've forgotten it somewhere," Ethan kept saying, not looking the least bothered that his nonchalant replies were getting on Vincent's nerves.Seeing Vincent get angry, Violet turned and violently slammed her palm on the table next to her. "Ethan Black! Is this all some kind of joke to you?""Because of you, Mr. Reese totally misunderstood my fiancé's intentions
Andy sighed deeply."Yes, Commander. Hamon knows you took his grandson, and it's common knowledge he doesn't play with this particular grandson of his. Doesn't matter what he has to do to get him back and get back at you."Ethan finally grasped what was going on."So let me get this straight. The security camera right outside the hall's exit has cameras which caught me staring at the child for two minutes, and his grandfather thinks I took his boy?""Yes, Commander. The moment you walked past Tyrion, the camera went blank, and by the time it was restored, the boy was missing along with the other children who were with him."Andy paused, realizing he was doing a lot of explaining. Why was the Commander sounding like he had no idea what was going on? The security footage clearly showed that he took Tyrion. Was he mistaken, or did Ethan really take Tyrion and was just denying it?Andy was still trying to figure out what was happening when Ethan's voice came up in his ear."I don't know w
Wexford That evening, Declan Wellington felt cooped up at home, so he left the house to spend the day golfing with a close friend of the Wellingtons who owned a golf course. They golfed together for three hours before they got tired and drove to his house to rest. Marvin Phelps poured him a drink before asking politely, “This may be out of place for me to ask, Mr. Wellington, but you seemed out of it throughout today. Is anything the matter?” “What?” An absent-minded Declan didn’t know when he blurted out, glancing at him. Marvin Phelps sat up, now fully convinced there was something on Declan’s mind. With a serious look on his face, he cautiously continued, “What is the problem? Is anyone troubling you? Say the word and I’ll have that person’s legs crushed to bits and forcefully drag them here!” Declan raised his eyes to look at him. Even if he said nothing, his eyes lit up a little when he recalled who Marvin was. The Phelps family was headed by this man despit
Scott William was instantly taken aback. Then he gritted his teeth in rage and resisted the urge to grab her by the collar as he yelled at her angrily. “What do you think you’re doing? He’s your son-in-law, how could you think of doing something so despicable to him!”“I know you’ve been looking for ways to get rid of him, but he’s having a psychotic breakdown? Matilda Brown, are you out of your mind?!” However, the woman ignored him and reached into her bag for a file. She placed it on the counter and continued speaking to the officer with a straight face. “Here. This is the result of the psych evaluation. You can check with the hospital he took it at just to be sure.” Scott closed the distance between them and grabbed her arm firmly, “If you have nothing better to do, then turn around and go back home.” “I know you’re scared of this affecting our family, but you don’t have anything to worry about because I’ll take care of this!” “Ethan didn’t do what they’re accusing him of
The sergeant and the other officers were slightly taken aback by his sudden compliance. Given that Charles and Kane were questioning their every word, they assumed they would have to use force to get him out of here. However, not only was he complying, but he was even flashing them a faint, non-aggressive smile. It was as though he had the situation under control which caused them to wonder why. They were yet to be reached by anyone from the higherups, so what was this guy doing. Since Ethan was coming with them willingly, there was no need to cuff him at all. So the sergeant nodded and led him to the station. The reception was decvoid of people, but those who were in their rooms before a few minutes ago, were all standing beside their windows watching who was getting arrested. Ethan walked to the passenger side of the car and glanced around him with an unbothered smile before proceeding to get in. In Wexford County, in the Wellington family residence, Declan Wellington was w
Ethan’s eyes darkened instantly. Almost immediately, he felt a call come into his phone and checked the caller to see it was Declan calling. He was silent for a few seconds before assured her calmly, “I’ll bring them back. Chloe and Honey, I’ll make sure they come back without a scratch.” “For now, focus on getting better. Neither of them would like it if return to see you in such a terrible state.” Then he ended the call without waiting for her response and answered Declan’s. As soon as the call connected, Declan’s bubbly voice sounded in his ears, “Your little bastard is a little too pretty. Truly her mother’s daughter.” “Your genes almost lost the fight, but her eyes saved you. Hopefully, if your other bastard lives, it would put up a fight to look exactly like you.” Ethan tightened his grip around his phone, but said nothing. He remained expressionless, but his eyes beamed furious. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything in really. Declan had truly blinded him from
Ethan didn’t react immediately. He was silent for several seconds before he responded. “You’re the highly esteemed head of the Welllington family. Why resort to threatening your enemy with somsone close to them when you can face them head on yourself?”Declan yawned boredly from the other end. “What nonsense are you talking about? My enemy? You? You really think I think of you as my enemy?” “In what world did you think a bastard like you is worthy of becoming an enemy of Declan Wellington?” “We may share the same father, but to me, you’re nothing more than a confused rat. Sure, you’ve spent a few years in the army and earned yourself a few lackeys, but vagrant like you should know their place.”“Simply talking to me is a privilege you should never have. Whatever I’ll make you go through is a privilege you don’t deserve. Even if I kill you, you should be grateful I let you die by my hands!”Ethan chuckled calmly and went on to reply. “I was told you sent one of the best men your
Meanwhile, Charles Wilkins was looking into the people who crashed into Claire’s car and took Chloe. He tracked them down to their base in a nightclub. The club had lax security. Hence, he wasn’t stopped by the hefty men standing the door as he walked into the club. It was a few minutes past 7 in the evening and the club was getting filled by people. He stood in the middle of the room and glanced around before he spotted the VIP section and strutted straight to it. It didn’t take him long to find the room of the club’s own given that there were six hefty bodyguards in front of the door. Inside the room, a short and fat man was sitting on the couch with two of his colleagues while watching three unclad ladies dancing on a strip poles. Because the music in the room was so loud, he didn’t hear the tussle outside and only realized something was wrong when an unfamiliar man walked into the room wiping his hands seemingly clean hands clean. Charles didn’t look at anyone as he
As soon as Lewis William ended the call, he stood over an unconscious Chloe with a lewd look in his eyes. Ever since he knew right from wrong, he was always told of her lucky he was to have such beautiful cousins. Had Chloe not fallen out of grace with the William family and most people in Springdale, he had no doubt his life would still be filled with words of how lucky he was to have Chloe and Claire as his cousins. He never saw the beauty everyone saw, but now that he was alone with her and could see her up close, he finally saw it. Was she not his cousin, he would’ve slept with her first before handing her over to this gallery director. As he walked out of the house, he received a call from somsone. “What do you think you’re doing? I clearly told you the person I am after is Claire William!” Vivian Martell yelled from the other end as soon as the call connected. Lewis sucked in a deep breath to keep himself from screaming back at her and retorted calmly, “There’s no need to
A minute later, Charles turned to Ethan and reported solemnly, “Mrs. Black wasn’t taken by Declan Wellington. She was taken by the William family.” In the William family residence. Adam William paced to and fro in the living room, his hands clasped behind his back and brows knitted together in worry. “Grandfather, after today, I will make sure our William family will no longer be looked down on by other families!” Those were the words Lewis said to him this morning before he left the house. Ever since Astoria Corporation pulled away their investment, other companies followed suit. They were not only knee-deep in debt, but every valuable thing in their house had been taken by the bank and everyone they were owing. They took everything ranging from jewelries, electronics and furnitures. Even the expensive looking lights were not left out. Adam had run to those whom he had helped when the William family were at its peak a few months ago, but they all hung up on him the moment th
He called her three times and each time, the phone wasn’t answered. There was no denying it now. Soenthing had really happened. His brows knitted into a tight frown as he switched to calling Claire. But just like Chloe, Claire didn’t answer her phone either. As soon as the third call ended, the screen of his phone lit up with a call from Claire and he eagerly answered it. “Where are you? I’ve been calling Chloe. Did something…” He was suddenly cut off by a voice that didn’t belong to Claire. “Hello, this phone belongs to a woman involved in a car accident. Seeing that your contact is saved with ‘Brother-in-law’ I thought it was wise to return your call.” His pupils instantly dilated and he strutted quickly to the window, away from Honey’s earshot.. He pressed the phone against his ear rig heed and repeated in disbelief, “Accident? She was involved in an accident? What about the other woman in the car with her? Is she badly injured? In fact, tell me which hospital you are!” In