"N-no, please. This wasn't me. This was the idea of Hamon Lauthner, the head of the Lauthner family!" Gauche Stokes shuddered and crawled backward.Previously, he thought 50 goons would be more than enough to take care of both Ethan and Kane. But after witnessing Kane beat up the goons in less than five minutes, he realized there was more to Kane than met the eyes."Hamon Lauthner did this? How disappointing. And I thought he'd be a worthy opponent since he's the head of the Lauthner family. That family is a bunch of sissies." Kane creased his brows."P-please spare me, sir. I beg you! I will leave Springdale and never return. Please!" Gauche begged, getting on his knees."Shut up!" Kane's thunderous voice was accompanied with a hard glare, which forced Gauche to stop talking.Kane proceeded to take out his phone and placed a call to Ethan.Ethan was still in the car with Honey and Claire when Kane's call came in. He slowed down and pressed the phone against his ear."We underestimate
Eric's eyes quickly assessed the tall and lanky man standing in the middle of the room; then, the corners of his lips curled up in contempt."So, you are the bastard who laid your filthy hands on my son. Those hands of yours, I intend to break them," he snorted."What was the noise earlier?" Jonas shifted his attention to the person who walked in with Ethan.The man scurried over to his side and pointed at Ethan. "He rammed into the gate with his car, pulling it down as he drove into the compound.""The William family was right; you deserve to be taught a lesson. Even if you work 24 hours every day for the rest of your life, you'll never be able to purchase the gate you just pulled down. Consider that another offense," Eric's face darkened.Ethan stared at him blandly. He didn't need to say anything for them to know he wasn't taking them seriously."I heard you gave the William family a condition before you continue doing business again with them; either they get me to come here, or m
Topper Kingston burst into laughter upon hearing Ethan."Being in Battalion number 1 has been the dream of many young men and women in the army. However, it's just a dream and will always remain that way. So I won't judge you for what you just said because I too had the same dream." The man harrumphed amidst laughter, looking at Ethan like he was looking at some fool."You, a member and Commander of the formidable 1st Battalion? Hmph! Talk about an idiot who only knows cheap talk!" Jonas scoffed, wheeling himself around to take a closer look at Ethan."You may have gotten into the army and made it to the rank of a Corporal, but that's all you'll ever get to be!""Topper is kind enough to let you off the hook for saying that, but the Kendrick family never will!" Eric seconded, walking closer to his son."Did you really think being in the army is capable of scaring off the Kendrick family? While common folks respect and take those in the army seriously, we; the ones at the top of the py
"Boss? You're delusional if you think this little show of strength can cripple the Kendrick family. When we come for you two, Ethan Black won't be able to protect himself, let alone protect you." Jonas immediately laughed out in mockery."The Kendrick family has been existing for decades and will continue to exist. Unfortunately for you, you'll be the last of your lineage!""Why the silence? If physical strength were more important than wealth, numerous families would prioritize it. So don't be fooled into believing someone as wretched as him can be your master, provided you do everything he asks. It's not too late for the Kendrick family to accept you back. All you have to do is do away with this wretched eyesore right here and now!" Eric spat out in a venomous tone.A short silence ensued. It was during this time that a thoughtful Ethan reasoned out loud, "The Kendrick family has been around for decades, and you're barely a first-tier family? That's embarrassing."Eric's face turned
When Chloe arrived at the Kendrick family house and saw their gate pulled down with Ethan's car in the middle of the compound, she became even more flustered.Ethan had caused such a scene; given what she knew about them, they'd never let this slide.So, when she rushed into the living room and saw someone pointing a revolver at Ethan, she panicked and called out to him, "Ethan!"Before she could blink, she saw the man with the revolver shift it towards her. Her brain instinctively issued a command for her to close her eyes.Even though she hadn't been shot before, she had watched numerous movies and heard about the experiences of people who have been shot before. From their experiences, it was a pain worse than death.She had her eyelids tightly pressed together, awaiting the pain. But one second turned into ten, and she slowly peeled her eyes open to see why she was yet to feel the effect of the bullet.Ethan's gentle smile as he towered over her was the first thing her eyes met."E
"Ah!" Jonas screamed in agony as blood spilled from the bullet wound on his thigh. Steven had shot his broken leg."Whatever you think you're doing, stop it! Right now!" Eric ordered sternly and tried to move toward his son, but Steven pressed the other revolver to the side of his head again."You don't seem to get it, do you? Right now, I'm the one everyone should listen to because I've got the gun," Steven said coldly."If Jonas doesn't get immediate medical attention, he'd bleed to death. Let's halt whatever this is until we are certain he'd be fine," Eric gritted his teeth worriedly, glancing at his son who was writhing in pain."That is none of my business, Eric. In fact…"Steven placed both revolvers on the floor, kicked one towards Jonas, and the other to Eric's foot."Pick up the revolvers and aim them at yourselves. The first person to pull the trigger lives," he announced with a broad smile."You don't know what you're doing, Steven. Are you sure you really want to do this?"
Ethan frowned at her action and was about to slide his arm out when he heard her whisper, "Please cooperate."Her voice was unlike the haughty one he knew, and she was gripping his arm tightly. Claire William, who had an ever-sharp mouth, was panicking."Claire, I see you came with your boyfriend. I failed to inform everyone in the group chat early. Hope it wasn't inconvenient for you?" Elizabeth Hatcher feigned concern as she held the arm of a man.The Hatcher family was a wealthy family in Springdale, popularly known for being number one in the real estate business.Cole Hatcher was said to refurbish any house given to him into something even better and branded. Hence, both the buyers and the previous owners of the house were always satisfied whenever he made a sale.Having him as a real estate agent was said to be the best thing to happen to anyone looking for a house.Being his daughter, Elizabeth had a lot of influential people doting on her and always wanting to do things for he
"Th-that's just too much to ask for!" Claire was taken aback by his demand.She disliked Ethan and used any opportunity she got to mock him, but it didn't sit well with her seeing an outsider say such words to her sister's husband.“What do you say is too much to ask for? Someone like him should be grateful Mr. Green is giving him the pleasure of touching his shoes!” Anna Clifford snickered.One or two times in high school, everyone standing opposite Claire had felt oppressed by her. Now, seeing that she had amounted to nothing in life, no one bothered to stand up for her.Elizabeth saw an opportunity to humiliate Claire and smirked.“What are you waiting for? Tell your brother-in-law to hurry it up. If he cleans well, Wells might consider employing him to clean shoes for him. It might sound like a mediocre job, but he'll earn two times the amount a soldier makes in a month.”Seeing Ethan made no move to do what he asked, Wells raised a brow. “You won't do it? Fair enough. Then I gues