Greg Button was a middle-aged man of average height and a sturdy build. The loose T-shirt he wore did nothing to hide the scary scorpion tattoo on his arm.But his scorpion tattoo wasn't the only scary thing about him. His face was bumpy, like the home of a termite. Plus, the hard frown made it difficult for people to look at him while speaking.However, Charles was unflinchingly staring right into his eyes; the impatience in his eyes was obvious.Charles was more impatient than Ethan and Kane put together, and the fact that these men were keeping him from concluding the purchase of his gift for the Commander's daughter was greatly pissing him off.He just wanted to beat them up and get this over with, but considering the kids watching him, he decided to exercise a little patience and see if they'd be open to reasoning.Greg's frown deepened when he saw Charles' fearlessness towards him.However, he said nothing to him and instead turned his attention to his nephew."What happened her
Vivian Martell stood at a distance, watching Charles and Claire exchange words. She was far from them, so she couldn't make out what they were saying.But the sight of him gently pulling the cheek of the little girl in Claire's arms and smiling at her playfully made her chest tighten in jealousy.The little girl didn't look more than six years old. Her age matched the exact years he went missing.Could it be he broke off his engagement with her because he already had a daughter with another woman? Could it be?After a few minutes of talking with Claire, Charles bade Honey goodbye and left the supermarket through the back.Claire knew it was enough shopping for the day and checked out with the things in their trolley.As she drove off in her car, Vivian, who was following her closely, frowned deeply.Her driver, who had seen her walk out of the supermarket looking worried, got out of the car and hurried to her side.Vivian clenched her fist tightly and asked without looking at him, "Wh
Inside the top floor of Astoria Corporation,Ethan had his legs on the table, his head thrown backward and his his eyes closed in relaxation.Josiah Haworth, on the other hand, stood inches away from his desk with his hands by his side as he reported the recent happenings in the city."President, the stock prices of Quantum Technologies, all three companies which belong to the Lauthner family, have immensely fallen after one of their workers leaked a company secret to their rival company.""Furthermore, not even one member of the Lauthner family can be found in Springdale as we speak."Ethan gently drummed his fingers on the armrest for a moment without opening his eyes, "What is a share in Quantum Technologies selling for now?""Used to be as much as 700 million dollars. Now it's $300,000 per share," Josiah retorted."High. Still very high," Ethan said, rubbing together his index finger and his thumb in a thoughtful manner."Keep checking the stock market. Once every executive in the
Inside the lounge, in a dimly lit VIP room, three men sat around a round table giving toasts to themselves and downing shots.Two of them were middle-aged men. The one who sat at the head of the table was wearing a white turtleneck with a gold chain dangling around his neck, a Rolex on his left hand, and a coat made with leopard hair around his shoulder. Half of his face was covered with a thick, full, and long gray-colored beard.The second middle-aged man, on the other hand, was just wearing a brown t-shirt and an expensive diamond necklace. He was clean-shaven and would hold his shot glass with both hands whenever the man with the full beard poured him a drink.The third one among them was Manager Khan. He had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. And just like the other two, his diamond necklace remained on his neck. He also held his shot glass with both hands whenever the man with the thick beard poured him a drink.The bearded man beamed hap
Khan knew how strong and heavy those men were because he had tried to wrestle them playfully a few times and never won. Yet, a man who was as lanky as him toppled them on each other with ease. Although he hadn't seen Ethan do it, but what else could've happened. "Wh-what? Don't just stay lying down. Get up and deal with this bastard!" He yelled at the hefty anxiously from where he stood. However, Ethan had knocked them unconscious. As a result, Khan didn't get a response from them. A chill ran down his spine and he shivered when Ethan suddenly glanced at him, subconsciously taking a step back in retreat.Ethan locked eyes with him and said blankly, "Go tell your boss what happened here." Khan was overwhelmed with extreme fear and dread that he didn't know when he nodded to Ethan's words and hurriedly rushed into the lounge. He ran and didn't stop until he got to the VIP room. He pushed the door open and stopped in front of them panting heavily. After he was done catching his b
Vinny Deluca smirked and butted in haughtily, "I'd listen to your mother-in-law if I were you." "He's the goodfornothing husband of Chloe William? He's literally a piece of trash. I can't believe someone like him frightened me so much." Khan Patel gritted his teeth and said underneath his breath. If news got out that Ethan Black sent him running with his tails in-between his legs, both his friends and rivals would mock him with it. How could he let someone who embarrassed him so much go scott free. With that thought, Khan inched closer to Vinny and whispered into his ears, "Mr. Deluca, have you heard of the William family before?" Vinny didn't turn to look at him as he nodded, "Who in Springdale hasn't heard of the William family? They've been climbing the social and economic ladder ever since they signed a contract with Astoria Corporation." Khan nodded immediately. "You're right, sir. In case you haven't heard, the most beautiful woman in Springdale is from the William family.
His pause was just for a moment. He was about to deliver the hit when Matilda suddenly appeared beside him and began hitting him on the arm, yelling, "Didn't you hear him? He's called Daniel Voltia and he's probably on his way here." "If Daniel Voltia comes and sees you assaulting his relative, he might blame the William family and come for us." "If you know what's good for you, let go of Mr. Deluca right now and apologize to him for how you've badly you've behaved today!" "If you beg him enough and he forgives you, he might talk Daniel Voltia out of hurting our family in any way in retaliation for what you did to him." "If not for anything, do this for Chloe. She'll be the most affected." Like she expected, her last sentence made him rethink. He halted his action and stared down at Vinny blankly. Anyone could see he was actually hesitating on what to do. Seeing this, Vinny sighed in relief thinking Ethan had finally realized the gravity of what he had done. "Why are you stil
Daniel momentarily froze. Now that he was close-up, he could make out Ethan's side profile. He's heartbeat quickened when Ethan spoke and he confirmed it was really him.Today, Daniel had gotten some new recruits and decided to take them out to show them what was done to people who went against him. However, never did he imagine he was taking them out to beat the man he owed his life to. One of the recruits, hot blooded as ever, failed to realize the state of shock his boss was in and waved his steel pipe threateningly in Ethan's face. "Are you out of your mind? How dare you address Mr. Voltia so casually? I will cave your head in with this pipe!""He's even standing with his back to Mr. Voltia? Doesn't that mean he's not acknowledging our boss' presence? I've never seen anyone so eager to die like this man." "Mr. Voltia, he's the man bothering your relative, isn't he? Just give the order and we'll cave his head in right here and now!" The others stood on alert, waiting for the o
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