Counter-attack

"Call your manager out. I want to see her!" ordered Ethan, looking at the three employees in front of him casually.

"You won't be able to see her for a long time. So please leave here immediately, Mr. Ethan," said the employee who had spoken earlier. Her lightly made-up face looked patient and friendly.

However, it was different from the friend next to her, who looked fierce with her eyes squinting sarcastically. "You're not deaf, right? My friends have been saying it since before. You can't and shouldn't enter this shop. If you still insist, I'll call security for you!"

Suddenly, the first friend immediately nudged her, warning her not to speak carelessly. But the woman with the little barrette on the right didn't care and said deliberately. "What? You have nothing to fear. He's just a poor man discarded by his wife's family, has no influence, and means nothing."

Ethan's smile was etched without anyone noticing.

He glanced at the name tags on the front of their left chests one by one.

Everything related to Celeste's family should be cleaned up immediately.

"So, if I don't have any influence, you can talk all you want?" Ethan opened his voice again, but this time with a piercing tone. It was clear that he was angered by what the woman had said. "Do hearts and feelings only belong to people with influence? While the poor are just a piece of dirt that deserves to be trampled on at will?"

"You and I are the same. Aren't you just an employee under someone's feet?"

"No! We are different! At least we're not unemployed people who can't make a dime! We work in a nice place that's a dream of many people. Whereas you... are just a poor guy who really can't do anything!" exclaimed the Employee, glaring fiercely, sending the friend beside her into a panic. Her reaction was inversely proportional to the other two friends, who looked calm as if enjoying what they were witnessing.

"Can't do anything huh?" Ethan muttered while nodding his head many times.

Then he smiled sweetly, mesmerizing them to the point that they couldn't move. Even the employee who was about to continue her words fell silent. "I hope you don't feel the way I do. I don't care, but I'm afraid you won't be able to take it and will go crazy."

After saying that threatening sentence, Ethan turned around, about to walk away.

But just then, a man with round glasses and a briefcase came in front of Ethan. "Sir."

Ethan looked at him without saying anything.

"I am Benedict, envoy of Grand Master Grant."

Just like that, Ethan understood immediately, he nodded slowly and invited Benedict to leave. This place was not a suitable place to talk about something important.

But, not far away, Ariana came from the front in a hurry. Ethan, who was too lazy to deal with her, hurriedly turned around, intending to avoid her. Aurora, who had been hiding and monitoring what Ethan was doing, immediately confronted him.

"Ethan!"

Ethan suddenly chuckled softly when he heard her loud voice.

What was this crazy ghost up to? Why was she always showing up everywhere?

"What are you doing here?" asked Ariana directly.

Ethan stared at her with his scary face. "Is it important to you?"

"Of course! Why are you here? What do you want to do? Why did you come to my mother's shop?" Ariana asked in rapid succession. Her emotions were slowly being provoked.

For some reason, since the incident that night, every time she was confronted with Ethan, she became more easily provoked, whereas before, she was very calm in dealing with him.

"This is a public place, anyone can come, including me," Ethan replied matter-of-factly.

Ariana was silent for a moment, feeling silenced by Ethan's answer. But then she growled angrily. "I told you to stop playing around, Ethan! After Zenith Corp, you now come to Pasaraya. What's your purpose? I emphasize again if you embarrass my family, I'll put you back in jail! An ex-convict like you doesn't belong here!"

Ariana's face, which had been so arrogant, suddenly became frightened and slowly turned deathly pale as Ethan quickly grabbed her neck, almost choking her to the point of not breathing.

No one expected this. Even Aurora, standing in front of Ariana, was now out of the way with her shocked face.

The Velvet Vault employees were no less shocked and screamed in distress.

But Ethan didn't seem to care about his surroundings. He brought his face closer to Ariana and said cruelly. "A person can be called a prisoner when the court has decided in accordance with the applicable law. As for me, I'm just a victim of your family's selfishness and cunning. Instead of me, I think you're the one who doesn't deserve to be out in public. Hypocritical and deceitful... Ariana, do you think your deeds will forever be covered up? Watch what you say if you don't want to be the subject of ridicule by the whole world!"

Ethan removed his hand roughly, causing Ariana to be pushed back slightly. Then he walked away without looking back at the people watching him, followed by Benedict, who had been silent.

The two stopped at a restaurant and sat opposite each other at a table at the back end.

After ordering food, Benedict began to open his voice. "Mr. Ethan, from now on, I am your assistant. Grand Master Grant wanted you to start things off comfortably, so he withdrew some of his people who worked here, replacing them with new ones. But you can rest easy, they are all people he trusts."

"What about the manager at the Velvet Vault?" asked Ethan seriously.

"All those there are people brought in by Madam Celeste."

"Can you take care of it?"

Benedict's face grew serious. "Do you mean you want to change the manager?"

Ethan nodded firmly. "Everything in there, I want to replace. Give Mrs. Celeste a new contract, with higher profits going to us. If she doesn't want it, return all the products and terminate the partnership. I want them to have no power here, as I am the only master."

"I will arrange it immediately." Benedict obeyed and started fiddling with his iPad. "Then what about Miss Alvina's products?"