The return of mighty-E and the trillionaire system.

Money makes you scream

Ariana and Max leave the room, leaving the others behind. Ethan remains beside Mr. Desmond.

"I was wondering, who is this guy?" Sandra asks, referring to Ethan.

"He is something insignificant, a once-upon-a-time rich, spoiled brat who thinks money is everything," Nick comments.

"Oh, what a dynamic life," she laments.

"Dynamic indeed, you don't have to feel pity for him, as he is not meant to be pitied," Mr. Desmond says.

"How did he end up working for you?"

"Don't let talk about him spoil the gracious moment," Mrs. Desmond intervenes.

She nods, then points at something on the ground. "What's that?"

They all turn to look, and it's the shining ring. The ring holds a lot of memories for Ethan. He quickly picks it up.

"I will give this to her."

He makes his way upstairs and is about to open the door but hesitates, pressing his ear against the door.

"I said no, Max, a total no!" Ariana exclaims as she and Max argue.

"What is no? You don't have a choice, you must," Max retorts.

"You shameless being, living in your in-laws' house," she fires back.

Then they fall silent until Ariana yells out, "You dare not!"

There is silence again before Ethan knocks on the door.

"Who is that?" Ariana calls.

"It's me, Ethan," he replies, and she opens the door. "How can I help you?" she demands.

He shows her the ring. "You dropped this."

"I intentionally did. It's yours. I don't want it back. You need it more," she says.

He smirks, "I don't need this. I really don't."

"What are you doing with that trash bag?" Max yells, coming out to join them.

"I'm sorry. I'm here to give her this," Ethan says.

"You don't really know your place. Everyone in this room is your master, so say it in a way a slave would speak to his master."

Ethan locks gazes with him. "Max, how could you do that? He was once your friend," Ariana intervenes.

"Which makes me hate him even more," he remarks. Ethan bows down. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm here to give her her ring. Sorry if I disturbed your moment."

Max snatches it from him. "Better. Now go, you trash."

Ethan makes his way downstairs back to the dining room. They have already finished their conversation before he gets there, and Sandra is about to leave. "You drive her home," Mr. Desmond tells Ethan.

"Okay," he says, grabs the car keys, and they both leave the room, boarding the car. They are initially silent until Sandra breaks the silence, "I can't believe you ended up like this."

Ethan packs the car, takes a deep breath, and then says, "Are you truly happy with the engagement?"

Sandra swallows hard, "Yes, I am."

"Don't lie."

"And what if I am lying? What will you do? Are you even in a position to help anyone, considering you need help yourself?"

"I can help you. Just tell me the real reason you got into this engagement."

She brushes her hair aside, takes a moment, and then begins, "My life wasn't always like this. I came from a wealthy family. My dad owned a large, well-known company. Everything was going smoothly... until that day my dad came home."

She pauses, and Ethan waits. She continues, "I don't know what scandal he got himself into, but he went bankrupt, and suddenly we were drowning in a sea of debt. We lost everything. I don't know what caused it, but I believe Mr. Desmond is responsible."

He nods, recognizing the familiar theme of Mr. Desmond's destructive influence. He truly was a real villain.

"Nick had been stalking me since college. He's a pervert who doesn't understand the meaning of love. He's obsessed with me, though I'm certain it's nothing more than lust. He offered to pay off our debt if I agreed to marry him, and his father supports him."

Ethan nods in an understanding way, and asks. "I tried to contact you, but I couldn't get through after that day."

"I was robbed. Now tell me your side of the story that led you here," she inquires.

"You have to believe everything I'm about to say, and then you can decide whether to end the engagement." She nods. "You must believe me," he emphasizes.

Ethan begins the story from the very beginning, detailing the system and all that it entails. When he finishes, Sandra can't believe it and bursts into laughter.

"Wow, what a fiction! You know I'm a novelist, and I could make quite a story out of your tale."

"It's not fiction!"

"So you're trying to tell me that you're tied to a system that rewards you with billions for completing tasks, that you're the mighty-E, and you're working here to deceive them and seek revenge, an invincible vendetta they won't see coming," she summarizes.

"Yes, exactly," he snaps his fingers.

"I don't believe you. Give me some proof."

"Alright, just promise me you'll call off the engagement," he requests.

"Oh, I won't do that. It's the only way to escape this never-ending debt."

"You want proof, right? Call off the engagement and be honest with yourself," he says.

"Fine, I call off the engagement to be the fiancée of the freak."

{Mission accomplished. Reward: 100 billion.}

"Did you hear that?".

She looks at him, bewildered.

"Oh, I'm sorry you can't... umm, I want to transfer 3 billion to my account."

{Processing... Done}. His phone beeps, and he shows it to her.

Sandra's mouth drops as she sees the endless string of zeros.

"Want to see another one? Say out your account number."

She hesitates, then recites her account numbers one after the other.

"Send 1 billion to that account," he prompts.

{Processing... Done}.

Her phone chimes with an alert, and she stares at it in disbelief.

This time, she can't help but let out a loud, exuberant scream,

"Yaaaaaa!"

"Okay, calm down."

"Yaaa!" She keeps screaming.

"Sandra?" She continues to scream.

Yeah, unexpected money does that to you—makes you scream. But is it just that?.

{Mission moving to the next level. Hard}.