If drinking was the price of Ethan’s life—so be it.She took a deep breath, tipped it back, and started chugging.A third of the way through, she broke into a coughing fit, face flushing red. She forced herself to keep going. Two-thirds down, her vision was already starting to blur. Her stomach churned, and her head spun like a carousel from hell.She gasped for air—then downed the rest.Done.Kathrine set the bottle down, gripping the table to steady herself. Her legs felt like rubber.“Mr. Vulture… satisfied now?” she asked, voice unsteady.He grinned. A slow, twisted smirk.“Well now… you’ve got guts. I’ll give you that.”Then his eyes darkened, like a predator about to pounce.“If you’re really serious… then take off your clothes.”“Hm?”Kathrine’s eyes narrowed. “Mr. Vulture… what exactly do you mean by that?”The man grinned like a hyena, showing off gold-plated canines as his stubby fingers drummed against the leather armrest. His greasy eyes slithered across her figure, und

The air was thick.A wave of bodies surged in, black-clad enforcers flooding the room until not a single inch of space was left unguarded.Everywhere Ethan looked—bulging muscles, stone-cold stares, and combat uniforms that shimmered under the lights like armor.Their machetes and steel pipes clanged together with a chilling metallic rhythm, echoing like war drums.Easily over a hundred men—and more footsteps were still coming from the hallway.Mr. Vulture stood dead center in the chaos, grinning wide, his mouth full of gold teeth gleaming like trophies.“I heard you’re some kind of badass?” His voice was full of cruel amusement. “So what if you can take out ten, twenty guys?”He swept a hand behind him. “I got two hundred brothers right here tonight. Let’s see how long you last.”Ethan didn’t flinch.He stood still, eyes like cold steel scanning every inch of the room.His knuckles turned white—shoulders coiled tight, like a predator just before the pounce.But his face? Calm. Not a

Ethan took a deep breath and turned back toward the towering Nestie building.William’s parting words still echoed in his ears:“Mr. Parker was ready to deploy The Shadow directly… but you insisted on me. He figured you had your reasons. So here I am—alone.”Ethan had only nodded at the time.He chose William for a reason. The man carried enough weight to make Vulture hesitate—but not enough to blow the whole thing sky-high.But now?Now Ethan realized this place—this filthy hive of scum—deserved to burn in The Shadow’s full fury.Still… some debts had to be settled personally.His knuckles cracked like gunshots in the night.He hadn’t left earlier because he was scared—he left because Katherine was still in danger. Now that she was safe?He had nothing holding him back.Without hesitation, Ethan strode toward the building.The glass doors mirrored the sharp, angular cut of his jaw, eyes like sharpened obsidian.The doorman barely had time to blink before Ethan slammed into the entran

Ethan absentmindedly flipped open the gold-plated lighter Vulture left behind.Click. Clack.The soft metallic snap echoed through the room as he toyed with the lid."Not bad," he said, eyes still on the lighter. "Looks like you're no stranger to the business world."He gave a small nod. "Taking over Vulture’s empire shouldn’t be a problem for you."“Thank you, Mr. Ethan,” Eloise replied respectfully, her posture crisp, her voice steady.Ethan let out a low chuckle and tossed the lighter her way.It spun through the air in a smooth arc—Eloise caught it clean, without flinching."Alright," Ethan said, turning toward the walk-in wardrobe, his tone calm—like the bloodbath just now had never happened."Clean this place up. I’m heading out. Call me if anything comes up."Ten minutes later, Ethan stepped out of Nestie Tower in a fresh black suit.The afternoon sun was bright, almost harsh.He narrowed his eyes slightly, letting the warmth soak into his skin.It’d been ten years since the l

Katherine froze, caught off guard by Ethan speaking up first.She instinctively glanced at Noah—who was already watching Ethan like a bored king eyeing a peasant, his lips curled in mocking amusement.“Introduce me?” Noah set his teacup down with exaggerated grace, voice soaked in sarcasm. “Kat, your boyfriend doesn’t even know who I am?”Katherine bit her lip, about to respond—But Sarah couldn’t hold it in any longer.“Noah is the heir to the Hudson Group! His family’s worth billions! A guy like you—unemployed and broke—you probably haven’t even heard of Hudson, have you?”Ethan smiled faintly, but his eyes cooled.Hudson Group?The same Hudson known for shady pharma deals and lawsuits? The one circling the drain financially?Of course.He gave Noah a neutral glance. The guy was fussing with his cufflinks, flashing that overpriced Patek under the chandelier like it meant something.“Oh,” Ethan said, voice flat as a blade. “Hudson Group, huh? Heard of it.”Like he was just checking a bo