All Chapters of Ethan Storm’s Dark Awakening : Chapter 371
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426 chapters
371
“You can’t just decide that.”Ethan remained seated, calm, unruffled. “I can. And I have.”John’s gaze sharpened with interest. “Explain.”Ethan folded his hands on the table, fingers lacing with deliberate precision. “The Salers are finished financially, but not operationally. When a family like that bleeds out, they don’t disappear—they borrow teeth. I’m certain they’ve turned to the Watsons.”The temperature in the room dropped as if someone had opened a door to winter.Chris’s expression hardened instantly. “You’re certain?”“Yes.”Jenna felt the blood drain from her face. The Watsons. Her stomach clenched. “The Watson family doesn’t bluff,” she said quietly.“Exactly,” Ethan replied. “Which means you’re in danger.”“I have security,” she shot back, too quickly. “This house has security. Armed security.”But even as the words left her mouth, irritation burned hotter than fear.Her jaw tightened.Her fingers curled against the edge of the table, nails biting into polished wood as u
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“Peek?” he repeated calmly, voice low. “That’s what you think this is about?”Jenna met his gaze head-on. Her heart was pounding now, but she refused to look away. “I think you’re asking for access,” she said. “And I don’t like not knowing the price.”For a moment, no one spoke. Ethan stood there, tall and still, his mouth parting just slightly—then closing again. Whatever reply he’d been prepared to give seemed to stall somewhere behind his eyes. Speechless. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable. Chris noticed it first. His gaze flicked to Ethan, then back to Jenna. “Young master Ethan?” he prompted carefully. Ethan inhaled once. Slow. Deep. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter than before. Stripped of strategy. Stripped of polish. “That’s… not a word I expected to hear,” he said. Jenna’s throat tightened, but she didn’t back down. “Then maybe you didn’t think hard enough about how this looks from my side.”John leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, watch
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John’s eyes flashed. “Jenna.” “No,” she said stubbornly. “Someone has to say it.” Ethan stared at her for a long second longer, then laughed once—short, disbelieving. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. He straightened, shoulders squaring, his voice flattening into something colder. “Do you hear yourself?” “You’re deflecting,” she snapped. “That’s what men do when they’re caught.” That did it. Ethan’s gaze hardened, not with fury but with something sharper—disappointment edged with disbelief. “Yesterday,” he said slowly, “you apologized to me. You told me—twice—that you regretted misjudging me. That you were ashamed of insulting me without proof.” Jenna’s chest tightened, but she didn’t respond. “And today,” he continued, “you’re standing here accusing me of something degrading, baseless, and frankly insulting—again.” Chris looked between them, unsettled. “Jenna, that’s enough.” She ignored him. “If it bothers you so much, maybe you should leave.” Ethan stared at her as if seein
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Everyone froze. Jenna stared at him in disbelief. “What did you just—” “I said shut the fuck up,” John repeated, his voice calm but lethal. “You’ve said enough. More than enough.” Her mouth opened, then closed. John rose slowly to his feet, resting both hands on the table. “Ethan Storm is staying here. Whether you like it or not. Whether it bruises your pride or offends your imagination or not.” “That’s not fair,” she snapped. “This is my home too!” “And you are not the head of this family,” John shot back. “Nor the one with enemies circling.” She shook with rage. “So my opinion just doesn’t matter?” “It mattered,” John said coldly. “Until you turned it into slander.” Silence swallowed the room. Ethan stood perfectly still, eyes forward, refusing to escalate further. Internally, he was done. Absolutely done. Jenna’s chest heaved. Her eyes flicked to Ethan one last time—angry, wounded, humiliated. “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “Do whatever you want.” She turned
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He didn’t hesitate. Every muscle coiled. The aura wasn’t subtle. It was deliberate, precise—a dark energy sliding through the house like liquid shadow, seeking a target. His mind calculated speed, trajectories, likely entry points.It’s heading toward a room. The master wing. The east corridor. Someone’s in danger.Without thinking, he sprinted. His movement was a blur: the polished floors barely touched, the shadows clinging to him as he passed. Security systems pinged in the background, but he ignored them; they were too slow.The darkness seemed to thicken around him, pressing in. His heart beat steadily, controlled, though adrenaline hammered through his veins. Every step was precise, silent, a calculated strike against a threat he could sense but not yet see.“This isn’t an ordinary intruder. I can feel it.” He thought. He rounded the last corner, eyes narrowing as he tracked the aura to a bathroom. The door was slightly ajar, a faint light spilling out. The energy stopped t
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“So I was right,” she said, her voice thick with heat and disbelief. “You weren’t protecting me. You were… watching.” “No,” Ethan said immediately, but the steel in his voice had softened, cracked under her fury. His jaw clenched, and he ran a hand through his hair, wet strands sticking to his forehead, his own skin prickling with embarrassment. “That’s not—” “You came into my bathroom,” she spat, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, “in the middle of the night, and you think I’m stupid enough to believe this is about some presence?” “I told you—” He took a half step back, trying to ground himself, to meet her gaze, but she was a storm, shaking with fury. His chest tightened, throat dry. “I swear, Jenna… I didn’t—” “You’re lying,” she screamed, hysteria bleeding into her words. “You said it yourself—you don’t need permission. You decide what you want, and you take it.” “That’s not what I meant,” he said, voice barely audible over her roaring anger, his hands curled into fis
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It was tall, impossibly black, eyes glowing crimson. Its presence radiated a thick, oppressive aura. Claws glinted in the scattered light, sharp as razors, and black smoke curled from its form like ink spilled in water. Its voice was a low, rumbling hiss that seemed to echo from inside her skull.“So… you hide behind your pets and walls, little Hadel girl?” it taunted, each word dripping malice.Jenna stumbled back, tripping over the broken tiles. Her scream hitched, sharp and primal, and then—her legs gave out entirely. Her world went white. She fainted, collapsing in a heap.Ethan didn’t hesitate. His feet barely touched the floor as he lunged forward, hands moving in a precise sequence, ancient sigils of holy energy shimmering briefly around his fingertips.A blinding light erupted from him, washing over the shadow in waves of pure radiance. The demon hissed, recoiling, its glowing eyes narrowing.“Foolish creature,” it spat, voice jagged and cruel, “you think light can touch m
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“Impossible…!” it hissed. “I am eternal! I am power incarnate! I cannot be stopped by a mere man!” Ethan’s expression remained calm, almost amused. “Yet here we are,” he said. “And your eternity is ending in a corner of a bathroom.” With a final, precise gesture, Ethan extended both arms. Golden light flared like a rising sun, consuming the shadows. The demon screeched violently, claws slashing in desperation, but it was too late. With a high-pitched crack and the smell of ozone, the creature evaporated into black smoke, leaving behind only shattered glass and scorched tile. Silence followed. The bathroom was quiet except for Jenna, still unconscious on the floor. Ethan’s light faded gradually, leaving the room dimly lit by the faint glow of broken glass reflecting the moonlight. He crouched immediately beside her, checking her pulse. Steady. Breathing normal. Safe—for now. His expression softened minutely, almost imperceptibly. “You are very fortunate,” he muttered unde
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The demon froze.Its eyes widened.Ethan stepped out of nothingness.For the first time since the fight began, surprise—real surprise—flickered across the creature’s face.“You—!” it shrieked, spinning around. “Impossible! I escaped you!”Ethan rolled his shoulders once, relaxed, as if preparing for a morning exercise. “I let you go.”Rage twisted the demon’s features. “Arrogant human—!”Ethan moved.There was no wasted motion. No flourish.In a single step, he crossed the distance between them. His hand drove forward, palm open, glowing with condensed holy light so intense it warped the air.“Judgment,” he said softly.His hand pierced straight through the demon’s chest.The creature screamed—not in pain, but in terror.“NO—WAIT—!”Light erupted from inside it, bursting through its back, its eyes, its mouth. Cracks of gold raced across its body like lightning through glass.Ethan leaned in slightly, voice quiet enough that only the demon could hear.“You should’ve stayed afraid.”He
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The Watson family wasn’t just playing in the shadows.They were working with demons.He has known this since but now, It was clear.Supplying resources. Providing cover. In exchange—power, protection, assassins that didn’t exist on any human record.One document caught his eye.PROJECT BLACK VEIL.He read more slowly now.It detailed experiments—humans infused with demon energy. Failures listed coldly. Survivors marked as “assets.”One line stood out.“Low-level possession approved for field operatives. Results exceed werewolf-class entities by factor of three.”Ethan’s jaw tightened.“So that man who fought me and Kasher Watson…” he murmured. “Not unique. Just two of many.”Interesting.Very interesting.He stored everything mentally. Every detail. Every name. Every location.Galaxy would enjoy this.But first—He wasn’t done here.***He moved on.The next corridors led deeper, narrower, the walls closing in. He passed cells—empty cages, rusted restraints bolted into stone. Some sti