The moment Logan and Amelia were dragged out of the grand auction hall, the atmosphere shifted. The whispers that once buzzed with arrogance and distaste for a man that didn’t know vanished as everyone started looking at Ethan with unease and fear in their eyes.What kind of a man was he that Orion Asher himself would step in and throw out a member of the Hale family without any hesitation whatsoever.Everyone had questions, some were even cooking up the confidence to walk up to Ethan to apologize, but Orion Asher didn’t give them the chance.“Young Master Ethan,” the dreaded man said respectfully, inclining his head. “Please, follow me to the VIP lounge. I must apologize properly.”Axel’s eyes widened in shock when she heard Orion call Ethan ‘Young Master’, but then she thought about it, and it made sense. Afterall, she had just seen a hundred trillion dollars in his account, so it made sense that he was someone much more powerful than she’d thought.By the time she snapped out of her

Logan and Amelia were forced out of the grand auction hall, their faces painted with frustration. Every step they took was heavy with rage and disbelief. They could still hear Orion Asher’s voice in their head, telling security to kick them out. The looks everyone had given them as they were dragged out.Logan could remember seeing a few of his rivals snicker at him as he was being dragged out by guards, and worse yet, there was nothing he could do about it. His fists were clenched so tightly that the veins in his forearms threatened to burst through his skin. He seethed with so much anger that it made the people that were outside the hall instinctively step back.“Do you realize what just happened?!” he roared, kicking the air in futile fury. “Do you understand the insult we just suffered? Everyone in there is going to see us as nothing… we will be treated as people they can just trample on with no consequences, all because of that idiot!”“You know what? I can’t take this. I won’t,”

The black SUV rolled to a stop at the entrance of Capriccio, a restaurant that only the top one percent ever walked into without checking the prices first. Its glass walls glittered under the city’s lights, with winds blowing through the wind chimes hanging from the roof. It gave a calming feeling to the atmosphere.Ethan stepped out of the vehicle, adjusting the cuff of his shirt. Even without trying, he carried an aura that made the valet pause even though he didn’t recognize who he was. Ava exited from the other side, looking and walking like she was out on a red carpet.“You have good taste,” Ethan said lightly as they approached the doors. “Thank you,” Ava inclined her head with a small smile and led him inside.A private booth was already waiting for them. By the time they sat down, the waiters were placing their meals down as if they’d been trained to anticipate Ava’s timing.For a while, they ate in silence.Then Ethan set down his utensils and broke the silence.“When you c

Ethan had just left Layla and her mother. He had too much on his mind and didn’t want to have to talk to anyone so he didn’t look back. He hadn’t been here since he got married to Amelia, but he knew the landlord wasn’t going to give the room away. He didn’t know why, but the old man had always told him that it would always be there for him whenever he needed it.The keys slid into the door which groaned as he pushed it open. He took a quick second to scan the apartment before shutting the door behind him. The apartment felt unchanged, everything was just the way he’d left it. Almost everything.A sharp vibration cut through the silence as his phone lit up in his pocket. Ava.He picked it up immediately, keeping his voice tight. “What did I warn you about?” “Pardon?” Ava’s voice was calm, but she sounded confused. “What do you mean?”“I told you not to follow me.”“I… I didn’t follow you, Young Master,” she replied quickly.Ethan's eyes scanned the moonlit room as he listened, notic

The first shot cracked through the warehouse like thunder, but Ethan had already dove out of the way.He dove behind the nearest stack of shelves as bullets tore through boxes, punching holes in the old steel and sending dust flying everywhere. The sound ricocheted off the concrete walls, echoing so loudly it made his ears ring, but only for a moment as his hearing began to adapt to the sound.“Get him!” the leader barked and more shots followed.Ethan crouched behind a pillar, his heart racing, but his mind remained calm. He scanned the area quickly and figured out where everyone was.Two of the kidnappers were advancing from the left while the leader stayed near the entrance, his gun and waiting for Ethan to come out.Ethan dropped lower, crawling deeper into the shadows between shelves, using the warehouse like a maze to hide himself as he changed his position.But as he moved, he heard a soft, shifting sound echoing behind him. Someone was coming his way. He took cover behind anot