All Chapters of Wealth Ascension System : Chapter 111
- Chapter 120
146 chapters
Chapter 110
Ethan sat in the plastic chair and watched Claire cry.She had stopped shaking, mostly. Her breathing had steadied. But every few seconds a new tear would slip down her cheek and she would wipe it away with the back of her hand, like she was embarrassed to still have tears left after everything.Detective Raymond had excused himself ten minutes ago. He had taken their statements, promised to keep them updated, and left them alone in the small interview room with its gray walls and humming fluorescent lights. The door was closed, but not locked. They could leave whenever they wanted.Ethan didn't want to leave.He wanted to sit here, in this uncomfortable chair, next to this woman who had broken his heart and shattered his trust and somehow still held a piece of him that no one else could reach. He wanted to sit here and not think about what came next.But his mind wouldn't stop.He thought about Chloe.She was probably still at his apartment. Or maybe she had gone home. She had been w
Chapter 111
Ethan sat in the car and waited.The building's entrance was dark. The street was quiet. The only sound was the low hum of the engine and the occasional car passing in the distance. He checked his phone. No messages from Claire. No calls.She had been inside for twelve minutes.He thought about going in after her. What if Adrian had come back? What if she was standing in that empty apartment, surrounded by the silence of everything he had taken, unable to move? He reached for the door handle.Then he stopped.She had asked to do this alone. He owed her that.He leaned back and stared at the dashboard.His phone buzzed. Chloe.He didn't answer. He couldn't. Not yet. Not until he knew what to say.She had called four times since he left the restaurant. Four times, and he had let each one go to voicemail. The last message had been short. "Ethan, I need to know if we're still together. Call me."He wasn't ready to call her.He thought about the past few months. The way she had fit herself
Chapter 112
Ethan woke to his phone buzzing on the nightstand.He grabbed it without opening his eyes. Seven missed calls. Twenty-three messages. The screen was crowded with notifications from news apps, from his email, from numbers he didn't recognize.He sat up and rubbed his face.The first message was from Andrew. "What the hell did you do to Chloe's family? They just pulled all their investments from AK Holdings. Call me."Ethan's stomach dropped.He scrolled down. A news alert from the Financial Times: "Caldwell Family Divests from AK Holdings Following Rumored Split Between Ethan Cross and Chloe Caldwell."Another from a business journal: "Grandfather Pulls Support: Caldwell Patriarch Severs Ties with Cross After 'Personal Betrayal.'"He threw the phone on the bed and put his head in his hands.Chloe's family. Her grandfather. The Caldwells were old money, the kind of investors who didn't just bring capital—they brought credibility. Their backing had opened doors that would have stayed clo
Chapter 113
The office was too quiet.Ethan sat at his desk, staring at the screen, reading the same line of text for the fourth time. The numbers blurred. His mind was somewhere else. Seraphina was at her desk, typing, not looking at him. She hadn't looked at him since the argument. The silence between them was thick enough to cut.His phone rang.Claire.He answered. "Claire?"Her voice was shaking. Barely there. "Ethan. Someone—someone tried to—" She stopped. He heard her breathing, fast and shallow."Claire, slow down. What happened?""I was at the store. The parking lot. I was walking to my car and this car—it came out of nowhere. It sped toward me. I jumped out of the way. It almost hit me."Ethan was already standing, reaching for his keys. "Are you hurt?""No. I'm okay. I'm at my mother's. I drove here. I didn't know where else to go.""Stay there. I'm coming."He hung up. Grabbed his jacket.Seraphina looked up. "Where are you going?""Claire's in trouble.""What kind of trouble?""Someo
Chapter 114
Ethan stood outside Victoria's house, the cold air biting at his face, his phone pressed to his ear.The line clicked. A voice answered. Low. Calm. Accented."Ethan Cross." A pause. "I was wondering when you'd call."Ethan leaned against his car. "Volkov.""Straight to business. I like that." Adrian Volkov's voice was smooth, the kind of smooth that came from a lifetime of watching people underestimate him. He was twenty-three years old. He had inherited the Volkov network when he was nineteen, after his parents died in a car accident that wasn't an accident. The old guard had tried to push him out. He had them killed. One by one, quietly, efficiently. By twenty-one, he was untouchable. By twenty-three, he was wanted in fifteen countries.Ethan had known him since he was a child. The Volkovs and the Crosses had history. His father used to attend dinners at the Volkov estate, back when the grandparents were alive. Adrian had been a quiet boy, always watching, always listening. Even the
Chapter 115
Ethan left his apartment at six-thirty.The sky was already dark, the kind of winter evening that swallowed the light early and didn't give it back. He drove with his hands tight on the wheel, his mind turning over the call with Volkov. Two favors deep. Soon to be three. He thought about the Hyperion, crushed into a cube and shipped to a foundry in Eastern Europe. He thought about the security detail at the event hall, the way Volkov's men had looked at Marcus Voss like he was nothing. He thought about the warehouse on Decker Street, the textile mill that wasn't a textile mill anymore.He had been there twice. Both times, he had walked in clean and walked out owing something.Tonight, he would owe more.The streets grew narrower as he approached the industrial district. Abandoned factories, chain-link fences, buildings with boarded windows. The kind of place where people went to disappear. He turned onto Decker Street and killed his headlights a block before the warehouse, the way he
Chapter 116
Ethan left his apartment at six-thirty.The sky was already dark, the kind of winter evening that swallowed the light early and didn't give it back. He drove with his hands tight on the wheel, his mind turning over the call with Volkov. Two favors deep. Soon to be three. He thought about the Hyperion, crushed into a cube and shipped to a foundry in Eastern Europe. He thought about the security detail at the event hall, the way Volkov's men had looked at Marcus Voss like he was nothing. He thought about the warehouse on Decker Street, the textile mill that wasn't a textile mill anymore.He had been there twice. Both times, he had walked in clean and walked out owing something.Tonight, he would owe more.The streets grew narrower as he approached the industrial district. Abandoned factories, chain-link fences, buildings with boarded windows. The kind of place where people went to disappear. He turned onto Decker Street and killed his headlights a block before the warehouse, the way he
Chapter 117
Ethan sat in the armchair, the weight of Volkov's offer pressing down on him. The smoke from the extinguished cigar still lingered in the air. The gamblers at the far table had gone quiet. The pole dancers had disappeared. The room felt smaller than it had a moment ago.Volkov was watching him. Waiting.Ethan thought about Claire. The way she had looked at him on the couch, wrapped in that blanket, her eyes red, her voice shaking. Someone tried to kill me. He thought about the black sedan, the faceless driver, the way the car had sped toward her like she was nothing. He thought about the men Volkov had already posted at Victoria's house. They would protect her. But protection wasn't enough. The driver was still out there. And whoever sent him was still out there.He thought about his father. The dinners at the Volkov estate. The quiet conversations behind closed doors. His father had made deals with the Volkovs. Had probably owed them favors too. Had probably paid them back in ways Et
Chapter 118
Ethan sat in the armchair, the weight of Volkov's offer pressing down on him. The smoke from the extinguished cigar still lingered in the air. The gamblers at the far table had gone quiet. The pole dancers had disappeared. The room felt smaller than it had a moment ago.Volkov was watching him. Waiting.Ethan thought about Claire. The way she had looked at him on the couch, wrapped in that blanket, her eyes red, her voice shaking. Someone tried to kill me. He thought about the black sedan, the faceless driver, the way the car had sped toward her like she was nothing. He thought about the men Volkov had already posted at Victoria's house. They would protect her. But protection wasn't enough. The driver was still out there. And whoever sent him was still out there.He thought about his father. The dinners at the Volkov estate. The quiet conversations behind closed doors. His father had made deals with the Volkovs. Had probably owed them favors too. Had probably paid them back in ways Et
Chapter 119
Ethan sat in the dark.The gun rested on the coffee table where he had dropped it. Black, matte, small enough to hide, big enough to kill. He stared at it without touching it. The weight of it still pressed against his palm, phantom heat from the barrel that had been tucked into his waistband.He picked up his phone. Called Volkov. The line rang four times and went to voicemail. A generic recording. No name. No company. Just a beep.He called Dimitri. One ring, then a click. Voicemail.He stopped trying.The television was off. The apartment was silent. The city outside his window was dark, the kind of dark that made the streetlights seem like islands in a black sea. He sat on the couch and watched the clock on the wall tick toward morning.---The news broke at six.He turned on the TV. A female reporter stood outside a familiar building. Decker Street. The warehouse. Yellow police tape stretched across the entrance. Flashing lights washed over the brick facade."Police raided an ill