All Chapters of RISING FROM THE ASHES : FROM PRISONER TO SHADOW TYRANT: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
52 chapters
THE MESSAGE HE NEVER REPLIED TO
"I’m not finished with you yet, Ethan," Jenny muttered to herself as she stared at the glowing screen of her phone.The quiet atmosphere of her bedroom felt unusually heavy that night, the silence broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioner. It was nearly two in the morning, yet sleep refused to come anywhere near her, because the image on her phone screen refused to leave her mind.A photograph had been circulating online since the banquet ended earlier that evening, one of the many images taken by reporters and guests who had attended the event.In the photograph, Ethan and Scarlett were walking out of the banquet hall together, their expressions calm and unbothered by the chaos that had unfolded behind them. Scarlett looked composed as always, her posture elegant and confident, while Ethan walked beside her with an ease that made something unfamiliar twist inside Jenny’s chest.She had seen Ethan look nervous around her countless times in the past, always eager to please
THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN REACH HIM
"So, what exactly are you trying to say now, Charlie?" Jenny sighed in irritation, still clearly frustrated about Ethan blocking her.Charlie’s voice remained calm on the other side of the phone."I'm saying the kind of feelings Ethan has for you don’t disappear overnight," he replied smoothly. "No matter how angry Ethan acts right now, you’re still the person who understands him the most, you know what is best for him better than anyone else."Jenny frowned as she stared at her reflection in the mirror."Did you see the way he looked tonight?" she muttered. "Standing beside my aunt as if she suddenly became the most important person in his life.... I know he is doing all this to provoke me, but the audacity to do it right in front of me… He has suddenly become very fearless lately." Charlie paused for a moment before answering. "That’s exactly why I’m concerned."Jenny’s brows knitted slightly. "Concerned about what?"Charlie exhaled quietly, as if he had been thinking about this fo
WHEN AUTHORITY WALKS IN
"There is a board meeting at nine, Mr. Shadow Tyrant."Scarlett’s voice came through the phone at exactly seven in the morning, calm and composed as if she were discussing a minor scheduling adjustment rather than a confrontation that could determine control over billions in assets.Ethan sat up slowly, letting the quiet weight of her words settle before responding."Good morning Ms. Caspian," he said dryly, glancing at the clock beside his bed. "Should I assume this meeting is important enough to ruin my sleep early in the morning?" "Three directors began moving assets after yesterday’s announcement," Scarlett replied without acknowledging the comment. "They believe the sudden change in authority will force hesitation on my part, and they intend to secure their interests before the situation stabilizes." Ethan leaned back slightly, listening as her tone remained steady."I will not hesitate," she continued with a smooth and professional tone. "You only need to be present at the mee
THE PRICE OF SUCCESSION
"So, what are we going to talk about now?" Scarlett’s calm voice settled over the boardroom like a quiet command.The directors seated around the long polished table straightened almost instinctively. Moments earlier they had been whispering among themselves, exchanging careful glances and guarded comments, but now the room had fallen into a silence that felt far heavier than their earlier discussions.Scarlett remained in the same place at the head of the table with effortless composure, and a thin folder resting neatly before her. Ethan quietly sat beside her without speaking a word, his posture remained relaxed yet observant as his gaze moved calmly across the unfamiliar faces gathered around the room.For a brief moment no one spoke as if they were preparing themselves about what to say.Then one of the older directors cleared his throat."Ms. Caspian," he began carefully, his tone polite but measured, "the board understands that recent events have accelerated the transition of
TEN MINUTES TO SPEAK
"Mr. Ethan is not available."The old man standing at the doorway delivered the sentence without any kind of emotion, his posture perfectly straight as he blocked the entrance of the residence with quiet authority. His eyes rested on Jenny with the polite indifference of someone who had already finished the conversation before it had even begun.Jenny remained standing on the steps, dressed as elegantly as always, her expression composed despite the door that had just been closed in front of her moments earlier."Ask him to stop pretending and come downstairs," she replied calmly.The butler looked at her for a brief moment, as if considering whether the statement required a response at all, then inclined his head slightly before closing the door without another word.The heavy wooden door shut firmly.Jenny stared at it in silence.For several seconds she remained where she was, her gaze fixed on the polished surface as if expecting it to open again immediately. When nothing happen
THE DEBT IS ALREADY PAID
"You keep talking about what I owe Charlie and that family." Ethan said calmly, then looked at her coldly, "But the truth is… I already paid for everything the day I was sent to prison for him." The accusation echoed across the quiet driveway.Jenny clenched her fist at those words."Going to prison is nothing compared to what Charlie went through because of you," she snapped. "And when will you stop pretending to be the victim, Ethan? You didn’t go to prison for nothing. I promised to marry you in return. Wasn’t that a huge profit for you?"She lifted her chin proudly."Do you have any idea how many young men from influential families are dying to marry me? But I'm giving you that opportunity, aren't you supposed to be grateful for that?" Ethan looked at her quietly before answering."You still haven’t realized something, Jenny. The only reason I ever stood beside you back then was because I believed you were worth it."He paused. "I was wrong."His voice remained calm but intensi
THE TRUTH BENEATH THE BLINDFOLD
"You saved my life once… and then you used it to ruin me for another man." Ethan’s voice remained calm, but there was something final in the way the words settled between them, something that left no room for argument or misunderstanding.Jenny froze for a fraction of a second, then her expression twisted."What did you just say?" she demanded, her voice rising sharply as if she had not heard him correctly.Ethan looked at her without any kind of emotion."I said I don’t owe you anything anymore," he replied coldly. "Whatever debt you think I had… it ended the day you decided to trade my life for someone else’s benefit.... You no longer own my life, and I no longer owe anything to you." Jenny’s composure shattered."ETHAN!" She shouted, stepping forward, her hand slamming against the door as if she could force it open wider. "Don’t you dare twist things like that! Everything I did was for you! You’re alive because of me! You can't be ungrateful!" Ethan did not respond, he simply st
THE MOST CASUAL MARRIAGE EVER
"Get ready, we are going out." Scarlett’s voice came from the living room with the same calm authority she used in board meetings, as if she were announcing a routine appointment rather than something that would completely disrupt the rest of Ethan’s day.Ethan, who had just stepped out of the shower and was still adjusting the cuff of his shirt, paused for a moment before looking toward her with a faint frown."We just dealt with one problem this morning," he said, his tone dry as he leaned against the doorway. "Should I be concerned about what kind of situation you’re planning to drag me into now?" Scarlett did not look up immediately, her attention resting on the file in her hand as she flipped a page calmly."There is no situation," she replied. "We are going to get our marriage registered." Ethan blinked once in surprise, "You must be joking.... right?" Scarlett finally looked at him, her expression completely serious. "Do I look like I joke about legal documents?" A brief s
FROM PAPERWORK TO STREET FOOD
"Different?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity surfacing in his expression as he looked at her, clearly intrigued by how unaffected she seemed by the way people spoke about her.Scarlett met his gaze and smiled faintly, not offended, not defensive, simply… certain."I know what you’re thinking, Ethan," she said calmly. "And you should remember one thing… no matter what people say about you, it doesn’t change what you actually are." Ethan remained silent, his eyes fixed on her as she continued."Let them hate you, let them isolate you, let them criticize you, insult you, humiliate you… even abandon you if they want," she continued, her voice steady, almost indifferent. "People do that when they can’t reach your level, when they know they can’t stand against you, so they try to pull you down instead." There was no anger in her tone, only quiet certainty."And the day you rise high enough," she added, "those same people will stand in front of you pretending they were always
THE MAN WHO NEVER NEEDED THE SPOTLIGHT
"Explain to me how this passed an internal review without raising a single flag." Scarlett’s voice was calm, but it carried a quiet pressure that made the air inside the executive office feel heavier than it already was.The file in front of her lay open across the desk, several pages marked, annotated, and cross-referenced with precision that left little room for error, yet the numbers printed across those sheets refused to align in any way that could be called natural.It was not a mistake.It was too clean for that.Ethan stood on the opposite side of the desk, his posture relaxed but his attention entirely focused on the documents she had been reviewing.He did not speak immediately.Instead, he reached forward and turned one of the pages slightly, his gaze moving across the columns of figures with quiet concentration."This section," he said after a moment, his tone even, "the transfers are consistent, but the timing isn’t.... Maybe you need to concentrate on timing rather than