Ethan walked back into the private dining room like he owned the building. He pulled out the chair at the head of the mahogany table, sat down, and leaned back with the relaxed ease of a man settling into his own living room. He did not look at anyone. He did not ask permission. He simply sat.Sophia's jaw tightened. Diane's nostrils flared. Ashley's fingers curled around her glass so hard the knuckles turned white. Tyler gripped the arms of his wheelchair and stared with the confused fury of a dog watching someone eat its food.But the real shock came next. AJ walked in behind Ethan, glanced at the table, and pulled out the chair directly to Ethan's right. The seat just below the head. The second most important position at the table. He dropped into it without hesitation, without ceremony, without so much as blinking at the Morgan family standing around the room.The supposed Prince of Sha Kingdom had placed himself beneath Ethan Cole at a table that the Morgan family was paying for.

Sophia's teeth clenched so hard her jaw ached. The Morgan family was not wealthy anymore.The pharmaceutical disaster, the Thompson contracts falling through, Tyler's medical bills, and the cost of booking this private dining room had already stretched their accounts to the breaking point.One of everything on the Chicago Hilton's private dining menu was not a meal. It was a financial wound.The food arrived in waves. Platters of lobster, wagyu steak, seared foie gras, truffle pasta, caviar on toast points, whole roasted duck, imported sashimi arranged like artwork, and a dessert cart that took two waitresses to wheel through the door.The table disappeared beneath a mountain of dishes so tall that Tyler could barely see over them from his wheelchair.AJ's eyes went wide and he grabbed his fork with both hands. Ethan picked up his chopsticks and began sampling calmly, one dish at a time, with the unhurried patience of a man who had nowhere else to be.Sophia reached across the table w

The corner of the room erupted in barely contained excitement. Tyler gripped the arms of his wheelchair so hard his knuckles popped. Diane's face transformed from suspicion into a glow of pure, greedy hope. Ashley wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, overwhelmed by the sudden vision of a future that did not involve debt collectors and public humiliation.Sophia held the phone closer and examined every pixel of the image. The resolution was clear. The setting was authentic. The mole was in the exact same position. A chill ran through her body, not from fear but from the realization that her father might actually be telling the truth.But she held onto her last sliver of caution."If he is really a prince," Sophia said slowly, "why has he not contacted Sha Kingdom? Why come to Chicago instead of going home?"Slick Gary had been waiting for this question the way a spider waits for a fly to touch the web. He leaned in and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper."Bec

Aunt Patty was the first through the door. She was a heavyset woman in her fifties with a face that looked like it had been crying for three days straight.Her mascara had run down both cheeks in dark streaks and her blouse was buttoned wrong. Behind her came Uncle Ray, his wife Linda, cousin Marcus, and four others whose eyes burned with the kind of rage that only comes from watching your life savings evaporate overnight."There she is," Aunt Patty screamed, pointing at Sophia with a shaking finger. "Sitting in the Chicago Hilton eating like a queen while the rest of us cannot even pay rent."The hotel manager appeared in the doorway behind the group, his face pale and apologetic."Ms. Morgan, I am very sorry," the manager stammered. "They told the front desk they were family. By the time we realized they were not invited guests, they were already in the elevator."Sophia stood up from the corner and straightened her blouse. Her face was white but her voice was steady."It is fine,"

Carl, the family friend who had invested his entire retirement, pushed through the group and stood inches from Ethan's face. His eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled like coffee and desperation."I worked forty two years," Carl said. His voice was low and shaking. "Forty two years, and every penny I saved went into that stock because Sophia Morgan told me it was safe. If you are the reason it collapsed, I swear to God I will not leave this room until you answer for it."Ethan stood perfectly still in the middle of the crowd. He looked at Sophia standing behind them with her arm still raised and her chin lifted.He looked at Diane and Tyler nodding along like puppets. He looked at Ashley shrinking into the wall. The absurdity of it was almost impressive.The Morgan family's own reckless decisions, their greed, their arrogance, their complete inability to manage a company without destroying everyone around them, had caused the stock to collapse.And now they were dumping every oun