Cheated & Despised, now the Billionaire Heir

Chapter 011

“What’s so funny?” Damian snarled, his jaw tightening.

Ethan ignored him, the smirk still playing on his lips as he swirled the wine in his glass that a waiter had handed to him begrudgingly.

Vanessa turned to Damian, lifting her chin to meet his gaze.

In a low whisper meant to calm him, she said, “Don’t waste your breath on someone like him, babe. Today is for winners, not losers.”

She glanced at Ethan before adding, “Besides, it’s good he’s here. At least he’ll get to watch you seal the deal right in front of him.”

Damian chuckled, nodding in agreement before leaning in to kiss her.

When she pulled away, she turned her attention back to Ethan, closing the space between them as she locked eyes with him.

“Trash like you should know your place,” she spat, her voice dripping with disdain.

“Just because you managed to sneak in with some cheap trick doesn’t mean you’re on the same level as Damian."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and let out a fake laugh. "Dream all you want. You can never be like him. You'll always be the insignificant worm you’ve always been.”

Damian laughed, pulling Vanessa closer by the waist. "Once I get the chairman’s signature, you might as well kill yourself to escape my wrath—though I hope you won’t."

Ethan’s expression remained calm, but the lingering smirk on his lips rattled Vanessa.

"Quite the fantasy, Damian. But I wouldn’t sign it for you."

Damian and Vanessa exchanged a look before laughing in disbelief.

Turning to the attendees with a grin, Damian said, "Did you all hear that?"

He snickered. "He said he wouldn't sign the document for me."

The hall erupted into laughter instantly after they had exchanged amused glances.

“What a joke!” Jayden snickered.

"He’s pretending to be the chairman of Aurelius Pharmaceuticals Group? Does he think we are stupid?”

“Can you imagine! He has the nerve to trash our company and then expects us to swallow that pathetic lie? Seriously?" Mrs. Smith said, her voice dripping with disgust.

“Someone throw this clown out!” She jeered.

"Yes!" Another affirmed.

"This is impersonation at its peak. He needs to be punished severely for it!"

Vanessa’s laughter rang louder. “Oh, Ethan, you never fail to embarrass yourself. This is beyond delusion.”

Ethan met her gaze steadily. "And you always did underestimate me, Vanessa. But that’s nothing new."

Before Damian could add another insult, the doors swung open again, and a tall man strode in.

It was Mr. Lorenzo.

Most people in the room bowed to him—it was obvious he had a lot of power in the room.

His gaze swept the room before he spoke.

“The chairman of Aurelius Pharmaceuticals Group will be here shortly,” he announced, his voice carrying across the hall.

Ethan smirked.

Mr. Lorenzo had never met Ethan and did not recognize him.

Damian quickly went to greet him.

"Mr. Lorenzo, thank goodness you're here," he said in a very respectful voice.

"It's fine," Mr. Lorenzo replied, barely looking at Damian. 

He looked around the room carefully. "I had more important things to do. Now, where is this troublemaker you told me about?"

Damian, wanting to please Mr. Lorenzo, quickly pointed at Ethan. "Over there, sir. And he's been causing problems, even saying he's the chairman of Aurelius Pharmaceuticals Group."

Mr. Lorenzo looked surprised. "Really?"

He had never met the new chairman, but he was sure that someone like Ethan couldn't be the important person everyone was waiting for. 

Aurelius Conglomerate and its subsidiaries only worked with important people—people like himself.

"What should we do with him?" Damian asked, hoping to do a favor for Mr. Lorenzo. 

Mr. Lorenzo's face twisted with contempt as he approached Ethan, circling him like a predator toying with its prey.

The crowd parted, creating a spectacle for all to witness.

"So this is the nobody who dares impersonate the chairman?" Mr. Lorenzo's voice dripped with mockery.

 He reached out and flicked Ethan's suit lapel, deliberately leaving a smudge from his fingers. "Wearing a cheap knockoff suit to a prestigious event. Pathetic."

He turned to address the attendees, raising his voice for maximum humiliation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, observe closely! This is what happens when the rats from the gutters try to dance among eagles."

The room froze as he grabbed Ethan's wine glass and deliberately poured its contents over Ethan's head. 

Deep red liquid cascaded down Ethan's face, soaking his suit. 

The crowd erupted in a chaotic symphony of reactions.

"Oh shit!" someone gasped from the back corner, phone already raised to capture the moment.

Mrs. Smith, who'd been waiting for Ethan's downfall, couldn't contain her delight. 

"Damn, that's what happens when you don't know your place," she whispered loudly.

"Serves him right," mumbled Jayden, crossing his arms with a satisfied smirk. 

"Mr. Powerful finally gets what's coming to him."

A cluster of others squealed in dramatic fashion, their expressions a mix of shock and poorly concealed excitement at the unfolding drama.

"Did you see his face?" laughed a waitress, nudging his colleague.

"Priceless. Absolute legend move."

"That's gonna stain," someone snickered, followed by ripples of laughter spreading through the room.

A woman in the corner snorted and muttered, “Honestly, he had it coming.”

From behind her, a voice piped up, “Serves him right, dude’s been asking for it all night.”

Ethan stood motionless, wine dripping from his chin, the reality of his public humiliation slowly sinking in as the crowd's contemptuous reactions washed over him.

"Did you honestly believe you could fool anyone of importance?" Mr. Lorenzo sneered, his face inches from Ethan's. 

"People like you are born to serve, not to lead. Your parents must be ashamed to have raised such a delusional failure."

With wine still dripping down his face, Ethan’s stare stayed locked on Mr. Lorenzo with an intensity that slowly shifted the energy in the room.

The trembling anger in his body was contained like a volcano moments before eruption, but his face betrayed nothing.

A strange smile crept across his lips as he casually wiped a droplet of wine from his cheek and sucked it off his thumb.

Then, he reached for a napkin from the nearby table and dabbed at his face. 

"You know what's funny, Mr. Lorenzo?" His voice carried across the now-silent room. 

"I've seen toddlers throw better tantrums. At least they're honest about their insecurities." 

He folded the wine-soaked napkin with precision. "This is just... desperate."

The response clearly wasn't what Mr. Lorenzo had anticipated. 

His smug expression fractured as the chuckle died in his throat.

He searched Ethan's face for any crack in his composure but found none. 

Mr. Lorenzo's face contorted, confidence morphing into rage at Ethan's unexpected poise.

"What? What is that on your face? Anger? Rage? Humiliation?" Mr. Lorenzo scoffed.

"Disappointment, mostly," Ethan replied, still maintaining that unnerving smile. 

"I expected more from someone who seems to have so much... influence."

Mr. Lorenzo's face contorted, a vein pulsing visibly at his temple. 

The calm response had gotten under his skin far more effectively than any shouting match could have.

"You pig!" he snarled, hand shooting up to slap Ethan across the face.

"Who do you think you are?" His voice trembled with fury.

The room collectively gasped, but before his palm could make contact, he halted mid-swing. 

His lips curled into a snarl as he slowly lowered his arm.

He chuckled darkly. "You know what? Dealing with you myself is like salvaging trash." 

His voice dropped to a brutal tone. "Some things are too worthless to touch."

"You need a lesson you'll never forget."

He nodded. "That's exactly what you need."

His eyes narrowed dangerously as he stepped back.

"Break his leg," he commanded, signaling to two burly guards who immediately stepped forward. "Break it slowly. I want to hear it snap."

He adjusted his cufflinks with casual cruelty. 

"Let it serve as a warning to anyone else who dares to step above their rank. In this world, you either know your place—" he glanced around the room with a threatening smile, "—or we teach it to you."

Vanessa crossed her arms, nodding in agreement. "Yes. Someone like him shouldn’t even be breathing the same air as us.”

Damian grinned as the guards stepped forward.

Vanessa’s lips curled in excitement, savoring Ethan’s impending humiliation.

But just as the guards closed in on Ethan—while his mind raced for a solution that wouldn't involve violence or reveal his identity—a cutting voice sliced through the tension in the room.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"Touch him, and you'll regret it."