Lena walked away, but her heart felt strangely heavy.
She didn’t know why.
Ethan hadn’t chased after her. He hadn’t grabbed her arm, hadn’t demanded an explanation, hadn’t begged her to reconsider. He hadn’t even raised his voice.
He had simply signed the divorce papers.
That calm acceptance unsettled her more than anger ever could. For a brief moment, she almost wished he would shout at her, accuse her, make her feel justified.
But he hadn’t and she felt conflicted about it.
This is the right choice, she told herself as she walked beside Victor. Their worlds were wide apart now.
Still… the image of Ethan standing alone lingered in her mind.
Meanwhile, Ethan walked through the streets alone.
The city lights flickered on one by one as dusk settled in. Cars rushed past, people laughed, couples walked hand in hand. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to go.
Except him.
The divorce papers felt heavier than they should have in his pocket.
For the first time since waking up three years ago, something inside him cracked not loudly, not dramatically, but quietly.
So this is reality, he thought.
Money mattered in this life.
It didn’t matter how much effort he put in.
It didn’t matter how loyal he was.
It didn’t matter how much he endured.
Without money, without status and without power everything else was meaningless.
His fingers brushed against the black card in his pocket and just then Fei’s words echoed in his mind.
Supreme black card. Password is your birthday.
He slowed his steps and looked down to the card to think of his next move.
After a long pause, Ethan turned around and headed toward National Union Bank, the largest and most prestigious bank in the country. Even the building itself radiated authority. Tall glass walls reflected the city lights, and uniformed security guards stood at the entrance like sentinels.
Ethan took a breath and walked forward, but before he could step inside, two familiar figures blocked his path.
“Ethan?”
The voice was sharp and full of disbelief.
He looked up and his expression softened.
“Mom?” he said instinctively.
Standing there were Margaret Carter and Ivy Carter.
Lena’s mother and sister.
For a brief moment, Ethan genuinely felt relieved.
No matter how strained their relationship had been, they were still his wife’s family. For three years, he had called them family. He had endured their cold looks, their complaints, their constant dissatisfaction.
But family was family.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Ethan said, a faint smile forming. “Did Lena,”
Margaret’s face darkened instantly and she pushed him back.
“What are you doing here pauper?” she snapped.
The warmth in Ethan’s eyes froze instantly at her words.
Ivy crossed her arms and laughed mockingly. “Look at him. He really dares to come here.”
Ethan hesitated for a moment and cleared his throat, “I just came to handle some business.”
Margaret scoffed loudly. “Business? You?”
Her gaze swept over his worn clothes with undisguised contempt.
“This place isn’t for trash like you.”
The words hit harder than a slap.
Ethan’s smile faded. “Mom,”
“Don’t call me that you dirty pauper,” Margaret interrupted coldly. “You’re no longer worthy.”
Ivy smirked. “Good thing my sister finally dumped you. Otherwise, we’d still have to be embarrassed by your existence.”
Ethan clenched his fists slowly at their words.
Margaret stepped closer, her voice dripping with cruelty. “Pack your things from the house and get out of our house today. Don’t even think about staying another night.”
“If you dare delay,” Ivy added, “we’ll throw everything you own into the street.”
Ethan stared at them in silence.
Just moments ago, he had been genuinely happy to see them.
Now, all that warmth felt ridiculous.
Margaret’s eyes suddenly locked onto something.
She noticed the ring in his hands and her expression changed instantly.
“That ring,” she said sharply. “Where did you steal it from?”
Ethan instinctively covered it. “This isn’t stolen, it's mine.”
“Don’t lie!” Margaret shouted. “You can’t even afford decent clothes. How could you own jewelry as beautiful as this?”
She lunged forward without warning.“Give it to me!”
Ethan stepped back instinctively and Margaret lost her balance.
She screamed and fell hard onto the marble floor. “Ow,!”
Instantly, her face twisted with fury.
“Security!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “He attacked me! Arrest him!”
Several guards rushed over immediately.
“What happened ma'am?” one of them demanded.
Margaret pointed at Ethan, eyes full of hatred. “He tried to steal my ring and pushed me!”
Ivy immediately chimed in. “Yes! I’m a witness to it!”
Ethan took a slow breath and cracked his knuckles “I didn’t touch her officers,” he said calmly. “She slipped while attacking me.”
One guard frowned. “Sir, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to handle business,” Ethan replied evenly.
The moment those words left his mouth, Margaret and Ivy burst into laughter.
“Business?” Ivy laughed so hard her shoulders shook. “Do you hear that? This useless man thinks he has business here!”
Margaret sneered proudly. “Do you even know where you are?”
“This is National Union Bank, the largest bank in the country,” she continued loudly, making sure everyone nearby could hear. “To even qualify for a bronze card here, you need at least one million in deposits.”
She reached into her purse and held up a bronze card like a trophy.
“Victor Shaw personally helped us get this,” she said smugly. “That’s what real connections look like, pauper.”
The guards glanced at Ethan with doubt in their eyes.
Ethan remained silent and for a moment, he wondered if Shen Fei had been lying.
Then he remembered her unwavering eyes.
Slowly and calmly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the card.
The moment the supreme black emblem appeared under the lights, the entire lobby went silent.
Even the guards stiffened.
Margaret’s smug smile froze on her face and Ivy’s laughter died instantly.
“That… that’s impossible,” Ivy whispered.
Margaret’s face turned pale. “That’s fake. It has to be fake!”
But deep down, they both knew.
The black card’s design was unmistakable.
A supreme black card represented not just wealth but absolute authority.
A card that required over one billion in assets.
A card even Victor Shaw could never obtain.
The guards’ expressions changed immediately.
“Sir…” one of them said respectfully, straightening his posture.
Margaret staggered back a step and Ethan stood there quietly, holding the card.
For the first time,
The world stopped looking down on him..
And Ethan Moore stepped into a realm where dignity was no longer something he had to beg for.
Latest Chapter
57
The screen went completely black, not fading or dimming but shutting off so abruptly that it felt intentional, like someone had decided the conversation was over before anyone else was ready for it.For a few seconds, the room remained completely silent, and even the hum of the machines seemed quieter, like the entire control center had paused to watch what Ethan would do next.Sofia was the first to move, shifting her weight as she let out a slow breath. “Okay,” she said carefully, her voice tight with tension. “I feel like we should all take a moment to acknowledge that we just talked to someone who clearly knows you, clearly has been waiting for you, and clearly enjoys being mysterious in the most annoying way possible.”Ethan did not respond immediately.He was still staring at the blank screen, his eyes focused like he could still see something there that the others could not.Sofia frowned and stepped closer. “Ethan,” she said, a little firmer this time. “You are doing that thin
56
The silence did not feel empty.It felt watched.Sofia shifted slightly where she stood, her eyes locked on the massive screen in front of them as the silhouette remained still, unmoving, like it had all the time in the world. “Okay… I am just going to say it,” she whispered, her voice tight. “This is officially the worst situation we have walked into so far.”Ethan did not respond.He stood still, his posture straight, his gaze steady, like the tension in the room did not belong to him at all.Shen Fei stepped slightly forward, positioning herself just behind him, her voice calm but lower than before. “Do not speak unless necessary,” she said quietly. “We do not know who this is yet.”Sofia blinked. “I feel like we very much know that this is bad,” she muttered.The screen flickered.The silhouette shifted slightly, just enough to show movement.Then—A voice.Not mechanical this time.Human.Smooth.Controlled.“So,” the voice said slowly, “you finally decided to come back.”Sofia s
55
The moment Ethan stepped past the threshold, the atmosphere shifted so sharply that it almost felt physical, like walking into a space that rejected the outside world entirely.Sofia felt it immediately, her steps slowing as her eyes scanned the narrow metallic corridor ahead of them. “Okay, I need to say this out loud because maybe hearing it will make it less creepy,” she said, her voice echoing faintly. “This place feels wrong, like actually wrong, not just abandoned or old, but like it was never meant for normal people to walk into.”Ethan did not slow down.“That is because it wasn’t,” he replied calmly.Sofia blinked, then quickened her pace to keep up with him. “You saying that so casually is not helping,” she said. “Like at all.”Shen Fei walked beside him, her movements controlled and quiet, her eyes scanning every detail with sharp precision. “Stay focused,” she said. “We are not here to react to atmosphere.”Sofia let out a quiet breath. “Easy for you to say,” she muttered.
54
Morning did not feel like morning.It felt like a countdown.The sunlight that slipped through the curtains was too soft, too normal, like the world outside had no idea what they had decided the night before, like nothing had changed when, in reality, everything had.Sofia was the first one awake.She sat on the edge of the couch, already dressed, her hands wrapped tightly around a cup of coffee that had gone cold a long time ago. Her eyes were fixed on nothing in particular, but her thoughts were moving too fast to settle.“This is a terrible idea,” she muttered under her breath. “Like, objectively terrible.”“You said that already.”Sofia jumped slightly, turning her head toward the hallway as Ethan stepped into the room, his movements calm and unhurried like he had actually slept peacefully.She stared at him. “You slept?” she asked, disbelief clear in her voice.Ethan walked toward the kitchen, reaching for a glass of water. “Yes,” he said simply.Sofia blinked. “How?” she demande
53
The room stayed quiet long after the glow from the rings disappeared, but it was not the kind of quiet that felt peaceful or empty. It was the kind of silence that pressed down on everything, heavy and unavoidable, like something had just shifted and there was no way to pretend it had not.Sofia stood near the couch with her arms folded tightly across her chest, her fingers gripping her sleeves like she needed something to hold onto. Her eyes moved between Ethan and Shen Fei, searching for hesitation, for doubt, for anything that suggested this plan might not actually happen.But there was none.Ethan stood by the desk, still and composed, his fingers resting lightly against the surface where the glowing pattern had just been. His gaze was distant, focused on something only he could see, like he was already walking through that place in his mind.Sofia exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself. “Okay,” she said, her voice quieter but still tense, “I just need to hear you say it clearly
52
The room stayed quiet long after the glow from the rings faded, but the silence did not feel empty.It felt final.Sofia stood near the couch, arms folded tightly across her chest, her eyes moving between Ethan and Shen Fei like she was waiting for one of them to say this was all a bad idea, like this was just another one of those moments that sounded intense but would pass if they just gave it time.But no one said that.Because no one believed it.Ethan stood by the desk, his fingers resting lightly against the surface where the glowing pattern had just been, his gaze distant but focused, like he was already somewhere else in his mind, already walking through that place the rings had shown him.Sofia let out a slow breath. “Okay,” she said finally, her voice quieter now but still tense, “I just need to hear you say it clearly, because right now it feels like we are standing at the edge of something really stupid.”Ethan glanced at her. “Say what?”“That you are actually planning to
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