Forgotten Billionaire Son in law

Chapter 4

Margaret and Ivy stood frozen for a long moment outside the bank, their faces pale and stiff.

Neither of them dared to say another word.

Su Yanning’s identity was not something they could challenge. She was a senior director of National Union Bank, someone who could decide the financial life or death of countless families with a single sentence.

They had already lost this battle.

Ivy clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. “This isn’t over,” she said through gritted teeth. “He’s a fraud. I know it.”

Margaret’s eyes burned with resentment as she stared at the glass doors of the bank. “Yes. He must have stolen that card. There’s no way someone like him owns it.”

Her lips curled into a vicious smile. “Once the bank finds out he’s scamming them, he’ll be arrested. When that happens, the consequences will be far worse than what we suffered today.”

With that belief anchoring their pride, the two left the scene,but Margaret immediately pulled out her phone.

She dialed Lena’s number and the call connected quickly.

“Mom?” Lena asked, surprised.

Margaret’s voice instantly turned aggrieved. “Lena… something terrible happened.”

Lena’s heart skipped. “What’s wrong mum? Are you hurt?”

“That man,Ethan,” Margaret said bitterly. “He hit me just now.”

“What?!” Lena stopped walking.

“He’s involved with a fraud and theft gang,” Margaret continued, her voice trembling convincingly. “He got a fake black card and went to the National Union bank to cheat money. When we tried to stop him, he pushed me!”

Ivy snatched the phone briefly. “It’s true, sis. We were witnesses.”

Margaret took it back. “Because of him, the bank director even confiscated our cards. Lena, he’s completely degenerated!”

Lena felt her head spin, she hadn’t expected this,at all.

Ethan… fraud? Theft? Violence?

“That’s impossible,  he can’t do that” Lena said instinctively.

“Impossible?” Margaret cried. “I saw it with my own eyes! He’s no longer the man you married. You divorced him just in time, he would have brought us disgrace.”

Silence stretched on the line and then Lena’s voice turned cold. “I’ll call him after this.”

She hung up and immediately dialed Ethan’s number.

Inside the bank’s VIP corridor, Ethan’s phone vibrated.

He glanced at the caller ID and when he saw it was Lena his fingers paused for half a second,then he answered.

“What is it Lena?” he asked calmly.

“How could you do this?” Lena demanded the moment the call connected. “Ethan, my mom said you hit her. She said you’re involved in fraud and theft. Is that true?”

Ethan stopped walking and Su Yanning, walking slightly behind him, noticed the change in his expression and slowed her pace discreetly.

“Do you believe her?” Ethan asked quietly.

Lena frowned at his words. “She’s my mother for heaven sake, of course I believe her.”

“That answers my question,” he said flatly.

“Ethan,” Lena continued urgently, “if you really did something illegal, you should turn yourself in. It’ll reduce your guilt,”

He laughed softly but there was no warmth in it.

“So you didn’t even think to ask me what happened,” he said. “You just assumed I was guilty because you heard what your mum said.”

Lena opened her mouth. “I,”

“I didn’t hit your mother,” Ethan said coldly. “I didn’t steal anything. And I didn’t commit fraud.”

“Then explain,”

“There’s nothing to explain Lena,” he interrupted. “If you’ve already decided who I am in your heart, then whatever I say doesn’t matter.”

A sharp pain tugged at Lena’s chest.

“Ethan,”

Beep.

The call ended.

Lena stared at her phone in shock. He had hung up on her.

For some reason, that hurt more than she expected.

She wanted to turn around immediately, to go find him and demand the truth face-to-face but before she could move, a voice called out behind her.

“Lena.”

She turned and Victor Shaw stood there, adjusting his cufflinks, dressed impeccably in a tailored suit. “The charity dinner starts in an hour. The reporters will be there.”

Lena hesitated and she looked at her phone again.

Then she exhaled slowly.

“…I’ll deal with Ethan after the dinner,” she said quietly to herself as she walked with Victor to the waiting car.

*****

Inside the bank, Ethan was led into an exclusive VIP board room.

The door closed softly behind them, sealing off the outside world.

The room was elegant and understated. Soft lighting, polished wood, and a long glass table that reflected the ceiling lights like water.

“Please sir, sit,” Su Yanning said respectfully.

Ethan nodded and took a seat.

A staff member brought a tablet and placed it in front of him.

“If you’d like to verify the card balance,” Su Yanning said, “you may do so at any time.”

Ethan stared at the screen for a moment and placed his card information.

Then he entered the password. His birthday.

The screen refreshed and numbers illed the display.

For the first time since Shen Fei handed him the card, his composure cracked.

The balance wasn’t in millions.

It wasn’t in billions.

It was in trillions.

The number stretched across the screen with more zeros than he could process at once.

Ethan leaned back slightly, exhaling slowly.

So… she hadn’t lied, none of it was fake.

Su Yanning glanced at the screen and felt her breath hitch.

Even she- someone who had seen unimaginable wealth, was shocked.

This balance placed Ethan at the absolute top of the financial pyramid.

The highest-level customer of the bank.

No.

Higher than that.

She straightened immediately, her respect deepening. “Sir,” she said sincerely, “National Union Bank will provide you with lifetime priority service. Any industry, any investment, any project,you only need to contact me.”

She handed him a personal card. “This is my direct line sir.”

Ethan accepted it quietly.

“I hope we can maintain a long-term cooperative relationship,” Su Yanning added carefully.

He nodded. “We’ll see about that miss Su.”

She smiled faintly, understanding that was already a privilege.

“As a matter of fact,” Su Yanning continued, “there’s a charity dinner this afternoon. Many influential figures will attend, and there will be a private auction.”

She paused. “There are several rare items on the list.”

She tapped her tablet and turned the screen toward him.

Ethan was actually interested in the auction but still he glanced casually at the screen.

And then his gaze froze, on the screen was a ring.

It was a dark metal and it had an ancient design.

It was almost identical to the one in his pocket. The only difference was the engraving, thepatterns were different.

Yet somehow… they felt incomplete. Like two halves of the same whole.

A sudden, sharp pain pierced Ethan’s head. Flagments flashed violently through his mind.

Blood.

Fire.

A woman’s desperate screams.

Ethan sucked in a sharp breath, his hand gripping the edge of the table.

Su Yanning’s expression changed instantly to a look of concern. “Sir are you okay?”

He closed his eyes briefly and steadied himself.

When he opened them again, his gaze was sharp and focused.

“That ring,” he said slowly. “I want it.”

Su Yanning looked at the screen again and nodded without hesitation. “I’ll arrange everything. Would you like to attend the dinner?”

Ethan was silent for a moment, Then he reached into his pocket and touched the ring Shen Fei had given him.

The metal felt warm and oddly familiar.

“Prepare the car,” he said calmly. “I’ll attend.”

Whatever he had forgotten, whatever had been taken from him,

That ring was a key.

And he intended to claim it.