Rise of The Unknown Billionaire

Chapter 9

Ethan woke up with a strange sense of incongruity. He was very tired the previous day and had slept like a baby. 

He took a look around the beautiful room he found himself in and it felt alien to him until the events of the previous day came pouring into his remembrance: it was as though life had treated him to a rollercoaster of conflicting highs and lows. 

Ethan had a strange feeling that something bad was about to happen to him again. And just as he had that thought, Andrew knocked on his door politely. 

"You can come in." Ethan answered. 

"Good morning, young master." Andrew greeted. 

"Good morning Mr Andrew." Ethan still found it strange that he had a new butler. Then he looked at Andrew's face and saw that Andrew looked a bit sad and was fidgeting in a kind of way. 

"What's the matter?" Ethan asked curiously. 

"It's about your sister Sylvie..." Andrew reported. 

"What happened to her? Did she fall sick?" Ethan asked worriedly. 

"She was on her way to school with Mark this morning and they got attacked by some thugs..." 

Ethan's face scrunched up just hearing about thugs. "Attacked?!"

"Yes, young master. Mark was beaten and Sylvie-" Andrew hesitated. 

"What happened to Sylvie?" Ethan's face turned pale this time. He loved his sister dearly even though they weren't related by blood. 

"She was abducted by the thugs and we've found no trace of where they took her to yet." Andrew said with an apologetic expression. 

At that moment, Ethan could only come to one conclusion - Matthew was responsible for this. Just because he didn't give Matthew money like he had demanded and the fact that Andrew had beaten he and his thugs up. This was probably his way of vengeance against Ethan. 

"That bastard!" Ethan gritted his teeth in anger. He was also scared. He didn't know what Matthew would do to his sister for the sake of revenge. 

"Do you think Matthew is responsible for this?" Andrew asked. He knew about Matthew. He had been keeping tabs on Ethan for a long time so he knew about most of the people he interacted with. He was also aware that the kidnapping could be as a result of him beating Matthew and his henchmen to a pulp. 

"He has to be." Ethan answered with a deep frown and worry on his face. 

"I'll look for him and get her back." Andrew promised as he turned around to leave. 

"I'm coming with you." Ethan declared. 

"Alright, young master." 

In less than five minutes, Ethan and Andrew made their way to the place Ethan knew Matthew to live and run his shady businesses. 

***

Matthew was having a hard time with his breakfast. He couldn't chew properly and even when he eventually ate, his stomach hurt like hell. This was as a result of the furious punches he had received from Andrew the previous day. 

He angrily swatted the food to the ground in frustration. He took a can of orange juice and sipped on it with a straw. He had to make do with what he could easily swallow. 

He was cursing at Ethan for his suffering when he heard the door open with a thud. He looked up and saw one of his henchmen who also had some injuries walk in with panic. 

"He's here!" The guy said with a voice tinged with fear. 

"Who?" Matthew asked with slight apprehension. 

"That brat Ethan and that damned old man!" The guy replied with fear. 

Matthew jumped off his seat. "Dammit, why wouldn't he leave us alone?" Matthew felt cheated despite his plan to take revenge on Ethan.

"Are they planning to beat me up again? I haven't even done anything against him yet!"  He yelled as he began to think of ways to run away. 

Just as he was eyeing the secret exit at the wall behind him, Ethan and Andrew burst in. 

"Where is she?" Ethan demanded with a look of rage on his face. 

"Who?" Matthew was stunned. It wasn't what he had expected to hear. 

"Sylvie - where did you keep her?" Andrew asked with a cold gaze as he took menacing strides towards Matthew. 

"I don't know what you're taking about. I don't have your sister!" Matthew yelled out in fear, he could still feel his stomach and face tingle with pain. 

Andrew delivered a fresh punch to Matthew's stomach again. Matthew doubled over on the floor in pain. 

"You abducted my sister this morning. Where is she?!" Ethan demanded again. 

Matthew couldn't even cry properly. "I swear I had nothing to do with it. I've not even laid my eyes in her for a very long time." He confessed amidst tears. 

"Then who did?" Ethan asked in anger. 

Andrew turned on the other guy in the room and beat him up for answers only to hear the same confession. They hadn't so much as even moved from the house to go anywhere for anything. 

The beating that Andrew kept delivering to Matthew's boys yielded no results. 

Ethan was beginning to get confused and more alarmed. If Matthew kept pleading innocent, then who could have done it? 

Andrew and Ethan searched the whole building for signs of Sylvie but they found nothing. Matthew was likely saying the truth. 

Ethan was now almost convinced. He hadn't offended anyone and yet his sister was abducted. It didn't make sense to him any longer. 

If the Habsburgs were behind it then they would have come for him themselves without needing to resort to petty things. 

Andrew was also at a loss. The only person that they could suspect was Matthew and yet there wasn't definite proof. Andrew and Ethan left Matthew's office and drove back to the mansion. 

Meanwhile Matthew felt like crap after Ethan had left. He couldn't even believe that it was the same Ethan that he had been bullying all the while. What suddenly changed about him?

The beating that he had received in just two days was enough to make him delete any future plans for revenge. At least not in the state he currently was.