2026-10-05 23:37:07The lobby of Whitmore Group smelled of new carpet and fresh coffee.
Ethan walked across the white marble floor in his still-damp suit. His wet shoes left faint marks on the polished stone. The receptionist behind the front desk looked up from her screen and froze with her mouth open.
"Mr. Cross? What are you doing here? Miss Vanessa said you are not allowed inside the building anymore. You should leave before security comes."
Ethan did not stop walking. His voice was calm. "I have business with the board of directors."
Two security guards in black uniforms moved to block his path near the elevators. One of them recognized Ethan and smirked with open joy. He remembered the man who used to clean floors and carry files.
"Boss said to throw you out if you show your face again," the guard said. "Turn around and leave while you still can. Do not make us drag you out in front of everyone."
Ethan looked at both of them with calm eyes. "Move."
The guards laughed. One reached out to grab Ethan's arm like he was still the same weak man from last night. His fingers closed around the wet sleeve.
A calm voice came from the elevator area on the right.
"Let him pass."
Victor Whitmore walked out of the elevator in a perfect blue suit. His hair was neat. His shoes shone. He wore a cold smile on his face. Several company managers followed behind him like shadows. They stopped when they saw Ethan.
"Well, well," Victor said in a loud voice so everyone in the lobby could hear. "The dog came back. Did you come to beg for money? Or to clean the floors again like the good old days? Look at you. Still wearing that wet suit. Still looking like trash."
People in the lobby stopped what they were doing to watch. Some whispered behind their hands. Some laughed openly at Ethan's cheap wet clothes. A young woman near the coffee machine took out her phone and started recording.
Ethan stood still and looked at Victor. His face showed nothing. "I came to take what is mine."
Victor laughed loud and long. The sound filled the lobby. "Yours? You own nothing in this world. My sister threw you out last night in front of everyone. She chose a real man. You are finished, Ethan. Go back to the street where you belong. There is nothing left for you here."
Ethan reached into his jacket pocket and took out a thin folder. He opened it with steady hands and held up a single printed page for everyone to see.
"Share transfer agreement," he said in a clear voice. "Signed this morning at the stock exchange. I now own fifty-one percent of Whitmore Group."
The lobby went completely silent. Even the laughter stopped. The young woman with the phone lowered it a little. The security guards looked at each other.
Victor's smile disappeared at once. His face went hard. "That is impossible. Who would sell shares to a nobody like you? You had nothing yesterday. You were sleeping in the rain."
Ethan walked forward and placed the paper flat on the reception desk. The receptionist leaned in to look. Her eyes grew wide.
"Check with the stock exchange yourself," Ethan said. "The transfer is already complete and legal. Cross Holdings owns fifty-one percent."
One of the managers took out his phone with shaking hands and typed quickly. He checked the stock exchange page. Then he checked again. His face turned white as paper.
"Sir... it is true," the manager said in a small voice. "Fifty-one percent of the company now belongs to a company called Cross Holdings. The deal closed thirty minutes ago. It is fully confirmed. The records are public."
Victor grabbed the paper from the desk and read it with wild eyes. His hands started to shake. The paper made a soft sound as it moved. "This is a lie! A trick! You cannot do this! My father will never allow it!"
Ethan looked at him with calm, cold eyes. "From today, I am the largest shareholder of Whitmore Group. Call an emergency board meeting. Now."
Victor's face turned red with rage. Veins stood out on his neck. "You think one piece of paper makes you the boss of this company? My father built this place! He will crush you! He will take everything back!"
"Your father has no choice," Ethan said. "Majority rules. That is the law. You can shout all you want. It will not change the numbers."
The managers looked at each other with fear in their eyes. No one spoke a word of support for Victor. One of them took a step back. Another checked his phone again as if hoping the numbers would change.
Ethan walked past Victor toward the elevators. He pressed the button for the top floor with one finger. The button lit up.
Victor shouted behind him with pure hate. Spit flew from his mouth. "You will regret this, Ethan! Do you hear me? You will regret this for the rest of your life! I will make sure of it!"
Ethan stepped into the elevator. He turned and looked at Victor one last time. His face stayed calm. The doors began to close on Victor's angry, red face.
"Call the meeting," Ethan said before the doors shut. "I will be waiting in the boardroom."
The elevator rose smoothly. Soft music played inside. Ethan watched the floor numbers climb one by one. His reflection in the metal wall looked tired but steady.
The system screen appeared in front of him.
[Mission complete.]
[Reward: Controlling shares of Whitmore Group confirmed.]
[Next recommendation: Clean the house.]
Ethan watched the words float in the air. A small, cold feeling of satisfaction settled in his chest. It was not joy. It was something harder.
Clean the house.
He planned to do exactly that.
The elevator stopped at the top floor. The doors opened onto a quiet hallway with thick carpet and soft lights. Ethan stepped out and walked toward the boardroom doors at the end of the hall.
Behind him, in the lobby below, Victor was already shouting into his phone. The managers stood frozen. The receptionist stared at the share transfer paper like it might disappear.
Ethan pushed open the boardroom doors and walked inside.
The city stretched out beyond the long windows. He walked to the head of the table and pulled out the chairman's chair.
He sat down.
And waited.
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Latest Chapter
Chapter 26
The thirty-first of October dawned gray and quiet.Ethan woke early in the white bedroom on the sixtieth floor of Skyline One. The city lay hushed beneath a low sky. A thin mist clung to the glass towers like breath. He lay on his back for a few minutes without moving, listening to the silence. His ribs no longer hurt. The System had healed him during the night, as it always did. He felt strong, rested, and calm.Today was the day.He rose and showered and dressed slowly. For a long time he stood in front of the closet and looked at the garment bag hanging at the far end. The old gray one from Marquis & Daughters. He unzipped it and lifted out the midnight suit.The cloth was soft and heavy against his hands. Each button was polished bone. He put on the white shirt first, then the trousers, then the long jacket. He fastened the buttons one by one. When he looked into the mirror, a tall man stood there in a suit that fit him as if it had been made for him. His shoulders were broad. His
Chapter 25
Ghost came across the floor like a thrown knife.There was no warning. He was ten steps away, and then he was not. Ethan barely had time to throw up his forearm. The blow struck it like a hammer, and a shock of pain ran through his bones. He stumbled backward. A second strike came at his ribs. A third at his throat. Each one was perfectly aimed, perfectly timed.[War God Template: Full power. Duration: Ten minutes.]The world slowed down.Ethan caught the third strike on his palm and turned it aside. Ghost's fist slid past his cheek. Ethan drove his own fist toward the other man's stomach. Ghost twisted and let it pass, so close that the cloth of his coat tore. His elbow rose in a quick sharp arc toward Ethan's jaw. Ethan ducked. Their bodies spun apart.For a single breath they stood facing each other across three steps of wet concrete. Rain fell through the broken skylight between them."Impressive," Ghost said. A small bead of blood ran from the corner of his lip where Ethan's knuc
Chapter 24
The rain had thickened into a steady drumming by the time Ethan reached Skyline One.He did not go upstairs. He stood in the underground garage next to the black car with his phone in his hand and the photograph still glowing on the screen. Daniel stood two steps away with his face drawn and pale. Neither of them spoke for a long time."They took her from her apartment," Daniel said finally. "Two hours ago. The doorman saw four men in a gray van. He thought they were movers.""She was working late on the ledgers," Ethan said. His voice was very flat. "She told me she would take them home tonight and check the old payments against the Pillars' names.""It is my fault, sir. I should have put a guard on her door.""It is mine." Ethan closed the phone. "I told her to dig. I did not ask how much danger she was in."A soft blue light opened in the air above the hood of the car.[Mission: Rescue Grace Tan.][Time limit: Eleven hours, forty-two minutes.][Reward: Intelligence Network, level t
Chapter 23
The roof of the Hawthorne Hotel was cold and windy.Ethan stepped out through the service door into the dark. The party was still going on far below, and the sound of music drifted up like an echo from another world. A thin rain had begun. He did not mind. Water ran down the back of his collar and made him feel awake.Isabella Hawthorne stood at the edge of the roof with her arms wrapped around herself. The green gown clung wet to her shoulders. Her black hair had come loose from its pins. She turned when she heard his footsteps, and for a moment her cool, controlled face looked almost fragile."You came," she said."You left a note in my coat pocket.""I was afraid you would not read it.""I read everything." He stopped about five steps away from her. "You asked me to meet you alone. I did. Now tell me what you want."She looked at him for a long moment. The wind pulled at her hair. "I want to stop being my father's daughter."Ethan said nothing."My family has served the Dragon Cour
Chapter 22
The auctioneer was a small man with a very loud voice.He stood at the podium under the golden light and tapped his gavel twice. "Ladies and gentlemen, the proceeds of tonight's sale will support the Hawthorne Children's Foundation. Please be generous. Lot One, a Tang dynasty jade horse, starting at fifty thousand dollars."The bidding began. Paddles rose and fell like white birds. A woman in silver bought the jade horse for two hundred thousand. A bronze mirror went to a banker for three hundred. A silk screen of cranes sold for half a million. Applause followed each sale in polite waves. Waiters passed through the rows with trays of champagne.Ethan sat in the third row near the aisle with his hands resting on his knees. Daniel sat behind him. Across the room, on the far side of the stage, Julian Sterling lounged in a velvet chair with one leg crossed over the other. He sipped from his glass and smiled gently at nothing in particular. Every few minutes his eyes drifted toward Ethan,
Chapter 21
The Hawthorne Hotel glittered like a jewel box.Ethan stepped out of the black car in front of the great glass doors and paused to straighten his cuffs. A long red carpet ran across the front steps. Photographers lined both sides, their cameras clicking in rapid bursts. Men in tuxedos and women in long gowns passed in and out of the golden light. Valets hurried between the cars. Somewhere behind the doors, a string quartet played something slow and elegant.He wore the black suit with a white shirt and no tie. The jade pendant hung hidden under his collar. In his inner pocket, the iron key and the black notebook pressed softly against his ribs.Daniel followed half a step behind. "Mr. Cross, I still think this is a trap.""Yes," Ethan said. "It is.""Then why...""Because the best way to see how a spider builds its web is to walk into it." He stepped onto the carpet.The flashbulbs exploded. A dozen reporters shouted at once. "Mr. Cross! Mr. Cross! Are the rumors true about the river
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