2026-10-05 23:39:24The boardroom of Whitmore Group sat on the highest floor of the building. Long glass windows showed the whole city below. A long table of dark polished wood filled the center of the room. Twelve leather chairs stood around it. Soft light came from the ceiling. The air was cool and quiet.
Ethan sat at the head of the table in the chairman's seat. The seat that had never been meant for him. His wet suit still clung to his body, but he sat straight. His hands rested on the arms of the chair. His face showed nothing.
Twelve board members sat along the sides of the table. Most of them looked angry. Some looked afraid. None of them looked at Ethan with respect yet. Papers and pens sat in front of them. No one touched anything.
Victor stood near the door with his arms crossed tight. His face was still red from the lobby. "This is a joke. Father is on his way right now. He will fix this mess. You will not sit in that chair for long."
Ethan did not answer. He simply looked at Victor until the other man looked away.
The door opened with force.
Vanessa and Damien walked in together. Vanessa wore a white business dress that looked expensive. Her hair was neat. Her face was calm, but her eyes were sharp. Damien still had that proud smile on his face like he owned the world. He walked in as if the room belonged to him.
Vanessa stopped when she saw Ethan sitting in the chairman's seat. Her eyes widened with pure shock. For a second she could not speak.
"What is he doing here?" she demanded in a sharp voice. "Who let him into this room?"
Victor pointed at Ethan with a shaking finger. "He claims he bought fifty-one percent of the company this morning. It is a scam. It has to be a scam. Father will clear it up."
Damien laughed out loud. The sound was full of mockery. "A scam? This is perfect. Throw this trash out of the building. I will call my lawyers right now and end this joke. He had nothing yesterday. Today he sits in the chairman's seat? Do not make me laugh."
Ethan looked at them without standing up. His voice was calm and steady. "Sit down. Both of you."
Damien's face darkened with anger. He took a step forward. "Who do you think you are talking to, you dog? You are still the same useless man from last night. Get out of that chair before I drag you out myself."
Ethan picked up a thick document from the table and slid it across the polished wood. The paper stopped in front of the nearest board member.
"This is the official share transfer," Ethan said. "Confirmed by the stock exchange. Confirmed by the bank. Confirmed by three different lawyers. Whitmore Group now belongs to Cross Holdings. Fifty-one percent. Majority control."
One of the older board members took the paper with shaking hands. He put on his glasses and read it twice from top to bottom. His lips moved as he read. Then he looked at Ethan with new eyes full of fear.
"It is real," the old man said quietly. "Every word is real. The stamps are correct. The signatures are correct. The transfer is complete."
The room exploded with voices and shouts. Board members turned to each other. Some stood up. Papers fell to the floor. Victor's face went white.
Vanessa stepped forward until she stood near the table. Her face was pale as paper. Her hands gripped the edge of the table. "How? Where did you get that kind of money? You had nothing yesterday! You were sleeping on the street! You were bleeding in the rain!"
Ethan met her eyes without looking away. "Yesterday I was the useless son-in-law. Today I am the majority owner of this company. Things change fast."
Damien slammed his hand hard on the table. The sound was loud. Water in a glass near him shook. "This is illegal! I will destroy you in court! I will take everything back! You think money can buy you respect? You are still nothing!"
Ethan stood up slowly from the chairman's seat. The room went quiet at once. Every eye turned to him. Even the air seemed to stop moving.
"From this moment," he said in a clear voice that filled the room, "all board members who supported the old management are removed from their positions. Victor Whitmore is removed from all positions in the company. Vanessa Whitmore is removed from all positions. Security will collect your company cards and keys on the way out."
Victor's mouth opened and closed like a fish. No sound came out. His hands opened and closed at his sides.
Vanessa's hands curled into tight fists. Her nails dug into her palms. "You cannot do this to me. I am still a Whitmore! This company is my family's! You are nothing but a man I threw away!"
"You divorced me last night in front of three hundred people," Ethan said. His voice stayed calm. "You have no claim here anymore. None. The law is clear. Majority rules."
Two security guards entered the boardroom on Ethan's signal. He had called them before the meeting started. He nodded at them once.
"Escort Mr. and Miss Whitmore out of the building. If they resist, remove them by force. Do it now."
Victor tried to fight the guards. He swung one arm and shouted. They held him easily and pulled him toward the door. His expensive shoes scraped on the floor.
Vanessa stared at Ethan with pure hatred burning in her eyes. Tears of anger sat at the corners of her eyes, but she did not let them fall. "You will pay for this," she whispered so only he could hear. "I swear on my life you will pay. One day you will fall harder than anyone."
Ethan looked at her without any emotion on his face. "Leave."
The guards pulled them both toward the door. Damien stopped in the doorway and pointed a finger at Ethan. His face was red with rage. "This is not over, Cross. I will crush you. I will make you beg. You will regret every second of this."
Ethan sat back down in the chairman's seat. He rested his hands on the arms of the chair. "Close the door on your way out."
The door shut with a heavy sound. The shouts of Victor and Damien faded down the hallway.
The remaining board members sat in complete silence. No one dared to speak or move. Some looked at the table. Some looked at their hands. No one looked at Ethan for long.
Ethan looked at each of them one by one. His eyes were steady. "Anyone who wants to keep their job will stay and work hard. Anyone who wants to leave can go right now. Choose."
No one moved from their seats. No one spoke. The silence stretched.
Ethan nodded once. "Good. Meeting over. Get back to work."
The board members stood quickly and left the room without looking at each other. The door closed again. Ethan was alone.
He stood and walked to the long window. The city stretched out below him under the bright sun. Cars moved like small toys. Buildings shone in the light.
The system screen appeared quietly in front of his eyes.
[Major face-slap completed.]
[Reward: Reputation points increased.]
[New mission unlocked.]
Ethan watched the clouds move slowly across the blue sky. A cold feeling of control settled in his chest. It was not joy. It was not peace. It was power.
This was only the first step.
There would be many more.
He turned away from the window and walked back to the chairman's seat. He sat down again and looked at the empty chairs around the long table.
The house was starting to get clean.
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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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