The Disgraced Heir's Revenge

First Strike

POV: Ethan Cole

The guard with the syringe moved toward Mom's IV line.

'No. Not happening.'

I didn't think. I just moved.

The system's combat training kicked in and I could see everything, where to hit, how to move, when to strike. The guard didn't even see me coming. I hit his throat with my palm and he stumbled backward, choking. The syringe flew out of his hand and shattered against the wall.

'Fucking hell,' I thought as relief flooded through me. 'At least Mom's safe from that.'

But I didn't have time to celebrate because the second guard was already swinging a baton at my head.  The system showed me the attack before it happened. I ducked under it and kicked his knee hard. There was a loud pop and he went down with a grunt of pain.

'Holy shit. I actually did it. I took down two trained guards.'

My broken arm hurt like hell but the pain suppressant skill kept it manageable. I could fight through it.

Daniel's face went pale as he watched his hired muscle collapse on the floor. The confident smirk he'd been wearing disappeared completely. He reached for his phone but I was faster. Three quick steps and I punched him in the stomach. Not hard enough to kill him, I needed him alive, but hard enough to drop him.

His phone fell and I crushed it under my shoe. The screen shattered with a satisfying crunch.

'Good. No calling for backup.'

I grabbed cable ties from my toolbox and tied up both guards while they were still dazed from the beating. The whole fight took less than thirty seconds. The nurse down the hall didn't even notice.

[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE COMPLETE: NEUTRALIZE IMMEDIATE THREAT] [REWARD: $15,000 DEPOSITED] [SKILL INCREASE: UNARMED COMBAT - LEVEL 2]

'Fifteen thousand dollars. That's something at least.'

Daniel was gasping for air on the floor, and when he looked up at me, I saw real fear in his eyes.

Good. He should be afraid.

I crouched down so we were face to face.

"Mom's under new protection now," I said coldly. "Come near her again and what happened to your guards will look gentle."

"You…" Daniel wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "This is insane. You can't…"

"I already did." I leaned closer. "You made a mistake, Daniel. You should've made sure I was dead."

'Now you're going to pay for that mistake.'

He tried to smile, tried to use that charm that always worked on everyone. "Ethan, listen. We can work this out. The company, everything. We're friends…."

"We were friends," I cut him off. "You killed that when you tried to kill me."

I pulled out the thumb drive from my pocket and dropped it on his chest.

"I know everything," I said, watching his face go white. "The embezzlement. The car accidents. Morrison. Senator Cross. All of it."

He grabbed the thumb drive with shaking hands. His eyes were wide with shock.

'Yeah, that's right. Your perfect plan isn't so perfect anymore.'

"That's just a sample," I continued. "Proof I'm not bluffing. If anything happens to me or Mom, copies automatically go to the feds, the media, and your entire board."

Daniel's mouth opened and closed but no words came out. He looked like a fish drowning on dry land.

"The real game starts now," I told him as I stood up. "Everything you stole from me? It's borrowed time. I'm taking back my company. I'm exposing every crime. And I'm destroying your life the same way you destroyed mine."

I turned to leave.

"You can't win!" Daniel yelled after me, desperate. "I have resources! People! You're just…."

"A man with nothing left to lose," I finished. "Yeah. You should be scared of that."

I walked out of the room before he could see my hands starting to shake.

'Don't think about it. Just move. Get out of here.'

The hallway was empty. The system's map showed me where the cameras were and I avoided them easily. Within minutes I was in the stairwell heading down to the parking garage. 

That's when it hit me.

My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking. I had to stop on the landing and lean against the wall to catch my breath.

'I just fought two trained guards. I won. I threatened my best friend… my former best friend, and walked away.'

The adrenaline was wearing off and my body was reminding me that I had broken ribs and a fractured arm. Everything hurt.

'Process it later. Right now you need to get out of here before Daniel sends more people.'

I pushed off the wall and kept going down the stairs. The cold night air hit my face when I reached the parking garage and I sucked in a deep breath. I got in the stolen car and just sat there for a minute, hands on the steering wheel, waiting for them to stop shaking.

They didn't stop. Not for a while.

'What have I become?' I thought as I stared at my hands. 'The old me would never have done this. Would never have fought people… or even threatened anyone. But the old me got destroyed by people I trusted.'

The new me was something different, dangerous.

'And honestly? I think I'm okay with that.'

[MISSION TWO: GHOST PROTOCOL - ADVANCED TO STAGE TWO] [NEW OBJECTIVE: RECRUIT MAYA SANTOS] [TIME LIMIT: 48 HOURS]

A new file opened in my vision. A woman's picture appeared, Maya Santos, twenty-six years old, black hair, brown eyes. She worked as a paralegal and had been investigating Morrison Pharmaceuticals.

'Emma's uncle. Of course it all connects back to them.'

According to the system, Maya had evidence that connected Daniel to fraud. And Morrison's enforcers were planning to kill her within forty-eight hours.

'My first ally. If I can reach her in time.'

I read through her file quickly. Foster care background. Worked three jobs to pay for law school. Brilliant but stuck as a paralegal because she didn't have the right connections.

'She's been screwed over by powerful people too. Just like me. Maybe she'll understand what I'm trying to do.'

I started the engine as my hands had finally stopped shaking.

'Daniel created something he can't control. Something that won't stop until everyone who destroyed my life pays for it.'

I pulled out of the parking garage and headed toward Maya Santos's neighborhood.

Time to recruit an ally and stop some enforcers from killing her.

'This is just the beginning, Daniel. You're going to regret the day you betrayed me.'