2025-07-31 21:19:19---
“He’s just lucky. He’ll fail soon.” Ethan Cross heard the whispers. From boardrooms to back alleys, the ones who once ignored him now watched with nervous eyes and bitter tongues. But luck had nothing to do with it. In two weeks, he’d turned a loaned office above a laundromat into a registered enterprise worth over $10 million. Cross Corp. was now the silent hand behind a popular logistics app, two delivery chains, and a crumbling real estate empire no one wanted—until Ethan made it print gold. He stood at the heart of the city now, not looking in, but towering above. --- Ethan adjusted his tie as the elevator shot up the glass walls of Orion Plaza, the tallest skyscraper in the state. This morning, he wasn’t just here for business. He was here to bury someone. Clarissa’s new fiancé, Brandon Thorne—the man who humiliated Ethan in front of a hundred elites—was about to lose more than his pride. His company was already bleeding. Ethan had made sure of it. Cross Corp. had undercut Titan Tech’s logistics division, lured away four of their major clients, and acquired their biggest supplier at a silent auction Brandon never even knew about. Now, Ethan had arranged a meeting—face to face. --- When the doors opened, Brandon was already waiting in the penthouse conference room, flanked by two lawyers and a board member. His face tightened when he saw Ethan. “What is this? You said an investor wanted to talk—” “I am the investor,” Ethan said smoothly, walking in and sitting at the head of the table. Brandon laughed bitterly. “You think a few quick wins make you powerful? You’re just playing in waters too deep for you.” “No,” Ethan replied, sliding a folder across the table, “I’m the shark in your pool.” Brandon opened it. His eyes widened. The documents showed Cross Corp. had acquired 51% of Titan Tech’s voting shares through shadow firms in the last week. Ethan now held majority control of Brandon’s company. “You... you bought out my board?” “No,” Ethan smiled, “they sold themselves. Turns out, when people smell a sinking ship, they’d rather jump to the winning side.” Brandon’s hands trembled. “You can’t do this!” “I already did.” “Clarissa—she won’t stay with you! She only loved your money—” Ethan stood. “Exactly. Which is why she’s yours to keep.” The door opened, and Clarissa stepped in, face pale. She hadn’t been invited. “I heard the rumors, but I didn’t believe them,” she said quietly, looking at the men around the table. “You’re really in control now.” Ethan’s smile faded. “You traded loyalty for lifestyle. I’ve upgraded both.” Clarissa reached for his arm. “Ethan, I—” He stepped back. “Don’t mistake regret for affection.” The slap came, but not from him. It was Brandon, his pride in tatters, his fury boiling. He struck Clarissa in front of them all. “You gold-digging snake!” The room went silent. Ethan turned to the board. “Ladies and gentlemen, I think we’ve all seen enough. Effective immediately, Brandon Thorne is removed from all operational duties at Titan Tech. I’ll handle the restructuring.” One of the older board members nodded. “As you wish, Mr. Cross.” --- Later that day, Ethan sat alone in his new corner office, the city skyline stretching beyond the glass. His phone buzzed—an encrypted message from a contact known only as The Fox. > “Second transfer complete. The offshore accounts are ready. You now have liquidity access to $1.1 billion.” A slow grin spread across Ethan’s face. From broke to billionaire in twenty-three days. But it wasn’t just money. It was power. Influence. Control. And still, there was something missing. The old man—the one with the silver cane and the card—had vanished as quickly as he came. Ethan hadn’t seen him again. But the card had never stopped working. Every time Ethan tapped it on his phone, a new door opened—access to rare auctions, coded information, companies not even listed publicly. Who was that man? And what did he want from Ethan? --- The mystery grew deeper when Ethan received a handwritten envelope that evening, slipped under his office door with no name, no stamp. He opened it. Inside was a photo: a younger version of the silver-haired man shaking hands with Ethan’s late father. On the back was a message: > “Your father was the first. You are the last. Be ready. The board moves soon.” Ethan sat back, heart thundering. What board? What did my father have to do with this? He reached for the card, suddenly aware that this entire ride—his meteoric rise, the perfect timing, the ease of acquisition—it hadn’t been coincidence. He was being guided. Or played. But by who? --- The next morning, Ethan visited an old, crumbling house on the outskirts of the city. His childhood home. A single photo remained on the mantelpiece—his father, in a dark suit, standing in front of a building with a golden serpent emblem above the entrance. The same ouroboros that marked the card. “Dad… what did you get into?” Ethan whispered. Behind him, the floor creaked. He turned quickly—but no one was there. --- Meanwhile… Thousands of miles away, in a hidden room beneath the Swiss Alps, a group of figures sat in shadow around a circular table. “Subject E-07 has progressed faster than expected,” one said, voice digitally masked. Another tapped a glass orb in the center of the table. “He’s ready for the next test. But he doesn’t know the rules yet.” “The boy seeks revenge,” a woman said coldly. “But the world he wants to buy already belongs to us.” A final voice—older, deeper—spoke last. “Let him rise. The higher he climbs, the harder he will fall.” --- Back in the city, Ethan stepped into his black Maybach and checked his messages. One caught his attention. > PRIVATE: URGENT – FROM: FOX “They know who you are. You’re on the radar. Lay low for 24 hours. DO NOT trust anyone.” Ethan’s jaw clenched. The game was changing. He wasn’t the only player. The question was: Was he a piece—or the one moving the pieces?
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 135 : The Gathering Storm
The desert stretched endless beneath the jet, gold dunes flashing like waves under the morning sun. Ethan sat by the window, silent, his reflection fractured against the glass. Every word Cain had spoken still rang in his ears: You were not born. You were cultivated.He clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened. Vessel or not, Cain would not own him.Across the cabin, Wren sharpened her dagger with precise, rhythmic strokes, watching him without saying a word. She hadn’t pressed him since that night, but her silence was louder than any question. Camille was buried in her holo-screens, running projections, mapping risk scenarios. Kael leaned back in his seat, smoke curling from his lips, pretending to nap though Ethan knew he was listening.The Dubai Summit loomed ahead—a convergence of tycoons, warlords, innovators, and shadow players. The perfect stage to prove his legitimacy. Or the perfect slaughterhouse if Cain had his way.Camille broke the silence. “Word’s out. Helena’s cal
Chapter 134 : Cain’s Shadow
The safehouse was quiet after the trial, too quiet. Survivors whispered in corners, their eyes flicking to Ethan with a mix of awe and fear. He had walked into Helena’s trap and walked out alive, but the price of victory weighed on him.Wren sat sharpening her blade, her knuckles still pale. Camille fiddled with the servers, muttering about “signal ghosts.” Kael smoked in silence.Ethan stared at his trembling hands. Even now, he could feel the phantom weight of those chains burning into his skin. Helena’s words gnawed at him: Every fight makes you him. Every scar pulls you closer.The lights flickered. Once. Twice. Then the entire room froze.Not just the power—time itself. Smoke from Kael’s cigarette hung suspended in the air. Camille froze mid-keystroke. Wren’s blade paused against the whetstone.Only Ethan moved.A slow clap echoed through the frozen room.He turned, and his stomach lurched.Cain stood in the doorway, dressed in black that shimmered like oil, his silver eyes gleam
Chapter 133 : Trial by Ghost
The desert air still smelled of fire when Ethan’s convoy reached the safehouse. Trucks lined with stolen weapons groaned to a halt, engines coughing smoke. Survivors stumbled out, bloodied but alive. For the first time since Dubai, there was laughter—bitter, sharp, but real.Wren dropped onto the sand beside Ethan, wiping her blade clean. “That was chaos.”“It was necessary,” Ethan said, eyes still fixed on the horizon. The image of Cain’s enforcer dying under his knife burned in his mind. Necessary, yes. But Cain’s voice had lingered in his skull, whispering, praising.Before he could answer Wren, Camille shoved through the crowd, a tablet in her hands. Her face was pale. “You need to see this.”She tapped the screen. A broadcast filled the safehouse wall.Helena stood in a chamber of shifting glass, her figure draped in silk that glowed like flame. Behind her, hundreds of holo-screens flickered—faces of Council representatives, Ghost Market moderators, and world leaders tuning in. H
Chapter 132 : First Blood
The ruins of Dubai still smoked in the distance when Ethan gave his first command.They gathered in the abandoned hangar on the desert’s edge, a ragged collection of survivors who had once been heirs, killers, and kings. Now they were exiles. Ethan paced before them, his eyes burning with a resolve they hadn’t seen since the Summit.“We strike tonight.”Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Mira stepped forward, her robes still stained with her brother’s blood. “Strike where? We barely survived last time. Cain will expect us to crawl into hiding.”“Good,” Ethan said. “That’s why he won’t see this coming.”He flicked his wrist, projecting a map onto the hangar wall. It showed the northern quarter of Dubai—the docks. “The Council is moving weapons through the Ghost Markets into the real world. Drones, railguns, mind-scramblers. Tonight, a shipment leaves the port. Guarded. Untouchable. Unless we make it ours.”Kael, his leg still bound in steel braces, grunted. “So we steal from Cain’s own
Chapter 131 : Building from Ashes
The desert outside Dubai was silent, except for the low hum of drones circling high above, feeding Helena’s propaganda to the world. Ethan stood on the roof of a burned-out villa, the city’s fires still visible on the horizon. His body was numb, but his mind burned hotter than the ruins.The Dubai Summit was meant to be his triumph, his stage to declare himself King. Instead, Cain had turned it into a slaughterhouse. Helena now ruled the headlines, crowned as the world’s savior while Ethan’s name was dragged through the mud.Behind him, Wren leaned against the cracked wall, blade balanced across her knees. She hadn’t taken her eyes off him since they fled. Camille sat a little further away, wrapping her bleeding arm with torn cloth, her face pale and hollow. They were what remained. From the dozens Ethan had gathered, only a handful escaped.Ethan clenched his jaw. This is what Cain wanted—to strip me down to nothing. To make me kneel.Cain’s voice slithered into his skull, smooth as
Chapter 130 : Ashes of a Throne
The Dubai skyline still burned when Ethan staggered into the morning light. Black smoke coiled into the sky like funeral banners, the glass skin of the Burj Khalifa cracked and bleeding. Sirens wailed far below, but no fire engines or rescue crews came. Cain had sealed the city with silence.Around Ethan, the survivors were pitifully few. Camille stumbled beside him, her face streaked with soot and dried blood. Her hands shook around the shard of glass she still carried, as though afraid to let it go. Wren walked a pace behind them, her blade still wet, her eyes fixed on Ethan’s back like she was weighing whether to bury it between his shoulders.The summit was over. The alliances were dead before they could be born. Cain had won.Not won, Ethan corrected himself, chest heaving. Not yet.He forced his body forward, dragging his survivors into the ruined lobby. The once-gilded marble was stained with blood and littered with corpses. Ghost soldiers had vanished, leaving only the evidenc
You may also like
WAR GOD'S REVENGE
Ardy-sensei85.8K viewsThe Ultimate Husband
Skykissing Wolf7.6M viewsRise From Prison: Married To A Beautiful CEO
Rex Magnus126.2K viewsRISE OF THE DISCARDED SON-IN-LAW
Sage Athalar73.1K viewsThe Resurgence Of The War King
Tyqun Nla29.2K viewsDEVIN STONE: Rise of the Billionaire Magnate
ERO HAY5.3K viewsSon Of The Richest Man
Tenzen8.7K viewsRise Of The Billionaire Son
Black Jewel7.2K views