The Tyrant's Return : From Beggar to Sovereign

Chapter 5: The Deadly Trap

The tires of the massive black luxury SUV screeched loudly as Ethan slammed his foot on the brakes. He pulled up right outside the main entrance of the Jade Palace restaurant. The Jade Palace was the most exclusive and expensive restaurant in the entire city. Only the richest people could buy a table inside, and a single meal cost more than a normal worker could earn in a whole year.

Ethan grabbed his cheap phone from the passenger seat. His fingers pressed tightly against the screen as he read Chloe’s text message again. A dangerous, cold anger settled deep inside his heart. For three years, he had swallowed all their insults. He had let them call him a dog, a loser, and a beggar. But touching his little sister Lily was the ultimate sin. Lily was his only living family, and she was fighting for her life in a hospital bed.

Ethan opened the car door and stepped out. Before leaving the dealership, Mr. Harrison had quickly forced him to change into a brand-new custom black suit made of the finest silk. It fit his broad shoulders perfectly. His hair was neat, and he no longer looked like a dirty delivery boy. He walked past the gold pillars of the restaurant, his face completely flat and unreadable.

He walked into the private VIP dining room at the back.

Inside, three people were sitting around a large round table filled with untouched food. Chloe Miller sat in the center, wearing a fresh red dress. Next to her was her mother, Beatrice, who looked like a proud peacock. On the other side sat Julian Vance. Julian’s entire face was covered in thick white medical bandages. Only his bloodshot eyes and a tiny gap for his mouth were visible. He looked absolutely ridiculous and monstrous.

When Ethan walked in, Beatrice immediately stood up and pointed a finger at him. She was ready to scream, but when she saw his expensive black suit, she froze for a short second.

Then, a loud mocking laugh broke from her lips.

“Oh, look at this clown! Look what the beggar did! Ethan, did you spend all your life savings to rent a fake luxury suit from a secondhand shop just to look important today? You look like a monkey trying to play a king!”

Chloe did not look at his suit at all. She just stared at Ethan with deep annoyance and coldness. She tapped a stack of legal papers on the table with her long, painted fingernails.

“Sit down, Ethan. We do not have time for your childish games. I see you managed to steal or rent some nice clothes, but a dog in a suit is still a dog.”

Ethan walked over slowly and pulled out a chair. He sat down directly across from them, leaning back. His calm, quiet posture made Julian shake with pure rage under his white bandages.

“You mentioned my sister Lily,” Ethan said, his voice dropping like heavy stones into a deep well. “If anyone touches her machine, you will not live to see tomorrow.”

Julian slammed his fist onto the table, causing the glass cups to rattle loudly.

“Shut your mouth, you broke trash!” Julian mumbled through his thick bandages, his voice sounding twisted and hoarse because of his broken jaw. “You broke my nose! You shattered my face! My family has already bought out the hospital board. If you do not do exactly what we say right now, I will personally go to your sister’s room and rip the breathing wires right out of her throat! I will watch her turn blue!”

Chloe patted Julian’s arm to calm him down, then looked back at Ethan with a fake, sweet smile.

“Ethan, let us be realistic. You are a nobody, and Julian is a prince. We are getting a divorce today, and there is nothing you can do about it. But before I sign the freedom papers, you have to do one last thing for this family.”

She slid the heavy stack of legal papers across the table, pushing them right in front of Ethan’s chest.

Ethan looked down at the pages. He did not need to read the long, complicated legal words to understand the evil plan written on them.

“This is a total liability waiver,” Chloe explained coldly, crossing her arms proudly. “My mother’s company took out a massive loan from the banks last year to buy some bad land. The debt is currently twenty million dollars. The banks are coming to seize our house. But since you were the husband, this document legally transfers all twenty million dollars of the Miller family debt directly onto your head. You will take the blame for the bad money.”

Beatrice chuckled nastily, leaning over the table like a hungry snake.

“That is right! You are going to sign this paper and take our debt. With twenty million dollars on your back, the banks will hunt you forever. You will go to a dark prison for the rest of your miserable life, and Young Master Julian will make sure your sister dies in that hospital bed. If you sign it quietly, we will let your sister live for a few more weeks. If you do not sign it, she dies tonight.”

Julian let out a sickening, muffled laugh behind his bandages.

“Sign it, you peasant! Sign it and become our slave forever! You thought you could hit me and get away with it? This is the price of crossing the Vance family!”

They all watched Ethan, expecting him to break down. They expected him to fall to his knees, cry tears of blood, and beg them for mercy. They thought they had trapped him in a corner where he could never escape.

But Ethan did not cry. He did not even flinch.

Instead, he looked at the three of them, and a slow, terrifying smile crept onto his lips. His eyes burned with a dark, chilling light that made the warm air inside the VIP room instantly turn freezing cold. It was the smile of a predator watching three foolish mice run straight into a trap.

“Twenty million dollars in debt,” Ethan repeated softly, his voice incredibly calm. “You want me to take every single penny of your ruin.”

“Yes! Sign it now, or your sister suffocates!” Beatrice yelled, tossing a black ink pen onto the table.

Ethan picked up the pen slowly. He did not hesitate for even a millisecond. He flipped to the very last page of the contract, pressed the pen down against the white paper, and wrote his name in big, bold, beautiful letters.

Ethan Vance.

He finished the signature with a sharp flick of his wrist, then slid the papers back across the table toward his wife.

Chloe quickly grabbed the document, checking the signature with wild excitement in her eyes.

“He actually signed it! Mother, look! We are completely free from the debt! We are rich again!”

Beatrice clapped her hands, screaming with joy.

“You stupid, brainless idiot! You are officially a ruined criminal! Enjoy your life in prison, Ethan!”

Ethan slowly stood up from his chair. He adjusted the cuffs of his fine silk suit, looking down at the three celebrating fools with absolute detachment.

He leaned forward, his face just inches away from Chloe’s eyes. His chilling smile grew wider, and his voice sounded like a curse from the heavens.

“You will regret every line on this page.”