The Tyrant's Return : From Beggar to Sovereign

Chapter 9: The Shocking Truth in the Lobby

The heavy sound of Commander Brock’s hand striking Logan’s face cut through the entire lobby like a gunshot. The force of the slap was so great that Logan flew sideways, his large body crashing hard into the marble reception desk before he slid down onto the floor. His nose burst open with bright red blood, and his eyes rolled back in pure shock. He could not even understand what had just happened.

Chloe stopped breathing. She stood frozen like a stone statue, her mouth wide open. Her heart beat wildly inside her chest as she looked at her bleeding bodyguard, then back at Commander Brock.

“Commander Brock!” Chloe shrieked, her voice high and trembling with absolute panic. “What are you doing? Why did you hit my man? The beggar you are supposed to attack is standing right behind you! It is Ethan! He is the low-level janitor who sneaked into your building!”

Commander Brock did not look at Chloe. Instead, his hard, fierce face turned into a look of absolute terror. He quickly turned toward Ethan, dropped his arms straight down by his sides, and bent his back into a perfect ninety-degree bow.

“Get this garbage out of our sight!” Commander Brock roared to his men, his voice shaking the glass windows of the skyscraper.

The eight massive corporate security guards did not hesitate for a single millisecond. They stepped forward like a wall of iron, grabbing Chloe by her arms and lifting her completely off her feet. They also grabbed the bleeding Logan by his collar, dragging him along the polished floor.

“Let me go!” Chloe screamed, kicking her legs wildly in the air as her wrinkled red dress twisted around her. “Do you know who I am? I am Chloe Miller! I am here to get a five-million-dollar loan from your directors! You cannot touch me! Ethan, tell them to stop! You are just a dog, tell them to stop!”

The security guards did not care about her screams. They marched straight through the main entrance and threw Chloe and her team out onto the cold, hard pavement outside the building. Chloe landed on her hands and knees in the dirt, her corporate papers scattering everywhere into the muddy puddles left from the night storm.

Back inside the grand lobby, the hundreds of business workers were completely silent. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.

Suddenly, the private VIP elevator bell dinged loudly. The doors slid open, and a middle-aged man in an incredibly expensive grey suit ran out. He was bald, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and he was sweating so profusely that his white shirt was completely soaked. This was Vice President Vance, the second most powerful executive in the entire company. He had received a message from Thomas that the true heir had arrived.

Vice President Vance ran across the marble lobby so fast he almost tripped over his own feet. He ignored all the other executives, ran straight toward Ethan, and fell directly onto his knees. He slammed his forehead onto the polished marble floor right in front of Ethan’s shoes.

“Young Master Vance!” the Vice President cried out, his voice cracking with immense fear. “I am deeply sorry for the delay! The board of directors is already waiting upstairs in the grand conference room! The golden throne is ready for your arrival! Please forgive us for letting street trash bother you in the lobby!”

The entire lobby gasped in perfect unison. The receptionist behind the desk fainted right into her chair. Every single businessman in the room immediately dropped their folders and bowed their heads down toward the floor. They finally realized who the young man in the midnight blue suit was. He was not a janitor. He was the supreme owner of the entire empire.

Ethan looked down at the sweating Vice President, his eyes totally dark, cold, and ruthless. He did not tell him to stand up.

“Vice President,” Ethan said, his voice sounding like a slice of sharp ice. “The Miller family company is currently begging for a five-million-dollar loan in this city.”

“Yes, Young Master!” the Vice President replied quickly, his head still pressed against the floor. “I will personally make sure every bank rejects them immediately!”

“That is not enough,” Ethan commanded coldly, stepping past him toward the VIP elevator. “I want an immediate, absolute financial blockade on the entire Miller family. Cancel their shipping licenses. Block their trading routes. Cut off their supply chains. Within one hour, I want every business associated with them to break their contracts. I want them to realize that without me, they are nothing but dust.”

“Understood, Chairman!” Vice President Vance shouted, scrambling up to his feet to press the elevator button for Ethan with shaking fingers. “It will be done within thirty minutes!”

Ethan stepped into the luxurious elevator, the gold doors closing slowly on his cold, handsome face.

Meanwhile, outside on the pavement, Chloe was frantically gathering her muddy papers from the wet ground. Her hands were shaking with rage and humiliation. She stood up, brushing the dirt off her ruined dress, her eyes burning with hatred as she looked at the giant Vance Group skyscraper.

“They will pay for this,” Chloe hissed to herself, her voice full of spit and venom. “That manager from last night must have given Ethan a fake title just to scare us. And those guards are just stupid. Once I get back to my main office and get our family funds sorted out, I will buy enough lawyers to destroy that entire security team.”

She left her bleeding bodyguard on the street, hailed a cheap yellow taxi, and rushed straight back to the Miller Group corporate building. She marched into her private office on the third floor, slamming the door shut. She needed to check her family bank accounts to see how they could survive until she found another bank to give them a loan.

She sat down at her desk, her heart still beating fast from the shock in the lobby. She picked up her office phone to call her chief financial officer. But before her fingers could touch the buttons, her personal smartphone on the desk started ringing wildly.

The screen flashed with the name of her head accountant, Mr. Davis.

Chloe quickly swiped the screen and put the phone to her ear, her voice sharp and angry.

“Mr. Davis! Why are you calling me? I am trying to fix the loan situation right now!”

On the other side of the line, a frantic, terrified voice filled with deep panic screamed into her ear. The accountant sounded like he was running for his life.

“Miss Chloe! It is a disaster!” Mr. Davis screamed, his voice cracking completely. “Our main credit lines have been cut! Our suppliers just canceled all our orders! And our central bank accounts have just been frozen by order of the Vance Group!”