They Chose The Fake Heir

Chapter 3

The flashing red and blue lights of the police cruisers faded into the rain as the Maybach glided toward the financial district. Ethan watched the neon skyline shift, his mind already moving ten moves ahead of his enemies.

"Young Master," Sebastian said, turning from the front passenger seat as the car pulled into the underground VIP garage of a towering, glass skyscraper. "The board of directors at Horizon Group has been assembled for three hours. They are... anxious. None of them know the true identity of the majority shareholder who bought out forty-nine percent of their stock overnight."

"Good," Ethan said, adjusting the collar of a flawless, bespoke charcoal suit Sebastian had prepared for him in the car. The faded hoodie was gone, tossed into a disposal bin, a physical shedding of his eighteen-year cage. "Let them sweat about it. It makes them compliant."

Horizon Group was the crown jewel of the city’s real estate and tech infrastructure. While the Vance Group had been playing around with domestic logistics, Horizon controlled the very land and fiber-optic networks the city breathed through. By taking Horizon, Ethan didn’t just enter the market; he became the landlord of every elite family in the state.

The private elevator ride to the 88th floor was silent and fast. When the doors slid open, Ethan stepped into a massive, minimalist boardroom.

Twelve of the city's most powerful billionaires and veteran executives sat around a sweeping quartz table. At the head of the table sat a vacant, leather throne. As Ethan walked in, followed by the legendary Sebastian, the room fell into a dead hush.

"Sebastian!" an older board member, Douglas Vance—Charles Vance’s estranged uncle and a bitter rival to the main family line—stood up, his eyes wide. "You're here. So this is the representative of the mystery investor? Who is the backup? Who bought us out?"

Ethan didn't stop walking. He didn't look at Douglas. He walked straight to the head of the table, pulled out the heavy leather chair, and sat down. He crossed one leg over the other, leaning back with an air of absolute authority.

The boardroom erupted.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Douglas roared, pointing a trembling finger at Ethan. "Ethan? The useless adopted stray of the Vance family? What kind of sick joke is this, Sebastian? Why is this boy sitting in the Chairman's seat?"

"Silence," Sebastian’s voice wasn't loud, but it carried the weight of a man who had broken central banks. The room instantly froze. "You are speaking to the primary shareholder of Horizon Group, holder of forty-nine percent of public shares and one hundred percent of your outstanding debt notes. You will address him as Chairman Vance."

Douglas’s jaw dropped. The other board members looked at each other in utter horror. The boy who was a running joke in the high-society gossip columns—the one rumored to be a glorified maid for Charles Vance—was the shadow titan who had just cornered their entire industry?

Ethan let the silence stretch until it became agonizing.

"I believe you all have a problem," Ethan said, his voice smooth, low, and terrifyingly calm. He tapped a finger on the table. "The Murano Syndicate has been quietly short-selling Horizon stock for the past three weeks, aiming to trigger a liquidity crisis and force a hostile takeover. You were going to default on your loans by Friday."

The chief financial officer turned pale. "How... how did you know that? That data is classified."

"I know because I bought those exact debt notes from the central bank before the Murano Syndicate could touch them," Ethan replied, a sharp, cold smile touching his lips. "As of five minutes ago, I have restructured Horizon's debt. The company is completely secure. But in exchange, the board will execute my first directive."

Ethan leaned forward, his eyes locking onto Douglas. "Effective immediately, Horizon Group terminates all commercial leases held by the Vance Group and its affiliates. Evict them from their corporate headquarters. Turn off their servers. Lock their doors."

Douglas gasped, his hands gripping the edge of the table. "Ethan... you can't do this! Charles is a fool, yes, but tearing down the Vance Group completely will cause a ripple effect! Thousands of people—"

"Charles Vance threw me out into the rain like garbage exactly forty-two minutes ago," Ethan interrupted, his voice dropping to absolute zero. "He wanted his 'real' son, Julian. Let's see how much his real son can save him when they don't even have a building to sit in."

Before Douglas could argue, Ethan’s personal phone vibrated on the table. It was an unknown, encrypted number.

Ethan picked it up, pressing it to his ear without speaking.

"Ethan," a smooth, darkly amused voice purred from the other end. It was Julian. "Or should I call you 'The Ghost'?"

Ethan didn't blink. "You figured it out faster than I expected, Julian. The Murano Syndicate actually taught you something useful."

A cold laugh came through the speaker. "You think you've won because you leaked Charles's tax data and froze his accounts? Little brother, you're playing checkers. The Vance family is nothing to me. I was sent here to absorb their infrastructure, and your little stunt just made them desperate enough to hand me the entire keys to the kingdom. By tomorrow morning, Charles will sign over his remaining hidden overseas assets to me to 'protect' them from the feds."

Julian’s voice dropped, dripping with venom. "You might have billions, Ethan, but the Murano Syndicate has men in every shadow. Enjoy your wealth while your heart is still beating."

"Is that all?" Ethan asked, entirely unbothered.

"What?" Julian hissed, caught off guard by the lack of fear.

"I expected a real challenge from the Murano Syndicate," Ethan sighed softly, looking out at the sprawling city below him. "But you're just a loud dog behind a fence. Tell your masters that the Vance family assets you're trying to steal... I've already shorted them to absolute zero. By the time Charles signs them over to you, you won't be inheriting an empire. You'll be inheriting a trillion-dollar debt."

Without waiting for a response, Ethan hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table. He looked up at the trembling board of directors.

"Where were we?" Ethan smiled, his eyes gleaming with a dark, predatory hunger. "Ah, yes. The eviction. Sebastian, call the security teams. I want the Vance Group executives on the street before midnight."

Back at the Vance Estate, the scene was pure chaos. Federal agents were boxing up laptops and documents, while Eleanor and Chloe were crying hysterically as an agent demanded they hand over their diamond jewelry, tracking it as assets bought with stolen funds.

Julian stood in the corner, his phone clutched tightly in his fist, his face twisted in an ugly, manic rage. His call to his syndicate handlers had just confirmed the horror: Ethan wasn't lying. The hidden offshore assets Julian had spent months trying to manipulate were already trapped in a massive financial stranglehold orchestrated by the Horizon Group.

Charles Vance stumbled out of his study, looking ten years older, his hair disheveled. "Julian... Julian, thank god you're here. We still have the corporate headquarters. The land is under a ninety-nine-year lease. We can operate from there, restart the servers, and find a loop—"

Before Charles could finish his sentence, his main assistant burst through the front door, soaking wet from the rain and utterly breathless.

"Chairman! It's over! It's all over!" the assistant screamed, collapsing to his knees on the wet marble. "Horizon Group just cancelled our lease! Their tactical security teams just stormed the headquarters, locked the executives out, and wiped our main servers! They said... they said the order came directly from the new Chairman of Horizon!"

Charles felt the world spin. "Who... who bought Horizon?"

The assistant looked up, his eyes filled with absolute disbelief and terror. "It’s Ethan, sir. The new Chairman... is Ethan."