Too Late for Your Tears

Chapter 5

Julian Sterling stepped out of the grand gates of the villa, the freezing rain splashing hard against his leather shoes. His right hand rested deep inside his coat pocket, his fingers tightly gripping the thick, stolen patent application document.

He looked back at the glowing windows of the mansion and let out a cold, sharp laugh that was instantly swallowed by the loud wind. A deep wave of pure, toxic hatred flooded his mind as he thought about his broken childhood.

"Ten years," Julian whispered to himself, his teeth grinding together with an intense, raw anger. "For ten whole years, that pathetic street rat Ethan lived in my room, ate my food, and took all the love that belonged to me."

He believed that Ethan had stolen his entire life, enjoying the wealth and the high status that should have been his from the very beginning. Now that he was finally back in his rightful place, he was going to make Ethan pay a terrible price for every single day he had spent in that orphanage.

Julian turned his head toward the ten heavy, muscular corporate security guards who stood in a straight line behind his luxury black car. Their faces were completely blank and hard under the dim streetlights, their hands resting on their heavy clubs.

"Get in the cars right now," Julian ordered with a sharp, wicked smile, his voice full of absolute authority. "We are going to the Bennett Orphanage to teach a worthless beggar a lesson he will never forget."

The guards nodded their heads in unison, opening the doors of the vehicles quickly and piling inside without a word. Julian slipped into the back seat of the lead car, his eyes glowing with a dark, predatory joy as the engine roared to life.

The tires splashed through the deep mud, racing away from the high-and-mighty Sterling villa and heading straight toward the old, broken neighborhood where the orphanage stood. Julian leaned back against the expensive leather, his fingers still tracing the edges of the stolen patent, imagining the beautiful sight of Ethan begging for his life in the dirt.

***

Back inside the warm dining hall of the Bennett Orphanage, the heavy wooden chairs and clay pots lay smashed into small, useless splinters across the floor boards. Mother Martha was trembling violently, her old hands shaking as she pulled on Ethan’s wet sleeves with a deep, desperate panic.

"Ethan, my dear boy, you must run away right now!" Mother Martha wept loudly, her old face completely white as she looked toward the broken front door. "You cannot stay here for another second! You must hide before they come back!"

Grandfather Joseph sat on a broken stool, holding a piece of cloth to his bloodied lips, his old chest heaving with extreme, painful fatigue. "Your mother is right, Ethan! Garrick Thorne is not just a common street thief! He is the top henchman of a terrifying monster named Victor Kross!"

Ethan knelt down on the floor, his face deathly pale from his terminal cancer, but his eyes were sharp and completely calm. "Grandfather, do not worry about me. I can handle these people easily."

"No, you do not understand, child!" Grandfather Joseph insisted frantically, his voice cracking into pieces with an unyielding fear. "Victor Kross is a completely ruthless man who rules the entire Crimson Blade Syndicate in this district!"

"There are terrible rumors about him all over the city," Mother Martha joined in, her old eyes wide with horror as she looked at the crying children in the corner. "They say that if Victor Kross sets his eyes on a wealthy man's beautiful daughter, she must submit to him completely."

"And if she dares to refuse his wicked demands, her entire family will be found dead in their beds the very next morning!" Mother Martha explained, her body shaking so hard she could barely stand. "He is a violent criminal who stops at nothing to get what he wants!"

Grandfather Joseph let out a heavy, painful sigh, wiping more blood from his mouth. "Everyone in this neighborhood fears him like the devil himself. The police do not help us, and we can only stay out of his way to survive."

Ethan stood up slowly, his body aching from his hidden illness, but his protective instincts were blazing with a raw, calcified fury. He looked at the old couple who had loved him unconditionally and smiled gently to reassure them.

"Mother Martha, Grandfather Joseph, please calm your hearts," Ethan said in a deep, steady voice that sounded like an absolute law. "Victor Kross means nothing to me. He cannot harm a single soul in this house while I am alive."

Chloe Bennett stepped forward from the shadows, her long hair slightly messy from the previous chaos, her big eyes full of an intense, matching worry. Her usual haughty, defensive tsundere tone was completely gone, replaced by a soft, shaking whisper.

"Ethan Vance, you big dummy, stop trying to act like a hero!" Chloe scolded him, her eyes turning bright red as tears began to spill down her flushed cheeks. "I know you are strong, but these people are ruthless murderers! You must run away into the city right now!"

Ethan looked at her beautiful, frightened face and felt a tiny flicker of warmth lift the heavy darkness in his soul. He reached out his hand smoothly and gently patted her head, messing up her hair just like he used to do when they were young kids.

"Don't worry, Chloe," Ethan murmured softly, his voice full of an unyielding, fatherly strength. "I am here now. No one is going to take you away, and no one is going to hurt this family."

Chloe wrinkled her small nose in disapproval, her face turning a bright shade of pink as she stepped back quickly and crossed her arms. "Hey! Stop that right now! I told you I am not a little baby anymore! I am a college graduate, so you shouldn't pat me like that!"

Despite the terrifying situation, Ethan couldn't help but let out a loud, genuine laugh, the joyful sound echoing beautifully through the broken room. His lighthearted reaction made the heavy, suffocating atmosphere feel a little lighter for a brief moment.

In the corner of the dining hall, the little orphan children were still sobbing in pure terror, their small bodies hiding under the tattered blankets. Mother Martha and Grandfather Joseph quickly walked over to them, speaking in soft, gentle whispers to comfort them.

"It is okay, little ones," Mother Martha murmured lovingly, stroking their hair as she led them toward the back bedroom. "The bad men are gone. Go to sleep now. Your big brother Ethan is here to protect us all."

Slowly, the quiet sounds of the evening took over the courtyard, and the frightened children finally closed their eyes, drifting off to sleep under the grandparents' careful eyes.

Chloe Bennett sat down on a surviving wooden bench, her small hands clutching a cup of warm water as she looked toward the dark window. The torrential downpour was still crashing down outside, the heavy rain hitting the glass like sharp needles.

"Ethan," Chloe said softly, her voice full of a deep, lingering concern as she looked up at him. "I am so afraid that Victor Kross will send a massive army of thugs to completely wreck our orphanage again."

Ethan walked over and stood by her side, his knuckles turning white as he looked out into the black night. "Why are they targeting this small place, Chloe? A ten thousand dollar debt does not make sense for a grand gang boss."

Chloe let out a bitter, sorrowful sigh, her empty stomach tightening with a palpable sense of pent-up frustration. "The debt is just a disgusting excuse, Ethan. The entire district is being redeveloped by a multi-billion dollar conglomerate called the Zenith Horizon Group."

"The Zenith Horizon Group?" Ethan asked fast, his eyes turning into sharp, ice-cold slits as he listened to her words.

"Yes," Chloe explained, her voice trembling with a deep, historical pain. "Our small orphanage sits right in the exact middle of their planned commercial hub and luxury shopping center. It is worth tens of millions of dollars to them."

"Grandfather Joseph and Mother Martha bought this land legally forty years ago," Chloe continued, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her cup. "The corporate executives want this property, but they do not want to pay a single penny for it."

"So they hired the Crimson Blade Syndicate to do their dirty work," Ethan stated plainly, shooting straight to the heart of the matter.

"Exactly!" Chloe cried out, her eyes flashing with a deep, unadulterated hatred. "Victor Kross and his thugs keep coming here to terrorize us. They smash our furniture, steal our food, and threaten the children just to force my grandparents to hand over the land title for free."

She looked down at the floor, a single tear falling into her water cup as old, agonizing memories flooded her mind. "My poor parents died when I was just a little girl. They were caught in the crossfire of a brutal gang warfare right on these very streets. I hate these criminals so much, Ethan. They destroy everything beautiful in this world."

Ethan looked at her breaking heart, a massive wave of calcified anger exploding deep inside his soul. He thought of his adoptive father’s business, which he had built from nothing, and he thought of these corrupt monsters trying to steal from the poorest children.

He reached out his hand and rested it firmly on Chloe’s shaking shoulder, his touch carrying an absolute, unbreakable weight. "Listen to me clearly, Chloe. I promise you right now, with my entire life, that I will protect this orphanage."

"But Ethan, the Zenith Horizon Group has endless money, and Victor Kross has thousands of armed men," Chloe whispered, looking up at him with a desperate, fearful gaze. "How can a single person stop them?"

Ethan looked out into the roaring storm, his face calm and unreadable. He gently squeezed her shoulder, his voice dropping into a soft, quiet register that somehow carried a deep, soothing warmth.

"Don't worry about their money or their men, Chloe," Ethan said simply, shooting straight as he gave her a reassuring smile. "Just focus on taking care of Grandfather and the kids tonight. I promise you that everything will be completely fine."