Chapter 3

When Richard Sterling took the teacup from me, his hands shook so badly that tea splashed all over the mahogany table.

He didn't take a sip. He just stared at the dark puddle for what felt like an eternity before finally clearing his throat.

"Ethan... I'm here today to beg you for a favor."

I leaned back against my chair, saying nothing.

Richard looked up, his eyes bloodshot and swollen. "That Julian Thorne... he gutted us. He drained the Sterling family dry."

He slammed his fist onto the table, his voice trembling with venomous rage.

"Thriving business? Skyrocketing stocks? It was all an illusion! That bastard Thorne is an outright con artist!"

"He engineered a trap. He locked every cent of our liquid capital into that Southbank commercial project."

"Now the project is on fire, the banks are calling in their loans, partners are pulling out, and our entire cash flow is about to snap!"

I lifted my cup, blew gently on the surface of the tea, and remained silent.

Seeing my utter indifference, Richard grew desperate. He pulled a thick legal document from his briefcase and shoved it in front of me.

"Ethan, I know my daughter did you dirty."

"She was naive. She let that snake blind her. But Sterling Enterprises can't go under!"

"This company is my life's work!" His finger tapped the papers, his voice cracking. "I know you're not an ordinary man. Your background, your order... you have connections that reach the highest tier."

"This is ten percent of Sterling Enterprises' equity. If you step in and help us survive this crisis, it's all yours!"

Ten percent of Sterling Enterprises. In its prime, that stake was worth hundreds of millions.

Now, it was nothing more than a desperate scrap of paper thrust toward me like a flimsy lifebuoy.

I didn't even glance at the contract. My voice remained smooth and flat.

"Mr. Sterling, you've got the wrong guy. I was just your family's driver. How could a lowly chauffeur possess that kind of power?"

I served him his daughter's exact words, seasoned with cold reality.

Richard's face flushed a deep, humiliating crimson. His lips trembled, unable to form a coherent sentence for several agonizing seconds.

"Ethan, I know you're still angry with Chloe."

"I've already locked her in her room! She's forbidden from seeing that bastard ever again!"

"Just say the word, and I'll have her come right here to pour your tea, apologize, or even get on her knees!"

To save his empire, he was ready to throw his own daughter's dignity onto the auction block.

I felt no satisfaction. Only a deep, hollow pity.

"Mr. Sterling, you should leave," I said, standing up to show him the door. "Our lineage adheres to strict principles; we do not interfere in mundane corporate brawls. More importantly... I no longer have any connection to the Sterling family."

Richard slumped into his chair, completely drained, as if every ounce of life had been hollowed out of him.

After he left, Mia stepped out from behind the decorative folding screen, a smirk dancing on her lips.

"Nicely done, Ethan! People like him need to learn that we aren't tools they can use and throw away whenever they please!"

I shook my head, but my mind was far from relaxed.

I couldn't care less whether the Sterling family survived.

However, Julian Thorne made me uneasy.

A scam of this magnitude wasn't just about swindling a single family’s fortune.

There had to be a far larger predator pulling the strings from the dark.

I dug out my old phone, plugged it into the charger, and booted it up.

A torrent of missed calls and unread messages flooded the screen—most from Chloe, alongside a few unknown numbers.

I ignored them all and dialed the direct line to the Blackbird Network, our order's intelligence branch.

"Run a full background check on Julian Thorne. Supposed Wall Street hotshot."

"Also, keep real-time surveillance on Sterling Enterprises' stock. If anyone begins aggressive short-selling, notify me immediately."

"Understood."

Hanging up, I walked over to the open window, looking toward the distant city skyline.

"Chloe, you picked the wrong man. That's your mistake to bear."

"But Julian Thorne represents the Eclipse Syndicate. If they're moving into our territory, the Sterling family is just collateral damage."

"My order and the Eclipse Syndicate have been blood rivals for generations."

"They started this war. Now, I finish it."

"As for you... I will never raise a hand to shield you again. But the man who played you for a fool? I'll personally destroy him."

That evening, Chloe called.

Her voice was raw, choked with tears, stripped of every trace of her former pride.

"Ethan... Dad told me everything. I'm sorry. I was wrong... I was so wrong."

"Please come back... I'm begging you. Help my family."

She began to sob, an ugly, gut-wrenching wail.

"Julian is a liar! He tricked me! He stole everything from us!"

"I regret it so much, Ethan... I should have listened to you from the start!"

I listened quietly, not offering a single breath in return.

"Ethan, say something! Are you still mad at me?"

"If you come back, I'll do whatever you want! We can go public! I'll cut ties with Julian right this second, I—"

"Chloe," I finally spoke, cutting through her desperate confession.

"I don't accept your apology. And your regrets have nothing to do with me."

"Whether Sterling Enterprises lives or dies is not my concern."

On the other end, all that remained was stifled, breathless weeping.

I paused, delivering one final sentence.

"However... I will make sure the man who scammed you pays in full."