Chapter 4

"Nothing... nothing happened..."

My mother forced a weak smile and tried to push me into the bedroom.

My father was also trying to hold Chloe back.

But Chloe broke free, crying out, "Dad, Mom, how long are you going to keep this from him?"

"Both of you were fired from the university today! I was let go from my marketing firm this morning, and my daughter, Lily, was expelled from her private daycare! Ethan caused all of this! Why does he get to be shielded from the truth?"

I froze. "What?"

Chloe’s eyes were bloodshot, her shoulders shaking violently as she wept.

Despite my parents' protests, the ugly truth came out.

My parents weren't the uneducated country folk Olivia claimed they were. They were respected professors who had worked hard to secure their positions at a prestigious local university.

But this morning, both of them were abruptly dismissed from their tenure under the guise of "restructuring."

Chloe was fired without cause.

Even my little niece, Lily, was kicked out of her daycare. The director had called Chloe, cryptically warning her that they had offended someone with immense corporate power in the city.

In this region, the only person who hated me enough and possessed that level of corporate influence was Olivia.

"Ethan, please, I beg you, stop fighting her!"

Chloe sobbed, her voice breaking. "Just go back to Olivia, apologize, and agree to whatever she wants!"

Clearly, she had heard about the surrogacy from my parents.

My father couldn't take it anymore.

"Chloe! If you say another word, you are no longer a part of this family!"

"Your brother is the victim here! How can you stand there and kick him while he’s down?"

Chloe was on the verge of a breakdown.

"What am I supposed to do?! I worked so hard for that promotion! Lily finally got into the best daycare! Now everything is gone! I have a mortgage, a car payment, and Lily’s future to think about..."

My throat felt incredibly tight, like I was suffocating.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone and called my old business contacts, hoping to find a way out. I couldn't let my family suffer for my divorce.

But every single person who picked up my call sounded terrified, as if I were a plague.

"Ethan, I’m sorry. Olivia made it very clear. Anyone who helps you is an enemy of the Vance Group. We can't risk our business."

An contact at the university also whispered, "Ethan, someone filed an anonymous complaint accusing your parents of academic misconduct and ethical violations. The board had no choice."

I finally understood.

Olivia was trying to strangle me and my family financially, leaving us with absolutely no air to breathe.

She was utterly ruthless.

Before I could process the anger, my phone rang.

It was Olivia.

The moment I answered, her mocking laughter echoed through the speaker.

"How does it feel to taste the consequences of crossing me?"

"Do you finally see how insignificant you are, Ethan? Without me, you are absolutely nothing!"

"But without you, I am still the powerful CEO of Vance Group! Oh, and in case you didn't know, we just secured a twenty-million-dollar government tech contract!"

I knew exactly which contract she was talking about.

It was a project I had spent six months pitching, working myself to the bone and drinking myself to a bleeding ulcer to secure.

The signing was supposed to happen this week.

My hard work had been handed over to her on a silver platter.

And she was using it to rub salt in my wounds.

I hung up the phone without a word.

In the living room, Chloe’s quiet whimpering grew more painful to hear.

I knew I had to act.

"Don't worry," I said calmly. "By tomorrow, I will resolve everything."

I went to the bedroom, put on a simple t-shirt and jeans, and walked out of the house.

My steps were steady, and my posture was straight. I had to let them know that the sky wasn't falling.

While waiting for an Uber on the sidewalk, I dialed a number.

"Audrey, let’s meet. I’m ready to sell you those tech patents."

Olivia thought leaving me with no assets would ruin me.

But she forgot one crucial thing: the core patents for the green energy project her company was developing were registered under my personal name, not the company's.

Since I was no longer a part of Vance Group, I could sell those patents to whomever I pleased.

Since she wanted to push me into a corner, I was going to tear her empire down.

Olivia, Julian—it was time to pay the price.