Chapter 3

Ethan's comment completely set Julia off.

"You ungrateful jerk!" She snapped her hand forward. "Get him! If he doesn't know his place, teach him! Hold them both here. Nobody's leaving until this livestream is finished!"

Her two bodyguards charged in at once, one from each side, reaching to grab Ethan.

"Stop!"

Kylie suddenly rushed out, throwing herself in front of us with her arms spread wide, tears trembling in her eyes.

"Julia, please, just let it go! They don't look like ordinary people. If this turns into something serious…"

Smack!

Julia swung her hand and slapped Kylie hard across the face.

"You traitor! I pay you to work for me, not tell me what to do! Get out of my way!"

Kylie hit the ground, a streak of blood at the corner of her mouth. She clutched her cheek but still cried out to us, "Run! You can't win against her!"

That slap lit a fire in me. I joked around a lot, but I couldn't stand seeing someone pick on the weak.

Not right in front of me.

Ethan's expression changed completely. He calmly undid his cufflinks and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing lean, solid forearms.

"Juliet." He glanced at me, his voice quiet in a way that made the air feel heavy. "Step back."

I knew someone was about to regret their life choices.

"Ethan, just don't kill them. Leave them breathing so Dad can deal with it." I stepped back two paces and helped Kylie up from the ground.

The two bodyguards didn't take Ethan seriously at all. They grinned and lunged at him.

The next second, two dull impacts rang out.

Thud, thud!

No one even saw how Ethan moved. The two six-foot-three brutes flew backward, crashing into a trash can by the curb and staying down, unable to get back up.

Ethan dusted off imaginary dust from his sleeve, then walked toward Julia one step at a time. He looked down at her, his gaze cold and distant, as if she were nothing.

"You said you were going to teach me a lesson?"

Julia scrambled back in panic. Her heel twisted, and she dropped hard onto the ground.

"D-Don't come any closer! Someone help!" she screamed into the camera, her voice breaking. "Call the police! This lunatic is trying to kill me!"

The livestream chat went wild; people were stunned by what they had just seen. Some cheered, and some called him violent. The screen was a complete mess.

Ethan crouched down and grabbed Julia's chin with his fingers, forcing her to look up at him.

"How about I teach you the Stones' rules instead?"

His voice was cold as ice.

"No one gives me orders except my sister. And one more thing."

He let go of her face with obvious disgust, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his hand, then tossed it onto her face.

"Pretending to be a Stone… You really think you can get away with that?"

Julia trembled under his presence, tears and snot running together as her carefully done makeup smeared into a mess, leaving her looking ridiculous.

Even so, she was a seasoned influencer. She wasn't easily rattled.

After that brief flash of fear, she realized this was the perfect chance to play the victim.

She collapsed onto the ground and cried toward the camera.

"I can't take this anymore! I was just trying to make good content! I'm the Stone heiress. I've been spoiled my whole life. I've never been treated like this! Just because you can fight doesn't mean you get to bully a woman! I'm going to have my dad blacklist you! I'll make sure the entire internet blacklists you!"