CHAPTER TEN

Ethan's POV

My heels advanced through the mildly lit hallways. I stopped in front of her office. Somehow, I still wasn't satisfied even after lashing out at Julian in the meeting.

But maybe it wasn't even his fault. It wasn't anybody's in fact.

How could she just stand there and let everyone make a fool of her? Anybody would lunge at the advantages that came with this position, even going overboard already with the privileges but Alina…Alina was something else.

And it riled me up every time I witnessed her display of defenselessness.

She just had to be a reminder of my past self without power and foolishly blinded by love. Despite how disgusted her actions made me, it seemed like a constant pull towards her.

I knocked twice, my eyes squinting in worry when there was no response. So I softly pushed the door open, not surprised to meet an empty office. As I filled my eyes with the cozy space, I suddenly caught sight of a folder in the dustbin, right behind her door.

My guess was confirmed when I picked it up. It was the same folder they had all mocked. Rage filled me towards her. How could she let them get to her?

Dusting off the folder, I stormed out with an icy expression.

Settled in my office, my fingers drummed against the polished mahogany desk, each tap a tiny explosion of frustration.

I sat upright, my eyes scanning the three documents at intervals. All of which had one thing in common. They were trashed.

Going through the company's reports and financial summaries for the month, I'd discovered a shocking revelation.

Some of the branches under the Vance Corporation were not being managed by Alina as supposed to due to her position as Vice President. That only meant they were being managed by somebody else. It didn't have to take another revelation to know that it was Sarah.

It perfectly explained why all of Alina's initiatives for investments and marketing sent to those branches were either stalled or abandoned.

Yet, there was a heavy flow of cash leaving the company for these same projects. All carrying her signature of approval somehow.

This was implicating…and threatening to her new position. Whoever did this had to be smart. Smarter than Sarah.

That backstabber couldn't have pulled all of this on her own. A low growl escaped me, as I already felt an incoming headache.

Something had to be done — not just for her sake but for the company as well.

But first I had to confirm something.

I stood abruptly, the chair creaking behind me, and made my way out of the office to the door at the other end of the hall.

My mind raced with all kinds of possibilities. I knocked twice first, then pushed the door open, receiving the unpleasant sight of Julian's face.

“Ethan,” he stiffly acknowledged, his voice tight with resentment. “What are you doing here?”, he asked, leaning backwards into his seat with his hands folded across his chest.

I took the nearest seat opposite him, slapping the papers on his desk. “I take it you have some explaining to do”.

He glanced through them with an air of disinterest, sliding them back to me dismissively. “I think you have the wrong person here Ethan”, he said, “it should be her who should be questioned”.

I leaned back, my eyes narrowed at him as I mimicked his posture.

His company was being robbed right in front of his eyes, still he remained this cool without demanding an investigation right away.

The realization hit me slowly…and a bit painfully. He knew.

Right in front of me was a typical display of how the powerless were always oppressed by scums like him.

Our gazes stubbornly remained fixated on each other, no one refusing to budge for the other until, “look Ethan, I know you still feel betrayed about the love of your life abandoning you for me and that is why you have targeted my company, finding a crime in every single thing”, he said, taking an upright position with his hands folded in his desk.

“But what do you think people would say when they found out you were doing all of these to get revenge for a woman who wasn't even yours since the beginning? Don't think you're very different from Alina, Ethan. You don't truly own anything you have now, and you could be stripped of it anytime soon”.

His grin widened, dark and daring.

My stare remained cold and unperturbed, waiting until he was done laughing. “I need a thorough report on this case by Saturday else, I'm withdrawing all my shares…and I'm sure your father must have told you what that means”, my voice low, cutting, and left no room for negotiation.

The paleness on Julian's face confirmed the response I was going for.

“Good. Now let's discuss this project”, I moved on, sliding the last folder towards him.

His brow furrowed, trying to hide the flicker of irritation crossing his features as he flipped through the pages, more intently this time. “This is the rejected project Ethan. It's not going to be approved”.

“Not unless you do”, I calmly shot back, observing his weak attempt to restrain himself from flaring up right in front of my face.

A few seconds after the prolonged silence, he began, “She’s new to all of this Ethan. Yes she did splendidly well at her previous role but this role is simply too big for us to trust her with decision making in matters like this. She isn't used to our style yet, we could come back to this another time”. He pulled out some paperwork from his drawers, turning his focus to them and leaving me without my desired respinse.

I rose to my feet, straightening my suit before resting both hands on his desk to look him squarely in the eyes.

“Till Saturday Julian. Till Saturday”.

His eyes shone in defiance but I didn't miss the beads of sweat forming along his forehead.

I turned around to leave, confident of his decision already as I could still smell his fear from outside his door.

~~~

The next few days were spent nowhere near the Vance Corporation as I had piles of work crap that couldn't wait any longer.

As the new head of the Phoenix Empire, I also could not afford to slack in any way, else it was only a chance for my inherited enemies to question both my position and background.

“It wouldn't be good for you right now”, Marcus had warned earlier.

During this time, I'd shown up in various events as a subtle way of announcing and introducing myself to other world billionaires.

The only downside so far, was that I was often greeted or approached with a trace of hostility.

Day after day, the Phoenix ring began to appear more like a sign of bad luck than a blessing at all.

“What is the matter this time Ethan?” MArcus asked, as he strode in to the dining where I sat, staring blankly at the heaviness on my fore finger.

As my only confidante, I'd insisted he called me by my name and behaved like a normal human being around me, else I was going to loose my mind.

I pressed my lips into a thin line before asking, “How was it with the others before me?”.

Marcus gave me a scrutinizing stare, sitting upright on the chair beside me. “It was way more brutal”, he answered. “Your lineage is feared Ethan. You shouldn't be scared of it. You should embrace it instead”.

My gaze sauntered back to the ring, wondering how any of what he said was possible. “People aren't your strength in this Empire Ethan…”

I turned to him, my eyes darkened with confusion. “So what is?”

~~~

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I stared up at the boldly imprinted words at the top of the gigantic skyscraper, “The Vance Corporation”.

For some reason, it felt right to be here today. Heading straight for her office, I was met with her assistant who looked startled to see me.

Giving him no form of acknowledgement, I pushed the door open myself,surprised to see an empty office again. “Where is she?”, I asked, turning around, my expression growing impatient.

“S-she’s…she's with the president sir”, he stuttered, shakily pointing towards the direction of Julian's office.

My gaze lingered on him a little longer in suspicion, before storming past him to the direction he pointed. Every step forward became impatient, making me break in without warning, except I still did not see her face…as it was forcefully cupped in Julian's hands.

I stopped in my tracks, watching the terror on Julian's face as he shoved her aside carelessly.

Taking one huge leap to where she stood shaking, I dragged her out of the office, too blinded with rage to hear her pleas for us to slow down.

“Ethan!!”

Her scream finally got through to me, making me pause at the bottom of the stairs, turning slowly to face her. My eyes were cold, measured, unflinching as I finally took in her tear stained face.

“Tell me what happened”, I demanded. Her cries only grew louder, thinning my resistance to not go back to Julian's office and throw him to the ground floor.

“Tell me!!”, I urged, gripping her shoulders.

“You!” She yelled back, her voice laced with frustration as she flung my hands off her. “You caused all of this in the first place! None of these would have happened if you had let them chase je out in the first place. You gave me a title I can't even live up to”

I stared intensely at her, a sense of calm beginning to affect my raging emotions. “No one forced you to accept it”

Anger brimmed in her eyes as she responded, “I quit! I'm done with all of you!”

Her declaration hung in the air, sharp and piercing.

“Then they were right after all” I said, each word deliberate. “You're weak and incompetent”.

She drew in a sharp breath in shock, a flicker of hurt and indignation flashed across her features.

I brushed past her, stepping inside the elevator behind us, leaving her to her thoughts.