Chapter 0095
“Ethan?!” Julius collapsed back into his seat, aghast.
“You… you were in an accident, weren’t you? You were supposed to
be dead!”
Ethan approached the desk leisurely, “So, you’re hoping I’m dead?”
Julius broke out in a cold sweat, his face etched with fear.
However, Ethan didn’t deal with him first but turned his gaze to the front row of people.
The Silver Helm, following inside, forcefully pulled Julius out of his chair, and the other bodyguards wisely brought a new executive chair
for the boss.
Ethan eased himself into it, bracing against the desk, the pain in his left leg leaving him expressionless.
The office was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
After a long pause, Ethan tilted his head slightly towards the back,
HR Director.”
The HR Director approached, respectfully, “President Grant.”
“This row…” Ethan gestured, “let them all go, with triple severance pay.
Π
“President Grant?”
“President Grant!”
Ethan raised his hand, silencing their attempts to explain, “I
understand your helplessness. So, please understand my intolerance. for any disloyalty.”
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“If others can command you when I’m not here, I can’t trust your loyalty to the company.”
“President Grant, you can’t do this! You know that he… we didn’t really want to…” someone started to explain.
Ethan didn’t say anything more, just motioned for the HR Director,” We’ll hire at higher salaries.”
It was his first time laying off employees.
He didn’t care how they judged him; he just wanted loyal people, regardless of their status.
What does it mean to have unspeakable hardships?
What does it mean to have no choice?
In Ethan’s world, those things don’t exist.
It’s like if one day he faced a powerful adversary who threatened bankruptcy to make him leave Madison or implied Madison would be in danger if they didn’t separate.
Ethan would first ask Madison what she wanted, and as long as she
was willing to stay with him, even if it meant a fierce struggle, he would never let go.
The idea of ‘it’s for your own good, so I’m breaking up with you’ was
mere nonsense to Ethan.
Resolute, not allowing a single grain of sand to stir up trouble, that
was his true nature.
Only for business did he have to become diplomatic.
In the business world, everyone was shrewd, and there was no such thing as a true friend, so naturally, he didn’t have to be sincerely
cordial.
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Besides two department heads, the rest who were laid off soon reached Mason.
Mason’s long-awaited call was not to inquire about his injuries, but to start with a scolding.
“Impulsive! Are you even an adult? And what exactly did those people do wrong, merely following orders from above! Do you know how much damage you’re causing to the company?”
The office was deathly quiet.
Ethan lit a cigarette, the phone on speaker, placed in front of him.
The full-length office windows reflected Slandon Port’s dawning sky.
The pale blue sky was cloudless. High-rise buildings left only faint. speckles on the glass.
Only one light caught Ethan’s mood.
He didn’t shout or argue, just asked lightly, “Mason, did you ever love my mother more than me?”
This question silenced Mason on the other end of the line.
“If you didn’t love her, why waste her time? Why have me? Neglecting me, favoring your illegitimate son. The business I built from scratch was nearly lost in an accident, are you even human?”
Ethan’s questioning was calm.
Mason stayed silent.
“If you never loved my mom, why have a child with her? Were you that desperate for women? Weren’t you a playboy from a young age? Didn’t you have the money to find someone? Why do you harm people?”
“Ethan.” Mason warned him.
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“Don’t call my name.”
The man’s fingers clutching the cigarette trembled slightly, “If I could, I wouldn’t even want to share your last name. Since we’re talking….
“Mason, let’s sever the father-son relationship. You like Julius so much, let him take care of you in your old age. I’ll liquidate your 12% share in Mukino International into your account within half a month. Then I will file for legal separation.”
“Ethan, shut up!” Mason shouted.
The man extinguished his cigarette silently, whispering, “I won’t take Julius’s life this time, but if there’s a next time, you’ll be picking up his corpse.”
As the cigarette was crushed out, Silver Helm outside holding Julius received a message from his boss.
Reading the contents, Silver Helm signaled his men with a look.
The dawn in Slandon Port was especially enchanting, with layers of fog entwined over the city.
Planes crossed paths, some leaving, some arriving.
The neon lights dimmed, and the roads filled with increasing traffic.
Ethan sat in his office, smoking for hours until nausea and dizziness
overwhelmed him.
“Knock, knock.”
The man responded, “Yes?”
Silver Helm entered, reporting softly, “Should we send Julius back?”
Still gazing out the window, Ethan confirmed, “Yes.”
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Forty minutes later.
At the hospital…
Charlotte collapsed, pale as a ghost, “No… impossible! You…”
The doctor shook his head with regret, “Too unrestrained, alas.”
Just moments before, the doctor had told Charlotte that Julius’s excesses had left him impotent, likely unable to father children.
anymore.
Only Julius knew what he had gone through before then.
Charlotte was in despair, as if soulless.
If Julius was incapacitated, unable to provide Mason with a grandson,
what use were she and her son?
She dialed Mason, her cries heart-wrenching, “Mason, Ethan was so
cruel, he’s ruined Julius!!”
At 8:30 a.m.
Madison, who had not slept, was greeted by Ethan entering the door.
She went to him, checking his forehead first.
Leaning against the door, Ethan asked weakly, “Madison, can you
hold me?”
His tone was weary, tinged with a desolate feeling of being abandoned by the world.
A pang of sympathy surged in Madison’s chest, and she immediately. opened her arms to embrace his waist.
The man rested his head on her shoulder, his weight bearing down.
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Madison gently patted his back, unsure of what had happened, but through what she felt, she comforted him from her heart.
“Ethan, whatever happens, I will stand by you.”
The man slowly lifted his head, his eyes locking onto the woman
before him.
Sensing his predatory gaze, Madison instinctively wanted to step
back.
But Ethan’s hands held her waist firmly, not letting her escape.
And then his husky, intoxicating voice whispered in her ear: “May I kiss my girlfriend?”
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