Chapter 3 The King Returns

Chapter 3: The King Returns

Gregory Hawthorne stared at his phone, his face drained of color as the call ended. The lively atmosphere inside the mansion disappeared almost instantly. A few moments earlier, everyone had been celebrating Isabella's divorce. Now the room had fallen into uneasy silence.

Marcus frowned. "Grandfather, what's wrong?"

Gregory slowly lowered the phone. "The president of EastBridge Bank just informed me that several of our biggest business partners have suspended their contracts."

"What?"

"It gets worse. Three international investors have withdrawn from our upcoming project, and the bank has refused to approve our new line of credit."

Marcus laughed dismissively. "That's impossible. We signed those agreements last week."

"I know."

"There has to be a misunderstanding."

Before Gregory could respond, another phone rang.

Then another.

Within seconds, everyone around the table was answering calls at the same time.

Every conversation carried the same message.

A supplier had canceled.

A partner had backed out.

A meeting scheduled for the next morning had been postponed indefinitely.

The Hawthorne family's stock had begun falling before the market had even opened.

Nobody understood what was happening.

Isabella watched the chaos with growing unease. Something about the timing disturbed her. Ethan had barely walked out of the mansion, and suddenly everything around them was beginning to collapse.

It couldn't be connected.

Could it?

She immediately pushed the thought away.

Ethan didn't have that kind of influence.

He couldn't.

He had spent three years living under their roof without a proper career. The idea that he had anything to do with this was ridiculous.

Yet, for reasons she couldn't explain, she remembered the last thing he had said before leaving.

I hope none of you will ever regret today.

Those words echoed in her mind.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, the atmosphere inside Carter Manor couldn't have been more different.

Doctors completed their examination of William Carter before smiling with relief.

"The chairman's blood pressure has stabilized."

"His emotional state has improved significantly."

"He needs rest, but this is the best condition we've seen in months."

William Carter waved everyone away.

"I've waited fifteen years to speak with my grandson. You can all leave."

The room emptied, leaving only Ethan and Samuel behind.

William looked at Ethan with eyes filled with regret.

"I owe you the truth."

Ethan remained silent.

"The attack on our family wasn't an accident," William began. "Someone inside the Carter Group betrayed us. They leaked our movements to our enemies. The explosion that separated us was carefully planned."

"I searched every country I could think of. Every lead ended in disappointment. As the years passed, more people believed you had died."

William's hands trembled.

"But I never accepted it."

He slowly opened a small wooden box that had remained locked for years.

Inside was a faded photograph of a smiling boy standing beside his grandfather.

Beneath it lay a simple silver pendant.

"I kept these beside my bed every single day."

Ethan picked up the pendant.

His memories flooded back in fragments—the warmth of his grandfather's hand, laughter in a garden, a promise that one day everything would belong to him.

He closed the box.

"I'm not interested in revenge for losing my inheritance."

William nodded.

"I know."

"But the people responsible aren't finished. They have spent the last fifteen years infiltrating our companies. If they discover you've returned, they'll come after you."

"They're welcome to try."

William smiled.

"There he is."

"The grandson I remember."

At that moment, Samuel entered carrying another file.

"Young Master, there's something you should see."

He placed several photographs across the table.

Each one showed members of the Hawthorne family attending charity galas and business events.

Mixed among them were pictures of unfamiliar businessmen.

Samuel pointed to one face.

"This man is Victor Graves."

"He secretly controls Black Horizon Capital."

"Our investigation discovered that Black Horizon has recently invested heavily in Hawthorne Holdings."

William's expression darkened.

"Victor Graves."

"So he's chosen the Hawthorne family."

Samuel nodded.

"We believe he's using them as pawns."

Ethan studied the photograph without changing his expression.

"So they unknowingly allied themselves with the people who destroyed my family."

"It appears so."

A faint smile appeared on Ethan's face.

It wasn't a smile of happiness.

It was the calm smile of a hunter who had finally spotted his prey.

"They divorced the wrong man," he said quietly.

"They also chose the wrong allies."

William leaned forward.

"What are you planning?"

Ethan stood and walked toward the enormous window overlooking the city. The lights stretched endlessly beneath the night sky, each one representing another company, another opportunity, another battlefield waiting for him.

"For three years, I lived as an ordinary man."

"I wanted to know what life felt like without power."

"I wanted to believe people could value character more than wealth."

He looked down at the wedding ring still resting in his palm.

"I have my answer."

He gently placed the ring on the windowsill.

"It belongs to the past."

Turning back toward Samuel, his voice became firm.

"Arrange a board meeting tomorrow morning."

Samuel immediately straightened.

"Yes, Young Master."

"Notify every chairman, every regional director, and every executive."

"They have waited long enough."

Samuel's eyes shone with excitement.

"It will be done."

Ethan's next words sent a chill through everyone in the room.

"And prepare a complete report on every business connected to Hawthorne Holdings."

William looked at him carefully.

"Are you going to destroy them?"

Ethan was silent for several seconds.

When he finally answered, his voice was calm enough to be terrifying.

"No."

"I'm going to give them every opportunity to discover exactly who they threw away."

"After that..."

"They'll destroy themselves."

Far across the city, Isabella stood alone on the balcony of her bedroom, unable to sleep. She looked at the empty side of the bed for the first time in three years and was surprised by how quiet the room felt.

She suddenly realized there would be no warm breakfast waiting for her in the morning.

No neatly prepared coffee.

No quiet voice reminding her not to skip lunch.

No one asking whether she had arrived safely after work.

For reasons she couldn't explain, the silence in the room felt heavier than the storm outside.

She told herself it was only because she wasn't used to living alone.

She had no idea that this was the first night of a regret that would haunt the rest of her life.