The night after his meeting with Marcus Sterling, Ethan did not head straight back to his apartment.
His car stopped in the basement of a private office building he rarely used. The building was not registered as the company's main office. No large logos. No receptionists.
Only a private elevator and the top floor, which belonged entirely to him.
Vivian stood beside him as the elevator doors opened.
"Are you serious?" she asked softly.
Ethan stepped out without answering.
The room was dark until the automatic lights turned on one by one. A large desk in the center, monitor screens on the walls, and a hidden steel safe behind a wooden panel.
"I don't like being controlled," he finally said.
Vivian crossed her arms. "Marcus is not just anyone."
"Exactly."
Ethan stared at the blank screens in front of him.
"If he once saved me, that means he knows all my weak points."
"And you're only realizing that now?"
Ethan was not offended. He just smiled faintly.
"No. I've only just been forced to look at it."
He pressed a small intercom button on his desk.
"Contact Leon."
A few minutes later, a man in his late thirties entered. He dressed simply. He did not look like a financial analyst or an executive.
More like a technician.
But his gaze was sharp.
"You rarely call me," Leon said.
"Because I only call you when I don't trust anyone else."
Vivian turned slightly, understanding the meaning of his words.
Leon sat down without preamble. "Target?"
Ethan stared straight ahead.
"Marcus Sterling."
The room seemed to freeze for a moment.
Leon did not react immediately. He just raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you want to dig into that?"
"How deep is he rooted?"
Leon let out a slow breath.
"Deep. Very deep. Financial networks, politics, even regulatory institutions. He doesn't show up on the surface, but all major currents have passed through him."
"Good," Ethan said calmly. "I don't want small fish."
Vivian stepped closer.
"We could drown."
Ethan turned to her.
"If we stay still, we'll still drown. Just more slowly."
Leon opened his laptop. Several screens lit up.
"If you want to know who Marcus really is, we don't start with him."
"Then where?"
"We start with the people who have fallen… after working with him."
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
Leon continued, "Marcus always looks like a savior. But there's an interesting pattern after he steps in, the company does survive. But a few years later, ownership changes. Assets shift. Control moves quietly."
Vivian fell silent.
"He's not just a consultant," she said softly.
Leon nodded.
"He's an architect of power restructuring."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"I'm starting to like this."
Across the city, Adrian stood in his office.
Rafael had just delivered the latest report.
"Ethan's stock movements are stable. No aggressive maneuvers today."
Adrian nodded slowly.
"That's not his style."
Sophia, sitting in a chair near the window, stared at her husband.
"Maybe he's thinking."
"Yes," Adrian replied. "And that's more dangerous."
Sophia placed a hand on her now noticeably rounded belly.
"If Ethan starts fighting Marcus… what will happen?"
Adrian fell silent.
"The board will crack."
Back at Ethan's secret office.
Leon projected a connection graph onto the large screen.
Names of companies, fund transfer routes, subsidiaries with unclear ownership.
"Look at this," Leon said, pointing to one spot.
"Sterling Advisory Group received large payments from your mother's company three years ago."
Ethan froze for a moment.
Vivian turned quickly.
"You never said that."
Ethan did not answer.
Leon continued, "After that, there was a closed-door meeting. Then the company recovered. But two years later, the majority shares were quietly acquired by a foreign entity."
"Whose entity?" Ethan asked softly.
Leon zoomed in on the screen.
The name of an offshore company appeared.
The ultimate beneficial owner indirectly connected to Marcus's network.
Vivian drew a sharp breath.
"So all this time…"
Ethan stood slowly.
"He didn't save me. He moved me."
Leon nodded slightly.
"Like moving a piece to a position more favorable to him."
Silence filled the room.
Ethan felt something unfamiliar.
Not just anger.
But a sense of being fooled.
He had always thought of himself as an aggressive player. A risk-taker. An attacker.
It turned out that all this time, an unseen hand had been guiding his path.
"What percentage of the shares are not actually fully under my control?" Ethan asked.
Leon typed quickly.
"Directly, you hold the majority. But through credit schemes and preferred voting rights… around twelve percent can be moved by external parties."
"Marcus."
"Yes."
Vivian stared at Ethan.
"We were really just pawns."
Ethan smiled slowly.
"Not anymore."
The night grew later.
Leon closed his laptop.
"I need time. This isn't a small network."
"Take all the time you need," Ethan said.
"But if Marcus finds out we're digging—"
"He'll find out," Ethan cut in calmly. "Sooner or later."
Vivian stared at him.
"Are you ready to fight on two fronts?"
Ethan walked to the window, looking out at the glittering city.
"I didn't choose this war."
"But you're choosing to see it through."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Because this isn't about Adrian anymore."
Vivian fell silent.
"It's about control."
At Marcus's mansion, an assistant entered with a calm expression.
"Sir, there's unusual digital activity from Ethan's company network."
Marcus did not look surprised.
"He's started digging."
"Should we stop him?"
Marcus stood slowly.
"No."
He walked to the bookshelf and picked up an old wooden chess set.
"A pawn that becomes aware usually tries to move freely."
He moved a small piece on the board.
"But still… its path is limited."
Meanwhile, in her private room, Sophia could not sleep.
She stared at her tablet screen, replaying old documents from her mother.
The name Marcus appeared again and again.
Over and over.
She rose slowly and walked to Adrian's office.
"I have a feeling," she said softly.
Adrian looked up.
"What is it?"
"Marcus isn't just controlling Ethan."
Adrian fell silent.
"What do you mean?"
Sophia stared at him intently.
"If he can save a company, then take control quietly… maybe he's done the same thing to many people."
Adrian stood slowly.
"A network."
Sophia nodded.
"Not a single enemy. But a system."
The silence felt heavy.
Adrian finally spoke softly, "If Ethan realizes that too…"
Sophia stared at him.
"Then for the first time, we might have an enemy who shares the same enemy."
In his quiet building, Ethan still stood before the window.
Vivian approached softly.
"Are you thinking about an alliance?"
Ethan did not answer immediately.
He slowly twisted the ring on his finger.
"If I attack Marcus alone, I lose."
"And if you work with Adrian?"
Ethan smiled faintly.
"That would be a beautiful irony."
Vivian shook her head slightly.
"He won't trust you."
"Trust isn't necessary," Ethan said calmly. "We just need the same goal."
In the distance, the night sky looked calm.
But beneath that calm, cracks had already appeared.
Ethan now knew.
He was not a king.
He was not the main player.
He was just part of a larger design.
Yet an aware pawn knows one thing…
If it reaches the end of the board,
It can become something far more dangerous.
And for the first time since this war began,
Ethan was no longer thinking about destroying Adrian.
He was thinking about bringing down Marcus Sterling.