Inside Room 402 of the Emerald Club, the air was thick with the smell of expensive tobacco and false promises.
A man in a sharp Italian suit, calling himself "Director Wang," sat across from Rachel and Wesley. He looked every bit the high-level executive. On the table lay a thick stack of documents with the gold-embossed "Crimson Dragon" logo.
"Ms. Lin, we don't have much time," the man said, pushing a pen toward her. "The Board of Directors is impatient. If you want the two-hundred-million-dollar warehouse, you just need to sign these 'Integration Papers.' It's a formality to merge our interests."
Rachel hesitated. Her intuition was screaming at her. "Director Wang, these clauses... they mention transferring 51% of the Lin Group's voting rights to an offshore entity. Why is that necessary for a warehouse gift?"
In a luxury penthouse across the city, Marcus (Lu Feng) leaned closer to his monitor, a glass of scotch in his hand. "Sign it, you little fool," he hissed at the screen. "Sign it so I can drag Ethan out of whatever hole he's hiding in."
Outside in the hallway, Ethan stood with Lu Chen. Through a tablet, they were watching the same feed Marcus was.
"If she signs that, Marcus will liquidate the Lin Group by tomorrow morning," Lu Chen whispered. "Should I go in?"
"No," Ethan said, his voice cold. "Marcus knows your face. If you go in, he'll know I'm behind it. We need someone he doesn't expect."
Ethan pulled out his phone and made a call. "Manager Chen? I believe the Emerald Club is under your hospitality group's jurisdiction. There is an 'unauthorized' meeting happening in Room 402 involving identity theft. I need the club's security and the official Land Bureau auditors to clear the room. Now."
Inside the room, "Director Wang" was losing his patience. "Ms. Lin, if you don't sign in the next sixty seconds, the offer is withdrawn. Your family will be bankrupt by Monday."
"Rachel, just sign it!" Wesley urged, his greed blinding him. "Don't throw away our future!"
Rachel picked up the pen. Her hand shook. Just as the nib touched the paper, the heavy oak doors of the suite were kicked open.
"Nobody move!"
Six uniformed security guards from the Emerald Club swarmed the room, followed by two stern men in government suits—the real auditors Ethan had brought with him.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Wesley shouted, jumping to his feet.
The lead auditor walked straight to the table and snatched the contract. He glanced at the first page and let out a dry laugh. "Identity fraud and predatory lending. This man isn't Director Wang. His name is Liu, and he's a professional actor with a criminal record for document forgery."
"What?" Rachel gasped, dropping the pen.
The "Executive" tried to bolt for the balcony, but the guards tackled him to the floor.
Marcus, watching from his penthouse, slammed his glass against the wall. "Who?! Who interfered?!"
Suddenly, the camera angle in the room shifted. It wasn't pointed at the Lins anymore. It was pointed at the door.
A figure stood in the doorway, but they were backlit by the hallway lights, appearing only as a dark silhouette. The person didn't enter the room. They simply raised a hand and held up a brass coin—the Lu family's inner-circle token.
Marcus's blood ran cold. The coin. The heir's token.
The silhouette then held up a finger to its lips in a "shhh" gesture, before the camera feed cut to static.
Ethan was back in the old sedan, leaning against the steering wheel, looking like he had been napping the whole time.
Ten minutes later, Rachel and Wesley stumbled out of the club. Wesley looked like he had seen a ghost, and Rachel was trembling, clutching her handbag.
"Drive," Wesley choked out as they got into the car. "Ethan, just drive! We almost lost everything!"
"What happened, Father-in-law?" Ethan asked innocently, starting the engine.
"It was a trap," Rachel whispered, looking at Ethan's reflection in the mirror. "Someone tried to steal our company. But... the club's security and the government showed up just in time. Ethan... did your 'friend' tell you anything about this?"
Ethan navigated the car into traffic, his face calm. "I told you, Rachel. The owner of Crimson Dragon is watching. They don't like it when people use their name for lies."
In the back seat, Wesley was silent for the first time in years. He looked at the back of Ethan's head. For a split second, he wondered how a "useless" man could be so calm while their world was on fire.
Meanwhile, Ethan's phone buzzed in his pocket. A text from Marcus:
I don't know who you are, 'Ghost,' but if you think a brass coin scares me, you're wrong. I'm coming to Riverview myself.
Ethan smiled. The bait was taken. Marcus was coming out of the safety of the Capital and into Ethan's territory.