CHAPTER 2 - GOODBYE TO LUXURY
1194 Words
Ethan stared at the employee ID in his hand.
ETHAN COLE.
For the first time in twenty eight years, his name felt strange.
The study was quiet.
Richard sat behind his desk, calm as always.
“You start in three days,” he said.
Ethan looked up.
“You're serious?”
“I have never been more serious.”
“You're asking me to live like a poor man.”
Richard's expression did not change.
“I am asking you to live like most people.”
Ethan laughed softly, but there was no humor in it.
“You really think this will teach me something?”
“I know it will.”
The room became silent.
Richard folded his hands.
“You may take only one suitcase. Your personal bank accounts will be frozen. You will receive the same salary as every other intern.”
Ethan blinked.
“My accounts… what?”
“You heard me.”
“You can't freeze my money.”
“I already have.”
For the first time that night, Ethan looked genuinely shocked.
Richard stood up.
“If you want to lead people one day, then learn how they live first.”
Ethan clenched his jaw.
He suddenly felt as if the floor beneath him had shifted.
His whole life had been built on comfort.
And now his father was taking all of it away.
“You have three days.”
Richard walked toward the door.
Then he stopped.
“Ethan.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Try to keep an open mind.”
Then he left.
Leaving Ethan alone.
The employee card suddenly felt heavy in his hand.
Like a stone tied to his future.
---
Two days later.
The Kingsley penthouse was unusually quiet.
No assistants.
No cleaners.
No chef preparing breakfast.
Ethan stood in the middle of his bedroom, looking around.
The room was larger than some apartments.
The walls held expensive paintings.
The city stretched beneath the giant windows.
This had been his home his entire life.
Yet suddenly, it felt like a hotel room.
A beautiful place with no warmth.
He zipped up his single suitcase.
That was all he was allowed to bring.
One suitcase.
A billionaire leaving with one suitcase.
The thought almost made him laugh.
Daniel stood near the door.
His assistant looked worried.
“Sir… are you certain about this?”
Ethan forced a smile.
“I don't think I have a choice.”
Daniel looked like he wanted to say something else.
Instead, he bowed his head slightly.
“Take care of yourself.”
For a moment, Ethan's expression softened.
“Thank you, Daniel.”
The older man smiled.
“Try not to burn the apartment down.”
Ethan laughed.
Then he picked up his suitcase and walked out.
For the first time in his life…
Nobody followed him.
---
Brooklyn.
Ethan stared at the building in front of him.
Then he looked at the paper in his hand.
Then back at the building.
“No.”
A woman carrying groceries walked past him.
“You moving in?”
Ethan blinked.
“…Yes.”
She looked at the building.
“Good luck.”
Then she walked away.
Good luck?
That sounded dangerous.
The building looked old.
Very old.
The paint was peeling.
One of the windows was cracked.
Someone was playing loud music somewhere upstairs.
A baby was crying.
A dog was barking.
Ethan slowly walked inside.
The elevator had a handwritten sign.
**OUT OF ORDER.**
He closed his eyes.
“Of course.”
His apartment was on the fourth floor.
By the time he reached it, he was already breathing heavily.
“This is how ordinary people live?”
He opened the door.
And immediately regretted it.
The apartment was tiny.
The sofa looked older than him.
The kitchen was barely big enough for one person.
The bathroom looked like a punishment.
He opened another door.
The bedroom was so small he almost laughed.
“This can't be real.”
A loud banging sound came from somewhere.
Then another.
Then music.
Then shouting.
The walls were so thin he could hear everything.
Ethan slowly put down his suitcase.
For the first time in many years…
He missed his penthouse.
A lot.
An hour later.
Ethan stood in the kitchen.
He was hungry.
Very hungry.
There was only one thing he knew how to make.
Instant noodles.
“How difficult can it be?”
Ten minutes later…
Smoke filled the apartment.
Ethan coughed.
The noodles inside the pot had turned black.
“How did this happen?”
Someone knocked loudly.
Then the door opened.
An elderly woman entered.
She looked around.
Then looked at Ethan.
Then looked at the burnt pot.
“Oh dear.”
Ethan looked embarrassed.
“I think I made a mistake.”
“You think?”
The woman burst into laughter.
Real laughter.
Ethan could not remember the last time someone laughed around him like that.
Not because they wanted something.
Not because they were trying to impress him.
Just laughter.
The old woman shook her head.
“My name is Mrs. Greene.”
“Ethan.”
“Well, Ethan, unless your plan is to poison yourself, move aside.”
Twenty minutes later, she had somehow made proper noodles.
Ethan sat at the small table.
The food smelled wonderful.
Mrs. Greene smiled.
“First time living alone?”
Was it that obvious?
“…Yes.”
She nodded.
“You'll survive.”
Ethan smiled slightly.
“I hope so.”
The old woman looked at him carefully.
There was kindness in her eyes.
“You look lonely.”
The words surprised him.
Nobody had ever said that before.
Because nobody had ever noticed.
He looked down at the bowl.
“Maybe.”
Mrs. Greene patted his shoulder.
“This building is noisy.”
She smiled.
“The heater barely works.”
She pointed toward the bathroom.
“And the plumbing is terrible.”
Ethan sighed.
“I noticed.”
“But the people here are good.”
For some reason, her words warmed him.
Like a candle in a dark room.
Maybe this place would not be so bad.
Maybe.
---
Late that night.
Ethan stood near the window.
The city lights shone outside.
The apartment was small.
The bed was uncomfortable.
The heater made strange noises.
Yet…
For the first time in years…
The silence around him felt different.
It felt real.
He looked at his employee card.
**ETHAN COLE**
Tomorrow his new life would begin.
A life where nobody knew who he was.
A life without money.
Without power.
Without the Kingsley name.
He had no idea what was waiting for him.
Outside the building…
A black car sat quietly across the street.
A man inside lowered his phone.
He had been watching Ethan for over an hour.
Watching him enter.
Watching the old woman visit.
Watching the apartment lights turn off.
The man picked up his phone.
A voice answered immediately.
“He's there?”
The man looked up at Ethan's window.
Then he spoke.
“He's moved in.”
The call ended.
The black car remained in the darkness.
Waiting.
- Writer
