The Urban Sovereign Returns

Episodes 5

Ethan had just set foot in the lobby of Thorne Corp when the oppressive atmosphere enveloped him. He was still carrying a plastic bag containing broccoli and cooking ingredients from FreshMart, but his gaze was immediately drawn to several employees moving in and out of the admin office with pale faces. Maya, Clara’s personal assistant, nearly bumped into him by the lift doors. "Oh, Mr Ethan? What... what are you doing here?"

"I brought lunch for Clara. Is she inside?" Ethan asked calmly, as if oblivious to the commotion around him.

Maya glanced back nervously. "Madam... Madam doesn't want to be disturbed, sir. We are facing a very difficult situation."

Just as Maya finished her sentence, a shrill voice from the phone on the reception desk cut through the air. "Hello? Yes, this is Thorne Corp. What? But that material payment was scheduled for the end of the month... Hello? Hello!"

The receptionist slammed the receiver down in frustration. "It's Steel Noble Vendors again. They are demanding instant payment, or the project in Block C will be completely halted this afternoon!"

Ethan observed the chaos silently. He walked past Maya, heading towards Clara's glass-doored office. Through the glass, he could see the silhouette of his wife, who looked small behind the large desk piled high with files.

Inside the room, Clara was holding her mobile phone with a trembling hand. "Give me three more days, Mr Hendra. I guarantee that bank bill will be..." Clara’s sentence broke off. She slowly lowered her phone, her face as white as a sheet. "He hung up."

Ethan opened the door slowly. The creak of the hinges made Clara jump. "Ethan?" Clara quickly wiped the damp corners of her eyes. "Why are you here? I told you not to pick me up now. The office is busy."

Ethan placed his shopping bag on the slightly peeling leather sofa. "I was passing by downstairs and thought you might need a coffee. What’s going on, Clara? Maya said the situation was difficult."

Clara gave a hollow laugh, a sound that was more like a suppressed sob. "Difficult? That's too polite a word, Ethan. Jasper Wang is truly doing what he said he would this morning. He cut off all our logistics access. Long-standing vendors suddenly cancelled contracts unilaterally, and the bank is calling in all matured debts simultaneously today."

Ethan approached Clara's desk, seeing the red warning letter from Metropolitan Bank lying there. *Heng is moving to crush my opponents in banking, but it seems Jasper’s henchmen have already tightened the noose around this company’s neck,* Ethan thought sharply.

"We only need ten billion to plug the hole today, Ethan. Ten billion." Clara rested her head on her hands, which were braced on the desk. "Just for today. But no one in the extended family is willing to help. Mum called me earlier; she actually told me to meet Jasper tonight to apologise... she said it was the only way out."

"Ten billion?" Ethan repeated the figure in a tone that was too casual, making Clara look up. "Don't joke now, Ethan. I know you want to calm me down, but that kind of money doesn't just appear out of thin air," Clara took a deep breath, her voice hoarse. "My father's company... our family history... it will all vanish by tomorrow morning. And I have no one to lean on."

Clara's shoulders began to shake violently. She could no longer hold back the tears she had been hiding from the employees. Her sorrow spilled out, washing away the remnants of dignity she had maintained since the previous night.

Ethan felt a tightness in his chest watching the scene. This was the woman who had protected him for three years, who had endured every insult for marrying an unemployed man, now shattered by the greed of petty tyrants like Jasper Wang.

Ethan reached out, hesitated for a moment, then gently stroked Clara's head. "Rest for a bit, Clara. Wash your face. I'll sort out that coffee for you."

Clara just nodded silently, still sobbing at her desk. Ethan turned, his previously gentle face changing drastically the moment his back was to his wife. His gaze, usually subdued, now flashed with a lightning that could make even the most cold-blooded mercenary drop to their knees in terror.

He stepped out of the office, walked past the still-panicked staff, and continued towards the deserted emergency staircase at the end of the corridor. The air in the stairwell was cold and silent. Ethan reached into his trousers pocket, brushing past the handful of loose change Jasper had thrown at him that morning. His fingers touched a small, pitch-black chip card that he hadn't touched in years. He inserted the card into a small slot at the back of his old, internally modified mobile phone.

The phone screen instantly went dark, then lines of gold code began scrolling at high speed. In mere seconds, a military encryption interface appeared on the display.

Ethan pressed a speed dial button. In another part of the city, on the top floor of a heavily guarded skyscraper, Grandmaster Xander was holding his expensive cigar. The moment his special phone vibrated with a unique pattern, the cigar simply dropped from his hand. Xander's face went pale. He slumped into his executive chair, his hands trembling as he picked up the phone.

"I-is this... Sovereign?"

"Xander," Ethan's voice was low and calm, yet carried an undeniable weight of authority.

"Heaven and earth... Your Excellency! You called this number? What is your command?" Xander spoke with a tone of overwhelming fear and respect. He even rose from his chair, bowing towards the phone in his hand.

"Inform Metropolitan Bank. Erase all records of Thorne Corp's debt within fifteen minutes," Ethan said, looking out of the cracked glass window in the stairwell. "Inject an anonymous fund of one hundred billion into Clara Thorne's operational account as a long-term investment. Ensure my name does not appear."

Xander swallowed hard. "One hundred billion? Of course, that is nothing, Your Excellency! I shall execute it immediately! Would you like me to flatten Wang Corp tonight as well?"

Ethan looked at the copper coin in his left palm—Jasper's insulting gift. "Not yet. I want to see him laugh even louder before he realises that the floor he is standing on is actually a precipice."

"Understood, Sovereign."

"And one more thing, Xander," Ethan paused. His voice chilled to a cutting, freezing point. "Every vendor who terminated a contract with my wife today... place them on the eternal blacklist within the underworld trade ecosystem. Do not let them conduct business again, not even to sell salt by the roadside."

"The command shall be executed flawlessly!" Xander replied firmly.

Ethan ended the call. He removed the black chip card and stored it back in his deepest pocket. He regulated his breathing, suppressing the predatory aura that had briefly seeped out.

Just as he was about to step back towards Clara's office, a commotion erupted in the lobby area. The sound of noisy footsteps and shouting had just begun.

"Seize all assets! Starting from this desk right up to the director's chair! You have no right to be here anymore!"

Ethan frowned. That wasn't the sound of bank officials, but the voice of Jasper Wang's men, who had brought several thugs dressed in plain clothes.

Slowly, Ethan walked back to the lobby, seeing Maya being roughly shoved by one of the large men in a leather jacket. There, the hired collectors were starting to affix seizure stickers to the office equipment.

Ethan stopped. His eyes narrowed. It seemed ten minutes was too long for Jasper to wait for retribution.

Ethan took out his phone again, typing a short message to Xander: *Send the Cleanup Unit to Thorne Corp. I dislike flies spoiling the view of my wife’s office.*

In the distance, sirens began to approach, but they weren't police sirens. It was the sound of a motorcade of black, unmarked cars slicing through the streets at high speed towards Clara's building.

Outside her office, Clara emerged with a look of horror, seeing her possessions being forcibly seized. She saw Ethan standing still near the lift. "Ethan! Run! Get help!" Clara shouted.

But Ethan remained motionless. Instead, he walked closer, moving past the thugs, and stood directly in front of Clara as if he were an impenetrable steel shield.

One of the thugs stepped forward, brandishing a crowbar towards Ethan's head. "Get out of the way, tramp! Or do you want me to take your life today?"

Ethan smiled, the kind of smile that instantly made the thug's hair stand on end for no discernible reason. "Your time has just run out," Ethan whispered very softly.

Just then, the lift doors opened, and eight men in all-black tactical suits stepped out with the precision movements of an elite squad. Without a sound, without warning.

This city was about to learn what it meant to disturb the peace of a newly awakened Sovereign.