Chapter 16 - The Final CollapseBy Friday afternoon, Ethan’s desk was empty.
He packed his personal belongings into a cardboard box—a cheap coffee mug, a few reference books, and the framed photograph he had long ago given up trying to hide.
As he rode the elevator down to the lobby for the last time, his phone buzzed continuously in his pocket. It wasn't an executive offering a second chance. It was his landlord reminding him that rent was three days overdue.
He walked out onto the rain-slicked pavement of Midtown Manhattan, the cold October wind biting through his thin jacket.
For the first time in his life, Ethan realized the terrifying truth of his existence: he had spent his entire life trying to climb ladders built by other people, stepping on whoever happened to be closest, believing that charm and entitlement could substitute for genuine substance.
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And now, there were no more ladders left to climb.
He stood on the corner of 5th Avenue, watching a fleet of luxury black cars glide past carrying corporate executives and elite travelers toward destinations he could now only dream of visiting.
