Chapter 2 - Ambush at DawnI quietly closed the laptop, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped beast. I picked up a heavy brass paperweight from the desk, slipping it into my coat pocket.
The heavy oak door of the foyer opened, and the sharp click of high heels echoed against the marble floor. I stepped out into the gallery overlook.
Rosalind stood in the center of the foyer. She wasn't weeping on the curb where I had left her four hours ago. She wore an expensive mink coat, her hair freshly styled, holding a thick legal envelope. Standing beside her was Mason, clad in a tailor-made double-breasted suit, flanked by two burly men in dark suits holding leather briefcases.
"Ethan!" Rosalind called out, her voice dripping with artificial sympathy. "Come down, son. We need to talk before things get... complicated."
I walked down the grand staircase slowly, my eyes locked on my brother. Mason was four years younger than me, a man who had dropped out of three universities, crashed four luxury cars I bought for him, and spent his life complaining that I was the 'favorite.'
"You have a lot of nerve coming back into this house," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "I gave you thirty minutes to leave the property, Rosalind."
"This house is no longer exclusively yours, big brother," Mason smirked, pulling a stack of legal documents from his jacket. "As of 6:00 AM this morning, an emergency injunction was filed with the state court. Mom holds a thirty percent founding equity claim in Aegis Health Systems, based on the original family trust agreements. And since you've been mismanaging company assets—and physically assaulting your mother—we've filed for immediate asset freezing."
"Physical assault?" I let out a harsh, cold laugh. "She kicked my eight-month-pregnant wife in the stomach!"
"Where's the proof?" Rosalind sneered, dropping her innocent act completely. She stepped closer, her eyes flashing with pure malice. "It’s your word against mine, Ethan. And who do you think the media will believe? The wealthy, ruthless CEO who threw his elderly, frail mother out into the cold night? Or the loving mother who sacrificed her life savings to help her ungrateful son build his empire?"
"You didn't give me a single cent," I said, stepping into Mason's personal space. "Daphne sold her grandmother’s gold necklace to buy our first three inventory pallets! You were gambling in Macao when we were eating canned beans!"
"History is written by the victors, Ethan," Mason whispered, leaning in. "The board meeting is in three hours. If you step foot in that boardroom, the police will arrest you for corporate fraud and domestic battery. Sign over fifty-one percent of Aegis to Mom and me right now, and we’ll give you enough cash to pay Daphne’s hospital bills."
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from the hospital: Mr. Vance, your wife is awake. The doctor needs to speak with you immediately regarding complications.
Mason noticed my reaction and grinned wider. "Tick-tock, big brother. Is your precious little charity case going to survive the morning?"
May you like
I stared at them—the woman who gave birth to me and the brother I had bailed out of jail a dozen times. A cold, dark resolve hardened inside my chest.
"Take the house for today," I whispered, stepping toward the exit. "Enjoy the furniture. Because by sunset, you'll be wishing you were dead."
