CHAPTER 53: A GOOD PAWN

Ethan sat on his desk with a grin on his face as he watched Avance crumble with no way out.

Avance’s stock was in freefall, as major partners were pulling out, and regulators were already issuing subpoenas.

Ethan sipped his coffee slowly.

"And there it is," he muttered, watching as the live broadcast showed James Brock being swarmed by reporters as soon as he walked out of the elevator from his office with guards surrounding him.

But instead of the previous panic or even the slightest hint of nervousness on his face, there was a surprising trace of confidence as he made his way to the press room.

And Ethan knew exactly why this was. James had found a way out, or so he thought.

His hope, previously gone was now rekindled and he finally saw a way out of this.

Ethan resisted the urge to laugh, as it was not the time to...yet.

He had brought James so low, that he was basically on the verge of break down and then, like the light at the end of a dark tunnel, Ethan offered a helping hand.

It would raise the question, why would he do this? Was he just that soft? But nothing could be further from the truth.

He wasn’t doing this as some charity, no. He was doing this because of one reason.... Nathaniel.

With the upcoming negotiations with Google, Ethan was sure Nathaniel would do everything in his power to sabotage the deal.

And right now, Ethan had no way of permanently dealing with Nathaniel, regardless of the threat he knew Nathaniel posed.

Ethan could make Athena reveal Nathaniel’s web of corruption to the world, they could leak every shady transaction he had been involved in, but with Nathaniel’s connections, it wouldn’t matter.

Nathaniel had roots deep enough to just sweep all those under a rug overnight and forget about it.

The world might be suspicious for a while but the story would be so expertly twisted that they’d have no choice but to let go of those suspicions.

And that’s where James came in. While never officially confirmed, James had been seen alongside Nathaniel on more than a few occasions, always trailing behind him like a loyal hound.

Whether it was James trying to earn favors or something else, one thing was clear: Nathaniel had a hand in Avance’s rise.

With James, Ethan could keep Nathaniel busy—at least for a while.

All he had to do was plant the right idea in James’s head and that was easy enough since he was backed into a corner and had been abandoned by Nathaniel.

He was now convinced that whoever this mysterious person was posed a threat even the Langleys couldn’t handle.

After all, this individual had already proven capable of unearthing dirt buried by experts of the underworld—something even Nathaniel, with all his connections, had failed to do.

And if he was sure if one thing, it was that this mysterious person would offer him protection after he dragged Nathaniel’s name through the mud.

Or so he foolishly thought.

James believed he was playing a dangerous game, leveraging one powerful shadow to survive another. He thought this mystery benefactor was a savior, a powerhouse, and he’d rather be on the winning side.

He thought wrong.

Ethan had never promised protection, he only promised a way out and a way out, he was going to get.

James would serve his purpose, publicly linking Nathaniel to Avance, casting just enough suspicion to force investigations, sow doubt, and disrupt Nathaniel’s influence right when Ethan needed him off-balance.

And when the fallout came, as it surely would, James would be in for a rude awakening.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on his monitor as the press conference began and James adjusted the mic.

He had no idea he was walking into his own funeral.

"Say your lines, James," Ethan murmured, with a cold smile. "And then disappear like a good little pawn."

He was setting the stage for Lillian’s test but Nathaniel was too big a threat to allow her to face right now.

She wasn’t ready for that yet.

He more or less knew how this would go, so he didn’t need to watch the stream. Calmly, he closed the window showing it and leaned back on his chair.

Ethan rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought. He had been putting off his revenge against Nathaniel in favor of building a foundation and if he was being honest, that would pose a problem.

OmniTech Corp had already made an enemy out of Nathaniel Langley, so he was going to try and obstruct their growth at every turn.

Proof of this was the fact that Ethan had to keep Nathaniel distracted just to ensure smooth negotiations with Google, an unsustainable tactic. Sooner or later, he would need to remove Nathaniel from the equation entirely.

But how?

The easiest way to take him down was isolation. If he could cut off every connection Nathaniel had, strip away his political shields, his media influence, his financial puppets, then Nathaniel would be vulnerable. Alone, even the most powerful man could be broken.

But that was easier said than done.

For one, Nathaniel was like a spider. His web of connections was so wide that someone like Ethan couldn’t easily burn it down.

Ethan needed to dig deep to take him down and luckily, he had just the right digging machine for this job.

"Athena," he called out.

{Yes?} She answered, her avatar popping up on the monitor, looking directly at him.

"I want you to trace Nathaniel’s network, every shell corp, offshore fund, underworld contacts. I don’t care how small, If it brought him influence, I want it mapped."

{Already ahead of you,} Athena replied calmly.

"Oh, and while you’re at it, check for his connections with foreign nations." He added.

He wasn’t sure if his connections to other countries spanned this far back, but Ethan would be sure not to miss a single thing when he was preparing to tear down a man like Nathaniel Langley.

Athena’s avatar gave a small smile before she nodded and got to work, the lines of binary on her body scrolling.

A few minutes later she came up with results. {I have successfully gotten access to most of his underworld contacts’ tech and discovered some interesting stuff, as for his connections to other countries, none are confirmed yet but he seems to be in contact with ex-Mossad freelancers and the Russian black market.}

Ethan arched a brow. "Now that... is interesting."

{Would you like me to feed that to Interpol? It would take very little effort to light that fuse.}

"Not yet. We need the right moment. I want his foundation to completely collapse when we hit it. Time it wrong and everything will just be swept clean."

{Understood.} She nodded.

"For now, let’s start cutting off his connections one at a time." Ethan said with a smile on his face.

{Sure,} She nodded.

Ethan stood up and walked towards his door, already feeling hungry but the moment he opened the door, Isabela was standing there fist up and seemingly about to knock.

Isabela was momentarily caught off guard by the timing.

"I was just about to knock," she said, lowering her hand and readjusting her round glasses. "You have a minute?"

Ethan glanced at her resolute expression and gave a small nod. "Yeah... let’s talk over lunch. You hungry?"

She shook her head no, but her stomach immediately betrayed her with a loud growl.

They both stood silently by Ethan’s room door as a deep blush spread across her cheeks.

He let out a small chuckled before saying, "I’ll take that as a yes."

He walked out the door, closing it behind him before saying, "come on, let’s feed the monster first."

With that he headed towards the kitchen, with an even more embarrassed Isabela slowly following behind.

Ethan walked to the fridge, opened it, and took out the previous night’s leftovers—since neither of them had eaten.

He grabbed a container of grilled lemon chicken and a tray of seasoned rice and vegetables, placing them on the counter.

He then turned on the microwave and put in the food, letting it heat up. It let out a beep as soon as the timer was up and Ethan transferred the rice on two plates before setting it on the dining table where an embarrassed Isabela sat.

"Alright, let’s dig in." He said as he picked up a fork and started eating, as did she.

Isabela took a bite of the rice, her posture still a little stiff, but the moment the food hit her mouth, she visibly relaxed.

"I know I’ve said this before," she started, "but you really are a good cook."

Ethan just gave a small smile in response, choosing not to reply.

Isabela looked back down at the food before saying, "I’ve thought about your offer."

There was a pause as Ethan looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"And I’ve come to a decision."