Chapter 3 – The Billionaire’s Enemy
Ethan Cole had learned a long time ago that danger rarely announced itself.
It didn’t always arrive with guns.
It didn’t always arrive with shouting.
Sometimes danger arrived wearing an expensive suit, smiling politely, and offering you a hand.
That was what bothered him about the Sterling family.
Everyone was too calm.
Too controlled.
Too practiced.
Three days after Victoria Sterling woke up, Ethan found himself sitting in a conference room at Sterling Tower in Austin.
A place he had no reason to be.
A place where men like him were usually invisible.
The building was enormous.
Glass walls.
Marble floors.
Security guards at every entrance.
People walking quickly with expensive watches and expensive problems.
Ethan hated it immediately.
He felt like a mechanic who had accidentally walked into a palace.
“Mr. Cole?”
He turned.
A woman in a gray suit approached him.
She looked to be in her early forties, with sharp eyes and a calm expression.
“I’m Claire Bennett. I work with Mr. Sterling.”
“Nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand.
But unlike Daniel Price, her handshake felt genuine.
“Victoria is waiting upstairs.”
Ethan nodded.
As they walked toward the elevator, Claire glanced at him.
“You’re uncomfortable.”
“That obvious?”
“To people who know this building.”
Ethan looked around.
“Places like this aren’t built for people like me.”
Claire pressed the elevator button.
“Maybe that’s the problem.”
“What?”
“People like you should be here more often.”
Ethan didn’t respond.
He didn’t know how to accept compliments.
Especially ones he didn’t believe.
The elevator doors opened.
The top floor looked less like an office and more like a private museum.
Paintings.
Sculptures.
A view of the entire city.
Then Ethan saw Victoria.
She stood near the windows wearing a simple white blouse and dark pants.
No hospital gown.
No bandages except a small strip near her temple.
But something had changed.
She looked stronger.
More determined.
When she saw Ethan, her face softened.
“You came.”
“You called.”
A smile appeared.
“I wasn’t sure you would.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because most people run when they realize how complicated my life is.”
He almost laughed.
“Victoria, I have a seven-year-old daughter, unpaid bills, and a truck that breaks down twice a month.”
He shrugged.
“My life was already complicated.”
For the first time, she laughed.
A real laugh.
Then the smile disappeared.
Because they both knew why he was there.
“You said someone in your family tried to kill you.”
Victoria looked toward the window.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
She hesitated.
That hesitation told Ethan everything.
She wasn’t guessing.
She was afraid.
“My uncle.”
Ethan frowned.
“Your uncle?”
“Richard Sterling.”
The name meant nothing to Ethan.
But the way Victoria said it did.
“Why would your uncle want you dead?”
“Because of the company.”
She turned around.
“When my father retires, Sterling Industries passes to me.”
Ethan understood.
“And your uncle loses control.”
“Exactly.”
“Does your father know?”
“He knows someone attacked me.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Victoria looked down.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if I’m wrong…”
She swallowed.
“He destroys a man who has been his brother for thirty years.”
Ethan studied her.
“You’re protecting him.”
“Yes.”
“Even after someone tried to kill you?”
Her eyes became emotional.
“My father has lost enough.”
Something about that sentence stayed with Ethan.
Because he understood loss.
“You love him.”
Victoria smiled sadly.
“He’s the only person in my family who never cared about money.”
Ethan looked away.
A billionaire family.
And somehow the daughter sounded lonely.
Before he could answer, the door opened.
A man walked in.
Tall.
Gray hair.
Confident.
The kind of confidence that came from never hearing the word no.
Vincent Sterling.
Behind him came another man.
Younger.
Maybe mid-thirties.
Perfect suit.
Perfect smile.
Too perfect.
“Ethan.”
Vincent approached.
“Thank you for coming.”
Ethan nodded.
“Your daughter asked me.”
Vincent smiled.
“I know.”
Then his expression changed.
“Which is why I need your help.”
Ethan looked at Victoria.
“What kind of help?”
Vincent glanced toward the younger man.
“This is Alexander.”
The man extended his hand.
“Alexander Sterling.”
Ethan shook it.
The handshake lasted one second too long.
A subtle challenge.
“Nice to meet you.”
Alexander smiled.
“I’ve heard quite a story about you.”
“I’m sure you have.”
Alexander looked amused.
“Not many people refuse my family’s money.”
Ethan released his hand.
“Not everyone needs it.”
The smile on Alexander’s face became thinner.
Before he could respond, Vincent interrupted.
“Ethan, I want you to know something.”
The older man walked closer.
“After Victoria was attacked, I hired private investigators.”
“And?”
“They found something.”
The room became silent.
Vincent placed a folder on the table.
“We discovered someone accessed Victoria’s travel records.”
Ethan looked at the folder.
“Someone inside the company?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“We don’t know.”
Ethan looked at Victoria.
“You said you saw someone.”
She nodded.
“I did.”
“Then why don’t you tell your father?”
Because this time, Victoria’s answer shocked him.
“Because I saw his face.”
Ethan stared.
“And?”
She looked at Alexander.
The room went completely still.
“Because it was someone my father trusts.”
Everyone followed Ethan’s eyes.
To Alexander.
The young man’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Ethan saw it.
Fear.
For a fraction of a second.
Then it disappeared.
“That’s ridiculous,” Alexander said calmly.
Victoria didn’t answer.
Vincent looked between them.
A father caught between love and suspicion.
Then suddenly—
A loud crash echoed through the office.
Everyone turned.
The window behind Vincent shattered.
Glass exploded across the room.
Ethan reacted before anyone else.
He grabbed Victoria and pulled her down.
The sound came a second later.
A gunshot.
Security alarms screamed.
People shouted outside.
Ethan covered Victoria with his body.
Not thinking.
Not calculating.
Just acting.
Like he had on the road.
Like he always had.
When security finally rushed in, Ethan looked around.
The bullet had missed Vincent by inches.
But it had hit the wall directly behind where Victoria had been standing.
Someone wasn’t trying to scare them.
Someone was sending a message.
And the message was clear.
Victoria Sterling was still not safe.
Ethan looked at the broken glass scattered across the floor.
Then at the people in the room.
At the family.
At the secrets.
And he realized something terrifying.
He had spent his entire life running away from danger.
But now danger had followed him home.
May you like
Because whoever wanted Victoria dead…
now knew Ethan Cole existed.
