Ethan Sullivan trembled with rage.
His glare burned into Zachary Sullivan.
"You're letting Sophia Sullivan slander our family like this? Father will never forgive you when he finds out!"
He'd assumed Sophia would be an easy target.
But this woman proved far more formidable than expected.
Ethan's lips curled in a cold smirk.
"Are you truly this stupid?"
He never bothered with pretense.
After their last confrontation, he'd thought Zachary learned his lesson.
Yet without Amelia Sullivan's guidance, the man's idiocy knew no bounds.
"If you think I fear Father, go ahead and tattle."
Ethan's voice dripped ice.
"See if it costs me my position as heir."
He leaned casually against the wall.
His towering presence radiated natural dominance.
Zachary's face flushed crimson.
"Don't push me!"
He couldn't follow through.
The Sullivan Group's shareholder structure favored Ethan.
With his late mother's fifty percent stake, no board vote could unseat him.
More importantly, Ethan's rift with the elder Sullivan ran deep.
Since Breeze Perfumes' rise, he'd severed all pretense of filial duty.
While Zachary still groveled for their father's approval.
Frustration boiled over.
"Who the hell do you think you are, Ethan? After years as a cripple, you probably can't even perform. Sophia would be better off with—"
He forgot his own bastard origins.
Forgot Sophia was Ethan's ultimate line in the sand.
The punch came before he finished speaking.
CRACK.
Lightning-fast. Brutal.
Zachary never saw it coming.
Blood trickled from his split lip.
CLINK.
A tooth hit the floor.
"My tooth!"
As he reared back, Ethan flexed his knuckles.
Clearly preparing to strike again.
Sophia shielded Emma's eyes.
"Don't look, sweetheart. It's dirty."
Zachary froze.
Ethan's murderous aura pressed like physical weight.
Memories of their last encounter surfaced—his broken leg, the weeks of agony.
This man was utterly unhinged.
Then he remembered the M-Country surveillance footage.
Ethan in chains, reducing an assassin to pulp.
His assassin.
The man had died screaming.
Cold sweat drenched Zachary's back.
"St-stay back!"
He abandoned his tooth, scrambling away.
Ethan's predatory energy shattered his bravado.
Self-preservation won.
"I came with news!"
His voice shook with forced calm.
"Your mother's missing dowry—you've searched for years, right?"
Ethan's hand closed around his throat.
"Explain."
Crimson tinged Ethan's gaze.
His grip tightened.
"Or I'll turn you into a vegetable."
The threat hung bare between them.
Zachary's teeth chattered.
"I—I'll talk!"