Three years post-college, my ex Lena messaged: "Pathetic loser, come kiss ass at my father-in-law's gala." Married into Crestview's wealthiest family, she never missed a chance to rub it in. I deleted it, indifferent. That evening, my wife Raina tossed a gold-trimmed box aside. "The Fairfaxes sent another 'priceless' heirloom," she sighed. "Too trivial for us, but they’ll only accept your return." Her lips grazed my ear: "I’ll reward you tonight..." As she left, Lena texted again: "Ethan Place, answer me! Coming or not?!" I eyed the discarded box. "I’ll be there." 1 We’d gone to bed late, and by the time I woke up, the Fairfax gala was nearly underway. I grabbed the first jacket I could find and headed out the door. The Fairfax estate’s grand ballroom was already buzzing with the low hum of money and power. I skimmed the guest list by the entrance; I’d seen most of these names on the list of people begging for a meeting with my wife, Raina. Old man Fairfax still had some pull, it seemed. Nearly all of Crestview’s movers and shakers were here. But I didn’t recognize a single face. I’ve never been one for the spotlight. Not only did Raina and I keep our marriage quiet, but I rarely ever appeared with her in public. It drove her crazy. Most of the Sterling family fortune was built on my patents, and she was desperate to push me into the limelight, but I had no interest. All I’ve ever needed is a laboratory. Shaking myself from my thoughts, I stepped into the ballroom and immediately spotted my ex, Lena, holding court in the center of a fawning circle. To maximize her audience, she’d invited nearly everyone from our old university department. The class president was clinging to Lena’s hand, her smile dripping with sycophantic praise. ‘Lena, darling, it’s really true what they say: it’s better to marry well than to be born well. I mean, my family has a little money, and I used to flaunt it back in college. I feel so ashamed thinking about it now. You were the one destined for greatness! The scraps your husband lets fall from his table could feed my family for a decade!’ ‘She’s right, Lena! The smartest thing you ever did was dumping that nerd Ethan! He had that pathetic, broke-ass look about him. If you’d stayed with him, you’d probably be starving by now!’ ‘No joke, I swear I saw him the other day in the parking garage at the Crestview Commerce Tower. He was polishing a Bentley! Probably works as a chauffeur for some rich guy now. Pathetic!’ The comment was met with a wave of cruel laughter. This was exactly the kind of atmosphere I wanted to avoid. My plan was simple: find a member of the Fairfax family, drop off the gift, and get the hell out. But a sharp voice cut through the noise from behind me. ‘Well, speak of the devil! Isn’t that Ethan Place right there?!’ In an instant, hundreds of pairs of eyes swiveled in my direction. Lena’s brow furrowed as she strode toward me. She looked me up and down, then pinched the fabric of my coat between two fingers as if it were something foul. She let go with a look of pure disgust. ‘Ethan, you really are a lost cause! What did I tell you yesterday? I said dress like a human being! Look at this garbage you’re wearing! The valet at the door is dressed better than you!’ She threw her hands up in exasperation. ‘How am I supposed to introduce you to anyone when you look like this? Don’t you want to make connections? Don’t you want to climb out of the hole you’re in?!’ My face remained impassive. ‘No. I’m quite content with my life.’ Her words were followed by another eruption of laughter. My former classmates pointed and jeered. ‘Content? You’re content with your chauffeur job? What do they pay you, a couple thousand a month? You seemed pretty focused on that Bentley. Maybe I should talk to your boss, get you a raise?’ ‘Don’t be an idiot, Ethan. Lena’s doing you a favor! This is a huge opportunity, and you’re spitting on it. In the real world, your high grades are worthless. It’s all about who you know! Wake up!’ Lena held up a hand, silencing the crowd. She stepped closer, her expression a mask of contempt. ‘Cut the crap, Ethan. Don’t act all high and mighty. If you didn’t want to network, why did you even come? Don’t tell me you’re here to apply for a job as the new driver.’ A fresh wave of ridicule washed over me. Through the haze of mocking laughter, the patriarch of the Fairfax family, the old man himself, slowly made his way toward our group. ‘Lena, my dear, what’s all the commotion? Have we a guest of honor?’ Lena instantly smoothed her dress and fixed her makeup, then scurried over to take Mr. Fairfax’s arm. ‘Just some stray dog begging for scraps at our door, Dad. Nothing important. It’s drafty out here, let me walk you back inside.’ I ignored her, walked straight up to Mr. Fairfax, and held out the box. ‘Hello. Your family sent this to the Sterlings a while back. We don’t accept unsolicited gifts. Please take it back.’ 2 The moment the words left my mouth, whispers erupted around us. ‘What the hell? Who’s his boss? Rejecting a gift from the Fairfaxes? Does he want to be blacklisted in this city?’ ‘There are maybe three families in all of Crestview Mr. Fairfax would send a gift to, and those are always in return for a favor! I’ve never heard of the Fairfaxes sending the first gift!’ ‘He said… the Sterlings? As in, the Sterlings on the global rich list? No way…’ Mr. Fairfax’s eyes, sharp as daggers, raked over me. I couldn’t be bothered. I shoved the box into his arms and turned to leave. I’d only taken two steps when he called out. ‘Hold on a minute.’ I sighed internally. Rich people always had to make things so complicated. I turned back. ‘I have things to do. I don’t handle business matters, so talking to me is useless—’ ‘You’re saying this is the gift we sent to the Sterlings?’ Mr. Fairfax cut me off, his voice hard. My patience was wearing thin. ‘Yes. Don’t you know who you send gifts to?’ A strange smile played on his lips. ‘Young man, I know you kids are always looking for shortcuts. I’ve seen every trick in the book, but I have to admit, this one is new.’ I had no idea what he was talking about. Suddenly, his tone turned severe. ‘This thing you handed me is not what my family sent to the Sterlings. My assistant just confirmed that the gift for the Sterlings has just been prepared. I was planning on delivering that one myself!’ I stared at the box on the floor, completely bewildered. I pulled out my phone to call Raina and ask what was going on, but before I could dial, a brutal kick landed squarely in my side. The force sent me flying several feet. A mountain of a man, at least six-foot-three and pushing three hundred pounds, stomped toward me. He crushed my phone under his heel, then pinned my head to the floor with his shoe. ‘You son of a bitch!’ he roared. ‘You pull your scams at my father’s birthday gala? I’ve been watching you. You’re that pathetic ex-boyfriend of Lena’s, aren’t you?!’ His foot felt like an iron cudgel. I struggled, but I couldn’t break free. The pressure on my temple was excruciating, making my head spin with pain. Then, Lena’s sickeningly sweet voice cooed from above. ‘Brock, darling, what took you so long? You should have seen how arrogant he was with Dad. I was just about to teach him a lesson for you…’ Brock, her husband, leaned down and noisily kissed her ear before grinding his foot down harder. He hawked and spat right in my face. ‘You little bastard! You think the Fairfax family is someone you can mess with?! Today is my father’s sixtieth birthday. You ruined his mood, and for that, you deserve to die! Now, get on your knees, kowtow to my father three times, call him Grandpa, and I’ll let you crawl out of here. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you can’t survive another day in this city!’ Lena playfully smacked Brock’s fleshy backside, her face a picture of adoration. ‘Oh, honey, you’re so dominant. A shameless, pathetic loser like him needs to be put in his place!’ Her words were the cue for our old classmates to join in the chorus of ridicule. ‘Ethan, you really are hopeless! Lena was trying to help you, give you a chance, and you pull a disgusting stunt like this?’ ‘Exactly! It’s Mr. Fairfax’s gala! And you show up to run a scam? You have no shame! Don’t you ever tell anyone you were my classmate. I’m embarrassed to even know you!’ ‘Yeah! Do what Mr. Fairfax Jr. says! Get on your knees, apologize to his father, and call him Grandpa!’ The air was thick with their jeers. With a final, desperate surge of strength, I managed to shove Brock off me. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed the old man’s sleeve, and lowered my voice, trying to contain the damage. ‘Mr. Fairfax, I am Raina Sterling’s husband. That gift is from your family. There’s been a misunderstanding. If you let me leave now, we can forget this ever happened. But if you insist on this, you will not be able to bear the consequences.’ 3 I deliberately kept my voice low. The last thing I wanted was a scene. But clearly, Mr. Fairfax had other ideas. He shot me a look of utter disdain, then bellowed for the whole room to hear, ‘What did you say? You claim to be Chairman Sterling’s husband?!’ His shout grabbed everyone’s attention. The room erupted in thunderous, incredulous laughter. ‘This kid has some serious balls! Trying to ride Raina Sterling’s coattails! We’ve been in this circle for years and never once heard a peep about her getting married!’ ‘Exactly! If Raina Sterling got married, it would be the wedding of the century! She said so herself at the business summit three years ago!’ Lena pushed her way forward and spat in my face. ‘Ethan, you are absolutely shameless! Look at yourself! You’re a pathetic, broke loser! Forget Chairman Sterling—even her damn poodle wouldn’t give you the time of day!’ ‘Lena, don’t waste your breath on this scum,’ Brock snarled. ‘Just for daring to slander Chairman Sterling’s name, I, Brock Fairfax, am going to destroy him today!’ Before I could say another word, he snatched a heavy steel pipe from a nearby decoration and slammed it into my shin. At the same time, the old man, who had been watching from the sidelines, stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face. He then turned to his son. ‘Brock, teach this bastard a lesson he’ll never forget. I don’t care if we have to cancel the rest of the party! He needs to learn some respect!’ With his father’s blessing, Brock waved a hand. In seconds, dozens of burly security guards swarmed in, forming a tight circle around me. In that last, desperate moment, I managed to grab a phone again and redial Raina’s number. ‘Come to the Fairfax estate…’ 4 Before I could finish, Brock swung the steel pipe again, this time aiming directly for my hand. CRACK! A blinding, white-hot agony shot up my arm as my wrist shattered. ‘You little shit! Still trying to call for backup?!’ he bellowed, his face inches from mine. ‘Don’t you know where you are? In Crestview, the Fairfax family is God! Anyone who wants to survive here has to call me ancestor!’ He grabbed my collar and hauled me to my feet. ‘Now, get on your knees and beg my father for forgiveness!’ I thrashed wildly in his grip, my eyes burning with rage. ‘You’re the bastard! And your father is a bastard just like you! You want me to apologize to him? Dream on! You’d be better off thinking about how you’re going to get out of the mess you’ve made today!’ Brock was momentarily stunned by my defiance. In that brief pause, Lena sauntered over, a wicked smile on her face. She pulled out her phone and video-called my mother. The call connected almost instantly. ‘Auntie,’ Lena said sweetly to the screen, ‘I hear you haven’t been feeling well lately. Do you miss Ethan? Because he certainly misses you…’ She muted the call and turned her venomous gaze on me. ‘Ethan, if you don’t get on your knees and kowtow to my father-in-law right now, I’m going to let your sick old mother see you like this. If I remember correctly, she just had bypass surgery a few years ago, didn’t she? What do you think will happen to her fragile heart when she sees her precious son beaten to a pulp?’ When Lena and I were dating, my mother treated her better than she treated me. And now this monster was using my mother’s life to threaten me. ‘Lena, dear, I miss him so much,’ my mother’s frail voice crackled through the phone. ‘Is he there with you? Please, let me see him…’ Lena’s eyes were locked on mine, a silent, vicious command in them as she slowly angled the camera toward me. Her lips formed the words silently: Time’s up, Ethan. ‘Lena? Where’s Ethan? Why aren’t you saying anything?’ With a flick of her wrist, she started to turn the phone. In the split second before the camera found me, I stumbled forward and collapsed at Mr. Fairfax’s feet. Thud. I bowed my head and slammed my forehead against the cold marble floor, three times. A triumphant laugh escaped Lena’s lips. She turned back to the phone. ‘Oh, Auntie, Ethan was just here a second ago, but he seems to have wandered off. I’ll go find him for you.’ My mother thanked her profusely as Lena muted the call again and turned back to me, her eyes glittering with malice. ‘You’ve apologized to my father-in-law. But you still haven’t apologized to my husband. This time, you don’t have to kowtow. Just call my husband ‘Dad’.’ ‘Lena!’ I choked out, the word tearing from my throat. ‘My mother was so good to you! How can you do this? Do you have any conscience at all?!’ She just smirked and waggled her phone at me. ‘I’m not interested in your whining. Are you going to say it or not?’ My former classmates were howling with laughter. ‘Say it! Say it! Say it!’ Lena held up five fingers. ‘You have five seconds, Ethan. Five… four… three…’
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