Chapter 2

The extraction process at the ER was pure hell.

The doctor shook his head in disbelief as he pulled dozens of thumbtacks out of my skin.

By the time I left the hospital, the sun was already rising.

Without even changing out of my hospital gown, I went straight to the police station.

"Officer, I want to report a crime. I was locked inside a business, assaulted, and intentionally poisoned and injured."

05

Half an hour later, Marcus was brought into the precinct.

The moment he saw me, he pointed at my face and started screaming.

"Are you insane? Why the hell did you call the police on me in the middle of the night?"

"You slipped and fell because you're clumsy, and now you're trying to sue me? People have to sleep, you psycho!"

Cheryl arrived shortly after.

Her hair was a mess, and she looked exhausted, but she immediately took Marcus's side.

"Officer, this man has been harassing my staff for weeks. He's incredibly rude and constantly demanding. Marcus has been nothing but patient with him."

"And now, he makes up this ridiculous story and calls the police over a minor slip-and-fall? He literally destroyed our front entrance! I should be suing him for property damage!"

I stared at them coldly.

I pointed to the medical report on the desk, then pulled up my sleeves to reveal my bandaged arms and knees.

"A minor slip-and-fall?"

"Just because I used my unlimited membership, this psychopath locked me in a high-temperature steam room. And last night, he locked me inside the dark spa, covered the floor in oil and thumbtacks, and laughed while I was bleeding."

"You call that a minor issue? That is attempted murder!"

Cheryl looked at me with a blank, mocking expression.

"And do you have any proof of this?"

"The security cameras are the proof! Officer, please review their security footage," I demanded.

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Oh, what a shame. Our security cameras actually broke yesterday afternoon. We're still waiting for the technician to fix them."

"You..." My jaw clenched, veins popping on my forehead.

Marcus stood behind Cheryl, giving me a smug, triumphant wink.

The next second, he pulled out his phone. Right in front of me, he started sending voice notes to their elite VIP Snapchat group, crying about how he was the victim.

"Hey guys, please help me out. This crazy guy, Ethan, completely lost his mind, smashed our storefront, and now he's trying to get the police to arrest me. Please tell them the truth!"

The wealthy clients in the group immediately started replying:

"He's lying! Ethan has been obsessed with Marcus. He probably got rejected and decided to ruin the business."

"Exactly! He probably stayed in the spa on purpose so Marcus couldn't leave, and got himself locked in. And those tacks? He probably stabbed himself to play the victim. What a creep!"

"Marcus is literally the sweetest guy. He always gives us free fruit and snacks. Ethan is an ungrateful snake. Lock him up!"

Listening to those voice messages, my blood ran cold with rage. I wanted nothing more than to smash Marcus’s phone into his face.

Cheryl patted my shoulder, her voice dripping with triumphant malice.

"Mr. Sterling, stop trying to play the victim. You're going to pay for that glass door."

Marcus leaned in, whispering in a voice only I could hear:

"This is just a warning, little boy. If you ever show your face in my spa again, I'll make sure you never walk again."

I glared at him.

If looks could kill, he would have been sliced into a million pieces.

Because of the lack of evidence—the security cameras being "broken" and the crime scene being messed up when I smashed the door—the police couldn't file criminal charges immediately. They treated it as a civil dispute, warned us to keep the peace, and told me to settle the glass door damage with the owner.

Outside the station, Marcus and Cheryl stood side by side like victorious partners.

They gave me one last mocking laugh before getting into Cheryl's BMW.

I stood in the cold morning breeze, my body aching and my eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

But I didn't lose my mind.

I took out my phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, Mr. Miller. Regarding the lease renewal for Luxe Haven Spa on the third floor... cancel it."

06

That's right. I am the actual owner of this entire luxury shopping plaza.

The plaza was an inheritance left to me by my father.

Cheryl and her spa had been leasing the space for almost three years.

I’ve always kept a low profile and didn't like showing off my wealth. Plus, I had been studying business in Europe for the past few years, only returning recently to take over the family estate.

Knowing how hard it is to run a physical business these days, I had actually given them a twenty percent discount on their rent.

I never revealed my identity to them, so they had absolutely no idea that the ground they walked on every day belonged to me.

Mr. Miller panicked on the other end of the line.

"Mr. Sterling? Why so suddenly? Did someone offer a higher rent? We can negotiate! Cheryl was actually planning to sign a five-year renewal lease today."

"It's not about the money."

I took a deep breath and explained everything that had happened to me over the past few weeks, including the incident last night.

By the time I finished, Mr. Miller was sweating through the phone, apologizing profusely.

"Mr. Sterling, I had no idea they were behaving like thugs on your property! Don't worry, I'll serve them eviction papers immediately."

"No, wait," I said, my voice turning icy. "Find me a new tenant first. I don't care about the rent. But I have one condition: the new tenant must be loud, obnoxious, and extremely difficult to deal with."

"And keep this a secret from Cheryl for now. Let them think everything is fine. I want to teach these people a lesson they'll never forget."

Mr. Miller immediately understood. "Understood, Mr. Sterling. Consider it done. I'll make sure they get exactly what they deserve."

After hanging up, I looked at the rising sun, a cold smile forming on my lips.

Their lease had less than twenty days left.

To celebrate their three-year anniversary and attract new clients, Cheryl had just spent three million dollars on a massive luxury renovation.

She had imported state-of-the-art equipment from Europe.

Forget about the massive loss from shutting down.

Just that three-million-dollar renovation alone would take them at least two years of profit to recover.

And this was only the beginning.