SLAP!
A crisp, explosive sound echoed through the opulent hall of the Imperial Residence.
Ethan Ye, consumed by a cold, righteous fury, delivered a thunderous backhand that sent Sarah Su reeling.
Sarah clutched her rapidly swelling cheek, her eyes wide with a fractured disbelief as she shrieked, "You... you common convict! You actually dared to hit me?!"
In the next heartbeat, she shed her arrogance, replacing it with a mask of pathetic fragility.
She turned to Wesley Wang, wailing in a sickly, honeyed tone, "Young Master Wesley, you have to help me! You have to stand up for me!"
Wesley felt his pride being ground into the dirt. He pointed a trembling, enraged finger at Ethan, roaring, "You pathetic waste! Do you even know where you are? How dare you act so insolent! Security!"
At his command, several burly guards, wielding heavy rubber truncheons, closed in with murderous intent.
Beside Ethan, Mrs. Ye trembled violently, her calloused hands gripping Ethan's arm in a vice of terror.
Ethan reached back, clasping his mother's shaking hand and shielding her behind his broad shoulders. "Mom," he whispered, his voice a calm anchor in the storm, "I'm here. Don't be afraid."
Ethan's gaze turned into a pair of burning torches as he scanned the crowd.
He let out a sharp, derisive snort. "Is this how Natalie Liu welcomes her guests?"
Hearing that name, Sarah reacted as if she'd heard the world's most absurd joke.
She pointed at Ethan, mocking him, "You dare speak President Natalie's name directly? You truly have a death wish!"
Mrs. Su, standing nearby, chimed in with a look of pure contempt. "Ethan, you loser, do you even know who President Natalie is? She is the master of the Imperial Residence and the CEO of the Liu Corporation!"
Wesley threw his head back and laughed manically. "This convict... did three years of sewing in prison rot his brain? Here, let me show you something special."
Wesley pulled out his phone and played a video.
In the footage, Elena Ye was huddled in a cold hospital corner, her face a mask of primal terror as she scrambled backward.
Two doctors in white coats, holding oversized syringes, were advancing on her step by step. Elena clutched her head, screaming in a voice of pure desperation,
"Don't come near me! Stay away!"
Wesley tucked the phone away with a triumphant sneer. "Kneel before me, now! Or I'll have your sister thrown out of that hospital tonight!"
Seeing the video, Ethan's eyes instantly turned a deep, bloody red.
A mountainous killing intent surged in his chest. He ground out each word through gritted teeth: "If you touch a single hair on my sister's head, I will ensure the Wang family vanishes from River City forever!"
"Still talking big, are we?" Wesley's patience snapped.
He gave a savage wave of his hand. "Beat him! Beat him until he crawls on his knees!"
The guards lunged, swinging their clubs toward Ethan's head.
In that split second, Mrs. Ye—driven by the primal instinct to protect her son—broke free from Ethan's reach. She threw herself forward, falling heavily to her knees before Wesley.
"Young Master Wesley, I'm kneeling to you!" she sobbed, tears streaming down her weathered face. "Please, I beg of you, spare Ethan and Elena!"
Wesley showed no mercy.
Instead, he let out a grunt of disgust and delivered a brutal kick that sent Mrs. Ye sprawling across the floor. "Get away from me, you old hag!"
"Wesley Wang, you seek death!"
Seeing his mother struck down and humiliated, Ethan's restraint shattered.
He transformed into an awakened primordial beast.
With a sudden, explosive movement, he lashed out with a kick that sent the lead guard flying across the room. He began to advance on Wesley, his very presence radiating a soul-crushing pressure.
Just as Wesley was about to stumble back in terror, a cold, majestic voice rang out from the depths of the hall:
"Who is the fool daring to cause a scene in the Imperial Residence!"