*Chapter 23: Grant's Surprise*
Grant's eyes flickered with confusion as he stared at Ethan, a stranger dressed sharp but with an unsettling presence.
"You're not who I expected," Grant said, voice cold but cautious. "But you… you remind me of someone."
Ethan's gaze sharpened, a slow, dangerous smile curling at the edge of his lips. "Your memory's not failing you, Congressman. I'm no stranger to you."
Grant frowned, narrowing his eyes. "I don't know you."
Ethan stepped closer, voice low and razor-sharp. "But you knew my father. John Thompson. You knew him well enough to help destroy him."
A flicker of recognition crossed Grant's face. "Thompson…"
Ethan didn't let him finish. "He was one of the few trying to stop what you and your partners unleashed on that country. He fought to expose the poison you spread—on the land, on the people. And you called him a liability."
Grant's expression darkened. "Your father's death was unfortunate, but necessary. He was interfering with—"
"Your profits," Ethan snapped. "Your quiet little genocide. You thought wiping out the Thompson family would bury the truth."
Grant took a half-step back. "Wait… the boy? That child from the outskirts? That village was burned—there were no survivors."
Ethan's voice dropped to a whisper, thick with fury. "One survived."
The color drained from Grant's face.
"I'm not here to scare you, Grant. I'm here to *remind* you. Of what you did. Of who you tried to erase. I'm here to finish what my father died trying to stop."
Grant stared into Ethan's eyes—and saw not just a man, but a reckoning.
_Bleank Ø_