Chapter 43: I'm Going to Pay Back the Loan
The fluorescent lights of the lecture hall hummed with a sterile, rhythmic buzz that Ethan McCain found increasingly grating. To the students sitting around him, the professor's lecture on macroeconomic theory was the blueprint for their future. To Ethan, it was like listening to someone explain how to count pebbles while he held the keys to the mountain.
For the past two days, Ethan had maintained the charade. He attended every class, sat in his usual seat, and took notes that his mind—now a razor-sharp instrument at the peak of Level One—had already categorized and stored within seconds. Without attending school, he could just read the textbooks and still come out as the best in class without attending classes, but at the end of the day, he was still a student. Even with a bank balance that could destabilize national currencies, he was still, on paper, a student at South River University. There was a groundedness in the routine, a way to keep the "Ghost" alive while the "Sovereign" grew in the shadows.
Under the desk, his sleek, obsidian tablet vibrated. It was an encrypted update from Elena. She had officially moved operations to the provincial city and already informed him of the start of Black Global Holdings. The foundations were now set in stone. Ethan had already transferred a staggering initial capital injection into her accounts. His instructions to her had been simple, bordering on reckless: "No negotiations. If a property, a company, or a piece of technology is beneficial, buy it. If the seller wants more than the base price, pay it. Speed is our only priority."
He knew that every dollar spent through the system's influence was a seed planted for his own evolution. He didn't need to bargain for pennies when every massive transaction fueled the growth of his System Points. He just had to sit back and watch the numbers climb. He also mentioned to Elena that there was no need for negotiations, but at the same time, he told her to buy what can be bought and not necessarily provoke anyone. He knew he had the money, but not the power to protect himself yet. He was waiting to be evaluated by the NSB; then, his company and parents would be protected by the government pending the time he would have the power to protect himself.
But the silence of his calculated life was shattered by the frantic vibration of his personal phone. Seeing his sister's name—Sarah—on the screen caused a sudden, sharp tightening in his chest. He slipped out of the lecture hall, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.
"Sarah? What's wrong?"
"Ethan..." Her voice was a jagged wreck of sobs and gasps. "It's Mom. Kendra had an accident. She's... she's in the hospital."
The air in the hallway seemed to turn into lead. "What happened? Where is Dad?"
"It was Uncle Thomas," Sarah cried, her voice rising in panic. "He came over this morning. He was shouting about the loan, Ethan. He said he needed the money now, that he wouldn't wait another day. He was pushing past Mom into the house, and they were arguing on the porch... and then she fell. She fell back down the concrete steps, Ethan. There was so much blood."
Ethan's grip on the phone tightened until the frame groaned. "And Thomas? Where is he?"
"He left," she whispered. "He saw her hit the ground and he just... he got in his car and drove away. Dad asked me not to call you. He said you have enough pressure with your finals and the scholarship, and we don't have the money to handle it anyway, so they didn't want to bother you. But I couldn't... Ethan, she's not waking up."
"I'm coming home," Ethan said. His voice wasn't his own; it was a low, vibrating growl that sounded like grinding tectonic plates. "Stay with her. Do not worry about the cost. Do not worry about Thomas. I am coming."
He hung up and stood in the hallway for a single, terrifying second. His Mind, usually a sanctuary of cold logic, was being flooded by a crimson tide of memory. He knew exactly which loan Thomas was talking about. When Ethan had first been admitted to the university, his parents, Henry and Kendra, hadn't had enough for the tuition or necessary things, so they had swallowed their pride and gone to Henry's brother, Thomas.
Thomas was a man who smelled of cheap cigars and expensive entitlement. He had lent them the money, but he had turned that debt into a leash, using it to belittle Henry at every family gathering for years. Ethan knew his parents had borrowed more since then—small sums from neighbors and other loans—just to keep Ethan and Sarah fed and in school. They had bled themselves dry in silence so he could stand in this hallway.
And Thomas had pushed her.
Ethan didn't walk; he moved with a predatory speed that blurred the vision of the students he passed. After the last class for the day, he ignored the shouts of a campus security guard as he vaulted into his sedan. He didn't head home first. He headed for the Golden Dragon Hotel.
The valet at the Golden Dragon didn't even have time to greet him before Ethan was through the lobby. He found Mike, his lead Security, in the ready room.
"Mike. Get the keys to the Ferrari," Ethan commanded. "And the G-Wagon."
Mike stood up instantly, sensing the atmospheric shift. "Sir? You want to drive both?"
"I'm driving the Ferrari. You're driving the G-Wagon," Ethan said, his eyes locking onto Mike's. "I bought that G-Wagon for my father months ago. Today, he's getting it. Follow me to Shu City. Don't worry about the speed limits. If the police pull you over, tell them to send the bill to my office."
Minutes later, the roar of a V12 engine tore through the courtyard. The Ferrari 812 Competizione screamed as Ethan floored it. Behind him, the blacked-out Mercedes G-Wagon he bought for his father surged forward.
Ethan tore through the outskirts of the city. He was auditing Thomas's entire life. Thomas owned a mid-sized construction supply company and took pride in being the "successful" brother. Ethan felt a cold smile touch his lips as he wove through traffic at 140 mph. Thomas wanted his money back? Fine. Ethan would drown him in it.
The drive that usually took two hours was finished in forty-five minutes. As the high-performance vehicles entered his old neighborhood, neighbors came out onto their porches. Ethan pulled the Ferrari up in front of his parents' modest home. The G-Wagon pulled in behind, idling with a heavy rumble.
He stepped out, wearing a tailored black shirt, his silhouette sharp and imposing. He saw the blood on the concrete steps before he saw his father. Henry McCain was sitting on the porch, his head in his hands. He looked broken.
"Ethan?" Henry stood up, his voice trembling. "What... what are you doing here? And what are these?"
"Sarah called me, Dad."
"I told her not to!" Henry said, flushing with shame. "We can handle Thomas. It was just a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding doesn't put Mom in a hospital bed, Dad," Ethan said. He turned to Mike. "Mike, the keys."
Mike handed the leather-bound key fob to Ethan. Ethan pressed it into his father's calloused hand. "That's yours. I bought it for you a while ago. The right time is now."
Henry stared at the keys to the $250,000 SUV. "Ethan, what have you done? Where did this money come from?"
"The only person in trouble today is Uncle Thomas," Ethan replied. He pulled his phone out. "Elena? I'm in Shu City. I need you to buy the debt of Thomas McCain Construction Supplies. All of it. I want his suppliers to call him within the hour and tell him their contracts are cancelled. And then, buy the mortgage on his house."
He hung up and looked back at his father. "Go to the hospital, Dad. Drive your new car. Take Sarah. The Golden Dragon's medical team is already on their way to take over Mom's care. I've moved her to a private suite."
"Where are you going?" Sarah asked, her eyes wide.
Ethan got back into the Ferrari. The engine barked to life.
"I'm going to go pay back the loan," Ethan said.Chapter 43: I'm Going to Pay Back the Loan