Chapter 127: I Don’t Understand What You’re Saying

Chapter 127: I Don’t Understand What You’re Saying

The banquet hall was in chaos. The men who'd been holding wine glasses just moments ago were now shoving their way to the exits, all manners forgotten.

Ethan stood by the collapsed wall and rolled his wrists.

The two remaining bodyguards closed in again. They were both hurt, but they came in harder than before.

One of them grabbed half a broken solid wood table leg and swung it at Ethan's head like a club.

Ethan caught it with one hand. He closed his fingers, and the wood exploded in his palm.

He followed through with a knee drive into the man's gut, then grabbed his head and slammed it straight into the floor.

The tile shattered. Blood splattered across half the wall.

The last bodyguard slid a metal blade out of his sleeve, dropped low, and lunged at Ethan's ankles. He was going for the legs — trying to take away Ethan's mobility.

Ethan stepped down.

The bodyguard's wrist crunched under his foot, but his other hand had already grabbed Ethan's pant leg. He opened his mouth to bite.

Ethan looked down at him and smiled. "The Valentine family's security team. Impressive dog training."

He kicked the man under the chin. The bodyguard flew sideways, crashed through the last partition wall, and landed in the main banquet hall outside.

Ethan stood in the wreckage and turned to look at Elowen.

She was still there. Her expression was colder than before, but she couldn't hide the shock in her eyes.

She clearly hadn't expected her three best guards to be taken apart by one person in that little time.

Ethan walked toward her.

"Now, Elowen." He stepped over broken wood and shattered glass. "We can finally have a real conversation."

Elowen instinctively stepped back. Her back hit the wall. "Who are you?"

"You've asked me that twice tonight. The answer's still the same." His voice was flat. "You don't get to ask first."

He glanced at the doorway to make sure no one else was coming, then looked back at her. "The Aeterna Causality. What's your family's connection to them?"

Elowen frowned. "What?"

"Don't play dumb." He held her gaze. "The Valentine family is working for someone. You're telling me you don't know who?"

Her eyes went from guarded to annoyed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ethan said nothing. He just watched her.

Elowen gritted her teeth. "You break into my family's dinner, attack me, put my bodyguards in the hospital, and now you want me to tell you about some organization I've never even heard of? Are you out of your mind?"

Ethan's brow shifted slightly. That reaction didn't look fake.

He changed his approach. "What has your father been doing lately?"

"Family business."

"Which part?"

"Real estate, investments, shipping, charitable foundations, art auctions. Is that enough?"

"Has your family had any recent contact with senior military officials?"

Elowen stared at him. "The Valentine family has contact with a lot of people. Politicians, prosecutors, senators, board members, military officers. That's normal. What exactly are you trying to ask?"

Ethan pressed on. "Have you ever seen people in black robes and masks showing up at your house?"

"Are you interrogating me, or writing a cheap thriller?" She stopped mid-sentence.

Something clicked. The anger in her eyes faded a little, replaced by confusion. "Wait. You're serious."

Ethan didn't deny it.

Elowen slowed down, her brow creased. "I don't know what organization you're talking about. My father doesn't tell me everything. But if you think the Valentine family is mixed up in something dirty, all I can tell you is that I haven't been part of it."

Ethan watched her for a few seconds. Breathing rate, eye movement, the tension in her shoulders. All steady.

She wasn't lying.

"Alright." He pulled one corner of his mouth up. "So that gold invitation didn't bring me to the person pulling the strings. It brought me a sheltered heiress who's been kept in the dark."

Elowen looked at him coldly. "You're really unpleasant to talk to."

Ethan didn't care. "A lot of people say that. Most of them are dead."

Elowen's breath caught. She shot him a look and turned away.

Ethan understood. Leo hadn't sent him to this ridiculous dinner for nothing. If Elowen didn't know about The Aeterna Causality, then the Valentine family wasn't as airtight as it looked.

At least Elowen wasn't sitting at that dirty table.

Which made her a way in.

Ethan pressed two fingers to his temple. "Fine. Different approach."

Elowen tensed immediately. "What are you going to do?"

He looked at her and smiled, calm as ever. "Kidnap you."

Elowen stared at him. Then her expression went completely flat. "You're insane."

"Always have been." He stepped forward. "I just need you to cooperate tonight."

Elowen reached for a dinner knife on the table, but Ethan was faster. He grabbed her wrist, twisted her arm behind her back, and snagged the tablecloth with his other hand, wrapping it around her hands in a few quick moves.

Elowen's face flushed red with fury. "Let go of me! Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Yeah." Ethan hauled her up over his shoulder. "Taking a lead home."

"You bastard! You animal! You're insane!"

"Thanks."

He carried her through the corridor, which had already descended into total chaos.

The guests and staff who saw them froze.

Someone started to reach for their phone. Ethan glanced at them. They went completely still and didn't move again.

The security team at the door rushed forward. They made it a few steps before Ethan kicked the one in front into a stone pillar. The man went down without a sound.

The rest stopped where they were. They looked sick, but none of them came any closer.

Ethan put Elowen in the passenger seat of a black Dodge, buckled her seatbelt, slammed the door, got in the driver's side, and floored it out of the banquet hall driveway.

Elowen kept her eyes locked on him. "You have no idea who you just messed with."

Ethan drove one-handed and lit a cigarette with the other. "I've been hearing that all day. People who say it usually don't end up well."

"The Valentine family will find you."

"Let them."

"You can't keep me long."

"Depends how fast your people move."

Elowen went quiet, jaw tight, her eyes going colder by the minute.

Half an hour later, the Dodge pulled into the underground garage of a secured apartment building. Ethan got out, walked around to the passenger side, and pulled her out.

The apartment door swung open. The living room light was still on.

Clara was in her robe, heading to the kitchen for a glass of water.

She'd just reached the counter when she looked up and saw Ethan walk through the door with a girl in an evening gown slung over his shoulder.