Chapter 101

Chapter 101

From last night to today, Chicago looked calm on the surface, but the undercurrents beneath would never truly stop just because of a birthday banquet. On the contrary, tonight's gift-giving move would only confirm to more people that Lena really had someone backing her, and someone powerful enough to make even Schumann show respect.

The more this was the case, the more people would start getting ideas.

Just as they were talking, there was a soft knock at the door.

Everyone in the room looked up at the same time.

Ethan got up and walked over. When he opened the door, Jennifer was standing outside.

She didn't come in, but spoke from the doorway: "Things are wrapping up at Kaufman Manor, but there's something you should see right now."

Ethan took the phone she handed him, and his expression darkened after just one glance.

Seeing his expression change, Lena asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Ethan turned the screen toward her.

It was a captured photo taken at the side entrance of Kaufman Manor. In the image, Lucas hadn't left right away. After the banquet ended, he had stopped Carol alone. They weren't standing particularly close, but both looked serious—clearly discussing something that couldn't be said in the main hall.

Jennifer leaned against the doorframe and added flatly, "Our people caught a couple of sentences, not everything. But it seems Lucas wants to use the Carrow family's influence to keep investigating you."

Lena's fingers tightened.

"Investigating me, or investigating the person behind me?"

"Both," Jennifer said. "But he cares more about the latter."

Ethan locked the phone screen, his voice turning noticeably colder: "Looks like tonight's slap still wasn't hard enough to hurt him."

Jennifer looked at him: "Want me to handle it now?"

"Not yet," Ethan said. "Let him make a few more moves."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow: "You want to follow the Carrow family connection and dig deeper?"

"Yes," Ethan said. "The Davis family doesn't have the guts or the brains on their own. If he dares approach Carol now, it means tonight's gift completely got to him. In that case, we might as well let them take a few more steps forward and drag out whoever's hiding behind the scenes."

Jennifer nodded without saying more.

She knew that once Ethan used this tone, it meant Lucas wasn't just annoying to him anymore—he'd officially been added to the list of people who would be dealt with later.

"I'll head back and keep watch then." Before turning to leave, she glanced at the two children in the room, her voice softening slightly. "We've added more people at the door. Get some rest early."

"Okay," Lena replied.

After the door closed again, the room fell quiet once more.

Ewan looked up at Ethan and suddenly asked, "That person outside, he wants to bully her again?"

Ethan looked at him for two seconds and nodded: "Something like that."

Ewan closed the book in his hands. His voice wasn't loud, but it was serious: "Then don't let him succeed."

After hearing this, the coldness in Ethan's eyes softened slightly.

"I won't," he said with certainty.

Nia was listening on the side, only half understanding. She just knew that someone outside seemed to be causing trouble again, so she instinctively moved closer to Lena. Lena stroked her head without saying anything, but her gaze remained on Ethan's face for a long time.

She knew that tonight was far from truly peaceful.

Lucas wouldn't give up.

After today, Chicago was no longer the Chicago it used to be.

Black Tiger Society was gone, Vertex Holdings Group had half-collapsed, the police had apologized, the Davis family was in chaos, and Kaufman Manor had been thoroughly overwhelmed by a gift-giving scene that covered half of Chicago. By this point, everyone understood that last night's storm wasn't the end—it was someone formally telling Chicago:

From today on, the rules are changing.

Just then, car horns sounded outside.

A convoy finally came to a steady stop at the door, and a figure stepped out of a vehicle.

Eddie was the first to bow his head: "Chicago Dragon Security Bureau branch director Eddie, welcomes the commander."

As his words fell, everyone behind him bent forward in unison, their voices pressing down together: "We welcome the commander!"

Ethan stood in front of the vehicle, looking at the sea of bowed figures before him, his face showing no extra emotion.

After a few seconds, Ethan finally spoke. "Everyone's here?"

Eddie's throat bobbed: "All who should be present are here."

"Should be?"

Ethan's gaze slowly swept across the crowd, his voice not heavy but causing several people in the back to change expressions simultaneously. "So that means there are also people who shouldn't be standing here, but they came in anyway."

A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on Eddie's back.

He knew today's welcome couldn't just be for show, and he knew Ethan would never follow some pre-arranged procedure step by step. But he still hadn't expected that the moment Ethan got out of the car, his first words would hit straight at these people's hearts.

Those who should be present, and those who shouldn't be standing here.

This wasn't just about word choice—it was openly telling everyone that today wasn't just a welcome, but the beginning of a purge.

Two people in the back rows turned pale.

One of them even instinctively stepped back half a step, as if trying to hide. But the moment he moved, two guards standing on the perimeter looked up simultaneously, their cold gazes pressing down on him.

The man froze on the spot, not daring to move again.

Ethan glanced over but didn't call him out. He just took a step forward.

"Let's go inside and talk."

Eddie quickly stepped aside: "Yes."

The doors of the Chicago Dragon Security Bureau branch opened slowly before everyone.

Ethan walked at the front, Eddie half a step behind, and the group following behind didn't dare push ahead or fall behind—they could only follow inside. And those people watching from behind the control line outside didn't dare breathe normally until the entire line of figures had completely gone inside.

People in the crowd were already starting to speak in low voices.

"It really is him."

"The mayor really came."

"Last night in the South District was just the opening act."

"Did you see Eddie? Someone who's usually so tough was standing at the door today not daring to even lift his head first."

"No kidding, would you dare?"

"What I really want to know now is, after they go inside today, who's going to be in trouble first."

No one could answer that question.

Because the real answer was now unfolding bit by bit inside that building.

In the conference hall, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

Ethan walked to the head seat but didn't rush to sit down. Instead, he first looked at how everyone was positioned in the hall.

Finally, his gaze stopped on a middle-aged man in the third row on the right side.