Ethan woke to the sound of birds outside the guest room window, a stark contrast to the car horns and sirens of Chicago's South Side. The estate was too quiet, too perfect, like a picture from a magazine he'd never afford. He lay in the oversized bed, his mind replaying yesterday's meeting with Victor Langston his father. The word still felt like a lie, but Victor's eyes, so much like his own, made it hard to deny. Ethan's anger hadn't faded, but it was tangled with questions he couldn't shake. Why now? What did Victor really want?
He got up, splashing water on his face in the marble bathroom. His reflection looked out of place, a guy in a faded T-shirt staring back from a world of wealth. He pulled on his jeans and button-up, the only decent clothes he had, and headed downstairs. Claudia had said breakfast would be served in the dining room, and Victor wanted to talk more.
The dining room was massive, with a long table covered in a white cloth and plates of food Ethan barely recognized—fancy pastries, fruit cut into perfect slices, some kind of egg dish that smelled too rich. Victor sat at the head, reading a tablet, his face pale but composed. Another person was there, a young woman about Ethan's age, with sharp features and dark hair pulled into a bun. She looked up as Ethan entered, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Ethan," Victor said, setting the tablet down. "Good morning. This is Elise, my adopted daughter."
Elise gave a tight smile, her posture stiff. "Nice to meet you," she said, but her tone said otherwise.
Ethan nodded, sitting across from her. "Yeah, you too."
Victor gestured to the food. "Help yourself. We have a lot to discuss."
Ethan grabbed a pastry and a coffee, his stomach too knotted to eat much. Elise watched him, her expression was hard to read with a part curious, and a part suspicious. He wondered what she thought of him, some random guy showing up to claim her father's attention.
"I want you to see the company today," Victor said, sipping his coffee. "Langston Enterprises isn't just money, Ethan. It's power, influence. I built it from nothing, and I want you to understand what it means."
Ethan's grip tightened on his mug. "I don't get why you think I'm the guy for this. I'm not like you."
Victor's eyes softened, just a fraction. "You're more like me than you know. You're stubborn, like I was. And you're loyal, like your mother."
"Don't talk about her," Ethan snapped, then caught himself. Elise raised an eyebrow, but Victor didn't flinch.
"Fair enough," Victor said. "But you're here, Ethan. That means something. Let me show you what I've built."
Ethan wanted to argue, to walk out and go back to his life, but Ava's words echoed in his head: You deserve the truth. He needed to know more, to understand why Victor had left and why he was pulling Ethan in now. "Fine," he said. "Show me."
After breakfast, Claudia drove them into the city, Ethan and Victor in the back of another sleek SUV. Elise stayed behind, saying she had work to do. Ethan caught her watching him as they left, her eyes sharp, like she was sizing him up. He didn't trust her, and he definitely didn't trust Claudia, whose polite smile never reached her eyes.
Langston Enterprises' headquarters was a glass tower that seemed to touch the sky. Inside, it was all polished floors and people in suits moving fast, talking in hushed tones. Victor led Ethan to the top floor, where a boardroom overlooked the city. A team of executives was waiting, their faces a mix of curiosity and skepticism.
"This is Ethan Grey," Victor said, his voice carrying weight. "He's here to learn about our operations."
The executives nodded, but Ethan felt their stares. He was a stranger in their world, a guy who smelled like motor oil in a room of cologne and power. Victor walked him through the company's work—tech startups, real estate deals, energy projects across the globe. The numbers were dizzying: billions in revenue, thousands of employees, offices in London, Tokyo, and Dubai. Ethan tried to follow, but it was like learning a new language.
One executive, a man named Richard Hale, stood out. He was older, with a slick smile and eyes that didn't match it. "So, Ethan," Hale said, leaning forward. "What's your background? You in business?"
Ethan shifted in his seat. "I fix cars and deliver pizzas."
The room went quiet, a few executives exchanging glances. Hale's smile widened, but it felt like a jab. "Interesting. Quite a leap to this."
Victor cut in, his tone sharp. "Ethan's here to learn. He has potential."
Hale nodded, but Ethan didn't miss the glint in his eyes. This guy was troubled, he could feel it.
After the meeting, Victor took Ethan to his office, a huge space with a desk the size of a car and windows showing half of Manhattan. "What do you think?" Victor asked, sitting behind the desk.
Ethan stood by the window, hands in his pockets. "It's... big. I don't know how you do this."
"You could," Victor said. "With time. I'll teach you."
Ethan turned, his anger flaring. "Why do you care? You didn't want me for twenty-eight years. Now I'm supposed to be your legacy?"
Victor coughed, a rough sound that made him wince. "I made mistakes, Ethan. I thought staying away was best but I was wrong and I'm trying to fix it."
"Fix it?" Ethan said. "You can't fix years of nothing. Mom worked herself to death while you sat here. And now you're dying, so you want me to take your place? That's not fixing anything."
Victor's face tightened, but he didn't argue. "You're right. I failed you. But this is your birthright. You can walk away, but it's yours if you want it."
Ethan shook his head, pacing. "I don't even know what I want. This isn't my life."
"It could be," Victor said. "Stay a week, learn the business, meet the people, then decide."
Ethan wanted to say no, to go back to Chicago where things made sense. But the truth was, he didn't know what he was going back to. A life of scraping by, of watching Sarah struggle? He thought of Ava, her voice steady on the phone last night. She'd told him to find the truth. Maybe this was part of it.
"Okay," Ethan said finally. "A week. But I'm not promising anything."
Victor nodded, a faint smile on his lips. "That's enough for now."
Back at the estate that evening, Ethan sat in his room, staring at his phone. He needed to talk to someone who wasn't part of this world. He called Ava, and she picked up on the second ring.
"Hey," she said, her voice warm. "How's New York?"
"Crazy," Ethan said, lying back on the bed. "This place is like another planet. And Victor... he's my dad, Ava. It's real."
She was quiet for a moment. "That's huge, Ethan. How do you feel?"
"Mad," he said. "Confused. He wants me to take over his company, like I can just step into his shoes. I don't know if I trust him."
"You don't have to decide now," Ava said. "Take it one step at a time. What's he like?"
Ethan thought of Victor's tired eyes, his cough. "He's old and sick. Says he's sorry, but I don't know if I believe him. And there's this woman, Elise, his adopted daughter. She's... weird. Like she doesn't want me here."
"Maybe she's scared," Ava said. "You're showing up out of nowhere, part of her world. Give it time."
"Yeah," Ethan said, but he wasn't so sure. Elise's cold stare, Claudia's fake smile, Hale's smirk all felt like warnings. "Thanks for listening, Ava. I needed this."
"Anytime," she said. "You're still you, Ethan. Don't let this place change that."
He smiled, her words grounding him. "I'll try. Talk tomorrow?"
"Deal," she said, and hung up.
Ethan set the phone down, his mind heavy. He thought of Sarah, who hadn't called him back today. She was hiding something, he was sure of it. And Victor's world felt like a puzzle with pieces he didn't understand. He'd agreed to stay a week, but already he felt like he was in over his head.
As he drifted to sleep, one thought stuck with him: whatever came next, he'd face it on his terms.