Ethan Storm’s Dark Awakening novel Chapter 14

The air inside the grand ballroom was still heavy with disbelief. No one moved. No one breathed. All eyes were glued to the man who stood like a god among mortals—Ethan, calm as ever, tucking his handkerchief back into his pocket.

He hadn’t flinched.

He hadn’t hesitated.

He’d just destroyed Carl Irving—the sole heir to the most feared family in the country—without blinking.

Sierra’s shriek still echoed off the marble walls, but Ethan didn’t spare her a glance. He turned to Alice, who was pale as a sheet, frozen where she stood. Her heart thundered in her chest, lips slightly parted, but no words came.

“Let’s go,” Ethan said quietly, and without waiting, he walked past the carnage, past the murmuring crowd, as if none of it mattered.

Alice hesitated, then ran after him, heels clicking against the marble. She caught up, grabbing his arm.

“Ethan,” she whispered urgently, “what have you done?!”

He looked at her with an unreadable expression. “I did what had to be done.”

“You don’t understand,” she hissed, dragging him into a side corridor. “Carl—he’s the only heir of the Irving family! They won’t let this go. They’ll come after you with everything they have!”

“I know,” Ethan said simply.

“You know?!” Her voice cracked with disbelief. “Then why… why would you go so far?! You crippled him, Ethan! They’ll want your head!”

He didn’t answer right away. Then he said, “Men like him thrive because no one ever stops them. I stopped him.”

Her knowledge of Ethan was limited to his influential position in Nova Corp, which was not enough to withstand the wrath of the Irving family.

“You’re not worried at all, are you?” she whispered.

Ethan finally met her gaze. “The Irving family is powerful, but power means nothing when it’s built on fear and rot. Let them come.”

Alice’s fingers clenched Ethan’s wrist tighter as they walked briskly through the hallway toward the side exit of the Grand Pavilion.

“You’re coming with me,” she muttered under her breath, voice sharp with panic. “You have no idea what you’ve stirred.”

Ethan didn’t resist. He allowed her to lead, but his steps remained calm, unrushed.

“I do know,” he said quietly. “I just don’t care.”

Alice stopped short and spun to face him. Her chest rose and fell quickly, her voice a whisper laced with fury. “You don’t care?! Ethan, they will kill you! The Irving family isn’t some stock market rival you can outwit with contracts. They’ll burn your world to the ground!”

He looked at her for a long second. “Let them try.”

Alice’s lips parted in disbelief. “You’re insane…”

“Maybe,” he said. “But I don’t let men like Carl breathe easy.”

She stared into his eyes—there was no bravado in them. Just steel. No fear. No regret. That terrified her more than anything.

This wasn’t the calculating CEO she thought she knew. This was someone else. Someone terrifyingly fearless.

—

Inside the private ward of St. Benedict Elite Hospital…

The double doors slammed open with a thunderous bang.

Martin Irving, patriarch of the Irving family, stormed in like a tempest, his gold-tipped cane striking the polished floor with brutal force.

“Where is he?!” he barked. “Where’s my son?!”

Doctors and nurses froze mid-step, exchanging anxious glances as the hospital’s most feared benefactor marched through the corridor with barely contained fury. His assistant, pale and sweating, pointed with a trembling hand toward the ICU.

“Th-that way, sir. Room 7…”

A nurse tried to intervene, stepping forward gently. “Sir, please calm down, we—”

Martin snapped, “If someone doesn’t speak in the next three seconds, I’ll make sure this hospital loses its funding today!”

Just then, the doors to the ward creaked open again. Sierra appeared, her eyes wide with faux concern, but beneath it—panic.

“Mr. Irving…” she began cautiously, her voice syrupy with just the right touch of fear.

Martin turned, his bloodshot eyes locking on her. “You! Who let you in here?”

“I—I came as soon as I heard,” she said breathlessly, wringing her hands. “I know who did this to Carl.”

The entire room froze.

Martin’s nostrils flared. “Speak.”

Sierra stepped forward, lowering her voice just enough to sound intimate—confidential. “It was Ethan,” she said. “Ethan Storm. My ex-husband. He’s the one who attacked Carl.”

In fact, she came because she was worried that her past marriage to Ethan would affect her.

The silence turned deadly.

“He’s dangerous. And worse, he’s with Alice Morgan now. Her kept man. She’s hiding him.”

The name hit like a slap across the face. Martin’s lips curled into a sneer. “The Morgans…”

She rushed to explain, seeing his reaction. “Yes! That Alice. She and Ethan—he’s living under her roof, sleeping in her bed. I know it sounds insane, but she’s protecting him. You want Carl’s justice? Start with her.”

Martin’s face tightened into a grotesque grimace.

He grabbed his cane off the floor, straightened his jacket, and turned to his assistant. “Get every man we have. Go to the Morgan estate. I want Ethan Storm alive and in chains. Bring him to me.”