1 My friend and I were just about to leave dinner when a man blocked our path, insisting I pay the bill for another table. I refused, telling him I didn’t know them. The man exploded. “Don’t you get it? I’m doing you a favor letting you pay my bill! You got a death wish, disrespecting the Rhodes Corporation in this city?” Before I could say a word, his arrogance swelled. “You know who I am? I’m the husband of Lilah Rhodes, the CEO of Rhodes Corporation! Scared now, huh?” I paused for a second, then pulled out my phone and dialed Lilah. “So, I hear you have another husband at the office?” … The moment I hung up, the man, completely unhinged, snatched my phone and smashed it on the floor. “You think calling for backup will save you? I’ll make sure you never walk out of this restaurant.” “Hey, back off!” My best friend, Edward Convery, pulled me behind him. “Is this how Rhodes Corporation handles its business? Cornering strangers to pay your tab, then getting violent?” The man’s face flushed a deep red at Edward’s challenge. “Business? In New York City, the Rhodes name is business!” he sneered. “I tell you to pay, it’s a privilege, understand?” “You want to talk about rules? My word is the rule here!” I couldn’t help but let out a laugh as I looked up at him. "Let's call you by your name. Dylan Shaw, right? Big as the Rhodes Corporation is, I doubt they taught you how to be a common mugger." Dylan sneered, planting his foot on a nearby chair like a low-life thug. “I’m giving you a chance to climb the ladder, you idiot! People are lining up to buy me dinner, and I wouldn’t even give them the time of day!” A chance to climb the ladder. Since when did the Cole family need to climb anyone’s ladder in this city? I glanced at Edward, whose expression had turned grim. Even a scion of the DC elite like him couldn't have imagined being bullied like this in New York by some suit from a second-rate corporation. Dylan let out a derisive snort and waved toward the entrance. “Listen up! In this city, I, Dylan Shaw, call the shots! Grab these two morons who don’t know their place!” As soon as the words left his mouth, seven or eight men in black suits swarmed in, instantly surrounding us. Edward instinctively tried to shield me, his fists already clenched. But he was outnumbered. Before he could even throw a punch, two of the guards had his arms pinned behind his back. “Edward!” I started to rush forward, but a sharp blow to the back of my neck sent my vision spiraling into darkness. Through the haze, I saw Edward struggling, spitting out a curse before a fist slammed into the side of his face. A trickle of blood immediately seeped from the corner of his mouth. I was shoved to the floor, forced to watch as Dylan kicked Edward square in the stomach, his voice a torrent of abuse. “You dare stick your nose in my business? Today, I’ll teach you both that the Rhodes name is not to be trifled with!” The bodyguards’ punches landed on me with dull, throbbing pain. Edward had just come to the city for a good time, and now he was caught in this senseless mess. My voice was hoarse as I yelled, “Dylan Shaw, I’m the one who’s legally married to Lilah Rhodes. My name is Ethan Cole.” I pointed a shaky finger at Edward, who was still pinned to the ground. “And he is Edward Convery, of the Convery family in D.C.! You let us go now, and we can still walk away from this!” At my words, Dylan’s foot froze mid-air. Then he burst into laughter. “Lilah’s husband? A Convery? Did you two get hit a little too hard in the head?” The people at his table erupted in laughter. “Everyone knows the VP, Mr. Shaw, is the boss’s man.” “This guy’s got some nerve, making up stories like that.” “The Convery family? From D.C.? Never heard of them. Probably just pulled the name out of thin air to scare us.” Dylan leaned down, his fingers digging into my chin, his eyes filled with menace. “Say you’re her husband one more time, and I’ll break your arm right now. I’m going to teach you what’s real and what’s fake. Only I get to say her name. And I’m the only man for her.” Edward, still pinned to the floor with blood trickling from his lip, managed a sarcastic smirk. “Well, Ethan, my friend, looks like this marriage of yours has been a complete waste. The other guy is claiming your wife right to your face, and you’re the one left looking like a fool.” His words startled a laugh out of me, but mine was laced with fury. While Dylan’s grip was still tight on my chin, I whipped my head to the side and sank my teeth into his wrist. He howled in pain, his hand flying open. I used the momentum to drive my knee hard into the groin of the guard behind me. As he doubled over in agony, I grabbed a beer bottle from a nearby table and smashed it over the head of the other guard holding me. By the time Dylan recovered, I was on him, my fist connecting squarely with his face. The sudden counter-attack stunned him. He staggered back, blood gushing from his nose. “You son of a bitch, you hit me?!” Dylan roared, a mix of shock and rage on his face. He lunged at me, but I caught his arm, twisted it, and threw him to the floor. I straddled him, raining punch after punch. The Rhodes Corporation employees at his table, reeking of alcohol, scrambled to pull me off. “You’re attacking VP Shaw? You want to die?” Somehow, Edward had broken free. He kicked away a man lunging at me and roared, “Give him hell, Ethan! I’ve never been so disrespected in my entire life!” In the chaos, someone smashed a chair across my back. I grunted in pain but didn’t stop. Dylan was screaming, clawing wildly at my hair. “Rhodes security! Take him down! I’ll take responsibility for whatever happens! Triple bonuses for everyone!” The employees surged forward like a crazed mob, grabbing my arms, wrapping their arms around my waist, one of them kicking at the back of my knees. As I was being pulled back, Dylan saw his chance and kicked me hard in the stomach. I stumbled back, and just as I was about to charge again, a sharp voice cut through the chaos from the restaurant entrance. “Everybody freeze!” Two uniformed police officers pushed their way in. They surveyed the wreckage, their brows furrowed. But when their eyes landed on the bruised and battered Dylan Shaw on the floor, their expressions changed instantly. “Mr. Shaw? What are you doing here? What’s going on?” one of the officers, a portly man, asked, his voice dripping with deference as he hurried to help Dylan up. Seeing the police, Dylan acted as if his saviors had arrived. He pointed a trembling finger at me and Edward. “Officer Wang! These two lunatics from out of town! They refused to pay, then they started a fight! Look what they did to me! And my employees! They’re all injured!” The portly cop glanced at our own cuts and bruises and dismissed them completely. He turned on us, his face a mask of authority. “What do you two think you’re doing? Brawling in broad daylight and assaulting employees of the Rhodes Corporation? You’ve got a lot of nerve!” “He was the one who started it,” Edward said, spitting out a mouthful of blood. “He tried to force us to pay his bill and attacked us first.” “Nonsense!” Dylan shot back immediately. “I was just offering them a chance to get on the good side of the Rhodes name, and they threw it back in my face! They even had the audacity to impersonate my wife’s husband and someone from some big-shot D.C. family.” The portly cop clearly bought his story, gesturing at the shattered glass and overturned tables. “Regardless, you beat him up like this and trashed the place. You’re clearly in the wrong! Let me tell you something, in this city, everyone shows respect to the Rhodes Corporation! Mr. Shaw is Ms. Rhodes’ right-hand man. You mess with him, you’re disrespecting Rhodes, and you’re messing with the way things work in New York!” The other officer, a thin man, was already dangling a pair of handcuffs. “Enough talk. You’re coming with us. Oh, and you’ll be covering Mr. Shaw’s bill, the damages to the restaurant, his medical bills, and his emotional distress. Then, maybe if you get on your knees and apologize, Mr. Shaw might consider letting this go.” “On what grounds?” I laughed, the sound sharp with disbelief. “He started this, and you’re just going to convict us without even asking what happened?” “On the grounds that you’re from out of town!” the portly cop waved his hand dismissively. “You’re in our city, you play by our rules. Mr. Shaw letting you pay his bill was an honor. Don’t be an ungrateful punk!” Edward sneered. “I’d love to see if this city’s ‘rules’ are above the actual law.” “Oh, a tough guy, huh?” The thin officer stepped forward to cuff me. “Looks like you need to be taught a lesson!” I sidestepped him, which only enraged him further. He whipped out a taser, the crackle of electricity filling the air. “You want to do this the hard way?” he said, jabbing it toward me. “Fine by me. You’ll be begging for mercy by the time you see a jail cell.” A jolt of pure energy seared through my limbs. My whole body went numb, and I almost collapsed. Edward caught me, his eyes blazing. “Are you out of your mind? That’s abuse of power!” “Abuse of power? I’m just doing my job,” the portly cop shot back, pulling out his own taser and pointing it at Edward. “In this city, Rhodes business is everyone’s business. People like you who don’t know their place need to be taught a lesson in respect!” Edward let out a choked grunt as the electricity hit him, the acrid smell of ozone filling the air. “You power-tripping pieces of trash… you’ll regret this…” he gasped. “Regret it?” The cop’s grin widened. He used his baton to lift Edward’s chin. “You can regret it all you want while you’re getting your ass beat in a cell every day.” He turned to Dylan with a fawning smile. “Mr. Shaw, how’s that? Should we turn it up a notch for you?” Dylan watched, smug and satisfied. “Yeah, give them some more. They need to learn who’s in charge here.” The portly cop gave me a kick for good measure, then bowed to Dylan. “Mr. Shaw, if you don’t mind me asking, when is Ms. Rhodes due? My partner and I would love to send a proper gift to congratulate you both.” The thin cop nodded eagerly. “Absolutely! We’d be honored to share in your joy. Maybe Ms. Rhodes could even put in a good word for us, you know?” At the mention of this, Dylan’s chest puffed out. “About four or five months to go. We had it checked. It’s a boy.” Lilah… pregnant… The words hit me like a physical blow. I had been away on a business trip for six months, just recently returned to the city, and Lilah… she was already having a baby. Rage flooded my system. We had been married for two years, and every time I brought up having kids, she’d use her busy schedule at the company as an excuse to put it off. I struggled to my feet. Seeing me move, the thin cop prepared to tase me again, aiming the prongs right for the back of my neck. The electricity made my vision swim, and I nearly went down again. Seeing his chance, Dylan grabbed a nearby stool, ready to bring it down on my head. Just then, the sharp, hurried click of high heels echoed from the restaurant entrance. Lilah Rhodes swept in. Her gaze passed over the wreckage without a flicker of surprise, but when it landed on Dylan, her voice softened. “What happened? Who hurt you?” Dylan immediately put on a wounded expression. “Lilah, you’re here! These two went crazy. They impersonated your husband and then they attacked me! They even fought the police!” The portly cop scurried over. “Ms. Rhodes, you’re just in time! These two out-of-towners were causing trouble, insulting you and Mr. Shaw. We were just handling it according to the law!” Lilah’s gaze finally fell on me, cold and disgusted, as if she were looking at something foul. “Ethan Cole. I really underestimated you. You come back from a six-month trip just to start brawls like some common thug?” She glanced at Edward. “And the trash you associate with is an embarrassment. Coming to New York to run wild? Do you think my company is a joke?” I wiped a smear of blood from my lip. “Lilah, let me ask you something. Dylan Shaw is going around calling himself your husband, and he tried to force me to pay for his corporate dinner. What exactly is going on?”
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