Spring Without Return - Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Ethan froze for a moment before letting out an icy laugh. "Do you even know who I am? You think you can arrest 2» me? "Mr. Ferguson, we are carrying out our duties according to the law. Please cooperate." The officer's tone stayed calm and emotionless. Ethan's heart sank. In that moment, he understood. Everything had been planned long ago. Once Olivia's betrayal was exposed, someone behind the scenes seized the chance to destroy the Ferguson Group and drag him down completely. "Who sent you?" Ethan demanded. The officers did not answer. One simply gestured toward the police car.

"Mr. Ferguson, this way." Reporters had already gathered outside. The moment they saw Ethan being escorted away, they rushed forward ina frenzy while camera flashes exploded around him. Ethan knew resisting would only make things worse. He took a deep breath and followed the police into the car. News of Ethan's arrest spread through the business world almost immediately. With no leader in charge, the Ferguson Group had no power to resist the combined attacks from several major corporations. The stock price crashed again and again. More than half the company's market value vanished overnight.

Several critical projects shut down. Panic spread through the company, and employees began resigning one after another. The assistant tried desperately to contact Ethan, but no messages got through. All he could do was struggle to hold the company together while helplessly watching it collapse. Meanwhile, trapped inside the detention center, Ethan could only learn about the outside world through television news reports. He watched the Ferguson Group crumble. He watched everything he had spent years rebuilding disappear piece by piece. There was nothing he could do.

One afternoon, a guard opened his cell door. "Ethan. You have a visitor." Ethan froze before a spark of hope lit inside him. Had his assistant found a solution? Had something changed with Olivia? When he entered the visitation room and saw the person sitting across the glass, his entire body went rigid. On the other side sat me. Calm. Expressionless. Beside me sat my older brother, Samuel Quinn. Aloud buzz filled Ethan's ears. At last, he understood that none of it had beena coincidence.

Olivia's conspiracy being exposed, the airport incident going public, the coordinated attacks from those corporations. Even the police arresting him. Every single thing had been aimed directly at him. The person behindit all... Was me. He rushed to the glass and pressed both hands against the cold surface. "Vivian... was it you? Did you arrange all of this?" I lifted my eyes to look at him, as if I were looking ata stranger. "Vivian, I know I was wrong." Ethan's eyes reddened. " Please... give me one more chance." He pounded against the glass.