Chapter 6 - THE DINER IN JEOPARDY
Sophie dropped the phone onto the counter. Her face went as white as a sheet.
Ethan stood up from the booth immediately. "Sophie? What happened?"
"The diner..." she whispered, her voice cracking as panic seized her chest. "Mr. Dale said an investment firm bought the block. They're demolishing the building next month. I'm losing my job, Ethan."
Ethan’s brow furrowed in confusion. "Demolishing? I hold the debt on this block through Vance Capital. I never authorized an eviction notice."
He pulled out his phone and dialed his chief executive officer. "Marcus. Why is there an eviction notice on 5th and Main?"
"Sir..." Marcus’s voice sounded hesitant over the line. "Your junior partner, Jonathan Hayes, signed off on a land sale six hours ago. He sold the development rights for the 5th Street corridor to Whitmore Development Group."
Ethan’s eyes turned to molten ice. "Whitmore?"
"Yes, sir. Richard Whitmore offered double the market value for the land. He claimed he wanted to build a luxury shopping center. Hayes assumed you wouldn't care about a rundown diner block."
Ethan ended the call without a word. He looked at Sophie, whose tears were now spilling silently over her cheeks.
"It's Vanessa Whitmore," Sophie wept, covering her face with her hands. "She did this because of what happened at the school. She wants to ruin me, Ethan! Without this job, I can't pay rent. They'll take my daughters away!"
Ethan walked around the counter, wrapped his long arms around her, and pulled her tightly against his chest. Sophie buried her face in his shoulder, her shoulders shaking with desperate sobs.
"Listen to me, Sophie," Ethan growled into her hair, his voice filled with terrifying power. "Nobody is taking your daughters. And nobody is taking your home."
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"What are you going to do?" she choked out.
"Jonathan Hayes fired himself the second he signed that deal," Ethan said coldly. "And Richard Whitmore is about to learn what happens when you try to bully a family under my protection."
