Chapter 396: They Will Strike Again!

Something in Ethan’s face hardened then, as if a wall had cracked under pressure. His eyes reddened, bloodshot not from pain but from emotions finally catching up to him.

Axel noticed but didn’t stop. “She and my wife already planned to celebrate your birthday at our house. That was before they even knew I had found you.”

Ethan let out a shaky breath, half a laugh, and half something dangerously close to breaking. “So… I’ve been invited to my own birthday without knowing it?”

“Apparently,” Axel said lightly, trying to lighten the heaviness in the room. “You’re very popular, Noah Henry Davis. Ugh, it sounds weird to call you that. For now, I’ll call you Ethan…”

That earned a quiet chuckle from Ethan, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Axel handed the iPad to him. “This is your family.”

Ethan hesitated before taking it. The screen lit up, revealing photos, documents, and names. His parents. His childhood. Faces he didn’t remember but somehow recognized all the same.

He scrolled slowly, his silence heavier than words.

Axel observed him intensely before speaking again. His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable weight behind it. “Do you want to meet your mother now?”

Ethan finally looked up. The conflict in his eyes was unmistakable, but so was the spark of something new, fragile yet undeniable.

“I want to,” Ethan said honestly.

Then he glanced down at himself, his fingers brushing lightly over the bandage on his chest and the brace supporting his arm.

“But not like this.” He gestured to his injuries with a faint, self-deprecating smile. “I don’t want her first impression of me to be… broken.”

Axel nodded slowly, understanding immediately.

A faint smile crossed Axel’s lips as a memory surfaced, unexpected but vivid. “That’s almost exactly what I told my wife last night,” he added, his tone softening. “When she asks whether you can meet your mother soon.”

Axel let out a quiet breath that almost resembled a chuckle, then continued, “Well, I agree with you, Ethan. Your mother has waited too long, hoped too hard. Seeing you injured like this would only hurt her more. I won’t let that happen.”

Ethan gave a small laugh, but the sound cut short when pain flared sharply in his chest. He sucked in a breath, his jaw tightening as he rode it out.

Axel’s gaze sharpened. “Careful.”

“I forgot my body hasn’t forgiven me yet,” Ethan muttered, inhaling slowly until the pain subsided.

Axel continued, his tone firm. “But you need to recover fast. I told Evelyn that you can meet your mother before your birthday.”

Ethan blinked. “When is that?”

“December thirty-first. Less than three weeks away.”

The room fell quiet. Only the steady hum of medical equipment filled the space, rhythmic and impersonal.

’December thirty-first.’ The date echoed in Ethan’s mind, strange and heavy. A birthday he had only learned about now. A day that was supposed to belong to him, yet felt like it belonged to someone else entirely. Someone he no longer remembered.

He lowered his gaze to the iPad resting on his lap, filled with files, photos, and names. His family. His past. No matter how many times he stared at the images, nothing surfaced. No warmth. No recognition. Just an aching emptiness where memories should have been.

“I’ll try,” he said quietly. “I’ll heal as fast as I can.”

Axel nodded once, satisfied with the answer.

“And,” Axel added after a moment, as casually as if discussing the weather, “my wife will come to visit you.”

Ethan’s head snapped up. “She will?”

Axel arched an eyebrow, amused by the reaction. “Why do you look so shocked? Are you afraid of her?”

Ethan let out a short laugh. “I’m not afraid,” he said, regaining his composure. “Just… nervous. You said she’s close to my mother. Meeting her feels like meeting a family I didn’t know I still had.”

Axel crossed his arms over his chest, his expression serious again.

“That’s because she is family. Evelyn and I already consider your mother our own. So naturally, that makes you ours too.” He held Ethan’s gaze steadily. “We are family.”

The word settled heavily between them.

Ethan stared at Axel for a long moment before nodding slowly. A genuine smile finally curved his lips. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Family.”

For a brief moment, the tension eased.

Then Axel’s expression hardened, the warmth fading as something darker surfaced in his eyes. “Alright. Enough of the sentimental talk.”

Ethan straightened slightly. He knew that look.

“Who sent mercenaries to kill you?” Axel asked flatly. “When you fought back… what did you see?”

“There were two teams,” Ethan said without hesitation. “Completely different.” He lifted a finger slightly, counting. “The first were local gangsters. Sloppy. Predictable. The second—” He paused, his eyes darkening. “Elite. Disciplined. Mercenaries. Some of them weren’t locals.”

Axel frowned. “Two teams?”

“Yes.” Tension flickered across Ethan’s face. “They weren’t working together. It was as if their objectives overlapped by coincidence… or by design.”

Axel fell silent, his mind already racing. “Do you think they’re connected to your past?”

Ethan’s jaw clenched. Memories—not of faces or names, but of violence, orders, and blood—pressed against the edge of his mind. The mercenary group he once belonged to. The life he had fought so hard to leave behind. The day he met Axel, the day he decided to walk away.

If they had found him…

“It’s possible,” Ethan admitted. “That’s why I asked Collins to investigate. If they tracked me down, then anyone around me could be at risk.”

Axel’s expression darkened. “He hasn’t contacted me yet either. Is he having trouble finding the clue?”

“That’s what worries me,” Ethan said quietly. “We can’t stay in the dark. If those people find out I’m alive, they won’t stop. They’ll strike again.”

“And next time,” Axel said, his voice low, “they won’t come unprepared.”

Ethan nodded grimly. “They already know me as Ethan Wright. If they dig deeper, the company—”

“I’ll handle the Wright Group,” Axel cut in firmly. “For now.”

Ethan looked at him sharply. “Axel, what if your identity as the real owner is exposed? That puts you in danger, too.”

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