Chapter 74: Gloved Hand

Vincent arrived in less than five minutes, his expression cold. When he stepped into the shop with fruits scattered on the ground, his first focus was on his younger sister.

Seeing her seated beside Evelyn, unharmed, he relaxed a little.

Then, he looked at the four thugs that had been tied up on the ground.

"You all have something to say?"

None of them said anything, choosing to remain silent. One of Vincent’s men leaned forward and smacked the head of the leader of the thugs.

The man hissed in pain. "I don’t know who you are, but you’re messing with the wrong people. Once the Skull Gang hears of this..."

"Skull Gang?" Vincent cut him off. "I see."

He walked past them and approached Evelyn and his sister. "None of you is hurt, right?"

They nodded. Shaking his head, Vincent turned to Evelyn. "Where is Ethan? Have you called him?"

She nodded slowly. "I have. He’s on his way back. And thank you, Vincent."

"It’s fine." He shook his head and turned around. "I’ll be taking them with me. Tell Ethan to call me once he’s back."

Evelyn nodded and watched him leave with Cassandra. His two men picked up the tied thugs and dragged them into the car before driving off.

She didn’t know where they were going, but she knew it definitely wasn’t the police station.

About ten minutes later, Ethan arrived, skidding the bike to a stop in front of the shop. He looked at the destruction with a frown, then stepped inside.

His gaze fell on Evelyn, and he approached her. Seeing him, the young woman threw herself into his arms and started crying.

Ethan hugged her silently and patted her back.

He knew exactly how she was feeling. She had been scared for herself, worried about protecting Nora, and dismayed at the sight of her pride being torn down.

It was no wonder that her happiness value plummeted. Ethan held her until she had stopped crying, then whispered in her ear.

"Are you alright now?"

She shook her head and sniffled. "T-The shop..."

Chuckling, Ethan brushed her hair. "Even if they burned it, it can be rebuilt. You don’t need to worry about that."

Although his words were casual and would displease any other person, she calmed down a little after hearing it.

She pulled away from him a little and wiped her tears. "Vincent said you should call him. He took those guys with him."

Ethan blinked, then nodded. "Let’s head back home first."

They managed to close the shop—somewhat, since the door was damaged—then got onto the bike.

Ethan drove his family back home, taking them inside. Nora still hadn’t said anything, but she was probably just as shaken as her mother.

Ethan immediately went to the kitchen to prepare warm tea for them while they waited in the living room.

Once he was done, he brought the cups to them. Evelyn accepted hers and took a sip.

Exhaling, she turned to him and asked, "Who were those people? Why would they come after us?"

She was sure they hadn’t offended anyone.

Smiling, Ethan answered, "It’s not a big deal, actually. I guess it’s the gang in the area trying to prove their dominance or something. Don’t think too much about it."

Nora glanced at him, then asked, "They won’t come again, right...?"

"Of course." Ethan smiled reassuringly. "Daddy will handle it and tell them to fuck off, alright?"

She nodded, turning away and taking a sip of the tea.

Evelyn knew it wasn’t that simple, but since Ethan obviously didn’t want to go deep to avoid worrying her, she didn’t press the issue.

He lingered for a few more minutes before standing up and checking his phone.

"I’ll go meet up with Vincent now. He’s probably waiting."

Evelyn wanted to stop him, but controlled herself. After all, just like he said, he needed to deal with the situation.

Knowing that she was still worried, Ethan smiled reassuringly. "Don’t worry. You’ll be fine here. Just don’t leave without notifying me, alright?"

She nodded, forcing a smile. "Come back safely."

He nodded and stepped outside. The instant he did, his smile vanished, and his expression became frighteningly calm.

He pulled out his phone and called Vincent.

The moment the call connected, he said, "Send me your location. I’m coming."

Vincent replied promptly. "I already did."

"Good." Ethan nodded and ended the call.

Getting on his bike, he rode out of the compound and headed to a popular dark alley in the area. Parking his bike by the road, he got down and walked into the alley by himself.

Surprisingly, there were no smokers or drinkers loitering around. Instead, the place was dead silent.

He ignored this and kept walking, finally stopping before a bar that had its doors wide open.

When he stepped inside, he was met with a peculiar sight.

Several thugs, beaten black and blue, were kneeling on the ground with their heads lowered.

Even as he entered, none of them dared raise their heads to look at him. Several of Vincent’s men stood among them, dressed in sharp black suits and keeping watch on them.

Ethan ignored them all and headed down to the basement

There, he found Vincent interrogating someone who appeared to be the leader of the Skull Gang.

The tattooed guy was strapped to a chair, his face swollen from slaps and repeated beatings.

Slap!

After giving him one last slap out of frustration, Vincent turned around to face Ethan.

"He’s not the actual person behind the attack. But he’s refusing to say anything."

Ethan hummed quietly without much reaction. Instead, he stared at the man with a curious look in his eyes.

Sensing the new arrival, the guy also raised his head and looked at Ethan while panting heavily.

Turning to Vincent, Ethan asked, "Do you have a glove?"

The young man was puzzled, but nodded. He quickly fetched a black glove and handed it to him.

Putting it on, Ethan approached the gang leader. Gently, he wrapped his gloved hand around the man’s neck without applying pressure and made him look up.

"Who sent you?"

The guy grunted stubbornly.

"I’m not telling you any—keuk!"