A Matrilocal Husband's Counterattack

Chapter 14: Call the Toughest

The strike was ruthless, shocking countless onlookers.
Ethan was no saint. He knew clearly that without Ms. Scarlet's backing and his strength, he would have been trampled like a dog by Thomas today.
Worse, even Sophia might have been forcibly taken by the other side.
So he showed no mercy, crippling Thomas's left hand.

Only this way would Thomas and his group feel fear and respect, and refrain from targeting him or Sophia again.
Indeed, Thomas's lingering defiance dissipated under Ethan's blade.

As Ethan left with Sophia, Thomas's eyes were filled with fear and relief from escaping death.
For the rest of his life, Ethan would be Thomas's nightmare.

After leaving the Western restaurant, Sophia originally wanted to question Ethan about his violence, but an urgent call came, and she had to return to the company for a meeting.
She could only drop Ethan off at the bus stop.
Before leaving, she reminded him, "No debt collecting!"

After sending Sophia off, Ethan left the bus stop and hailed a taxi to the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.
Regardless of whether he divorced Sophia in the future, Ethan wanted to resolve the favor Linda had brought up.
In the taxi, Ethan used the time to review the martial arts techniques he practiced in the morning.

At 3:30 p.m., the taxi arrived at the end of Eternal Spring Street in Everbright District.
There stood a seven-story building.
The building was somewhat aged but appeared sturdy. A large open space was in front of the entrance, flanked by several small shops.
The words "Four Seas Chamber of Commerce" were boldly displayed at the building's entrance, exuding an imposing presence.

On the way there, Ethan had learned that the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was an organization under the Four Seas Group and part of Tiger Dalton's dark forces.
The person in charge was Victor Blacke, one of Tiger Dalton's trusted lieutenants.
Of course, calling him a lieutenant or president was just a euphemism for a gang leader.

The chamber used the guise of a business association to carry out shady activities, with blood often on their hands.
Since injuries were frequent, the chamber had a fixed arrangement with Spring Wind Clinic for treatment and purchased large quantities of anti-inflammatory drugs from them monthly.
Although Linda was unwilling to deal with such people, the clinic had no authority to refuse patients, and she also feared retaliation from the chamber.
Thus, they maintained polite cooperation over the years.

The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce also respected the clinic, settling accounts every 60 days and maintaining an outstanding balance of around one million dollars.
They never over-owed but never paid it off completely, keeping the clinic dependent on the cooperation.

For some reason, however, they hadn't settled the latest bill after 60 days and even took 500,000 dollars worth of medicine on credit a few days ago.
This emptied the clinic's stock of anti-inflammatory and hemostatic drugs, bringing the debt to a staggering two million dollars.

This put enormous pressure on Linda and made her anxious. After several attempts to demand payment, Victor Blacke kept postponing, saying, "Let's talk in a few days."
It was clear to everyone that Victor was stalling on the debt.

Two million dollars was no small amount for Linda. The clinic's annual profit was barely over one million, so the debt weighed heavily on her.
Yet she couldn't openly confront Victor, knowing that Tiger Dalton was backing him.
Thus, when Ethan talked about divorcing Sophia, Linda seized the opportunity to dump the problem on him, hoping to watch him make a fool of himself.

"Clang—"
As Ethan stepped out of the taxi, a few thugs chatting at the entrance approached him.
The driver sped away upon seeing them.

Ethan calmly walked toward the thugs.
A blond youth barked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Ethan politely responded, "Hello, I'm Ethan from Spring Wind Clinic. I'm here to see Mr. Blacke to settle the outstanding payment."

"Ethan? Spring Wind Clinic? The Thompson family's live-in son-in-law?"
Hearing the mention of debt collection and Ethan, the blond youth's eyes lit up. "You're that loser?"

The next moment, he whistled sharply.
With a loud commotion, over a dozen thugs poured out of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, armed with baseball bats and steel pipes.
Shortly after, a bald man appeared, fiddling with prayer beads.
His face was rugged, exuding menace.

It was none other than Victor Blacke, the leader of the Four Seas Chamber.
He sneered at Ethan. "So you're Ethan?"

Sensing something was off, Ethan replied, "Yes, I'm Ethan from Spring Wind Clinic."

"My niece-in-law is quite resourceful."
Victor grinned smugly. "She said that if we withheld Spring Wind Clinic's payment, the Thompson family would send you, the loser, right to our door."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Kid, you're in trouble."
Victor's smile turned sinister. "Alexander is my nephew. You injured him, and I'm here to settle the score for him."