A Matrilocal Husband's Counterattack

Chapter 17: Forged?

At 7 PM, Ethan arrived at the Thompson family's gate, stepping out of the taxi.
He took off the Rolex from his wrist and placed it back into its inconspicuous box.

This was the latest model Rolex, still a traditional watch but equipped with fingerprint recognition. Ethan had configured it so only he could activate the watch hands.
He decided not to wear it into the house to avoid Linda and the others mocking him.

Standing at the door, Ethan still felt a sense of disbelief.

A week ago, he had been kneeling before dozens of people, begging for a mere 100000 dollars.
Today, he carried a Rolex worth tens of thousands and had resolved a major problem for the Thompson family.

It was truly unbelievable.

Lost in thought, Ethan rang the doorbell.

Before long, Sophia came to answer. She softened her gaze upon seeing him but said nothing and silently returned to the dining room.

Ethan stepped inside to see the Thompson family happily eating dinner together.

Henry and Flora were also present, and the coffee table was covered with gifts—an obvious attempt to apologize to Linda for the counterfeit painting incident.

The five were having a joyous time, never once thinking to wait for Ethan before eating, nor feeling the need to.

Ethan changed into house slippers, casually leaving the Rolex box at the entrance, and walked into the dining room.

"Ethan, haven't eaten yet?" Timothy coughed lightly. "Why don't you join us?"

Having misunderstood Ethan earlier that morning and even punched him, Timothy felt guilty.

"What are you inviting him for? Are you full of yourself?" Linda snapped, glaring.
"There are only eight dishes—we barely have enough for ourselves. Why let a freeloader eat?"

Timothy hesitated. "But eight dishes... we can't possibly finish them all."

"Not finish them? Ridiculous." Linda interrupted. "Henry and Flora haven't even had much yet."

Henry chuckled. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll make sure nothing's left on the table."

Timothy cast Ethan a sympathetic glance. "But he's family, after all. Ethan even helped you this morning—"

"Shut it!" Linda slammed her chopsticks onto the table.
"You're always trying to play the nice guy, but he? Hardly.

"Talking about divorce, collecting debts—he's a hundred times more capable than you. Do you think he'd starve?"

Henry added sarcastically, "Exactly. The man ate a three-million-dollars ginseng fruit. He could go three years without food and still be fine."

Sophia's face darkened but she said nothing.
She knew defending Ethan would only provoke her mother further, making things worse for him.

Better to endure it and let the moment pass.

"So? Did you get the two million back?" Linda sneered.
"Spent the whole day out—if not two million, maybe twenty thousand?"

Clanging her ladle loudly against the serving bowl, she continued,
"Always pretending to be capable, but what skills do you even have? Time for a lesson!"

Timothy tried to mediate. "Come on, Linda. Ethan was just upset this morning—don't hold it against him."

"Shut up!" Linda shot him a glare before turning to Ethan with a cold smile.
"And now? What grand ambition were you talking about? Was that just hot air?"

Henry jeered, "If Ethan actually manages to collect money from the Four Seas Chamber, I'll eat this table."

Ignoring their provocations, Ethan calmly pulled out a check and slapped it onto the table.

"Smack—"
"This is the two million dollars owed to Spring Wind Clinic by the Four Seas Group."

"Smack—"
"This is a three-year contract with the Four Seas Group."

"Smack—"
"And this is a ten-million-dollar prepayment check from the Four Seas Group."

Ethan coldly stared at Linda, speaking slowly:
"Not only did I recover the debt for the Thompson family, but I also secured an additional ten-million-dollar contract."
"The favor I owed your family for feeding me? Consider it repaid."

Then, turning to Henry with a smirk, Ethan added, "Brother-in-law, it's time to eat that table."

"What?!"
The entire Thompson family froze, staring at Ethan in shock.

Not only had Ethan recovered the debt, but he had also signed a three-year contract and secured a massive prepayment.

"This is impossible." Henry was the first to react.
"The check and contract must be fake!"

"You probably got someone at the park to forge these documents.
How could a loser like you possibly pull this off?"

"Listen here, Ethan—if these turn out to be fake, you'll be committing fraud. That's a crime punishable by jail time."

He grabbed the documents, examining them closely for signs of forgery.

Ethan smirked. "Get ready to eat at that table."

Sophia, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up:
"Ethan, why are you doing this?"

"I told you—I'll handle Mom's temper.
I'll take care of the debt issue properly.

"Even if Mom doesn't appreciate my efforts, she wouldn't throw you out of the house.
But instead, you go off making fake checks and contracts to show off..."

Her icy gaze fixed on Ethan. "Why can't you just make things easier for me?"

She also didn't believe Ethan could have succeeded.

Ethan's tone softened. "Trust me."

Sophia sighed, shaking her head. Though Ethan had changed in recent days, she couldn't imagine him recovering a debt from someone like Victor Blacke.