A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

Chapter 1553 Negotiation

“But…“

“But nothing! By the time I am finished, Bill won't be able to do anything but cry.“

That night, when Bill was already deep in slumber, one of his men woke him up in a rush.

“Boss, I have some bad news! We lost another casino!“ the man shouted in a panicked tone.

“What? Why?!“ Bill was livid that he had to wake up to some more bad news. He felt his blood pressure rise as he waited for his employee to explain the situation.

His subordinate lowered his head and replied, “We are unable to get any money from the casino. It seems that the casino doesn't belong to us anymore.“

Upon hearing this, Bill jumped out of bed and kicked him to the side. “What the hell is going on? Didn't I tell you to arrange more people to protect our assets? Didn't I order you to be more careful? So what the hell do you mean, we can't get any profit?!“

The anger that Bill was feeling was immeasurable. He didn't even bother to put on some clothes.

The man's lips trembled as he added, “I wanted to go in and get the bonus. When I got there, nobody was listening to me. They were acting like I didn't exist. I had to get the information from a close friend of mine.“

The man turned to the side and tried to be more careful with his words. He sighed before he explained further, “They told me that Ethan's men went into the casino and intervened. The casino was losing so much money but somehow, they managed to salvage it. Now, everyone considers Ethan as the boss and owner of the casino.“ He shook his head then continued, “I don't know what tricks Ethan used to make our people change their loyalty like that. All the people in the casino are now working for Ethan.“

Before his subordinate could even finish talking, Bill was already shaking with fear. “Ethan is such a devious man. First, he destroyed our casino and forced us to hide in the dark. Then, after he knew that I wasn't going to come out, he swooped in and took what's mine. Now, he really won without even breaking a sweat,“ Bill said with a defeated sigh. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

His subordinate blinked up at him. The reality of the situation was finally sinking in and there was nothing he could do. However, he shook his head to ignore his thoughts. “Then, let's find a way to get our casino back,“ he said in an encouraging tone.

Without warning, Bill hit his follower on the forehead. He gritted his teeth and angrily told him, “It doesn't work like that. You know why? Because the guests are loyal to the casino, they don't care who runs it. Plus, the staff won't even listen to us anymore. Taking it back is not as easy as you think.“

In the next few minutes, Bill pondered about what they should do but he couldn't help but feel anxious. “Why do I feel like something is wrong? Ethan won this round, but wasn't it Louis who started this game? Is it possible that they're working together?“

“When I went to the casino, I saw that there were several new faces around the place. They were all well-armed with advanced weapons. I think they were afraid that our people would make trouble,“ Bill's man informed him.

Then, Bill softly patted his subordinate's head and said, “Oh I see. No wonder Ethan is so confident now. He has someone to back him up. He has Louis and the Ke Group to help him take me down. I'm sure Jacob is involved in some way too. He's probably the mastermind behind all this. Jacob is usually the one with the plan.“

At this point, his subordinated wasn't quite sure what to do. So, he asked in a low voice, “Boss, what should we do now?“

Before he could finish his question, Bill kicked him once again. He clicked his tongue arrogantly and said, “You are all trash. You can't even protect a casino properly! You should be ashamed of yourself! You've wasted my time and my money!“

The man was rendered speechless by Bill's harsh words. He didn't know what to do anymore, so he ran away with tears in his eyes.

“Boss, now that the situation is like this, Ethan isn't taking you seriously anymore. What should we do?“ another man asked.

Bill snuffed out the cigar in his hand and turned to his subordinate with a sharp glare. Now that Ethan had found his courage, Bill would undoubtedly suffer even more if he chose to fight Ethan directly.

“Listen, I need you to call Ethan. Tell him I'll treat him to dinner tonight. You can book a good restaurant,“ Bill ordered him.

Without wasting another second, the man moved to quickly follow his order. The invite sounded generous but the look in his boss' eyes was frightening.

“Wait a minute,“ Bill called out. “Arrange for some people to wait. If he refuses, then you can be tough.“

When Ethan received the phone call from Bill, he was in the middle of picking out clothes for Estelle to use once she was discharged from the hospital. She had been looking forward to leaving the hospital for a while now. He was still worried about her health, but she had finally managed to convince him to let her leave the hospital tonight.

“Mr. Gu, our boss wants to invite you for dinner. Do you have time tonight?“ Bill's man asked in a shaky voice. Ethan replied casually, “I know. Tell him that I accept his invitation but I have to decide on the restaurant. Tell him that if he tries anything funny, he will regret it. There will be consequences.“

At seven o'clock that night, Ethan booked the biggest private room in his family restaurant. Bill came on time but Ethan was a little late. Bill didn't dare comment on it. Instead, he showed Ethan his biggest fake smile and nodded at him.

Ethan knew that his smile was not genuine so he ignored it. He asked impatiently, “What is it that you want to talk about? Come on, out with it.“

Bill controlled his anger and sarcastically said, “Ethan, I was your boss for many years but this is the first time that I've witnessed you be so capable.“

With a clenched jaw, Ethan casually pulled out a chair and sat down. He gave him a cold look. “I am very capable of many things, boss. Do you want to know them? If you want to know, I can show them to you.“

“You!“ Not knowing what to say, Bill angrily pointed a finger at Ethan. He was irritated by Ethan's smug provocation. In all his years in the business, he had gained many enemies, but only Ethan could push him over the edge like that. Bill knew he had to endure it at the moment, so he calmly put his finger down and took a deep breath. He clenched his fist as he talked. “Ethan, let's not beat around the bush. I just want you to stop now. I will give you whatever compensation you want!“ After a few seconds of silence, Bill asked, “So how about it? Tell me, how much money do you want?“

A spark of anger flashed across Ethan's eyes when Bill finished talking. Estelle had ended up in the hospital and had to stay there for a long time. He didn't want Bill's money. It had no value to him. In Ethan's eyes, no amount of money could make him forgive what he had done to Estelle.

Ethan absentmindedly swirled his fingertips on the mouth of the wine glass as he replied, “No, you don't have to. Your money means nothing to me. If you really want to compensate me…“ He paused and glanced at his hand with a smirk. He raised his brows and asked, “Well, what about one of your hands?“

“What? No way!“ Bill replied sharply. Ethan was out of control now and Bill could do nothing about it.

“Well then, if that's the case, I don't want to talk nonsense with you. Don't waste my time. I'm leaving now, but feel free to enjoy the food,“ Ethan said, clearly annoyed. He didn't eat any of the food on the table. Bill had a number ready on his phone but he didn't have the chance to press it and had to wait for Ethan's departure. He had to act quickly. If he missed this opportunity, he didn't know what else Ethan would do to him in the future. As he thought of this, Bill left the restaurant with a wrinkled forehead.

After issuing a warning to Bill and his men, Ethan left the restaurant quietly and headed straight to the hospital. Estelle was quietly watching TV when he entered the room.

“Oh hey, you're back.“ When her eyes landed on the flowers in his hand, Estelle smiled sweetly. “Why the long face?“ she suddenly asked when she noticed his solemn expression.

Ethan thought that he was able to hide his true emotions from Estelle but it seemed that he had failed. He was afraid that Estelle would worry about him if he said anything. Instead of answering, he put the flowers on the table and held her in his arms. “How have you been? Are you sure that you don't want to stay at the hospital for a few more days just in case?“

“No,“ Estelle replied sternly. “I want to go home.“ Estelle felt as if her body was going numb from being bedridden for so long. She held Ethan's arm and whispered, “I want to leave the hospital. I can't stand the smell of the disinfectant anymore. I just want to go home, Ethan. Don't say no, please.“