Chapter 3

Before Daniel could stop him, he had no choice but to gently help Little Samuel up, his face full of heartache. "Tell Big Bro, where does it hurt?" "Here... and here," Little Samuel whimpered, pointing to his bottom and his little leg. Daniel rolled up Samuel's pant leg to take a look, freezing in shock. A huge, angry bruise had already bloomed across Samuel's pale, tender calf. The deep purple mark stood out horrifyingly! Daniel clenched his small fists, a sudden inferno of rage igniting in his heart. He hadn't wanted his second brother to run off and cause trouble, but now? Not only was he not going to stop him, he was going to fully encourage it! To dare bully Samuel like this-did she think Samuel had no one to back him up?! "It's okay, Samuel. Big Bro will blow on it. It won't hurt after a blow." Samuel nodded piteously. "...Mm." Meanwhile, Ethan had already chased Jessica all the way out of the station. Seeing her about to step into a car, he charged straight over and blocked her path, looking aggressively fierce in an adorable way. "Ugly woman! Who gave you the nerve to bully my little brother?!" Ugly woman?! Jessica's delicate eyebrows twitched violently as she glared down at Ethan. She wanted nothing more than to slap him into next week! However, knowing Liam was sitting inside the luxury car, she had to maintain her sweet persona and project the image of a child-loving woman in front of him. Suppressing her rage, she glared at Ethan through narrowed eyes, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper: "Who are you calling ugly?!" "I'm calling you ugly! Not only are you ugly, you're old! And you're evil! Ugly, old, and evil-you're completely beyond saving!" Before she could react, Ethan pulled a small penknife out of his pocket and began circling the luxury sedan. Watching deep, painful scratches carve across the polished paint, Jessica's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "You little brat, stop right now! Do you even know whose car this is?! How dare you scratch it-are you insane?!" Jessica lunged forward to grab him, but Ethan easily dodged. She chased, he ran. Ethan led her in circles around the flagship vehicle with effortless agility, walking her around like a monkey on a leash. Sitting in the backseat, Liam-who had come specifically to pick up Jessica-frowned at the commotion. He glanced at Zach. "Go down and check." "Yes, sir." Zach reached for the door handle, but right at that moment- BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Four deafening explosions shattered the air, and the entire luxury sedan violently dropped with a heavy, metallic CLUNK! "AAAAAHHH-!" Jessica's blood-curdling scream pierced through the sky. Liam's brow furrowed tightly as he pushed open the car door and stepped out. Taking in the chaotic scene before him, his expression turned utterly grim. All four tires had completely separated from the vehicle's frame, belching thick plumes of black smoke as they rolled away in different directions. The multi-million-dollar luxury car now slumped on the asphalt like a dead dog, entirely stripped of its former glory! Standing right in front of the hysterical Jessica was a masked toddler who didn't even reach Liam's waist, swaggering arrogantly: "Since I just got here today, I'll let you off easy this time! But if you ever dare bully my brother again, I won't be so nice! Ugly! Old! Evil! Hmph!" Liam stood in silence. Calling himself "this heir" at such a tiny age? Who gave him that kind of audacity? And he called this letting her off easy?! If this kid was being serious, just how much destruction could he unleash? Whose brat was this to be so wildly defiant and destructive?! Unaware that he had just crossed an absolute titan, the little guy finished warning Jessica, puffed out his chest, and turned on his heel to strut away. Suddenly, a massive hand grabbed him by the back of his collar, lifting his feet clean off the ground. Ethan's eyebrows snapped together as he kicked his little legs frantically in mid-air. "Who is it?! Let go of this heir right now!" Liam's face was dark as a thundercloud. He spun Ethan around in the air so the boy was facing him directly. "Whose 'heir' are you?" His tone was neither hurried nor loud, yet it carried an icy, suffocating pressure. "I'm..." Masked Ethan started to snap back, but the moment he caught sight of the man's face, he froze! Whoa, whoa, whoa... why does this big uncle look so much like him and Big Bro?! He looked like a scaled-up, full-sized version of them! Could it be that this guy was their deadbeat dad-the one who contributed a seed and never took responsibility?! Wait, isn't their deadbeat dad dead? Mommy had explicitly said their dad had terrible luck and passed away from a severe illness at a young age. It must just be a coincidence! They just happen to look alike! Reassuring himself, Ethan fluttered his long eyelashes and puffed his chest back up, saying arrogantly: "Seeing as you look somewhat like my dead dad, I'll spare your life this time! Put me down right now, or else I won't be polite! I'm telling you, when I get angry, it's terrifying!" To prove his point, he made a silly, menacing "RAWR!" face at Liam. The aura between Liam's brows grew even colder and sharper. Small age, huge mouth! If it weren't for the fact that the boy's exposed eyes above the mask looked almost identical to his own son, Leo-making his heart soften just a fraction-he would have called the police on the spot! "Do you have any idea that your actions today broke the law?" "That ugly, old, evil woman started it!" Jessica, who was suddenly thrown under the bus again, fumed inwardly. Who's old?! Who's ugly?! Who's evil?! AAAAAHHHHHH-! Liam's voice remained cool and stern. "Regardless of the reason, what you did was wrong." Ethan crossed his arms and huffed. "You're not my dad, so why do you get to lecture me? Who are you anyway?" Liam's eyes darkened with displeasure. "Where are your parents?" He wouldn't hold a toddler fully accountable, but there was no way he was letting the kid's parents off the hook. This car was brand-new-a fifty-million-dollar custom model-and it had been completely scrapped on its very first drive out. He needed a proper explanation. Moreover... those four smoking wheels looked as though they had been blown off using precision-engineered micro-explosives. Could a five-year-old child really handle high-grade explosives? Or was someone using a child as a puppet to target him? For safety's sake, he had to get to the bottom of this. Hearing that the man wanted to call his parents, Ethan felt a tiny prick of panic. All troublesome kids shared one universal trait: they were terrified of their parents being summoned! Ethan was no exception. Fearless as he was-willing to call the King of Hell "bro" to his face-he was utterly terrified of his mommy! His mommy never raised a hand against them, so he wasn't afraid of a spanking. He was afraid of making her sad or worried. Losing his previous bravado, Ethan pouted slightly and muttered: "If you want to find a parent, go find my dad. My mommy is very busy and doesn't have time to see you." Liam withdrew his gaze. Coincidentally, he didn't like dealing with women either. "Where is your father?" "My dad? He's in Hell-the eighteenth floor of Hell, to be exact. Why don't you head down there and look for him yourself?" Liam remained silent. Jessica seized the opportunity to chime in maliciously: "This brat is completely uneducated and ill-mannered! Liam, he's cursing you to go to Hell! Look at his shabby clothes-he's clearly a nuisance raised by trashy, poor people. Uncultured hicks produce malicious thugs!" "HA! I'm uneducated? What about you?!" Ethan snapped back furiously. "You're practically an old grandma, yet you bullied a five-year-old kid! How did your mom raise you?!" An old grandma?! Jessica almost fainted from sheer rage. "I am only twenty-eight this year!" "Huh? Really? I couldn't tell at all! I thought you were eighty-eight!" "You..." "Shut your mouth! If you mess with me again, I'll educate you on behalf of your parents!" Before Ethan could continue roasting her, his smartwatch suddenly chimed. It was a call from his precious mommy. She must have come out of the restroom, missed him, and gotten worried. Ethan couldn't bear to let his beloved mommy worry for even a second. He looked up at Liam: "This heir has important business to attend to. I won't play with you guys anymore-bye-bye!" With a sudden, nimble twist of his small legs and a flick of his arms, Ethan slipped out of his oversized jacket like a cicada shedding its skin! "Consider the jacket a gift! No need to thank me!" The little guy yelled as he took off like a bullet, his tiny figure disappearing into the surging crowd within seconds. Liam stared at the empty jacket dangling from his hand, his face darkening to an alarming shade of icy rage. "Investigate that child's identity immediately and bring his parents to me! Also, have the bomb disposal team examine those four tires to see how they exploded!" "Yes, sir!" Zach immediately gestured for the bodyguards to move into the terminal. Liam turned his gaze toward Jessica, his tone laced with heavy displeasure. "Why did he say you bullied his brother?" Jessica instantly switched to a pathetic, innocent expression, tearing up slightly: "How could I possibly bully a child? His brother saw that I looked wealthy and deliberately tried to stage a fake accident to scam me for money! If you don't believe me, ask my manager! "That child learned to lie at such a young age-it's clear his parents aren't decent people. Uncultured hicks produce malicious thugs. With a child like that, his parents can't be any better! If you ask me, don't even bother meeting his parents. Throw their whole family straight into prison for life to teach them a lesson!" Liam gave her a cold, unreadable glare, his eyes filled with undisguised distaste as he ignored her completely.