Chapter 1 - The Key and the Keycard
The golden hour sunlight glinted harshly off the pristine hood of the black Porsche.
The crowd of wealthy onlookers held their breath.
Victoria stood with her arms crossed, a smirk plastered across her face.
She held the metallic key fob high in the air for everyone to see.
Her gold bracelets jangled softly in the evening breeze.
"This is my car," Victoria said, her voice dripping with venomous condescension.
"You could deliver packages your whole life and never afford a single wheel on it," she added.
Behind her, her friend snickered loudly.
The onlookers whispered among themselves, enjoying the poor man's public humiliation.
Ethan did not move an inch.
He kept his hands tucked casually inside the pockets of his dark dress pants.
His crisp white shirt showed not a single wrinkle despite a long day of work.
His expression remained completely calm and unbothered.
"If this is actually your Porsche, I will drop to my knees right here," Victoria mocked, leaning closer to his face.
She raised an eyebrow, daring him to respond.
She expected him to stammer.
She expected him to lower his head and walk away in shame.
Instead, Ethan’s lips slowly curled into a cold, confident smirk.
He took one slow step forward.
The golden sunlight caught the sharp contours of his jawline.
He leaned in close enough for only her to hear his quiet voice.
"Then get ready," Ethan whispered.
Victoria’s smirk faltered for a fraction of a second.
A wave of confusion flickered across her eyes.
"What did you just say?" she sneered, trying to regain control.
Ethan reached into his right pocket.
The crowd leaned forward, eager to see what he would pull out.
He did not pull out a delivery scanner.
He did not pull out a crumpled wallet.
He pulled out a heavy, matte-black key fob stamped with a custom platinum emblem.
The crowd gasped in shock.
Victoria’s eyes widened as she recognized the rare executive badge on the key.
"Where... where did you get that fake key?" Victoria demanded, her voice cracking slightly.
Ethan did not answer her question.
He simply pressed the central button on his key.
A deep, throaty rumble echoed from the engine bay of the Porsche.
The headlights flashed bright white twice.
The custom exhaust purred with raw power, vibrating the asphalt beneath their feet.
Victoria instinctively took a step back in disbelief.
She frantically pressed the buttons on her own key fob.
Nothing happened.
Her key did not respond at all.
"That's impossible!" Victoria shrieked, her face turning pale.
"Why isn't my key working?!" she cried out.
Ethan pointed his key toward the driver's side door.
The heavy door automatically swung open with a smooth, silent motion.
The interior ambient lighting glowed with a subtle golden hue.
"Your key was just a valet copy given to temporary guests," Ethan said quietly.
"Mine is the master key."
The surrounding crowd broke out into muffled murmurs and shocked whispers.
Victoria stood frozen in place, her arrogance completely shattered.
Her friend quickly stepped back, trying to distance herself from the embarrassed woman.
"You... you're just a delivery guy!" Victoria stammered, pointing a shaking finger at his white shirt.
"How could a delivery guy own a two-hundred-thousand-dollar machine?!" she yelled.
Ethan walked slowly past her toward the open driver's door.
He paused right next to her shoulder.
He looked down at her with calm, piercing eyes.
"I don't just deliver packages, Victoria," Ethan said smoothly.
"I own the logistics company that owns this entire parking facility."
Victoria felt as if the ground beneath her feet had just collapsed.
Her cheeks burned with overwhelming shame.
The onlookers who had been laughing at Ethan moments ago were now staring at her in ridicule.
"You promised to drop to your knees," Ethan reminded her softly.
Victoria bit her lip so hard it almost bled.
Her heart pounded violently inside her chest.
She refused to bow down in front of all these people.
"You tricked me!" she screamed, her voice echoed across the parking lot.
"Security! Get security over here right now!" she shouted desperately.
Two large guards in dark uniforms immediately rushed toward the scene from the main entrance.
Victoria smiled wickedly, thinking her revenge was seconds away.
"Arrest him!" Victoria ordered the guards. "He hacked my vehicle!"
The head guard reached Ethan and stopped abruptly.
The guard took off his cap and bowed his head respectfully.
"Good evening, Director Ethan," the head guard said politely.
"Is this woman bothering you?" the guard asked.
Victoria’s jaw dropped in absolute terror.
The world around her went completely silent.
Ethan looked at the guards, then looked back at Victoria's trembling hands.
"Escort her off the premises," Ethan commanded calmly.
"And revoke her family's access pass to all district events."
"Right away, sir," the guard replied, turning toward Victoria.
Victoria took two steps backward, her mind spinning out of control.
She knew what revoking that pass meant.
It meant her family’s multi-million dollar contract would be canceled overnight.
Her father would destroy her if he found out she ruined everything over a petty insult.
"Wait! Ethan, please!" Victoria cried out, her arrogance completely replaced by panic.
Ethan ignored her cries and stepped inside the luxury sports car.
He pulled the door shut with a solid thud.
Through the tinted glass, Victoria saw him place his hand on the steering wheel.
He pressed a hidden button on the center console.
A red warning light flashed on the dashboard.
A encrypted text message popped up on the car's main screen.
The message read: "TARGET LOCATED. PROCEED WITH EXTRACTION."
Ethan’s smile vanished instantly.
His eyes narrowed as he realized the car hadn't been targeted by accident.
Victoria wasn't just a rude socialite.
She was sent here to deliver that fake key as a tracking device.
Suddenly, a loud metallic click sounded from beneath the Porsche's chassis.
The doors locked automatically from the outside.
The engine shut down instantly, leaving Ethan trapped inside his own car.
Through the front windshield, Ethan saw Victoria looking back at him.
May you like
The panic on her face was gone.
A dark, cold smile spread across her lips as she held up a small remote detonator.
