Becoming A Tech Tycoon Begins With Regression novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12: María Alvarez

The next morning, Ethan was awoken by the annoying tone of his phone ringing.

This was one of the rare mornings Ethan had planned to sleep in—after all, he hadn’t gotten much rest during Sentinel’s development.

But whoever decided to call him this early clearly had other plans. He knew it wasn’t Lillian; she wouldn’t call him this early.

Ethan just lay on his bed as the phone continued ringing.

He had half a mind to let it go unanswered—after all, he was certain his twenty-year-old self had nothing urgent enough to justify interrupting the only proper sleep he’d gotten in days.

But that’s when a memory suddenly popped up, causing him to rush off the bed and to his plugged phone.

His hand trembled as he read the caller ID,

’Maria’

His fingers hovered over the answer button, hesitating just a moment before tapping it.

Click.

"...Hello?" He spoke hoping, no praying that this wasn’t some cruel dream.

"¡Dios mío, you sound like a bear woken from hibernation. Did I call too early, mijo?"

He sat down slowly on the bed, phone pressed tightly to his ear. His throat felt tight. He couldn’t say a word.

While it was true that Ethan was an orphan, there had been one person who had filled that void without hesitation.

At first, he regarded her as nothing but a nosy landlady, always meddling in his business, always checking in on him, always insisting he eat something other than instant noodles.

But over time, that persistent kindness had worn down his walls.

And for the first time in his fifteen years of life, he had felt what it was like to have someone genuinely care for him—without ulterior motives, without trying to exploit his genius.

Marìa Alvarez was a Colombian who migrated to the US years ago. She claimed to have moved because she was chasing ’the American dream’.

She toiled for years and was finally able to buy an apartment building in Massachusetts, the city where Ethan attended university, back when they were a lot cheaper.

Ethan never quite understood why María cared about him so deeply. He wasn’t her only young tenant—though he might’ve been the youngest—but she always went the extra mile for him.

Slipping warm meals under his door during exam season, scolding him like a son when he overworked himself, and celebrating his smallest victories like they were her own.

But if Ethan had such a warm place, why did he move to Atlanta?

He moved because he was scared. He was scared of getting used to Marìa’s treatment only for it to be cut off suddenly.

But even relocation didn’t stop her, as Marìa continued treating him like her very own.

And Ethan repaid all of this... by abandoning her.

Five years from now, she’d develop a rare form of lung disease—something slow and cruel.

She never told anyone how bad it was getting, not even during her occasional calls to him.

And when she was laying on her death bed, finally succumbing to the disease, she requested...no, begged to see him one last time.

But he never made it.

Caught up in boardrooms, late-night code reviews, and the ever-climbing demands of success, Ethan kept putting it off.

"Next weekend," he’d told himself. "She’ll understand. She’s always understood."

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