Becoming A Tech Tycoon Begins With Regression novel Chapter 53

Chapter 53: A Good Pawn

Ethan sat on his desk with a grin on his face as he watched Avance crumble with no way out.

Avance’s stock was in freefall, as major partners were pulling out, and regulators were already issuing subpoenas.

Ethan sipped his coffee slowly.

"And there it is," he muttered, watching as the live broadcast showed James Brock being swarmed by reporters as soon as he walked out of the elevator from his office with guards surrounding him.

But instead of the previous panic or even the slightest hint of nervousness on his face, there was a surprising trace of confidence as he made his way to the press room.

And Ethan knew exactly why this was. James had found a way out, or so he thought.

His hope, previously gone was now rekindled and he finally saw a way out of this.

Ethan resisted the urge to laugh, as it was not the time to...yet.

He had brought James so low, that he was basically on the verge of break down and then, like the light at the end of a dark tunnel, Ethan offered a helping hand.

It would raise the question, why would he do this? Was he just that soft? But nothing could be further from the truth.

He wasn’t doing this as some charity, no. He was doing this because of one reason.... Nathaniel.

With the upcoming negotiations with Google, Ethan was sure Nathaniel would do everything in his power to sabotage the deal.

And right now, Ethan had no way of permanently dealing with Nathaniel, regardless of the threat he knew Nathaniel posed.

Ethan could make Athena reveal Nathaniel’s web of corruption to the world, they could leak every shady transaction he had been involved in, but with Nathaniel’s connections, it wouldn’t matter.

Nathaniel had roots deep enough to just sweep all those under a rug overnight and forget about it.

The world might be suspicious for a while but the story would be so expertly twisted that they’d have no choice but to let go of those suspicions.

And that’s where James came in. While never officially confirmed, James had been seen alongside Nathaniel on more than a few occasions, always trailing behind him like a loyal hound.

Whether it was James trying to earn favors or something else, one thing was clear: Nathaniel had a hand in Avance’s rise.

With James, Ethan could keep Nathaniel busy—at least for a while.

All he had to do was plant the right idea in James’s head and that was easy enough since he was backed into a corner and had been abandoned by Nathaniel.

He was now convinced that whoever this mysterious person was posed a threat even the Langleys couldn’t handle.

After all, this individual had already proven capable of unearthing dirt buried by experts of the underworld—something even Nathaniel, with all his connections, had failed to do.

And if he was sure if one thing, it was that this mysterious person would offer him protection after he dragged Nathaniel’s name through the mud.

Or so he foolishly thought.

James believed he was playing a dangerous game, leveraging one powerful shadow to survive another. He thought this mystery benefactor was a savior, a powerhouse, and he’d rather be on the winning side.

He thought wrong.

Ethan had never promised protection, he only promised a way out and a way out, he was going to get.

James would serve his purpose, publicly linking Nathaniel to Avance, casting just enough suspicion to force investigations, sow doubt, and disrupt Nathaniel’s influence right when Ethan needed him off-balance.

And when the fallout came, as it surely would, James would be in for a rude awakening.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on his monitor as the press conference began and James adjusted the mic.

He had no idea he was walking into his own funeral.

"Say your lines, James," Ethan murmured, with a cold smile. "And then disappear like a good little pawn."

He was setting the stage for Lillian’s test but Nathaniel was too big a threat to allow her to face right now.

She wasn’t ready for that yet.

He more or less knew how this would go, so he didn’t need to watch the stream. Calmly, he closed the window showing it and leaned back on his chair.

Ethan rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought. He had been putting off his revenge against Nathaniel in favor of building a foundation and if he was being honest, that would pose a problem.

OmniTech Corp had already made an enemy out of Nathaniel Langley, so he was going to try and obstruct their growth at every turn.

Proof of this was the fact that Ethan had to keep Nathaniel distracted just to ensure smooth negotiations with Google, an unsustainable tactic. Sooner or later, he would need to remove Nathaniel from the equation entirely.

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