The Mafia Lord's Secret Lover-Chapter 381: The Danger Signal

"Capture him!" the gang leader barked, his voice slicing through the cold night. "If he resists, beat him hard. As long as you don’t kill him, the boss will be satisfied."

"Aye!"

"Yes, leader!"

"Consider it done!"

The responses came fast and eager, like hungry dogs finally unleashed.

Seventeen men moved at once, spreading into a loose circle around Ethan.

Under the harsh glow of the car headlights, steel flashed as each of them pulled out a blade.

Ethan glanced at the knives, then back at the men. His expression remained calm, almost amused.

Without anyone noticing, the blade at his back moves into his hand, prepared to strike anyone who stands before him.

One of the thugs lunged forward, impatient. Another cracked his neck, grinning. Snow fell thicker now, dusting their shoulders and hair, turning the scene strangely cinematic.

"Are you guys attacking me together?" Ethan asked, his voice smooth and steady.

The leader smirked. "Scared now?"

Ethan smiled, slow and dangerous. "Not scared. Just thinking about how inconvenient it will be for you to explain this failure to your boss."

The thugs roared and charged.

And in that instant, the quiet snowy night erupted into chaos.

...

At The Valley.

Nearing midnight, Axel was still sitting in his office... It was dark inside the room; the only light came from the silver moon in the sky.

The office was quiet, except for the occasional hum of electronics and the soft, impatient tapping of his index finger against the wooden desk.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

His eyes flicked toward the digital clock at the corner of his table.

There were still a few minutes left before the deadline he had given Collins. Yet, the absence of a call was already testing his patience.

"Is it really that difficult to find Aunty Martha’s son?" he muttered under his breath, leaning back in his chair. His tone was calm, but the faint tension in his jaw betrayed him.

Axel was not the kind of man who waited without preparation. He reached for his phone, intending to call Collins himself.

But just as his fingers brushed the screen, the device vibrated. Collins’ name appeared.

Axel gave a faint, humorless smile. "Perfect timing."

He answered immediately. "Collins."

"Boss, I’m sorry... something happened," Collins said. His voice was hurried and clipped, and he sounded filled with tension. The rapid clicking of a keyboard echoed through the line.

Axel’s expression sharpened. "What do you mean? Have you failed?"

There was a brief pause, as if Collins swallowed hard.

"No, I’m not failed. But, sir... It’s Ethan. He pressed the danger signal a few minutes ago."

Axel’s relaxed posture vanished. He sat up straight, his eyes turning cold.

The danger signal was not a casual panic button. It was a final resort. A silent call for emergency rescue. Something only used when a life was genuinely at stake.

And Ethan Wright was not a man who pressed that button lightly.

Ethan was skilled, trained, ruthless when necessary, and painfully capable of taking care of himself. For him to activate the danger signal meant one thing and one thing only.

He was in real danger.

"Track his location," Axel ordered immediately. His voice was low and controlled, leaving no room for argument. "Send the nearest team to assist him."

"I already did," Collins replied quickly. "Renata and her unit are heading to his last signal point. That’s why I’m calling you now."

"Did you try to call Ethan?"

"I did, but he’s not answering," Collins explained. "But no worries, sir, Renata said they were about to arrive..."

Axel exhaled slowly. "Good." But relief lasted only a second. "What happened? Why did he suddenly press the signal?"

"I checked his vehicle GPS history," Collins explained. "He left the X-Guard building and drove toward the city. At first, everything looked normal. Then..." He paused, the typing stopped, then resumed faster than before. "Three vans started tailing him."

Axel’s fingers tightened around the phone.

"I accessed the dashcam feed from the back side of his car," Collins continued. "They cornered him. He stopped. There were multiple attackers. Ethan fought them. He took most of them down."

Axel closed his eyes briefly, imagining the scene. That much sounded like Ethan.

"But then," Collins said quietly, "a gunshot went off."

Axel’s eyes snapped open. "And?"

"The camera lost a clear angle after that. I can’t see Ethan anymore. I can’t hear anything either. It looks like he left the car. The attackers scattered. After that, the signal cut."

Silence settled in Axel’s office, heavy and sharp.

For the first time that night, something dangerous flickered behind his calm gaze. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Stay in contact with Renata," Axel said finally. "Update me the moment there’s progress. And find out who organized the ambush."

"Yes, Boss. I’m tracking all vehicle IDs now."

"I won’t distract you further," Axel said, preparing to end the call.

But then a thought crossed his mind. Something entirely different. Something he had been waiting for all night.

"Collins," he added, his tone shifting, "what about Aunty Martha’s son? Any news?"

The typing on the other end stopped abruptly.

There was a pause. Too long.

Then Collins spoke, and for the first time, his voice trembled, not from fear, but shock.

"Boss... that’s actually what I was going to tell you before Ethan’s signal came in. I found him. The young man..."

Axel’s grip tightened unconsciously. "Go on."

"His name is Noah Henry Davis," Collins said slowly. "But... Boss..." His voice faltered again. "Based on the records we have in our database, I found out that..."

Axel’s brows furrowed. "Collins."

"The young man, Noah Henry Davis..." Collins finished, almost breathless, "is Ethan Wright."

For a moment, Axel did not speak.

"W-What...?" Axel’s voice came out quiet, yet edged with disbelief.

Collins swallowed audibly. "I triple-checked the data. There is no mistake. Noah Henry Davis and Ethan Wright are the same person."

Axel leaned back in his chair slowly, eyes lifting to the ceiling as if searching for patience from the universe.

Tonight, Ethan was fighting for his life somewhere in the dark.

And now, the boy he had been searching for all this time... was Ethan.

Axel let out a short, incredulous breath. Half laugh. Half disbelief.

"Collins," he said dryly, "we’ll discuss this later... Keep it to yourself for now. Our priority is to find and rescue Ethan."

On the other end, Collins sighed.

"Yes, sir..."