All Chapters of THE DRAGON SON IN LAW RETURNS : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
92 chapters
Chapter 31
The shelter’s fluorescent lights hummed like cheap neon over a back-alley bar—harsh, unflattering, honest. 00:02 a.m. and the city above kept moving, taxis honking, sirens wailing, the distant thump of bass from a club that charged twenty bucks for tap water. Down here, though, the only currency was breath and backbone.Elena’s lullaby drifted down the stairwell—soft, off-key, completely unaware it was a detonator.“Hush now, my dragon, the night’s almost done…”Margaret’s thumb hovered over the black remote, a predator’s smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Louder, baby. Let’s see if she remembers the rest.”Ethan’s pulse hammered against the implant, a countdown he could feel in his bones. One bar of song—four seconds—stood between him and a lobotomy. He took a single step toward the door, but Margaret clicked her tongue.“Nah-ah. You stay. She comes. That’s the rule.”He forced his shoulders down, voice urban-calm, the kind you use when someone’s pointing a gun at your templ
Last Updated : 2025-12-25
Chapter 32
Dawn came in on the color of rusted steel, the kind of early light that makes every alley smell like last night’s regrets. Fifth Street shelter’s kitchen was already humming—coffee percolating, pans clanking, Tommy yelling at someone for putting raisins in the cornbread. Normal city noise. Normal city smells. Ethan leaned against the prep table, sleeves rolled, chili-stained apron tied around his waist like a bullet-proof vest made of cotton and bad decisions.He hadn’t slept. The key from the chessboard sat in his pocket, sharp edge digging into his thigh every time he moved. Board meeting at dawn. Margaret’s voice still crawling around his skull: *bring your dragon, your lullaby, your mother.* He didn’t know which mother, which lullaby, which version of himself showed up when the doors opened. He just knew the shelter smelled safer than any boardroom ever had.Elena breezed in carrying a tray of day-old pastries from the bakery down the block—croissants the size of fists, still flak
Last Updated : 2025-12-26
Chapter 33
The elevator dropped like a stone through still water—thirty floors, forty, fifty—until the city’s heartbeat became a distant drum above their heads. Inside, no one spoke. The silence was urban-thick, the kind that comes after you’ve told a room full of billionaires they’re sitting on your kitchen table and you’re not done cooking.Ethan leaned against the steel wall, hoodie strings swaying with the descent. Elena stared at the numbers flickering down, arms folded so tight her knuckles blanched. Sophia watched them both, reading the room like she used to read stock tickers—fast, quiet, accurate. The only sound was the hum of cables and the soft click of the emergency camera recording every breath.At Floor 20 the elevator slowed, doors parting to reveal the underground garage—fluorescent lights, oil stains, the smell of exhaust and wet concrete. Ethan stepped out first, sneakers silent on the painted floor. No SUVs waiting, no motorcade. Just three metro cards and a plan scribbled on
Last Updated : 2025-12-27
Chapter 34
The footsteps on the bridge were soft—sneaker rubber on damp plank, rhythm steady, unhurried. Ethan didn’t turn. He just kept walking, wind off the East River needling his face, the yacht *Sleeping Dragon* growing larger against the grey water ahead.Sophia matched his pace, eyes front, voice low. “Count?”“Two,” Elena murmured from his left. “Both male, maybe a hundred yards back. Matching cadence.”Ethan adjusted the hood, kept hands in pockets. “Could be joggers.”“Could be Board,” Elena said. “Either way, we don’t break stride.”They passed a tourist couple snapping selfies, the bridge cables slicing the sky like rusted harp strings. Below, a barge sounded its horn, deep and hollow. Ethan felt it in his ribs—same frequency as the implant when it pulsed. He breathed through it.The pedestrian path narrowed, wood giving way to steel grating that hummed underfoot. Behind them, the footsteps slowed—just enough to stay polite, just enough to stay dangerous.Margaret’s voice echoed in h
Last Updated : 2025-12-29
Chapter 35
The yacht moved like a thief on glass—no wake, no sound, just the low thrum of engines vibrating through the teak deck and up through Ethan’s sneakers. The city shrank behind them, a jagged silhouette bleeding into grey water. Ahead, nothing but river and the promise of a blade.Margaret’s coffee sat between them—steaming, black, untouched. The Board watched from their leather chairs, silent as jurors who’d already decided the verdict. Ethan counted twelve faces, maybe thirteen. None of them mattered. Only the woman across the table, the one who’d rocked him to sleep and then rocked his world off its axis.“Emma’s close,” Margaret repeated, voice soft as subway wind. “But coffee first. Manners matter.”Ethan didn’t touch the cup. “I’m not here for manners. I’m here for my sister. And for the rest of the song.”Margaret’s smile curved, perfect and cold. “The lullaby’s a key, Eddie. But keys open more than doors. They open people. You ready to be opened?”He leaned in, elbows on mahogan
Last Updated : 2025-12-30
Chapter 36
The stench of rot clung to Ethan Cole's uniform as he hoisted another black bag into the compactor truck, the hydraulic crusher grinding with a sound like bones breaking. Three weeks since the Gala. Two since he'd watched his mother walk out of his penthouse. One since he'd learned his entire life was a lie written in his father's handwriting. And yet here he was, back in the role that had started it all—because sometimes the only way to see the board clearly was to stand where nobody looked.The Harrison Hills neighborhood was a different kind of prison than the one his mother had built in glass and steel. Here, the mansions were just as big, the lawns just as manicured, but the people carried a different scent: old tobacco money mixed with desperation. These were the families who'd watched the Wellington scandal on the news and thanked God they'd only been spectators. They hadn't realized the show was just getting started."Hey! Garbage man!" The voice cut through the morning air li
Last Updated : 2025-12-31
Chapter 37
The stench of rot clung to Ethan Cole's uniform as he hoisted another black bag into the compactor truck, the hydraulic crusher grinding with a sound like bones breaking. Three weeks since the Gala. Two since he'd watched his mother walk out of his penthouse. One since he'd learned his entire life was a lie written in his father's handwriting. And yet here he was, back in the role that had started it all—because sometimes the only way to see the board clearly was to stand where nobody looked.The Harrison Hills neighborhood was a different kind of prison than the one his mother had built in glass and steel. Here, the mansions were just as big, the lawns just as manicured, but the people carried a different scent: old tobacco money mixed with desperation. These were the families who'd watched the Wellington scandal on the news and thanked God they'd only been spectators. They hadn't realized the show was just getting started."Hey! Garbage man!" The voice cut through the morning air li
Last Updated : 2025-12-31
Chapter 38
The stench of rot clung to Ethan Cole's uniform as he hoisted another black bag into the compactor truck, the hydraulic crusher grinding with a sound like bones breaking. Three weeks since the Gala. Two since he'd watched his mother walk out of his penthouse. One since he'd learned his entire life was a lie written in his father's handwriting. And yet here he was, back in the role that had started it all—because sometimes the only way to see the board clearly was to stand where nobody looked.The Harrison Hills neighborhood was a different kind of prison than the one his mother had built in glass and steel. Here, the mansions were just as big, the lawns just as manicured, but the people carried a different scent: old tobacco money mixed with desperation. These were the families who'd watched the Wellington scandal on the news and thanked God they'd only been spectators. They hadn't realized the show was just getting started."Hey! Garbage man!" The voice cut through the morning air li
Last Updated : 2025-12-31
Chapter 37
The stench of rot clung to Ethan Cole's uniform as he hoisted another black bag into the compactor truck, the hydraulic crusher grinding with a sound like bones breaking. Three weeks since the Gala. Two since he'd watched his mother walk out of his penthouse. One since he'd learned his entire life was a lie written in his father's handwriting. And yet here he was, back in the role that had started it all—because sometimes the only way to see the board clearly was to stand where nobody looked.The Harrison Hills neighborhood was a different kind of prison than the one his mother had built in glass and steel. Here, the mansions were just as big, the lawns just as manicured, but the people carried a different scent: old tobacco money mixed with desperation. These were the families who'd watched the Wellington scandal on the news and thanked God they'd only been spectators. They hadn't realized the show was just getting started."Hey! Garbage man!" The voice cut through the morning air li
Last Updated : 2025-12-31
Chapter 40
The stench of rot clung to Ethan Cole's uniform as he hoisted another black bag into the compactor truck, the hydraulic crusher grinding with a sound like bones breaking. Three weeks since the Gala. Two since he'd watched his mother walk out of his penthouse. One since he'd learned his entire life was a lie written in his father's handwriting. And yet here he was, back in the role that had started it all—because sometimes the only way to see the board clearly was to stand where nobody looked.The Harrison Hills neighborhood was a different kind of prison than the one his mother had built in glass and steel. Here, the mansions were just as big, the lawns just as manicured, but the people carried a different scent: old tobacco money mixed with desperation. These were the families who'd watched the Wellington scandal on the news and thanked God they'd only been spectators. They hadn't realized the show was just getting started."Hey! Garbage man!" The voice cut through the morning air li
Last Updated : 2025-12-31