All Chapters of The invisible Groom: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
14 chapters
Chapter one
The morning sun crept tentatively through the thin curtains in the Dawson home, but it offered little comfort to the frigid atmosphere inside.Ethan Cole stood in the living room, his back straight and his face a blank slate. He had just finished scrubbing the floor—again—because Vivian Dawson, his mother-in-law, insisted she spotted “a speck of dust.”But dust wasn’t the real issue.She was hunting for ways to belittle him.“Three years living here,” Vivian barked, her arms crossed, “and you still can’t handle a simple chore. Are you really this worthless, Ethan?”He didn’t reply. He never did. Not out of weakness, but because this family didn’t have a clue who they were dealing with.To them, he was just an inconsequential son-in-law.The average guy who stumbled into their family with nothing to offer—no wealth, no prestige, no dignity.To the outside world—at least the one he had once been a part of—he was entirely different.Just as he was about to finish cleaning the final corne
Chapter Two
The moment the men in suits bowed to Ethan, a heavy silence enveloped the Dawson living room, pressing in on all sides.Vivian blinked hard, trying to process what was happening. Tanya stood with her mouth agape. Even the neighbors leaned over their balconies, whispering urgently among themselves.Ethan didn’t move right away. He simply fixated on the man clad in black—the one who had spoken first."Identify yourself," Ethan demanded in a low voice.The man instantly straightened up. “Commander Hale, Young Master. I head your personal security division,” he replied, his tone crisp and commanding.Tanya recoiled at the titles he used.Young Master? Commander? Security division?Vivian shook her head vigorously, as if trying to dissolve a hidden nightmare.“No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Ethan? Our Ethan?” She jutted her finger toward him, her voice rising. “The guy who can’t even pick out his own toothbrush? Are you sure you’re not at the wrong place?”Commander Hale di
Chapter Three
For the first time in three years, the Dawson living room was enveloped in an eerie hush. No insults were hurled. No shouting filled the air. No commands directed at Ethan to clean, cook, or run errands. Just silence… and an undercurrent of fear. Vivian gripped the armrest of the sofa, her fingers trembling with anxiety. Tanya paced restlessly, her heels clicking unevenly against the tile. Both women avoided Ethan’s gaze.He lounged on the couch, appearing calm and collected, as if the chaotic events of the past ten minutes were merely a passing breeze.Finally, Vivian forced herself to speak. “A–Are those people… really working for you?”Without glancing in her direction, Ethan replied, “Why the sudden concern? You seemed so confident just a moment ago.”Vivian recoiled at the biting chill in his tone. It felt far removed from the “useless son-in-law” she had grown accustomed to. This was a voice that commanded respect—someone unsettlingly powerful.Tanya attempted to chuc
Chapter Four
Ethan stepped outside, closing the Dawson’s door behind him. The air felt different—sharper, heavier. The message glowing on his phone was still open.“New threat identified. They know you’re back.”He stared at it for just a second.They?Only a handful of people in the entire world would dare challenge the Cole family.Which meant only one thing:Someone had been watching for his return… long before the black cars arrived.Ethan slipped the phone into his pocket and began walking down the street, unhurried.Every movement he made showed a confidence he had suppressed for years.People whispered from their balconies.“Is that the Dawson son-in-law?”“The men who bowed earlier… who was he?”“A billionaire…? No, impossible.”“It’s him. I saw the cars!”Ethan ignored all of it.But someone didn’t.A man in a dark hoodie leaned against a parked motorcycle a few houses away. He lowered his head, speaking quietly into a tiny earpiece.“Target confirmed. The young master has resurfaced.”A
Chapter Five
Night settled over the neighborhood, quiet and ordinary on the surface. But Ethan felt the difference instantly.Pressure.A shift in the air.Predators pretending to be shadows.He didn’t stop walking.He didn’t slow down.But he knew:Marcus Slate had already made his first move.THE MEN IN THE ALLEYThree blocks from the Dawson residence, Ethan turned into a narrow alley. Not because he needed a shortcut—because he sensed the trap waiting for him.The moment he stepped in, the exit behind him closed.A tall man in a leather jacket stepped out.Another dropped from a low rooftop.A third leaned against a wall, flipping a metal baton.They surrounded him with the confidence of men who had done this many times.The leader smirked.“Ethan Cole. The prodigal son returns.”Ethan’s expression didn’t change.“You talk too much.”The man blinked—caught off-guard.Then he laughed.“You don’t even want to know who sent us?”“Marcus Slate,” Ethan said calmly.All three froze.Ethan sighed.“I
Chapter Six
Marcus Slate’s orders spread through the underworld like wildfire.Within an hour, every informant, every hired blade, every street watcher in the district had one mission:Find Ethan Cole.Track him.Pressure him.Break him.But Slate made one mistake.He assumed Ethan was a man who could be hunted.He didn’t know Ethan used to be the one doing the hunting.A PRESENCE IN THE DARKEthan stopped beside a closed hardware store, pretending to adjust his wristwatch.His expression was relaxed.His heartbeat steady.But he had already sensed it:A sniper scope brushing over him.A second presence perched on a rooftop.Two more following from opposite ends of the street.Slate had upgraded the enemy pieces.But they were still playing on Ethan’s board.Commander Hale’s voice buzzed through the encrypted earpiece Ethan wore.“Sir, five signals closing in. Professionals this time. Should we intervene?”Ethan shook his head lightly.“No.”“Sir…?”“This is still warm-up.”THE ROOFTOP SHADOWOn
Chapter Seven
The hotel Ethan chose was deliberately ordinary—an old, eight-story building with flickering corridor lights and peeling wallpaper. A place no one would expect a war.Ethan checked in under the name Daniel Gray.No luggage.No questions asked.Commander Hale waited by the stairwell, pretending to read a newspaper.“Room 608, sir,” Hale whispered as Ethan walked past.“Scorpion Unit has been sighted three blocks away.”“Good,” Ethan replied.“I want them to find me.”THE SCORPION UNIT ARRIVESThree black vans stopped in the alley behind the hotel.Twelve men stepped out—uniform black gear, reinforced suits, dual weapons. Their movements were synchronized, disciplined, silent.These were not street thugs.They were assassins, trained in eliminating high-value targets.Their captain, a scarred man with cold eyes, spoke into his mic:“Objective confirmed. Eliminate Ethan Cole and retrieve proof of kill. No survivors. No witnesses.”They split into formation:Team A: Roof penetrationTeam
Chapter Eight
At 2:14 a.m., the city’s sky lit up with a single flare—red, faint, and almost invisible to ordinary eyes.But the right people saw it.Across abandoned buildings, hidden basements, and shuttered factories… shadows shifted.Doors unlocked.Lights flickered on.Weapons were loaded.Marcus Slate’s most dangerous force—The Black Serpent Unit—was waking up.Not assassins.Not mercenaries.War machines in human form.Trained for annihilation, not capture.Used only in full-scale war.The moment they deployed…the city would bleed.MARCUS SLATE’S HEADQUARTERSMarcus Slate stood before a massive reinforced door. Behind it: a dark room vibrating with low mechanical hums.His second-in-command swallowed hard.“Sir… activating Black Serpent means tearing the treaty we made with the Cole family.”Slate’s smile widened.“The treaty ends tonight.”He placed his palm on the biometric scanner.The metal door split open.Inside, twelve figures stood in a perfect line—silent, armored, identical black
Chapter Nine
The street was silent.Too silent.A thin layer of fog drifted across the asphalt as Ethan moved to the center of the road—straight-backed, expression calm, hands loose at his sides.Hale stood behind him, tense but ready.“Sir… Black Serpent is sixty seconds away.”Ethan didn’t blink.“Good.”THE APPEARANCE OF DEATHThe fog shifted.The first figure stepped through—tall, armored in matte black, visor glowing faintly red.Then another.Then ten more.Twelve soldiers.Twelve lethal machines disguised as men.They formed a wide semicircle around Ethan, their synchronization disturbing.No breathing.No speaking.No hesitation.Their leader stepped forward.“TARGET CONFIRMED: ETHAN COLE.THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME.EXECUTION PROTOCOL: OMEGA.”Hale whispered,“They’re using Omega Protocol… sir, that’s kill-without-recovery.”Ethan stepped one inch forward.“Protocol won’t help them.”THE FIRST STRIKEThree Black Serpent operatives lunged at once—perfect formation, zero wasted movement.Ethan m
Chapter Ten
The fog was clearing.The bodies of the Black Serpent operatives lay scattered across the street, armor cracked, visors shattered, their once-perfect formation now nothing more than broken metal.Ethan stood still.Only his eyes moved.Hale approached carefully.“Sir… did he say what I think he said?”Ethan didn’t respond immediately. His mind wasn’t on the dead soldier.It was on a memory he had buried years ago.A banquet hall.A glass of wine.A smile that wasn’t a smile.And a betrayal that nearly killed him.He exhaled slowly.“Yes,” Ethan finally said. “Someone in my family sold me out.”Hale stiffened.“The Cole family is huge… thousands of people have benefited from your downfall.”“No,” Ethan said quietly.“It wasn’t the outsiders.”His eyes hardened.“It was someone close.”⸻THE CONVOY ARRIVESEngines roared across the street.Three armored SUVs pulled up, headlights slicing through the fog. Ethan’s men emerged—silent, disciplined, dressed in matte black with the Cole insig