All Chapters of THE HUSBAND THEY BULLIED, THE KING THEY FEARED: Chapter 71
- Chapter 80
138 chapters
CHAPTER 71: LOW TIDE
LOW TIDEThe room had fallen silent now except for the soft hum of jazz filling the space between Damien's breathing. It drifted from the loving area, looping so many times that the melody now felt woven into the very walls. Damien sighed softly as he turned over and stared up at the white ceiling. The place was darker now, lit only by the dim bulb in the dining area. A body stirred beside him and he turned his head. Elara lay curled tightly against him, her messy hair resting calmly over his chest. She had one arm draped across his torso as if fearing he might disappear if she loosened her hold. Her scent had clung to him now–floral and warm, mixed with the faint trace of wine and something sweet. Damien ran a hand through his head as his gaze drifted to the dining table. The food arranged neatly over the top still remained untouched, plates full. A lump formed in his chest as he thought of the mess still waiting for her in the kitchen. She had gone through a lot of stress prepa
CHAPTER 72: ERASED FROM THE PIER
ERASED FROM THE PIERThe city had barely woken up when Damien pulled out of the hotel's parking lot. The morning sun had just peeked over the high-rise buildings, its warm blue hue bleeding over the horizon and washing over the glass panes in muted color. The streets were thankfully still thin with traffic, just the delivery vans and the occasional commuter driving through intersections. Damien took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply as his hands rested steady on the steering wheel. His posture was calm, but his mind was a chaos of thoughts. Ryan. The muted voices. The gunshots following. And then silence. His phone buzzed softly in the cup holder, the sharp sound cutting through his thoughts. His eyes drop down briefly at the name dancing on the screen. Commissioner Jim. The call cut just before he could answer and a message preview immediately followed after, glowing across the display. ‘We need to talk. It's urgent.’Damien's jaw tightened. Was it about the recording he'd
CHAPTER 73: BEFORE THE NAME WAS SPOKEN
BEFORE THE NAME WAS SPOKENThe room was dimly lit, its narrow walls lined with heavy wooden shelves stacked with almost everything–ledgers, liquor bottles, empty jars and sealed boxes. A single bulb hung from the blackened ceiling, casting a tired yellow glow over the dust floating in the air. The metal chair at the center creaked under Brooks' weight as he moved to the side. A bruise darkened the side of his face, highlighting slightly the swelling beneath his eyes. His lower lip was split at the corner, dried blood crusted over the cut. His shirt had been changed now, dotted with sweat and a few bloodstains. His jaw tightened, knuckles scraped raw as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. A wave of pain constantly crashed through his head–the painkillers were no help. A nurse stood before him, dabbing antiseptic onto a cotton pad. “Just hold still, please," she muttered as gently as she could. “I'll have to clean the bruise and–”She reached for Brooks' face but he quickly
CHAPTER 74: HE'S REPORTED DEAD
HE'S REPORTED DEADThe cold morning wind sweet over the sea in sharp gusts, tugging restlessly at jackets and coats, sending harsh whispers against stacked containers. But Damien wasn't feeling it anymore. The sound had dulled to a ringing backdrop as a faint recognition of the man before him slowly began to set in.“I’m sorry,” Damien said evenly, his gaze narrowing slightly. “Have we met?”Brooks’ expression didn’t shift. “Brooks… Brooks Jackman,” he answered, extending nothing but his name. “I manage operations around here.”Boots placed firmly against the cold concrete, he stood up straight and stared at the man who had called his name. He'd stopped a few feet away, staring at him with an assessing gaze. Damien's fist tightened as Ryan's recording played back in his mind. This voice was unmistakably there, though it sounded muffled against the roars of the backwaters. And his name echoed repeatedly in his thoughts like a broken recorder. Brooks Jackman–right-hand man to the bigg
CHAPTER 75: ACROSS THE WATER
ACROSS THE WATERUpon reaching the far edge of a pier, Damien was met with a narrow motorboat, bobbing lazily against the dock posts. The hull was scratched at the side, its edges worn out from constant use. Its paint had begun to peel, leaving thin strips along the body of the boat. A single rope anchored the boat loosely to a rusted metal ring etched into the wooden pier. A man sat within, one boot placed against the side as he turned the ticking engine off. He stepped toward the pier, the smoke from the cigarette dangling from his lips curling upward into the cold morning air. His eyes traveled to the two as they approached the boat. Clenching his cigarette between his teeth, he looked Damien over slowly, noting his tailored coat, polished shoes and clean features. Then his gaze dropped to the expensive watch on his wrist catching the early sunlight. “Boss," the driver muttered as he glanced at Brooks. “Who's the rich-looking boy?" “Show some respect, Boyd," Brooks answered
CHAPTER 76: IDENTIFIED
IDENTIFIEDDamien lifted his legs from the mud gripping at his feet and stepped forward. His eyes remained fixed on the body bag as his chest tightened the more. It was big–big enough to hold Ryan's size–and its girth seemed just enough. Before him, the dockwaters shifted, stepping away from the corpse as they approached. But their eyes never left Damien. They studied him as uncomfortable whispers swept through them. “Hey boss," one of them called out, not bothering to lower his voice. He squinted at Damien openly, pointing. “Who the hell's the rich kid?" Before Brooks could give an answer, Boyd's voice carried loudly from the boat as he secured the rope to a small stump. “That's what I asked!" he barked as he gave a throaty laugh–one that sounded closer to a cough. A couple of the men snorted and another clapped his partner on the shoulder. The sound of their amusement echoed over the empty place, a sharp contrast to the solemn setting. Damien ignored them but Brooks shot them
CHAPTER 77: A PIG IN BLUE
A PIG IN BLUEBrooks knelt down beside the body bag, boots planted firmly in the wet mud as the tide rolled past him with a hollow, rhythmic hush. He looked at Damien, studying the man's features. But he just had on a cold expression, void of any emotion. At first he wanted to speak–ask Damien if he truly meant what he said when he denied not knowing Ryan personally. But then he decided against it. His reaction after seeing the body would tell him everything. The wind flapped against the edges of his coat, lifting its sleeves like impatient fingers. He pulled at it, constantly adjusting the fabric as he leaned toward the bag. Breath steady, he grabbed the zip and pulled it down. A horrid stench oozed out of the bag instantly, clouding the air before them. The men recoiled and even Brooks had to take a step back too. But Damien didn't look affected. He just stood there, studying the corpse. Brooks followed Damien's line of sight to the body and really looked at it this time. The
CHAPTER 78: A BODY, THE BADGE AND A LIE
A BODY, THE BADGE AND A LIEJim’s pen paused mid-stroke. “And yet,” he mumbled calmly, “a body turns up this morning.”Brooks met his gaze evenly. “That’s correct.”Brooks' jaw tightened and his fists clenched at his side as he watched Jim. Was the guy trying to implicate him before Damien? They had something to discuss after this. Behind them, a few officers had begun walking around the scene, examining the area. One dropped down to his knees by the waterline and another was bagging a few pieces of debris. Brooks' just stood by the side, watching the entire scene with arms folded and expressions guarded. They no longer held that smug look Damien had met when he first arrived. It looked like they were all scared of slipping up before the silver badges. Damien watched them for a moment and a few met his gaze head-on–measuring him, weighing him. Boyd still remained where he was–by the boat. He leaned lazily against the hull, another cigarette clenched between his teeth. “Rich boys p
CHAPTER 79: BENEATH THE FLOODLIGHTS
BENEATH THE FLOODLIGHTSRyan jumped, the bullets slicing through muscles and bones as he dropped into the water. His body sliced through the surface with a violent splash and the water swallowed him whole. For a moment, there was nothing but the cold, dark feeling of silence. He felt the river close over his head with a quick surge, pulling him below like it had been waiting for him the entire time. The feeling was calm at first, but then realization sank in–he was drowning. The shock of it tore a broken gasp from his lungs, but his scream dissolved instantly into a spray of bubbles that quickly rushed to the surface. He was sinking fast. The bullets had already ripped through him before he'd jumped and his ribs ached where two rounds had zinged past his flesh. His shoulders throbbed with every pulse of his heart, sending gushes of warm block tricking upward. Red leaked from his wounds with every nauseating movement he took, spiraling to the surface like crimson smock in black wa
CHAPTER 80: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST?
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST?Ryan clenched his jittering teeth so tight he felt his jaw click. With every strength he could muster, he angled his body downward, swimming–or sinking–away from the reach of the beams of light above. He wanted to move as far away as he could from the pier… from the silhouette above. He looked upward to the left and saw that the light didn't taste that area. The deeper bend of the river was away from its reach and he knew that beyond that certain point, the water was just nothing but black and silence, untouched by artificial glare. Just what he needed to get away from Brooks' reach. If only he could just reach that darkness…He felt the heat of another bullet warm up the water behind his head as it traveled past his war. It was so close that he felt the pressure shift as it disappeared into the darkness below. He kicked harder, trying his best to ignore the scream that was ripping through his thigh. His shoulders still burned, cracking and sending streams