All Chapters of From Rejected Son in Law to Empire Heir: Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
152 chapters
Chapter 41: The Artifact
Ava stood at the counter and watched the owner finish wrapping the jade piece. She pressed her lips together and said nothing more about it. Logan tucked the small parcel under his arm and picked up the clock with his other hand."I still think we should give him the clock," Ava said as they moved toward the door."We can give him both," Logan said."A clock and a five dollar jade piece," Ava said flatly. "Perfect."Mia looked up at her father. "Dada, what did you buy?""A gift for your grandfather," Logan said.Mia nodded seriously. "Is it a good gift?""Yes," Logan said."Okay," Mia said, satisfied, and skipped toward the door.They were almost at the exit when the shop door opened from outside and a man walked in. He was well dressed, older, carrying himself with the ease of someone who was used to being the most knowledgeable person in any room he entered. He had a younger man with him who was carrying a leather briefcase and walking half a step behind.The man stopped just inside
Chapter 42: A Dishonest Deal
The shop owner had been moving quickly, folding the brown paper around the jade piece with the practiced hands of someone who wanted a transaction finished before anything changed. But the moment Richard Bao walked out of the shop, the man stopped moving.He stood behind the counter with both hands flat on the surface and looked at the parcel he had just been wrapping. Then he looked at Logan. Then he looked at Richard Bao's retreating figure through the shop window.Nobody spoke for a moment.Then Alan Dawn pulled the parcel back across the counter toward himself.Logan looked at him. "We had a deal.""I am reconsidering," Alan said. His voice had changed. The tired, indifferent tone from earlier was gone completely. "I did not know what that piece was when I priced it. Now I do.""The price was agreed before you wrapped it," Logan said. "I already paid.""Then I am giving you your money back." Alan reached under the counter, produced five dollars, and pushed it across the surface to
Chapter 43: A Call for Backup
The shop was quiet now. Alan stood where he was, looking at Logan with the settled expression of a man who believed the situation had already been resolved in his favor. The assistant who had been at the back of the shop had appeared near the doorway to the storage room, watching.Logan looked around the shop slowly. He looked at the cameras on the walls, the items on the shelves, the door to the back room. Then he looked at Alan."So," Alan said. "Are we done here?""Not quite," Logan said.Alan's expression shifted slightly. "I told you what happens if you push this.""You did," Logan said. He reached into his pocket and brought out his phone.Alan watched him. "Who are you calling?""Someone," Logan said."Your lawyer?" Alan let out a short laugh. "Go ahead. By the time anyone gets here, that piece will be in my back room and your word against mine means nothing in this neighborhood."Logan was not calling a lawyer. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was lo
Chapter 44: The Recognition
Richard Bao had not left the shop.He had stepped to the side when Ava and Mia walked out, moving toward the shelves nearest the window like a man browsing, but he had not gone anywhere. He stood with his hands behind his back and his eyes moving between Alan and Logan with the quiet attention of someone watching something unfold that he did not want to miss.Alan had not noticed him. His eyes were on the three figures coming down the corridor through the glass.Logan watched Alan's face as the man recognized who was approaching. Something changed in Alan's expression. The confidence that had been sitting there since he pulled the parcel back across the counter began to loosen at the edges. His arms, which had been crossed, dropped to his sides."Those are my people," Alan said, but his voice had lost the steadiness it carried before. "Not yours.""We will see," Logan said.The shop door opened. Marcus Flynn walked in first. He was a broad man, unhurried, with the kind of stillness th
Chapter 45: The Consequence
Ava stood up from the bench the moment she saw Logan come through the door. Mia jumped up beside her."Dada, you are out." Mia reached for his hand immediately. "What took so long?""Just a conversation," Logan said. He looked at Ava. "We can go."Ava looked at the parcel under his arm. "You still have it.""Yes," Logan said.She looked at the shop door, then at him. "What happened in there?""It is handled," Logan said, and started walking.Ava looked at the shop one more time. Through the glass she could see three large men standing in the center of the floor and Alan Dawn backing up toward his counter with his hands raised. Richard Bao was still inside as well, standing near the shelves with an expression she could not quite read from where she was standing.She turned and followed Logan.Inside the shop, Marcus looked at Alan without any particular expression on his face. The two men beside him had not moved.Alan had backed up until the counter was behind him. His hands were stil
Chapter 46: The Birthday Dinner
The Cooper family home was decorated simply but deliberately. Streamers ran along the hallway ceiling, a banner had been hung above the living room entrance, and the dining table had been extended and set with more chairs than usual. The smell of food came from the kitchen and someone had put music on low in the background.Kyle Cooper sat in the center of the living room looking mildly embarrassed by the fuss, the way people do when they genuinely did not want a party but are too fond of their family to say so. He stood when Logan and Ava walked in with Mia and opened his arms for his granddaughter first."There she is," Kyle said, lifting Mia up. "Look how big you have gotten.""I am very big now," Mia agreed seriously.Kyle laughed and kissed her cheek and set her down. He shook Logan's hand with both of his. "Logan. Good to see you.""Happy birthday, sir," Logan said. "You look well.""I feel well," Kyle said. "Come in, come in."Leslie appeared from the kitchen direction with a d
Chapter 47: A Question of Credit
Dinner was loud and warm in the way that large family gatherings tend to be. Food moved around the table constantly, conversations ran across each other, and Kyle sat at the head with the relaxed expression of a man who was genuinely happy to have his family around him.Ava was seated beside Logan. She helped Mia with her plate and then turned to her own food, listening to the conversations running up and down the table.Raymond was talking to Leslie about a restaurant he had recently visited, describing the food in the detailed way people do when they want to demonstrate a certain kind of lifestyle. Leslie listened with the engaged expression she reserved for people she approved of.Stacy leaned over toward Ava from across the table. "How is work? You have been so busy lately.""It has been a good week actually," Ava said. "I closed a major contract and got promoted to Sales Director."The table quieted in that immediate way it does when something surprising is said in the middle of
Chapter 48: The Investigation
Leslie turned to Logan with the particular smile she used when she wanted something from him that she did not want to ask for directly. "Logan, Raymond did a wonderful thing for Ava. You should thank him properly. As her husband, it is the right thing to do."Logan set his fork down and looked at Leslie. Then he looked at Raymond.Raymond met his eyes briefly and then looked at his glass."I will thank him," Logan said pleasantly. "But first I have a question for him."Leslie's smile stayed in place. "What question?"Logan looked at Raymond directly. "Which company did your father contact? The client's company or Synergy Corp?"Raymond took a small sip from his glass. "I am not sure of the exact details. My father handles these things quietly. He does not always tell me the specifics.""I see," Logan said. "And when did you ask him? Before the contract was signed or after?""Before," Raymond said, then caught himself slightly. "Around that time, I think.""You think," Logan said.Stac
Chapter 49: The Unmasking
Leslie set her glass down with more force than was necessary. She looked at Logan with the direct, unfiltered expression she usually kept for private conversations. "I do not know what you were trying to prove just now but I want you to understand something." Her voice was low but it carried. "Raymond did something generous for this family. The right response is gratitude, not suspicion. I expected better from you.""I was just asking questions," Logan said."You were embarrassing us," Leslie said. "In front of a guest."Ava had been quiet through the whole exchange. She looked at Logan now with an expression that was harder to read than Leslie's. It was not quite anger. It was closer to the particular disappointment of someone who had hoped for one thing and gotten something else entirely."Logan," she said quietly. "Why?""Because I wanted to know if it was true," Logan said simply."Raymond's father just confirmed it on the phone," Ava said."He confirmed something," Logan said.Av
Chapter 50: The Gift
The dinner table was full and loud in the best way. Food had been passed around twice already and the conversations running across the table had loosened into the comfortable noise of people who had eaten well and were no longer trying to impress anyone.Kyle sat at the head of the table looking genuinely content. He had loosened the top button of his shirt and was listening to something his brother was telling him with the easy attention of a man who had nowhere else to be.Raymond tapped the side of his glass lightly to get the table's attention. The conversations around him settled."I wanted to take a moment," Raymond said, "to present my gift to Uncle Kyle properly." He reached to the side and lifted the glossy gift bag from where it had been sitting against his chair. He carried it around the table and set it in front of Kyle with both hands. "From me and my family. Happy birthday, sir."Kyle accepted it with a warm smile and opened it carefully. Inside was a watch box, and insi