All Chapters of THE DISCARDED SON-IN-LAWS GOD-LEVEL DOMINION SYSTEM : Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
26 chapters
Chapter 11
The tailor shop sat on the quiet corner of the finest shopping street in the city.Ethan stopped on the sidewalk and looked at the window. A single black suit stood on a pale mannequin under a soft golden light. There was no price tag. There never was in places like this. The name above the door was written in thin silver letters. Marquis & Daughters, Custom Tailors Since 1952.He had walked past this shop many times with Vanessa. She had always slowed down when they came near, and each time he had seen her look at the window with open desire. Once, he had asked if she wanted to go in. She had laughed at him like he had told a joke. She had said the shop was for people who mattered. People like her father and her brother. Not for a man who owned two suits.Ethan pushed open the glass door.A bell rang softly. The shop was warm and quiet. The air smelled of fine wool and cedar. Long racks of dark fabric lined the walls. A small chandelier hung over a round mirror in the middle of the f
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 12
The storeroom smelled of dust and cedar and old silk.Mr. Marquis led Ethan down a narrow back hallway and unlocked a heavy wooden door. Inside, long rows of garment bags hung in the dark like sleeping ghosts. A single bulb glowed overhead. The old tailor walked to the very end of the room and pulled a long gray bag from the last hook."My father kept it for eleven years," he said quietly. "He said a man who pays for a suit has a right to come back for it. He never sold it."He unzipped the bag.The suit was deep midnight blue, nearly black. The cloth was heavy and fine, the kind that was no longer made anywhere. The buttons were polished bone. On the inside of the left lapel, stitched in tiny silver thread, was a small coiled dragon. It was the same dragon that hung around Ethan's neck.Ethan reached out and touched the stitching with one finger. His hand was not quite steady."Whose measurements?" he asked."A tall man," Mr. Marquis said. "Broad in the shoulders. A little taller tha
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 13
The river road was dark and empty.Vanessa drove with both hands tight on the steering wheel. Her eyes burned from crying. The wipers moved slowly across the glass, pushing aside the thin mist. On her left, the black river slid along under the lamps. On her right, tall warehouses stood in a long gray row with their windows broken and their doors chained.She did not usually take this road. Tonight she had turned onto it without thinking, only wanting a quiet place and a long stretch of road to breathe. She touched her cheek and found it wet again. She wiped it with the sleeve of the borrowed coat."Stop it," she whispered to herself. "Stop crying. You did this."Headlights flashed in her mirror.She glanced up. A black van had appeared behind her, very close. Its lights were high and bright. She slowed a little to let it pass. The van slowed too.A cold feeling crept down her neck. She pressed the gas pedal and her small car jumped forward. In the mirror, the van jumped with her. A se
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 14
The hospital waiting room smelled of antiseptic and weak tea.Vanessa sat on a plastic chair with a thick white bandage across her forehead. A nurse had cleaned the cut and checked her ribs. Nothing was broken. Her coat had been taken away and replaced by a thin blue blanket. She held a paper cup in both hands and stared at the floor.Ethan stood by the window with his arms folded. He had been standing there for forty minutes. The police had taken his statement and left. Two officers waited in the corridor now, their eyes polite and careful. Word had already spread. The man who had taken over Whitmore Group had defeated twelve armed men with his bare hands. A nurse at the front desk had whispered it to another nurse and both of them had looked at him as if he were an actor on television."You should go," Vanessa said quietly. "You have things to do.""I do.""But you are still here."He did not answer. He watched the lights of the parking lot through the glass.The elevator at the end
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 16
Harbor Nine Casino stood at the end of the east docks like a gaudy ship that had run aground.Red and gold lights flashed across its front. A huge neon tiger glared down from the roof. Dozens of expensive cars filled the parking lot. Men in dark suits stood at the front doors with earpieces and cold faces. The smell of salt and engine oil drifted across the water, mixed with cigarette smoke.Ethan stepped out of the car in a fresh black suit. It was one of the six from Marquis & Daughters. Mr. Marquis had delivered it personally at noon with a bow and a bottle of sparkling water. The suit fit as if it had grown on his body. The cloth was soft and heavy and quiet. He wore no tie. His collar was open and the jade pendant lay against his chest.Daniel hurried to follow. "Mr. Cross, please. Let me call more men.""Stay with the car," Ethan said. "If I am not out in an hour, call the police.""Sir, an hour is...""Daniel."Daniel closed his mouth and nodded.Ethan walked across the parking
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 16
Damien Kane had been drinking for three days.The motel room on the edge of the city was small and gray. The curtains were closed. Empty bottles lay on the floor, on the bed, on the cracked television stand. The air smelled sour. The man who once wore a gray suit and a smile like a knife now sat on the bathroom floor in a stained shirt, with his back against the tub and a bottle in his hand.His phone lay beside him. It had stopped ringing two days ago. At first it had rung all the time. Banks. Lawyers. Old friends. Then reporters. Then no one.The last message was from his mother. Four words. We are very sorry.He looked at it for a long time. Then he threw the phone across the room. It hit the wall and cracked."Useless," Damien said. His voice was hoarse. "Everyone is useless. Everyone."He drank from the bottle and wiped his mouth. His eyes were red. His hair was greasy. A week ago, he had sat on top of the world and laughed at a man in a cheap suit. Now he could not afford the ro
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 17
The old teahouse on Willow Lane had no sign.Ethan almost walked past it. The building sat between a shuttered bookstore and a dry cleaner, with a narrow wooden door painted dark green. Only a small brass bell and the faint smell of jasmine told him that anyone lived inside. He stopped at the door at five minutes before noon. The street was quiet. Willow trees dripped slowly after the morning rain.Daniel had wanted to come inside with him. Ethan had told him to wait at the corner. Now he stood alone with his hand on the cool brass handle, and he felt the jade pendant press against his chest like a small, warm heartbeat.He pushed open the door.The inside was dim and quiet. Low wooden tables stood in a neat row. Paper lanterns hung from the ceiling and gave off a soft amber light. Old paintings of mountains and rivers covered the walls. There were no other customers. Behind the counter, a kettle hissed quietly on a small stove.A woman sat at the table in the farthest corner with a p
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 18
The Cross estate stood on the highest point of the western hill like a skeleton.Ethan climbed the last stretch of road on foot, long after dark. Daniel had driven him to the base of the hill and stayed with the car. A thin cold wind pushed through the dead grass. The moon was pale and half hidden behind low clouds.The old iron gates hung crooked from their hinges, rusted brown. Beyond them, the long driveway had been swallowed by weeds. At the end of it, the shell of the great house rose against the sky. Blackened walls. Empty windows. A roof that had fallen in long ago. Ten years of rain had washed away most of the soot, but the shape of the fire was still there, written in stone.He walked slowly through the gates.Every step brought a flicker of memory. A swing hanging from the oak tree on the left. He had spent whole summers on that swing. A stone bench by the fountain where his mother used to read. The fountain was dry now, filled with leaves and cracked at the edges. He rememb
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 19
Monday morning, the Whitmore Group boardroom was full.Ethan sat at the head of the long polished table with his hands folded in front of him. The midnight suit from Marquis & Daughters, the plain one, not his father's, fit him perfectly. Every seat around the table was occupied. Eight directors in dark suits. Three lawyers in gray. And at the far end, pale and silent, sat Victor Whitmore, who had not been invited but had come anyway.Mrs. Tan stood near the door with a stack of papers. Her face was calm."The meeting is called to order," the oldest director, Mr. Hendricks, said. He was a thick man with white sideburns and a voice like gravel. "We have an urgent matter to discuss. Mr. Cross, I must be frank. Several of us have concerns about the stability of the company under your leadership."Ethan looked at him calmly. "Go on.""The company has lost three major clients in four days. The stock has fallen eleven percent. Our partners say they are uncomfortable with a leader who has no
Last Updated : 2026-10-22
Chapter 20
Chapter 20The hospital room was white and silent.Ethan stood in the doorway for a long moment before he walked in. A single monitor beeped steadily beside the bed. Old Mr. Whitmore lay under a thin blanket, his gray face pressed into the pillow. A clear tube ran into his arm. His hands, once so hard and sure, rested weakly on the sheet.Vanessa sat in a chair by the window. She stood up when she saw Ethan. Her eyes were swollen from lack of sleep. She wore no makeup. Her hair was tied back loosely and she wore a simple gray sweater."Thank you for coming," she said quietly. "He asked for you every day since Sunday.""What happened?""A stroke, the doctors say. A small one. He was found in his study on Sunday night. Victor found him. He had..." She stopped and pressed her fist against her mouth. "He had a lot of old papers spread across the floor. Burned papers. He had been trying to burn something and could not finish."Ethan looked at the old man. The chairman's proud shoulders had
Last Updated : 2026-10-22