A Man Called Revenge

Chapter 1: A Hound in Their Den

 "Kneel!"

 The word cut through the room like a whip.

 Gary Wang stood frozen, his fingers clenched into fists. His legs ached from hours of standing, but he wouldn’t kneel. Not this time.

 Around him, the laughter swelled. The Lancaster family, their guests, their servants—they all watched, waiting for the show to begin.

 William Lancaster sighed, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "I said, kneel, you douche-bag!"

 A sharp kick suddenly slammed into the back of Gary’s knee. His leg buckled, and before he could catch himself, he was on the floor, a silent grunt escaping his dry lips.

 Laughter erupted. Someone clapped. A joke was made at his expense, but Gary didn’t hear it. All he heard was his own breathing.

 Heavy. Slow. He looked up. Across the room, Evelyn stood there, watching. His wife, his wife, who never defended him. His wife, who didn’t look away, was she enjoying the scene?

 Gary swallowed hard. He couldn’t tell. But he would remember this night like every other night—every face, every laugh, every single moment. 

 But reality hit him: What would he do, huh? What could he do? He was just as useless as the P in psychology. 

 “What is it, huh?” asked Enrique, the first son of the Lacanster family, kneeling to level with Gary, in a rather harsh tone, “You want to fight my father and mother? Huh?”

 “This is not some fantasy urban book where you suddenly get power and riches, asshole! You are a nobody and a loser and…”

 “Okay, that is enough!”

 Finally, someone from the crowd spoke up, silencing the entire crowd. It was Madam Ann Lancaster, the head of the Lacanster family. 

 The gathering was supposed to be a fun occasion, with everyone having a great time and celebrating the $17 million contract the Lacanster family had sealed. But the filth of a son-in-law, Gary Wang, decided to spoil the occasion with his stinking ooze and disobedience.

 Madam Ann stood up from her seat, a light grunt escaping her brightly red-painted lips. Her dress was majestic. It wasn't just glitter; the dress shimmered. Like, really shimmered, the kind that catches the eye and holds it. The silk flowed, almost liquid, and the gold lace? One could tell it was real, hand-worked. She flaunted it everywhere, especially in her rivals’ faces

 She walked up to Gary, who was still on the floor, massaging his legs in pain. She looked down at him with disgust and contempt. You could see the deep-seated hatred in the woman’s eyes, the disgust on her face.

 “Get up!” she commanded in a soft but firm tone. 

 Gary locked gaze with her briefly. This was not a new thing. He had been treated in worse ways. He had seen those eyes before, and he knew what they meant; he knew what was coming next.

 Gary managed to pick himself up. His legs were shaking. He could feel it. But he wouldn’t let it show—not in front of these vultures. He would not display weakness in front of his enemies.

 Soon, Gary was standing in front of his mother-in-law, face to face, staring eyeball to eyeball. 

 Gary Wang was a tall man, about 6 feet and four inches. He was way taller than Madam Ann, who was barely 5’5. This was supposed to be intimidating and a natural call for respect. But it was quite the opposite. His height meant nothing to the Lacansters.

 Suddenly, a loud smacking sound echoed through the entire room. This was followed by a brief silence and then, another burst of laughter and chuckles. 

 The slap was resounding and powerful. Printed on Gary’s face was the lady’s palm. They were all complete, all fingers accounted for.

 “Gary, you ungrateful filth! How dare you disobey my orders? You proud buffoon! Do you have any idea who Mr. Kage is? He is the CEO of AgriMoult Enterprise, and he can buy your useless soul 10 million times over and not go broke! Yet you dare tell him to…”

 “…to get his filthy hands off my wife, Mother! He should not go about touching people’s wives.” Gary’s voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried through the room like a sudden gust of wind before a storm. The laughter died.

 Madam Ann's eyes flared with fury. “What did you just say to me?”

 Gary’s cheek burned from the slap, but he didn’t look away. His jaw tightened, his breathing slow and controlled. His entire body ached—his pride, his dignity, his patience—everything screamed at him to say something, do something.

 And he did! He was not scared of saying the truth to anyone’s face, even if they perceived him as worthless and broke. 

 “I said, no man—rich or not—gets to paw at someone else’s wife. Especially not mine. I don’t care how wealthy that man may be!” Gary replied fearlessly.

 Enrique scoffed. How dare Nathan speak back to his mother?

 “Listen to this fool. You think you’re some righteous hero, huh? Protecting a woman who doesn’t even love you?”

 Gary said nothing in response to him. Enrique was just a man who had no understanding of life. He ate from his mother’s crumbs and slept under her roof. Gary was not going to engage in a conversation with such a man.

 Kage —the guest of honor, the million-dollar tycoon, the man who had openly placed his hands on Evelyn’s shoulder like she was a prize— chuckled. “Madam Ann, I must say, this dog of yours has some nerve.”

 A few guests chuckled, sipping their wine like this was all part of the entertainment.

 Madam Ann turned back to Gary, her face twisted in disgust. “You dare humiliate this family?”

 ‘Humiliate’? Gary almost laughed.

 Hadn’t they done that to him, over and over again? Even worse? He had endured, swallowed his pride, smiled through the insults, through the pain. But tonight, something was different.

 Something inside him snapped—his chest tightened, his blood burned, years of swallowing their shit boiling up at once. He could swallow all of that, but his wife? She was his responsibility. 

 He loved her, protected her—maybe too much—like any real husband would. But he would not stand by and watch some ‘millionaire’ touch another man’s wife improperly.

 Madam Ann exhaled sharply. “Enough! I’ve had enough of you!”

 She turned to Evelyn, who had remained eerily silent through all of this.

 “Evelyn, tell this man to get on his knees and apologize to Mr. Kage. Right now!”

 The weight of the demand crushed the air in the room. All eyes shifted to Evelyn.

 Gary felt his heartbeat slow. The world around him dimmed, narrowing down to one person.

 His wife. Would she defend him? Would she finally say enough?

 Evelyn exhaled, closing her eyes briefly before standing. Her heels clicked softly against the marble as she took a slow step toward him.

 Her lips parted. And then—

 “Gary,” she said, her voice cold and emotionless. “Kneel.”