Dominance of the ex-con Son-in-law

Chapter 6

“Restrain them.”

Lila’s words followed the simple hand gesture, it was a smooth yet sharp command, and her guards moved instantly as though their jobs depended on it, it probably did though.

Two of the six men stepped forward,grabbing Daniel by the arms while another pair seized Agnes.

Daniel struggled at once, his voice loud across the lobby in an outraged snarl.

“Unhand me! Do you even know who I am? Do you know who my sister is?” He twisted uselessly against the guards’ hold, his face became red at this point and eyes wild.

“Bella, my sister runs Group B. She is the fucking CEO. Do you understand? Group B! If you think you can humiliate me, then wait until my brother-in-law hears of this. Jack Fowler will crush every one of you. He is the heir of the A family, one of the most influential men in the country.”

Agnes’s voice chimed in, even as she writhed against the grip of the guards. “This is an outrage. We will not be treated like criminals in public. I will sue every last one of you for unlawful restraint.”

The gathered bystanders in the hotel lobby whispered among themselves, more intrigued about how the situation turned out. Kadmiel was the one who should have been thrown out first, but look at what is going on.

The weight of Daniel’s words carried some recognition, Jack Fowler was not an unknown name.

His was a power associated with big deals, suits, and bigger ambitions. Daniel was not personally close to him, but he always seized every opportunity to boast of his “sister’s” new husband as if the man’s influence could wash away his reckless behavior.

Lila, however, remained unimpressed. She took one unhurried step forward, her gaze fixed entirely on Daniel.

“You don't think before you talk, fucking empty vessel” she said coldly, tilting her head just slightly. “And you think hiding behind names makes you untouchable. It doesn’t. Not to me.”

Daniel laughed through his frustration, though the sound was thin, forced. “You will regret this. Bella will make sure of it. Jack will make sure you do not survive in this city. Once I let him know, he will….”

His words were cut short with a sudden gasp as Lila’s heel pressed sharply against his shin, followed by a swift, deliberate kick that sent him stumbling under the firm grip of her guards.

It was not enough to injure him, but enough to silence him, the pain radiating through his leg leaving him wincing, struggling to catch his breath.

“I’m tired of listening to you,” Lila said, her voice was chill and that was final. “Bella, Jack, your whole list of protectors, none of them are worth my time. They are just names, not shields. Do not mistake them for power when you stand before me. Why not work on yourself so you would have no problem bragging about your own accomplishments. Freaking cock-sucking bastard.”

The entire lobby had fallen into silence. No one dared to interrupt, no one dared speak up. Lila’s aura, one part commanding and another part unyielding, made it clear that resistance was pointless.

Even Agnes, whose tongue usually lashed faster than any blade, shrank back in her captors’ hold, her lips pursed as if words themselves had abandoned her.

Daniel spat out bitterly, “You think this makes you strong? That you can just kick me around because you have a few guards?” His tone cracked between anger and humiliation, his bravery dimming under her steady gaze.

And then Kadmiel stepped forward.

Until that moment, he had stood slightly apart, his broad frame taut, the broken pieces of the pendant gripped in his palm.

His silence had been a warning in itself, but now, his hand moved with sudden force.

The quick crack of his palm across Daniel’s face echoed louder than his mother’s protests, louder than the whispers of the onlookers.

Daniel’s head whipped to the side, his cheek reddening instantly, the sting unbearable.

“You will learn,” Kadmiel said in a commanding voice “that arrogance has a cost.”

Daniel’s eyes widened, a mix of shock and fury simmering within him, but the sting of Kadmiel’s strike stole his voice.

For the first time since they had come across themselves there, he had completely nothing to say, even breathing became hard for him, he almost got deaf for a minute and now he could not summon a name to hide behind. The moment forced him into silence, his pride hurting almost as much as his cheek.

Agnes erupted, thrashing against the guards holding her. “How dare you hit my son? How dare you lay a hand on him?” She spat venom in every word, but the guards did not flinch, nor did Lila.

“Enough,” Lila said with a dismissive flick of her wrist, her patience stretched thin. “You are fortunate he didn’t do worse. If you were mine to deal with, Daniel, your punishment would not stop at a slap. Mummy here would not see you for weeks.”

Daniel scowled, swallowing back any retort, for even he could feel the pressure closing in around him.

Every eye in the lobby saw his shame, and no clever line could save him now.

Kadmiel looked down at the broken pendant in his hand. Its shards glinted faintly, fragments of memory and legacy that once carried meaning beyond measure.

He drew a steady breath, but the pain in his eyes showed what the pendant’s destruction had carved into him.

Without another word to Agnes or Daniel, Kadmiel turned, his tall frame commanding the room as he moved toward the staircase leading deeper into the hotel.

His steps were slow but deliberate, his grip never loosening from the shattered relic.

Lila followed immediately, her guards falling into step around her as though the entire building belonged to her

Before she left, she cast one last look at the restrained pair. Her smile was faint, edged with disgust. “Let this be a reminder. Your names mean nothing here. Not to me, neither to him. And especially not to the truth you keep trying to bury.”

The guards shoved Daniel and Agnes back, not harming them but ensuring their place remained fixed, powerless and restrained in the eyes of the watching crowd.

“You useless ex-con, acting tough now. Don't run, fight me if you have the guts.” Daniel shouted.

Kadmiel and Lila did not even look back, they ascended the staircase, the atmosphere in the lobby lingered heavy with the aftermath.

Daniel stood subdued, his cheek burning, his pride wounded deeper than he could admit. Agnes seethed, her fury boiling behind her silence.

Yet neither dared move until the commanding presence of the two figures had disappeared from sight.

Upstairs, Kadmiel’s grip around the broken pendant pieces tightened, the fragments pressing into his skin. He had nothing to say.

Lila walked beside him, together, they vanished from the view of the lobby.