Double Life of the Useless Son-in-law

Chapter 4

Dark rain clouds had started to form, and the sky slowly turned grey. Coulter walked slowly, his head hung low, his chest stinging with the pain he refused to openly acknowledge.

Divorcing Melissa was not as easy as he had made it seem, at all, and despite knowing it was the best thing to do, it still hurt. Like a bitch.

His phone started to ring, and with a small sigh, he managed to manoeuvre around the broken glass and pick it up.

"Sir," Ian said, his voice filled with excitement. "The transfer of shares for Martinez Corporation is almost complete. Once Mrs. Melissa rings the Nasdaq bell tomorrow, you can finally present it to her."

Coulter's heart sank, and he shook his head slightly. "That won't be necessary anymore."

"I don't understand, sir. What do you mean?"

Coulter let out a long breath. "It won't be necessary. I and Melissa are getting divorced. I will no longer be transferring anything to her, and neither would I be giving her a gift. Please handle everything without me. I would like some peace for now."

Ian couldn't say a word before the call ended. He knew he had to get to work to cancel all of the former transfer processes, but inwardly, the work was worth it. Not once did he believe Melissa deserved any of Coulter's love or kindness, and regardless of the details of what went down, he was glad that Coulter could finally see it too.

Coulter walked slowly into the family grave plot, his eyes solemn as he turned the last corner to where his mother's grave was.

It had been a while since he was here, and he leaned forward, dusting off the dried leaves that had fallen on the tombstone. His fingers gently caressed the engraved name; Mrs. Catherine Santiago.

"Mother," he whispered, thunder lightly clapping above him. "I am sorry. I know I haven't been here in forever and..."

"Let me go!"

His brows furrowed as he turned in the direction from where he thought the sound came. There was no one.

He shook his head, dismissing it as his own imagination, then turned back to the grave again. He had barely said another word when yet another scream came, this time louder, more desperate, and distinctly female.

"No one is coming to save you, you little vixen!" Came a burly male voice. "Be obedient and stop screaming, and maybe you will suffer less!"

Coulter immediately ran towards the secluded part of the plot where he believed the noise was coming from. To his horror, a woman was being tied up by three large men, each completely armed.

"Stop!" He yelled before he could stop himself, his feet carrying him effortlessly towards the scene.

The men stopped on hearing his voice, and the biggest of them who appeared to be their leader stepped forward, swinging a large dagger.

They all examined him, then broke into a mocking laugh.

"Get out of this place, pretty boy. Did your mummy not tell you to stay away from other people's businesses? What will mummy say if we put a few holes in you for meddling?"

Coulter raised a brow at the blatant disrespect. They may be big, but he was trained. Well-versed in martial arts, enough to make their size a disadvantage, in fact.

He took a step forward, his eyes meeting the leader's. "We will see who ends up with a few holes, big boy."

Before the men could do anything, Coulter had disarmed the leader, effortlessly kicking the dagger away from him.

The second man rushed forward while the third man held the woman down, but Coulter kicked his knee, bringing him to the floor.

In one sweep, he pushed all three to the floor in a heap of groaning mess.

"Get the fuck out of here," Coulter growled, and the men ran away the minute they could untangle themselves from each other.

"Are you okay?" Coulter asked, leaning toward the woman.

She looked frightened, her cheeks flushed a bright red, her lips parted and gasping for air.

Coulter immediately untied her, but he could see that she had been forced to take something. Probably drugged.

"Please," she suddenly said, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. "Please help me."

Coulter started to say something, but she fell back into his arms, her eyes coming to a close.

Coulter cursed under his breath as he pushed the door open, carrying the woman into the large hotel suite.

He carefully laid her on the bed, then leaned forward, his eyes taking her in. She was still unconscious, her body now flushed.

Quickly, he went down to find a small needle, then came back and gently leaned over her. His eyes took her face in, and with a small breath, he gently started to perform bloodletting.

She groaned once or twice, but was completely still after that, his body gently sobering above hers as he cleaned up the poisoned blood.

Once it was done, he cleaned up around her again, then leaned away, a sigh escaping his lips.

The woman slowly moved, her brows furrowed. Her fingers moved across the sheets, and her eyes fluttered open.

The scene before her was unfamiliar, and she immediately sat up, grabbing the sheets around her.

"Where is this?"

There was no one around, and the only indication she had of anything was the small tray next to the bed. She looked around, her eyes falling on her arms.

Red traces graced her normally fair skin, and she gasped, her hand coming to her mouth.

Had she... did those men do this? Did they really have their way with her?

Tears stung the back of her eyes as she pulled the sheets closer to herself, her chest heaving hard.

A door suddenly clicked open, and she turned, squirming away to the edge of the bed. She grabbed the flower vase sitting on the bedside drawer, her eyes wide.

Coulter slowly walked into the hotel room, his eyes down as he pushed his sleeves upwards.

"You rapist!" She screamed, hurling the vase at him, her voice shaky with restrained tears.

Coulter looked up, just in time to move away from the oncoming vase. It went on to hit the door right behind him and shattered into pieces.

"What are you doing?"

"You are a monster! You..."

"Me?" Coulter asked, his hands resting on his waist. "How about you calm down and think again? Think about what happened to you at the graveyard, and who came to save you."

She took in a deep breath, her eyes slowly taking him in. Sure enough, her memories started to come back. The fall of her company, those bastards, and the man who came there like an angel.

Her cheeks immediately flushed with embarrassment, and she squirmed a little further away.

"Sorry, I... I apologize. I was..." she trailed off again, remembering the drug those bastards had forced down her throat. She immediately paled at the idea of her vulnerability with a stranger and looked up to Coulter, her lips slightly pursed.

"Did.... you perhaps, take advantage of..."

Coulter let out an exasperated sigh. "Ian?"

The woman's eyes darted to the door as it opened, and two men walked in.

Ian gave a small smile as he introduced the other man, a doctor. The doctor who had come to check on her after the bloodletting.

The woman sat confused as the doctor made his way to the bed, then gently took her hand and checked for a pulse. She couldn't bring herself to resist as she wasn't even sure if this man was on her side or not.

"Everything is fine with her, sir," The doctor said, turning to Coulter. "The toxins in her body have been released due to the bloodletting, and she only needs to keep the wounds clean and dry now."

Coulter nodded, then walked towards the woman, his hands pushed into his pockets.

"I didn't take advantage of you in your sleep. That is not the kind of man I am. The red traces in your body were from the bloodletting I used to make sure the drugs wouldn't spread throughout your body."

She let out a small sigh, her lips parting in a small, embarrassed smile. "Thank you very much, and... I am sorry for everything"

Coulter nodded. "I understand. Where is your home so we can take you back?"

She sighed, sitting back on the bed. "I have nowhere to go. My home is gone."

Coulter's brows furrowed in confusion as his eyes swept over her.

She had lush, thick hair, and despite the way he had found her, she looked delicate, refined, down to the clothes she was wearing. Nothing about her gave off the impression that she was homeless.

"Confusing, huh?" She asked, adjusting a little. "My name is Amelia. I was the CEO of NS Corp. But I had to declare bankruptcy. The IPO failed and the investors pulled out, and I lost everything."

Coulter frowned. He did remember that to expedite the IPO process, he had used connections to ensure that Martinez Corporation would go through the VIP channel. He remembered NS Corp too. It was right in front of Martinez. How would a company collapse just because its IPO was delayed?

He turned, his eyes meeting Ian's. Ian was sweating despite the AC in the room, and that was when he started to piece it together.

It must have been his own people. To do his bidding and get his favour, they must have gone too far. They kicked out every company ahead of Martinez and left the owners just like Amelia here.

Utter foolishness!

Coulter stood up, and Ian immediately rushed to his side, his hands clasped behind him.

Coulter leaned to the trembling man, his eyes flashing, his teeth slightly gritted. "Undo every nonsense you did. Undo it all. Now. No excuses."

Ian immediately nodded and stepped away, and Coulter turned back to Amelia, a smile returning to his features.

"I do happen to have a vacant home, Amelia," he said, his voice low and soft, quite different from his tone with Ian. "I could let you stay there if you want."

Amelia immediately shook her head. "You barely know me, kind sir, and... you have already done more than enough for me. I can't take more from you."

"What nonsense," Coulter said, waving his hand. "The house is empty, and I am sure even the house would prefer to be occupied, so it doesn't just waste. Please come with me, and I will take you there myself."

Amelia froze for a bit, her eyes darting to Ian and the doctor who immediately urged her to follow behind Coulter.