Exiled Son-In-Law, Supreme General

Chapter 3

Maxwell let out a long breath, allowing Feng Victoria to guide him toward the waiting black sedan at the edge of the parking lot. 

Her driver, a stoic man in a tailored suit, quickly opened the rear door. The sleek vehicle stood out against the grimy surroundings, its polished exterior reflecting the dim light like a jewel in the mud.

“You’re reckless,” Maxwell said quietly as she tugged him forward. “Barging past prison guards isn’t exactly subtle.”

“Subtle is boring,” she replied with a wink. “Besides, do you really think anyone here would dare stop me?”

She wasn’t wrong. Victoria, as the daughter of the Chamber of Commerce president and CEO of Lin Corp, carried power that even seasoned officials hesitated to cross. 

Yet Maxwell’s expression remained unreadable. He had been among real power, the kind wielded in war rooms and sealed files. Corporate influence was noisy but fragile.

As the car door closed behind them, the silence between them thickened. Victoria shifted closer, her perfume a warm, spicy sweetness that contrasted sharply with the damp chill outside. “Do you hate her?” she asked suddenly, her voice softer now, almost tentative. “Lisa Liang.”

Maxwell didn’t answer right away. His gaze was fixed on the blurred city lights outside the rain-streaked window. “Hate?” He let the word linger. “No.”

She tilted her head, studying him. “She humiliated you. After everything… she didn’t even try to understand.”

His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “She doesn’t know the whole story.”

“That’s not an excuse,” Victoria said, her tone sharper than she intended. Then she softened. “You deserved better.”

He glanced at her, a flicker of warmth in his eyes. “You’re loyal, Victoria. But don’t get involved. The less you know, the safer you are.”

Her heart skipped. He was still protecting her, even now. She bit her lip, forcing a playful grin to cover the ache in her chest. “Fine, fine. But you’re stuck with me tonight. I’ve already booked a private room at the Grand Orchid. You’re eating something that isn’t prison food if I have to drag you there.”

Maxwell sighed, though a faint smile betrayed him. “One meal. Then I disappear.”

“Disappear?” she echoed. “Don’t think you can vanish on me, Maxwell Liang. Not this time.”

Meanwhile, across the city, Lisa Liang stood at the window of her corner office, the city skyline spread beneath her like a conquered kingdom, but tonight, victory felt hollow. 

The secretary hovered nearby, hesitant. “Was I wrong?” Lisa’s voice was barely above a whisper, the coolness cracking just enough to reveal the woman beneath.

Valerie stepped closer, her admiration for her boss outweighing her distaste for the man she had just visited. “You did what you had to, Ms. Liang. He’s… not worthy of you.”

Lisa’s fingers curled into a fist at her side. She told herself she had done the logical thing, cut ties with a man who could only drag her down, and yet, the memory of Maxwell’s bitter smile haunted her.

She had loved him once. She still did, if she were honest. But love had no place in a world where reputation and power dictated survival.

“Prepare the quarterly report,” she said abruptly, masking her feelings behind her usual commanding tone. “And… make sure the pendant is ready for tomorrow. I won’t give him another reason to accuse me of dishonor.”

Valerie nodded and retreated, leaving Lisa alone with her reflection in the glass, a reflection that looked every bit the unshakable CEO, even as her chest ached.

Back in the city streets, the sedan glided through pools of reflected neon, heading toward the Grand Orchid Hotel. 

Maxwell’s thoughts were elsewhere, on the sealed file now tucked safely in his jacket. A new mission. A new battlefield. But the weight on his heart was heavier than any order.

He had risked everything, believing that when the world turned its back on him, Lisa would not. And yet, today had shown him just how naïve he had been.

The car stopped at a traffic light. Through the glass, Maxwell spotted a familiar landmark, the bridge where he and Lisa had once made promises under the stars. 

The memory stabbed deep, but he pushed it down. There was no room for sentiment now. “You’re quiet,” Victoria said, her voice gentle for once. “Too quiet. That’s dangerous.”

He chuckled, low and humorless. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” She reached over and brushed a raindrop from his sleeve. “Because when you’re quiet like this… you’re planning something.” He didn’t deny it.

The Grand Orchid’s lobby was awash with warm light and understated opulence. Chandeliers dripped crystal tears onto marble floors, and a discreet string quartet played a melancholy tune in the corner.

Victoria breezed past the hostess, her confidence radiating like a flame. Staff bowed subtly, recognizing her immediately. 

Maxwell followed at a measured pace, his posture relaxed yet somehow commanding. Even in borrowed freedom and a borrowed identity, he seemed untouchable.

As they entered the private dining room, Victoria gestured for him to sit. She poured him a drink herself, her manicured fingers steady even as her heart raced. “To new beginnings,” she said, raising her glass.

Maxwell’s lips quirked into a faint, wry smile. He raised his glass but didn’t drink. “To unfinished business.” The clink of crystal against crystal sounded almost like a warning.

Far away, in the quiet of her penthouse apartment, Lisa Liang traced her fingers over the pendant on her dressing table, the pendant he had once placed around her neck with trembling hands. 

Her reflection in the mirror showed no tears, no cracks. But in her chest, something fragile had splintered.

She whispered his name into the empty room, so quietly that even the walls could pretend not to hear.

Tomorrow, she would return the pendant. Tomorrow, she would face him again. But tonight, she allowed herself the smallest, most dangerous indulgence: remembering the man who had once been her world.