Exiled Son-In-Law, Supreme General

Chapter 5

Valerie blinked, startled. She’d never heard that tone from her ice-queen boss. “You did what was necessary. A convict, ” She caught herself, biting her tongue. “He would have dragged you down.”

Lisa finally looked up, her gaze sharp as glass. “And yet, he never once asked me for anything. Not money. Not favors. Not even understanding.”

Valerie hesitated, then said softly, “Sometimes the ones who ask for nothing are the ones who need us the most.”

The words lingered long after Valerie left. Lisa stared at the divorce papers, her reflection fractured in the glossy surface, and for the first time in years, doubt slipped past her composure.

Far below, on a shadowed street corner, an unmarked sedan idled. A pair of eyes watched the lights of Yaolin Group’s tower flicker. 

A voice crackled over a secure channel: “Target has made contact with the President. Clearance granted. Phase two begins.”

The watcher smirked, turning the key. The engine roared softly, then vanished into the night.

Somewhere, pieces were already moving against Maxwell, and the woman who still, unknowingly, held his heart.

The military compound’s outer gates loomed behind him, their steel bars glinting faintly under the streetlights. 

Maxwell was halfway to his car when the sharp click of stiletto heels echoed across the pavement. The sound was bright, confident, impossible to ignore.

“Maxwell Liang!” The voice, light, lilting, but edged with barely contained excitement, cut through the night. 

He didn’t need to turn to know who it belonged to. He closed his eyes briefly, a headache already forming.

By the time he faced her, Victoria was a blaze of color against the muted darkness, a crimson sheath dress that hugged her curves, a cascade of chestnut curls catching every glimmer of light. 

She wasn’t just beautiful; she was a force of nature. And right now, she was a force running directly at him.

Victoria didn’t slow. In the next instant, she launched herself forward, arms flinging around his neck with the energy of a meteor. The impact nearly knocked him back a step.

“Do you know how worried I’ve been?!” Victoria exclaimed, her voice muffled against his shoulder. “They said you were in prison, that you’d…” She pulled back, studying his face like she was checking for bruises. Then her eyes narrowed, glittering. “...And you didn’t even tell me!”

Maxwell pried her gently off him, his hands firm on her shoulders. “Victoria, you shouldn’t be here. It’s the middle of the night.”

“Exactly why I’m here!” She planted her hands on her hips, her chin lifting imperiously. “The moment I heard you were being released, I dropped everything. My father would’ve done the same, he adored you. You’re family, Maxwell. Family doesn’t wait for morning.”

Behind her, two prison guards jogged up, out of breath, their radios crackling. One stammered, “General, we, we tried to stop her.”

“It’s fine.” Maxwell waved them off. The guards retreated, grateful for the reprieve.

Victoria smirked after them, then turned back, her fiery façade softening. “You really thought you could just disappear after the divorce? You didn’t even call me.”

His brows furrowed. “This isn’t a game. There are things you don’t understand.”

Her eyes flashed, hurt flickering just beneath her bold exterior. “Then make me understand. Or is it that you don’t trust me either?”

The accusation hit harder than she could know. Maxwell’s jaw tightened. He wanted to tell her everything, that the divorce was a lie, that his arrest was a cover, that his life was now balanced on the edge of a blade. But the President’s warning echoed in his mind: “Trust no one.”

Instead, he softened his tone. “You should go home, Victoria. This isn’t safe for you.”

She tilted her head, a sly smile curving her lips. “Safe has never been my style.” She stepped closer, her perfume, jasmine and sandalwood, wrapping around him. “But if you won’t talk, then at least let me make tonight less miserable.”

Before he could react, she rose on tiptoe and pressed a quick, teasing kiss to his cheek. “Consider that my welcome-back gift.”

His sigh was half exasperation, half amusement. “You haven’t changed.”

“And you have,” she shot back, her smile faltering for just a heartbeat. Then she spun toward the sleek black sedan waiting at the curb. “Come on. There’s a suite at the Grand Meridian with your name on it. Champagne, skyline views, the works. You’re not slipping into some hole-in-the-wall after everything you’ve done for this country.”

He hesitated, glancing at the shadows beyond the street, where unseen eyes might still be watching. 

Staying low profile was paramount. But refusing her outright would draw even more attention. “Go ahead,” he said finally, voice calm but firm. “I have one stop to make. I’ll join you later.”

She pouted dramatically. “You’re impossible.” But then her eyes sparkled, the corners of her lips lifting into a mischievous grin. “Fine. But don’t keep me waiting too long, General. A girl starts to wonder if she’s not your favorite anymore.”

Her heels clicked away as she slid gracefully into her car, leaving behind a faint trace of jasmine in the cool night air.

Maxwell watched her taillights disappear, a wry smile tugging at his lips. Then, as he turned back toward his own vehicle, the smile faded. 

The street seemed emptier than it had a moment ago, the silence heavier. Somewhere, in the darkness beyond the lamplight, the game had already begun.

He unlocked the car, slid inside, and for a brief moment allowed himself one quiet thought, of Lisa, of the pendant she still wore, and of the bitter way she had looked at him that morning. 

Then the soldier in him took over, shuttering the thought away. The mission came first. It always had.

The engine purred to life, and Maxwell drove into the night, unaware that the next move on this unseen chessboard was already being set into motion.