From Prison To Power

Chapter 009 – Brother-in-law?

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Glenn towered over James with an unyielding stillness, his presence exuding an oppressive weight that seemed to suffocate the very air.

His arms folded casually across his chest, and yet, the coldness glinting in his eyes was so sharp it sliced straight through James’s spine like a dagger of ice.

“If you have a problem,” Glenn said coolly, his tone razor-sharp and void of mercy, “then come find me. My name… is Glenn. Glenn Avery.”

He didn’t shout. He didn’t roar. Yet, the quiet menace in his voice struck harder than a thunderclap.

It was the kind of threat that bypassed ears and went straight to the soul.

James’s entire body convulsed involuntarily.

His jaw quivered, and he swallowed the scream clawing at the back of his throat.

Not even a whimper dared to escape his lips because at that moment, Glenn didn’t resemble a man anymore. No, he was a walking specter, an embodiment of wrath and authority.

To James, he looked like a demon born from his deepest nightmares. A being so far out of his league that trying to resist or retaliate was the equivalent of throwing a pebble at a raging hurricane.

And then, as if dismissing a bothersome mosquito, Glenn gave a lazy flick of his hand, as if waving off a bothersome insect.

“Off you go,” he muttered without even looking at James again.

That single sentence shattered the final thread holding James’s mind together.

Covered in sweat so profuse that it soaked his collar and trickled down his temples, James trembled uncontrollably. His lips barely moved as he forced out a feeble command, “Take… take me home…”

The words barely left his mouth before his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he crumpled like a ragdoll, unconscious.

His guards—those four who had once exuded arrogance and muscle—exchanged glances of pure horror. They dared not look Glenn in the eye.

Their bodies moved instinctively, like prey fleeing a predator, as they rushed to hoist their boss off the ground. One of them fumbled, almost dropping James’s limp form in his panic.

Every motion was laced with urgency, as if remaining in Glenn’s presence for even one more second would be a death sentence. They dragged James away as fast as their broken pride and body would allow, limping out of the room in shameful defeat.

Meanwhile, Irene…

She had seen everything.

The calmness and casualness Glenn had worn like a second skin while dealing with James. The composure in his stance, the indifference in his eyes as he dismantled a powerful man’s pride without raising his voice.

It made her heart race.

It wasn’t from fear, no. It was from something far more dangerous… fascination, admiration, and finally, attraction.

She couldn’t explain it, but every second that passed in Glenn’s presence made her feel as though she were being pulled closer to his commanding presence, a flame she couldn’t resist touching.

But beneath that warmth of admiration, a growing coldness seeped in—worry.

Grave, pulsing worry.

Why?

James may have been an arrogant bastard, but he was no ordinary man.

He was the direct heir of the most terrifying family in the region—the Kochs. A family whose influence blanketed the city like a shadow, whose wrath could level entire legacies without breaking a sweat.

“You… you need to leave. Right now,” Irene said abruptly, her voice strained with urgency as she suddenly pushed Glenn toward the exit.

Glenn instantly blinked, his eyebrows lifting ever so slightly at Irene’s unexpected reaction. But before he could speak—

“You need to leave the city immediately,” she pressed, her voice rising in desperation. “The Koch family—if they retaliate, it won’t just be you they destroy. They’ll come for anyone remotely associated with you. Their reach is boundless. Their strength is unmatched. Glenn, they’ll crush you.”

For a moment, Glenn simply stood there, processing her frantic words. His eyes searched hers—not for answers, but for understanding. And then it clicked.

She was trying to protect him.

That realization brought a subtle smile to his lips. But instead of leaving, Glenn stood firm and simply shrugged, as if the weight of Irene’s warnings were little more than a passing breeze.

“I don’t know who this so-called Koch family is, and I don’t want to know,” he said softly, his voice steady, calm, and resolute. “But I can say with absolute certainty… they mean nothing to me.”

Irene’s breath hitched, her lips parting slightly as she stared at Glenn in disbelief.

How could anyone speak like that about the Kochs? That wasn’t courage—that was insanity… wasn’t it?

But looking into Glenn’s eyes, she saw no madness—only calm. Confidence. Conviction.

“Moreover, I have something more important to deal with here,” he added.

“Huh?” This finally made Irene react.

Her brows creased. “What could possibly be more important than your safety?”

Glenn didn’t hesitate.

“A divorce.”

He turned slightly, reached into the on the chair and pulled out a crisp divorce letter and the one-million-dollar cheque that had been shoved to him the previous day, handing them to Irene.

His jaw was clenched.

His breathing slowed.

And the emotion in his eyes turned turbulent—like a storm held at bay.

This… this was the real reason he had returned to the city in silence.

Avery.

The woman who had been everything to him.

He had sacrificed his freedom for her—five years of his life rotting away in the scariest prison in the world for a crime he hadn’t committed.

He had taken the fall to protect her. To give her a future.

He had exchanged his freedom for her for a whole five years.

But the moment he was released… a divorce letter was shoved to his face.

No explanation.

No visit.

Just betrayal wrapped in silence.

‘I still can’t believe it,’ Glenn thought, pain surging through his chest like a rising tide. ‘I went to prison for her. Protected her with everything I had. And she… did this?’

His hands curled into fists at his sides.

‘I need to see it for myself. I need to look her in the eyes and find out if she was really so heartless to abandon me… or if there’s something more.’

He closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to breathe.

On the other hand, Irene stood frozen, staring at the name written on the divorce letter in a daze at this moment.

It wasn’t a common name.

It was Avery. Her very own sister.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her eyes widened.

And a chill gripped her spine.

‘No… no way…’ she thought. Her heartbeat accelerated, a bead of cold sweat sliding down her neck.

'Was the man I just slept with… my brother-in-law?'

The realization crashed into her like a tidal wave, slamming into every corner of her mind.

Her thoughts spiraled.

‘Was this a coincidence? Two people with the same name?’

No. Impossible.

The surname. The city. The timing.

It was too specific. Too aligned.

And now… now she couldn’t breathe.

Her legs weakened, her mind racing with confusion, anxiousness, and something worse—dread.