I WAS A USELESS SON-IN-LAW, NOW I DECIDE FATE

come back home Edward Li

Chapter 9

Edward's thumb hovered over the screen, trembling just slightly before he caught himself and pressed his fingers flat against the phone. He read the words again.

I USED TO WORK FOR YOUR FATHER BEFORE HIS DEMISE ABOUT 29 YEARS AGO. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING OVER YOU FOR FOUR YEARS NOW, HOPING I WAS WRONG, UNTIL WHAT RUBY YOUR STEPMOTHER JUST SAID.

The letters were bold, making him see every words clearly.

He read it a second time, slower, waiting for his brain to catch up and tell him this was a mistake. A glitch or Some sick joke his eyes were playing because Ruby's words were still rattling around inside his head.

His stomach dropped at the third reading. As the words didn't change.

Someone had been watching him. For four years. Not glancing, not passing by watching.

Edward's skin crawled as he thought about all the mornings, all the nights, all the phone calls he'd taken, thinking he was alone not knowing someone else was watching and listening to everything.

He snapped his head up and scanned the street.

Nothing.

Just the pale orange glow of the lamps overhead, flickering like they were tired. No shadow slipping behind building. No car engine idling too long. Just him and the silence and the weight of knowing he wasn't alone but couldn't see who was there.

His breath came steady. As He made sure of it.

The military had taught him a few things worth keeping. One of them was fear was a signal, You could feel it without showing it. You could let it pound in your chest while your face stayed smooth as stone. Edward pulled his shoulders back and looked around again, slower this time, letting any hidden eyes know he wasn't afraid to meet them.

Because the person who sent that text, they knew too much. They knew Ruby's name. They knew about his father's death, twenty-nine years ago something he never had an idea of. They'd been close enough to hear that phone call, which meant they'd either bugged his phone or sent by Caleb or Ruby, or even close enough to catch every word.

That thought should have made him run, but Instead, it made him stand taller.

Whoever this was, they could be an ally or they could be another one of Caleb's traps. Edward had learned that lesson the hard way with Ava and Sofia lowering his guard, letting himself believe someone had his back when all they wanted was to watch him fall. He wasn't going to hand anyone that satisfaction again. Not tonight, not ever.

He checked the number.

Private.

Of course it was.

Edward hissed through his teeth and stared at the incoming call log. There were several missed calls from Caleb and Ruby . Then One missed call from a private number, followed by that text. His thumb hovered over the contact as he couldn't call back

Don't be fooled this Could be Caleb testing you. It Could be one of his tricks to see if you actually knew more than Ruby said. He tried to calm himself

His phone never left his side. The only people who knew what Ruby had said were Ruby herself, Caleb, and Edward. So how did a fourth person find out?

Unless there was a bug.

Unless someone had been inside his phone without him knowing.

His pulse kicked up, but his face didn't change.

Before he could decide what to do, the phone buzzed in his hand.

Incoming call. Private number again.

Edward waited two rings before he answered as he didn't want to seem desperate.

"Who is this?"

Silence stretched on the other end. Long enough that Edward checked the screen to make sure the call hadn't dropped.

"This is Edward Gavins," he said, keeping his voice level. "Who am I speaking with?"

He knew how Caleb operated. The way that man had handled the girl from Ethan's college casual, brutal, like she was nothing was still fresh in Edward's mind. He wasn't about to give anyone a reason to send that kind of attention his way. If this was all Caleb's doing, Edward would play the fool.

Then a voice came through. Calm as if measured.

"You mean Edward Li? Mr. Zhenyu Li's only son?"

Edward's jaw tightened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean to say, Mr. Edward Li, the only heir to the Zhenyu family's multi-billion dollar fortune." A pause, followed like the man was letting the weight of the words settle. "Your bloodline needs you, sir. I would advise you to come back home before everything goes more wrong. Your position has been vacant for almost thirty years now."

Edward went silent.

The man's voice was older, fifties, maybe early sixties. He spoke carefully, like each word had been weighed before it left his mouth. There was no rush, no threat dripping through the line the way Caleb did when he wanted someone to flinch. This man didn't need to raise his voice. There was something underneath his calm that was far more unsettling than shouting.

And his voice was familiar. But

Edward couldn't place it. Couldn't drag the memory up from wherever it was buried. But something about the way the man spoke he was sure he has heard it before.

Still, none of that meant he was going to fall for this.

"Expect me to believe all this?" He heard the scoff escape before he could stop it. "You expect me to believe I'm some lost heir? This is Goldmere, not a fantasy movie. Ridiculous things don't just happen here."

"No," the man said. "They don't. Which is why you should listen carefully."

The man let out a breath "You don't believe me, That's fine. What if I tell you he sent people to kill you because of what Ruby said?"

Edward's blood went cold, but he didn't say a word.

"You'd need one more thing to tick all the boxes” the man continued. “One more thing to prove you are who I really think you are. You can doubt me until that last box ticks. But when it does, you're coming with me."

The line went dead.

Edward pulled the phone from his ear and stared at the screen. The call had ended. The man had hung up on him not in anger, but in certainty. Like he knew something Edward didn't, and he was perfectly willing to let time prove him right.

That certainty should have felt ridiculous. Instead, it made Edward's stomach twist.

He told himself to ignore it. Random Wrong number or Caleb's accomplice. There were a dozen explanations

But then he heard the sound of an engine. Distant but closing fast. Tires eating up the road in a hurry.

The man's warning crashed back into his mind

He sent people to kill you.

His mind screamed at him to move, run, hide, do anything but stand there but his body didn't get the message in time as his feet still stood rooted on the ground.

Headlights turned to his corner, blinding lights.

A black car,

He thought but then No.

Two…Three. They screeched to a halt around him, tires smoking, doors flying open before the vehicles had fully stopped.

Men spilled out. Dressed in black from head to toe. Faces covered by masks They moved fast too fast closing the distance before Edward could decide whether to fight or run.

His heart pound

Am I really going to get killed?.