Parasite: To Kill A Supreme God Of War

Chapter 2

“Daddy?”

The word landed like a punch Craig never saw coming.

He froze on the threshold of the dining hall, heart dropping, breath stalling. His wife didn’t remarry… right?

But there she was — his daughter — tiny arms wrapped around another man’s neck.

“I love the doll you got for me, Daddy!” she giggled. “I can’t wait for my birthday tomorrow!”

Tomorrow.

Her seventh birthday.

February 3rd. Oh right.. how could he forget?

He used to whisper that date like a prayer in the trenches.

Robin Wade only chuckled, pinching her cheeks with the ease of a man who belonged. “Princess, I have plenty more surprises for you tomorrow.”

She squealed. Robin carried her to the table, not sparing Craig a glance.

Craig stood there — the ghost no one invited.

Robin Wade looked exactly like the type of man the world applauded without thinking. Tall, polished, imperial. The kind of man who inherited power instead of fighting for it. His suit alone probably cost more than Craig earned in bootcamp.

Craig tried to process the scene, but nothing landed. His daughter calling another man father… that was a different kind of wound.

His jaw tightened. Around him, the Lancasters warmed to Robin like a long-lost son finally coming home.

“Come sit, if you want,” Bill said with a cough — the fake kind meant to draw attention. He eyed Craig’s scars with thinly veiled disdain. “Six years in the military and nothing to show for it, hmm? What rank did you get?”

Craig sat. The entire table watched him like a defendant waiting for the judge.

“None,” he answered.

A beat.

Then Eleanor exploded.

“None?! For almost seven years? Are you that useless?”

“Enough,” Bill snapped at her, then returned to Craig with patronizing calm. “What job do you have now?”

“None,” Craig repeated.

Bill scoffed. “So you came back to leech off us? Six and a half years wasted, abandoning your wife, and you return with nothing. What exactly is the difference between you and a failure?”

Silence coated the room.

Then—

Heels clicked against the marble.

Adele stepped into view in a black silk dress that caught the light with every breath she took. Six years had carved her beauty into something sharper — regal, quiet, devastatingly composed. Her eyes landed on Craig and froze.

They stared.

The air thickened.

Old wounds stirred.

Old memories bit back.

For a moment, no one else existed.

“Krazy…” she whispered, finding her seat like her knees might give out.

“Mummy, look at the doll Daddy bought me!”

Adele snapped toward her daughter.

“Oh— it’s beautiful, sweetheart,” she said softly. Then to Craig, with awkward distance, “You didn’t have to get her that. Books would have been better.”

The silence throbbed this time.

Craig cleared his throat. “Adele? I wasn’t the one who got her the doll.”

Her head lifted.

Her eyes went to Robin holding Sophia.

Everything clicked.

“Um—” she began, but Bill cut in like he’d been waiting.

“As you can see, Krazy, my daughter didn’t remain the weak girl you left. She has a noble man now. A capable man.”

Robin offered a modest smile.

“Capable indeed,” Eleanor chimed, smug as wine.

Bill turned to Craig, voice suddenly too loud. “Robin stepped in while you were gone. Took care of Sophia like his own. Honestly? He became the husband Adele deserved.”

The room stilled.

The words dropped like glass, shattering between them.

Craig didn’t flinch — not visibly.

But something dark flickered behind his eyes.

Bill continued, “I wanted Adele to file for divorce, but… for Sophia’s sake, I’ll give you a chance. Three months. Prove you’re worthy of this family. Fail — and she moves on officially.”

It was laughable. Everyone knew the challenge was for show. A man with nothing had no chance against a man with everything.

Craig lifted his gaze, expression unreadable.

“Three months to prove I deserve what’s already mine?”

Bill slammed his hand on the table. “Yours? Where were you when we had no money? When Sophia fell sick? When Adele almost died from stress? Robin became the father you weren’t! You left her alone for six years and earned NOTHING!”

The last word echoed.

Adele finally stood. “Dad, that’s enough.”

Her voice was fraying, but her composure held. “He’s still Sophia’s father. We shouldn’t rob him of that.”

Ava quickly approached Sophia. “Come with me, baby.”

But the little girl only buried her face in Robin’s shoulder.

“No. I want to stay with Daddy.”

Eleanor smirked. “Don’t force her.”

“It’s fine, Ava,” Craig said quietly, masking the gut-punch. “She’ll come around.”

Robin shot him a look — the victorious kind — as he patted Sophia’s back like a trophy. Their eyes locked. Neither blinked.

⸻

The next morning, the Lancaster mansion transformed into a mini–royal estate. Pink and white balloons arched across the lawn, ribbons danced in the breeze, and a massive glittering “7” announced Sophia’s day to the world.

Guests arrived in luxury cars.

Children ran through manicured grass.

Photographers clicked away.

Sophia was the center of it all — glowing in a pink lace gown.

Then Robin arrived, effortlessly charming, soaking in the attention that wasn’t his to begin with. He approached Craig with a smile too smooth to trust.

“Krazy,” he greeted warmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Good to see you alive. I honestly thought you died. Poor guy.”

Craig chuckled. “Poor?”

Robin continued, sweet as poison. “I don’t mean harm. I love Sophia — maybe even more than you do.”

Craig’s jaw shifted, a muscle ticking.

Robin leaned in, lowering his voice. “My daughter just loves me as much. That bond… it’s unbreakable.”

Craig met his gaze, voice low, razor-sharp.

“I’m back now. And you’re not helping me reconnect with her. So let me say this once—”

Robin snorted. “You want me to step back… for you?” He looked Craig up and down like he was something disposable. “I’d love to see you try.”

Craig tilted his head slightly, tone carved from cold stone.

“I don’t repeat warnings.”

For half a second, Robin’s smile slipped — then returned, thinner this time.

“Let’s see if Sophia agrees with you,” he said, patting Craig’s shoulder before turning back toward the crowd, reclaiming the spotlight that was never his.

And Craig watched him go — calm, unreadable — but with a storm gathering behind his eyes.