Rise Of The Broken Son In Law

Problem in the family

Lila immediately slammed the door shut behind her.

Her hands were trembling as though she had just brushed against fire. She pressed them to her chest, trying to calm the wild thundering of her heart, but the sight before her wouldn’t leave her mind. Ethan—her husband—was shivering uncontrollably on the floor. His lips had gone pale, his body twisting as though every bone wanted to break free from his skin.

“Ethan…” her voice cracked, breath shallow. “What’s happening to you? Why are you contorting like that? Are you—possessed?”

He buried his head into his arms, raising both hands to clamp down the sides of his face as if to shut her voice out… or the countless others only he could hear. His whole body quivered like a string pulled too tight.

The date. It wouldn’t leave him. May 28th. The cursed day. The swirling tide of knowledge that didn’t belong to him pushed against his skull like waves beating against a fragile glass wall. Books he had never touched, languages he had never learned, truths no man should ever know—invaded him all at once.

And her presence, his wife’s presence, only made it harder to breathe.

Lila scoffed suddenly, her voice breaking the trembling silence. “Listen, Ethan. I know I haven’t been the ideal wife to you. But that doesn’t mean I’m heartless.” She began to pace, running a hand through her disheveled hair. “Right now, you’re twisting and curling like something dark is eating you alive… and—” She froze, eyes widening as she glanced above him. “God… correct me if I’m wrong, but I just saw something. Something big. Dark. Like a… a bird? Am I seeing things?”

She squeezed her face with both hands and groaned. “Am I stressed? Is work getting to me? Damn it—tell me I imagined it, Ethan. Tell me I didn’t just see that thing over you. If you die now, it reflects on this family. It reflects on me! I need to know!”

Something broke inside Ethan. His throat, unused for years, unsealed itself. The words burst out raw, sharp—commanding.

“Get out.”

The voice wasn’t broken, it wasn’t cracked. It was whole. Solid. Strong.

Lila staggered back, eyes wide as if the ground had shifted beneath her feet. “Did you just—” Her voice faltered. “Did you just talk? Ethan… did you just talk to me? Oh my God, am I losing my mind?”

Ethan ignored her disbelief and pushed himself off the floor, his body trembling less now. The pain that had been tearing him apart began to ease, but her relentless questioning hammered into his skull like nails. He needed silence. Space. Alone.

The knowledge inside him was spreading faster than wildfire, every thought heavier than the last. It felt as though the world had cracked open and poured itself into him. He wanted to scream, to tear through walls, to let out everything he had held in for years.

But instead, he walked to the bathroom.

“Ethan!” Lila rushed forward, grabbing his arm. “Look at me. I’m talking to you.”

He didn’t look. He turned on the heater, then twisted the tap. Hot water thundered into the bathtub, steam filling the room like a veil.

And as the steam rose, so did his aura. No longer the pathetic, mute, broken man they had treated like dirt. No—something colder, sharper, untouchable now stirred inside him.

“Ethan!” Lila called again.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” His voice ripped through the air, powerful enough to make her stumble back.

She blinked, her lips trembling. “So… all this time. You could talk? You’ve been lying to me? Pretending?” She shook her head, disbelief and betrayal flashing across her face. “You… you’re something else.”

Her phone rang on the table nearby, but she ignored it, her eyes locked on him as he stepped into the bathtub.

Ethan lowered himself into the steaming water, his body soaking in heat as if he could burn away the cold darkness clawing inside him.

“You lied to me,” she whispered, pacing by the door. “All this while… lying. What else are you hiding, Ethan? What else do I not know about you?”

The door suddenly burst open.

“Lila!”

She flinched, rushing out of the bathroom only to find her mother, Lyndia, storming in with her assistant, Nathaniel. His tie was loose, his face anxious, as though he had run a marathon.

“Forgive me for barging in,” Nathaniel said, breathless. “I’ve been trying to reach you, Lila. Left dozens of messages—”

“It’s the company,” Lyndia cut him off, eyes blazing. “We’re in big trouble. You have to come with us, now!”

But Lila, still shaking, blurted out, “Mom—Ethan can talk. He’s been pretending all this time. He’s not mute. He made us pity him for nothing!”

“Lila!” Lyndia’s voice thundered, silencing the room. “Forget that worthless man! Do you even understand what’s happening? If we don’t handle this now, we’ll lose the company!”

Her tone dripped with sarcasm as her eyes darted toward the bathroom. “That freak you married can drown himself in that tub for all I care. We don’t have time for him.”

Lila’s lips trembled. She brushed her hair back, her head spinning. “What’s going on? Tell me.”

Nathaniel stepped forward, jaw tight. “The sister of the richest man in Florida is filing a negligence lawsuit against the company. Thirty million dollars.”

Lila’s chest froze. “Thirty… million?”

Lyndia grabbed her shoulders, desperation leaking through her iron grip. “Our company doesn’t even generate ten million a year. Do you know what that means? We are done, Lila. Ruined!”

“When?” Lila asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“They’re waiting for us now. At the company headquarters,” Lyndia said, dragging her toward the door.

Their voices faded as they all rushed out.

Silence finally blanketed the room.

Ethan sank deeper into the steaming water, his body surrendering to the quiet he had craved. The voices in his head dimmed, replaced by an overwhelming clarity that painted his mind sharper, broader, infinite.

When his eyes opened ten minutes later, everything was different.