The next day…
Felix watched from the kitchen as his so-called mother-in-law got ready for the grocery store. Meq was almost done getting ready for work, finishing her breakfast at the table. He was preparing Dice’s food when Kate’s shrill voice rang out from the living room. “Felix, you bastard!” He rushed over and found Kate sitting on the couch with Dice nestled beside her. “Good morning, ma’am,” he greeted flatly, then glanced at Meq. “Good morning, great wife.” She ignored him like she didn’t hear a thing and instead muttered, “Go get my bag from my room.” Without protest, he nodded and headed to retrieve it. “Ugh, he irritates me to death,” Meq said with a roll of her eyes. When Felix returned and handed over the bag, Kate didn’t miss the chance to snap at him. “Hope you didn’t steal anything from it. What’s inside costs more than your miserable life.” He sighed and turned back to face her. “Mummy, I’ll be off to work now,” Meq announced, then glanced at Felix with disgust. “Dear loser, I hope I don’t set my eyes on you when I return.” She kissed Kate on the cheek and walked out. "Yes ma, you called me the other time." Felix shook his head. “Yes ma’am, you called me earlier?” “You’re coming with me to the grocery store,” Kate announced, grabbing her things. “Since you missed time yesterday, you’ll make up for it now. Lucky you’re dressed already, so let’s go.” She expected him to help her arrange her things but Felix didn’t move. After receiving no response for a while, Kate turned to him again and this time, she caught that damned smile on his face. How she hated that cunning smile! “You brat! Are you deaf?! Why are you standing there like a log?” She yelled at the top of her voice. "I got a job," Felix said in a casual tone. Kate scanned him thoroughly. It took a while before she started her loud, derisive laughter. “Hehe… You? Got a job? Don’t make me laugh. Who the hell would hire trash like you?” “I’m serious. I got a job at my friend’s company,” he lied quickly. It took Felix a while to decide the best lie as a cover-up. He didn't even know when that came out of his mouth. He never expected that they would still be ignorant given the fact that they had such a talkative daughter like Meq. Kate wasn’t buying it. "You mean a useless dump like you got hired? In a company? Haha, let me guess... As a cleaner or a gatekeeper?.. . Oh no, maybe it's the trash collector... Haha," she cackled uncontrollably. Then she stood up, her voice rising. Kate stood up." You wretched soul are not allowed to work! If you leave, who will do the work in the store? Who will deliver the groceries to our customers?... Also, at least for once, think of this little baby Dice! Who'll look after him when you're at work? Don't be an ingrate!" She was fuming, throwing insult after insult. She just didn't want to believe that he was capable enough. He was supposed to be their underling! Not the other way round! He was supposed to be a grocery boy! Felix was fuming in anger, receiving all the insults without complaint. He once thought that if he got a job, her attitude towards him would get better but now he knew that it was just his wishful thinking. It didn't matter to him anymore. He suppressed his brewing anger and opened his mouth to speak, "Auntie, let's not forget that money is involved here. I am going to be paid a lot of money! Look at it! A job as an accountant will fetch us nothing less than 10000$ a month! And of course the money will be given to you, my dearest in-law!" Felix let out an annoying smile. The fakest smile he could muster. He made sure to use the most flattering voice he could to persuade her. Thank goodness his brain came to him when he needed it the most. Phew! Kate paused on hearing this. Her greedy little brain processed that amount like a wolf sniffing blood. Well, if this foolish son-in-law was dumb enough to hand over his paychecks, why stop him? Let him work his ass off! She can take absolute care of the grocery store and Dice on her own without his help. She cleared her throat. “Do as you wish. But don’t you dare go back on your words.” She made it sound like she was doing Felix a favour. They were being greedy yet so egoistic. Hypocrisy at its finest. Amazing in-laws of the year! “Good luck to you. And make sure you don’t fumble, dumbass!” she shouted after him as he left the house. --- A.X. CORPORATION Felix arrived at the glass building and headed toward the financial department. Just as he reached the entrance, a familiar and unwelcome face blocked his path. It was Fred. Fred's smirk widened. “Well, well, look who we have here. The infamous son-in-law-slave-turned-employee. You sure this isn’t the janitor’s wing?” “Excuse me,” Felix said and tried to move past but Fred shoved him back. "Oh, how great! You wanna enter inside when I'm still talking to you?! You've got some nerves huh! Is it because you got a job here, you think you have the right to talk to me like that?" Felix really wanted to punch this guy so hard that his jaw would crack but of what use will it be anyway? Instead, he walked nearer to him and put his hands together. "Please Fred, enough. I don't have time for your nonsense, neither do I have time to exchange words with you. So, get out of my way so I can go in!” Fred was caught off guard for a moment but quickly masked it with mockery. "Look here, loser! I'm not scared of you. And if you choose to act foolishly like you already are, I'll make sure to beat the crap out of you! No wonder your wife loathes you!" Fred said scornfully. On his way out, he gave Felix a shoulder-check, just for fun. Felix seethed, but kept walking. He had better things to do. He headed straight to his father's office.Latest Chapter
221: Face to Face with the monster
Felix’s forehead wrinkled into a deep frown. “What are you talking about?”Jake didn’t reply.Felix slowly looked up. His eyes swept across the hidden room; the walls, the ceiling, the corners. There were no windows, no second door, no emergency exit.His expression hardened. He turned sharply and rushed toward the door. He grabbed the handle and yanked it but it didn’t budge.“Come on.” He pulled harder. The heavy metal door didn’t even move. He examined it and noticed there was no visible keyhole or interior release.“Damn it!”Felix slammed his shoulder against it.BANG!The door remained firmly in place.He stepped back, breathing heavily, then tried the electronic lock but it didn’t work either.“No, no, no, no…”He searched the walls, running his hands over every surface, looking for a hidden switch, a keypad, or anything. He even checked beneath the desk.But there was no way out.“Fuck!!!”He turned around to Jake who was still slumped against the chair, watching him with exh
220: Over for you and me
Back home, Elsa stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the sleeves of her jacket as she prepared to go for a walk.For the past several weeks, the silence had become something she hated. Several thoughts ran through her head. Was Jake even still... alive?Although the recent lead lifted her hopes, she was still troubled. Every time she heard a vehicle outside, a small part of her hoped Felix had finally returned with good news. She exhaled slowly and picked up her phone from the dresser.Maybe a short walk would help clear her head. She had barely taken two steps when her phone vibrated.She stopped and glanced at it. It was a message from an unknown number.Her heart began to thud.She clicked the message open and saw a photograph that halted her movement.Her blood ran cold. It was Jake, sitting in a dark chair.His head hung forward, his face was bruised and his hands appeared to be tied behind him. A smear of dried blood stained the corner of his mouth.For a moment, Elsa couldn
219: Infiltration
At 6:17 p.m., two white cleaning vans approached the northern gate.The guards immediately stepped forward. One raised his hand.“Stop.”The first van came to a halt. A guard approached the driver’s window.“Identification.”The driver handed over a badge. The guard examined it carefully.Behind the tinted windshield, Xander remained completely still.He was dressed in a gray maintenance uniform, a baseball cap pulled low over his face. Beside him sat Wrecking Ball, dressed as a cleaner, while Reaper sat in the back with Shadow.Nobody moved.The guard looked at the badge again, then at the tablet in his hand.“Why are you early?”Xander didn’t hesitate. “I’m here for generator maintenance.”The guard frowned. “We didn’t request generator maintenance.”Xander sighed dramatically.“That’s what I told the dispatcher.”The guard stared at him.Xander shrugged. “Call your supervisor.”The guard reached for his radio.That was the dangerous moment.The call must not go through.Phantom’s
218: Behind the walls
For several seconds, nobody moved.If that was Mark’s, then there was a great chance Jake would be held hostage there. There was finally hope.Then Silas straightened from the table. “How soon?”“Tomorrow,” Felix said.Xander looked at him. “Tomorrow?”“We leave before sunrise.”Kimber frowned. “You’re sure you want to move that quickly?”Felix's eyes remained fixed on the red dot blinking on the screen.“We've spent five weeks looking for Jake. I'm not wasting another hour.”Shadow nodded slowly. “Then we need to assume they're expecting us.”“They probably are,” Felix replied.That made everyone pause.Felix looked around the room.“That's why we don't rush in. We watch first. We learn how many men are there, what kind of security they have, how they move, where the entrances are, and whether Jake is actually inside.”Silas nodded. “Understood.”“The moment we find something useful, we move.”The guards began preparing immediately.Weapons were checked. Vehicles were fueled. Communi
217: Nothing.
The night bled into dawn before they even realized. The rain had stopped already.He did not return.*Felix stood at the warehouse gates, his eyes scanning the ground. They decided to come back to East Valley city and search the fight scene again. He found Jake’s phone smashed against a crate. Blood, though they were just small dots, had dried near the wall. But that was it. There was nothing else.“Are you sure this is the spot?” Kimber asked, his flashlight cutting through the dim light.“Yes.” Felix’s voice was flat. “This is where he fought Mark. I can feel it.”The guards spread out, sweeping the area. The place was spotless. The hundreds of bodies that had fallen were gone. The crates were neatly restacked and the floor was scrubbed clean. It was as if nothing had happened here.“Damn it!” Felix kicked a metal barrel. The clang echoed into the distance. “They cleaned it up! Everything! Every fucking trace!”“Son,” Kimber said softly, “don’t—”“No!” Felix cut him off, frustrated
216: Where’s Jake?
Back at the warehouse, Silas ripped open a sealed door leading to an escape tunnel. “Path clear!”“Go!” Shadow ordered.The seven of them began retreating through the tunnel, covering each other as they went.Felix looked back one last time at the chaos, the blood and the smoke. His heart was heavy as blood flowed from his thigh. He didn’t mind taking hits. He would do everything possible to protect his Elsa.They disappeared into the tunnel, leaving behind a burning warehouse and hundreds of fallen soldiers.They burst out of the back of the warehouse. Rain poured down in sheets, soaking their clothes and making the ground slick."Fuck." Felix bent over, placing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. His lungs burned, his arms ached, and blood dripped from a cut near his jaw. Everyone else looked just as wrecked, groaning. Their faces were smeared with dirt, blood, and sweat."How did that bastard manage to hire top-class mercenaries, for one girl? And just to keep abus
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Reader Comments
Why is it so hard to comprehend the difference between male and female pronoun usage in these stories! I see the use of the male gender "he" when it should be "she" and likewise for the female pronoun usage of "she" when it should be "he". I guess it's all about the translator's familiarity.
it doesn't make since not to divorce her now. He can still spy in the company???
why no divorce