THE DRAGON SON IN LAW RETURNS

Chapter 5- The beggar humiliation

The rain poured down in sheets as Ethan stood outside the Fifth Street homeless shelter, staring at the building with dark amusement.

The legal documents from Harrison Industries had indeed been delivered here—handed to the shelter manager who'd looked at him with pity.

"Mr. Cole?" A thin, nervous man approached with an umbrella. "I'm Roger Bill, the shelter manager. These came for you today."

Ethan took the envelope, water streaming down his face. He wore the same worn clothes from his time at the Harrison mansion—part of the image he needed to maintain just a little longer.

"Thank you, Roger."

"Sir, about your stay here... we have rules. No alcohol, no drugs, lights out at nine. Breakfast is at six. You'll need to be out during the day to look for work—"

"I won't be staying long," Ethan assured him. "Just a few days."

Inside the envelope was a formal demand letter, along with something else that made his jaw tighten. A photocopy of a tabloid newspaper. The headline screamed:

"HARRISON HEIRESS DUMPS LOSER HUSBAND FOR BILLIONAIRE BOYFRIEND!"

There was a photo of Sophia and Marcus at a charity gala, looking radiant together. And a smaller, deliberately unflattering photo of Ethan—taken during his "garbage collector" days, looking disheveled and dirty.

The article was savage:

"Sources close to the Harrison family reveal that Sophia Harrison has finally freed herself from what insiders call 'the worst mistake of her life.' Ethan Cole, a former garbage collector and live-in son-in-law, reportedly contributed nothing to the marriage except embarrassment. 'He was basically a servant,' one family member told us. 'We're all relieved she came to her senses.'"

Someone had deliberately sent this to him. Probably Derek or Margaret, wanting Jim pained .

Ethan's phone buzzed—his encrypted one. He stepped away from Roger and answered.

"Commander, we have a situation," Lin Yue's voice was tense. "Marcus Wellington has leaked this story to the media. It's trending on social media. Hashtag 'GarbageCollectorHusband' is number one nationally. They're destroying your public reputation."

"Let them," Ethan said calmly.

"Sir, it's worse than that. Wellington has hired private investigators to dig into your past. They're trying to find dirt on you—criminal records, debts, anything to further humiliate you publicly. They want to bury you so completely that you can never show your face in society again."

"And what did they find?"

"Nothing. Your cover identity is clean. But Commander, they're not stopping. Wellington is obsessed. He sees you as a potential threat—he thinks you might try to win Sophia back."

Ethan almost laughed at the irony. "I wouldn't take her back if she begged on her knees."

"Should we intervene?"

"No. Let Wellington waste his resources. In three days, none of this will matter."

He hung up and looked at the tabloid again.

The photo of him looking pathetic, defeated. If only they knew that the "loser" in that photo commanded armies, controlled trillion-dollar corporations, and had world leaders on speed dial.

The rain intensified as Ethan walked into the shelter. Inside, dozens of homeless men sat on cots, their lives reduced to survival. They looked at him with hollow eyes—men who'd lost everything.

Tomorrow, the Harrisons would understand what that felt like.

The Family's Cruelty

Two days before the Presidential Gala, Sophia received an unexpected phone call.

"Mrs. Harrison? This is Linda from Prestige Magazine. We're doing a feature on 'Women Who Chose Wisely'—successful women who've made bold decisions in their personal lives. Your story with Marcus Wellington is exactly what we're looking for. Would you be interested in an interview?"

Sophia's heart soared. "Absolutely! When?"

"This afternoon, if possible. We want to run it in our special edition this weekend."

Within hours, Sophia was sitting in the Harrison mansion's living room, professionally lit and camera-ready.

Marcus sat beside her, his arm around her waist. The entire Harrison family had gathered to watch—Margaret was practically vibrating with pride.

The interviewer, a polished woman in her forties, smiled warmly. "Sophia, you've been in the news quite a bit lately. Tell us about your journey."

"Well, Linda, I was trapped in a marriage that was holding me back," Sophia began, her practiced words flowing smoothly. "I married young, and I married... poorly. I thought I was being kind by giving someone beneath my station a chance. But kindness can become a prison."

"You're talking about your ex-husband, Ethan Cole."

"Yes." Sophia's expression turned cold. "He was a garbage collector when I met him. Literally. He collected trash for a living. My father was sick, our company was struggling, and Ethan offered money—money he claimed to have saved. I was vulnerable, and he took advantage."

Marcus squeezed her hand supportively. "The man was a parasite," he added. "Living off the Harrison family's generosity for three years. Never contributed anything meaningful."

"That's not entirely fair," the interviewer said, consulting her notes. "According to public records, Mr. Cole did provide a substantial loan to Harrison Industries. Three hundred thousand dollars, which helped save the company from bankruptcy."

Margaret jumped in quickly. "Money he probably acquired through questionable means! We're actually suing him to return it. A man like that doesn't have three hundred thousand dollars legitimately."

"So you believe the money was obtained illegally?"

"What else could it be? The man lived in our home, ate our food, wore clothes we provided. He was a charity case that we were kind enough to shelter."

The interviewer turned back to Sophia. "There are rumors that Mr. Cole is currently living in a homeless shelter. Does that concern you at all?"

Sophia hesitated for just a moment—a flicker of something that might have been guilt. But then she looked at Marcus's encouraging smile and hardened her resolve.

"Everyone makes their own choices in life," she said firmly. "Ethan chose to be lazy, to avoid real work, to leech off successful people. Now he's facing the consequences of those choices. I can't be responsible for his failures."

"That seems rather harsh—"

"Harsh?" Derek laughed from his position by the bar. "He's getting what he deserves! The guy was literally our servant. He took out our trash, cleaned our floors, drove our cars. We gave him a roof over his head and food in his belly. He should be grateful we tolerated him as long as we did!"

Marcus leaned forward, his expression serious.

"Linda, let me put this in perspective. I've built Wellington Corporation through hard work, strategic thinking, and genuine talent. The Harrison family has built their legacy over three generations through the same principles. Ethan Cole? He's contributed nothing to society except being a cautionary tale about ambition without ability."

The cameras ate it up. Every word, every gesture, every contemptuous laugh.

What they didn't know was that in a control room across the city, Jet Liu was recording every second of this interview.

"Commander needs to see this," he told Lin Yue.

"Save it all," she replied. "Every word. They're writing their own destruction, and they don't even know it."