THE RETURN OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER

Chapter 5

 

Victor Johnson paced excitedly around his study, his phone pressed to his ear as he barked orders to his assistant. "Yes, yes! I want the finest catering, the most elegant decorations! My grandson-in-law is the Defender of Seraphia! This banquet will be the social event of the century!"

He hung up and turned to his wife, Martha, who was reviewing guest lists. "Can you believe it, Martha? All these years we thought Marco was worthless, and now we discover he's the most powerful general in the nation! We're going to be the most respected family in the city!"

"The invitations have already gone out to everyone who matters," Martha replied with satisfaction. "The mayor, the business leaders, the military officials—they'll all want to meet our famous son-in-law."

Victor's phone rang again, and he answered eagerly. "Angela! Thank you for calling back. Yes, it's true—Marco Bianchi is married to my granddaughter Patricia!"

But as Victor listened to the voice on the other end, his expression slowly changed from excitement to confusion, then to horror.

"What do you mean he works where?" Victor's voice cracked. "Are you absolutely certain? The old Water and Power Management Center? But that facility hasn't been operational for years!"

Martha looked up in alarm as Victor's face turned pale.

"Yes, I understand," Victor continued weakly. "Thank you for checking, Angela. I... I'll call you back."

Victor hung up and stared at Martha in shock. "Marco doesn't work for the military command. He works at some abandoned Water and Power facility on the outskirts of town."

"That's impossible!" Martha gasped. "We saw that military officer bow to him! We saw the respect!"

"Angela checked with all her contacts in the military," Victor said, his voice growing louder with rage. "There's no record of Marco Bianchi holding any high-ranking position! He's nothing but a maintenance worker at a defunct utility plant!"

Martha's hands flew to her mouth. "The banquet! The invitations! Everyone will be expecting to meet a war hero!"

"We've been played!" Victor roared, his face turning red. "That snake has been lying to us! We're about to be humiliated in front of the entire city!"

Meanwhile, at the Johnson family home, Antonio paced the living room like a caged animal while Catherine sat in stunned disbelief.

"I can't believe we fell for it," Antonio muttered angrily. "A water plant worker! We bowed down to a man who fixes pipes for a living!"

Catherine looked up with tears of rage in her eyes. "Patricia! Get down here this instant!"

Patricia appeared at the top of the stairs, still glowing from her reunion with Marco. "What's wrong? Why are you both shouting?"

"What's wrong?" Catherine shrieked. "Your precious husband is a fraud! He doesn't work for any military! He's a janitor at some abandoned facility!"

Patricia's face remained calm. "Marco told me about his work at the Water and Power Center. It's honest work, and he's proud of it."

"Honest work?" Antonio exploded. "Patricia, we're about to be the laughingstock of the entire city! Do you understand what this means for our family's reputation?"

"I understand that my husband works hard to provide for us," Patricia replied firmly. "That's all that matters to me."

"All that matters?" Catherine stood up, her voice becoming shrill. "Patricia, you're going to divorce him immediately! I won't have this family dragged through the mud because you're too stupid to see what a loser you married!"

"I will not divorce Marco," Patricia said quietly but firmly.

"You will!" Antonio shouted. "Do you want to spend your life as the wife of a maintenance man? Do you want to live in poverty while everyone laughs at us behind our backs?"

"Marco makes me happy," Patricia replied. "That's worth more than all your social climbing."

"Happy?" Catherine laughed cruelly. "You think happiness will pay the bills? You think happiness will earn you respect? You're more naive than a child, Patricia!"

Just then, the front door opened and Leonardo Martinez, a family friend and notorious gossip, walked in uninvited. He had clearly heard the shouting from outside.

"Well, well, well," Leonardo said with a malicious grin. "What's all this about Marco being a fraud? Having second thoughts about your war hero, are we?"

Antonio's face flushed with embarrassment. "Leonardo, this is a private family matter..."

"Private?" Leonardo chuckled. "Antonio, my friend, nothing about your family is private anymore. Half the city received invitations to meet the famous Defender of Seraphia. Did you really think you could keep this quiet?"

Catherine buried her face in her hands. "This is a disaster. A complete disaster."

"Oh, it gets better," Leonardo continued, clearly enjoying their humiliation. "I stopped by the printer on my way here. The banquet flyers have already been distributed all over town. 'Come Meet the Hero of Eight Nations' they say. Very impressive!"

"Stop talking!" Antonio snapped. "We need to figure out how to fix this!"

"Fix it?" Leonardo laughed. "How exactly do you plan to fix the fact that you've been bragging about a son-in-law who cleans water pipes? You've been strutting around like peacocks, and now everyone's going to see you're nothing but chickens!"

Patricia spoke up from the stairs. "There's nothing to fix. Marco is a good man who does honest work. If you're ashamed of that, the problem is with you, not him."

"Honest work?" Catherine whirled on her daughter. "Patricia, wake up! This man has made us all look like fools! You're married to a nobody, a maintenance worker, a... a janitor!"

"He's my husband," Patricia said simply.

Leonardo pulled out his phone and started scrolling. "Oh, this is rich. I'm getting calls and texts from everyone. Apparently, word is spreading that the real hero everyone should be celebrating is some guy named Adam—not Marco."

"Adam?" Antonio asked desperately. "Who's Adam?"

"Adam Richardson," Leonardo replied with glee. "Turns out he's the one who actually saved that facility Marco works at. Marco just... works there. Like a custodian."

The room fell silent except for Catherine's quiet sobbing.

"But wait, there's more!" Leonardo continued mercilessly. "I heard from my sources that Marco actually turned down several job offers from your grandfather Victor. Refused them flat out! Can you imagine? A maintenance worker refusing opportunities from the Johnson family empire?"

"He refused grandfather's offers?" Antonio's voice was barely a whisper.

"Multiple times, apparently," Leonardo nodded. "Either he's too proud or too stupid to accept help. Either way, you're all stuck with this embarrassment."

Martha Johnson burst through the front door without knocking, her face streaked with tears of rage. "Antonio! Catherine! We need to talk right now!"

"Mother Johnson," Catherine began weakly.

"Don't 'Mother Johnson' me!" Martha snapped. "Do you have any idea what you've done to this family? The mayor is expecting to meet a war hero! The military officials are coming to pay their respects! What are we supposed to tell them?"

"We didn't know!" Antonio protested. "We thought he was telling the truth!"

"You thought?" Martha's voice could have cut glass. "You risked the entire family reputation on what you thought? You're all as stupid as sheep!"

Leonardo watched the family meltdown with obvious satisfaction. "Well, this has been entertaining, but I should probably go spread the word about tonight's festivities. I'm sure everyone will be very... understanding."

As Leonardo headed for the door, Victor Johnson himself arrived, his face purple with rage.

"Victor!" Martha called out. "Thank goodness you're here!"

"Thank goodness?" Victor roared. "Martha, we're ruined! Completely ruined! I've already had three cancellations for tonight, and the word is spreading like wildfire!"

"We have to do something!" Catherine pleaded. "There must be a way to save face!"

Victor pulled out his phone with shaking hands. "I'm calling Lucas. Lucas Davidson might be able to help us salvage this disaster."

"Lucas Davidson?" Antonio asked. "The event coordinator?"

"He's the only one who might be able to turn this around," Victor said desperately as he dialed. "Lucas? Victor Johnson. Yes, I know it's short notice, but we need your help. Emergency situation."

Victor moved to the corner, speaking in hushed, urgent tones. When he returned, his expression was grim but slightly hopeful.

"What did he say?" Martha asked anxiously.

"Lucas said it's possible to salvage the situation," Victor replied slowly. "But we'll need to invite actual military guests, people with real credentials. We'll have to completely restructure the event to make it look like we're honoring all local heroes, not just Marco."

"Can he do it in time?" Catherine asked desperately.

"He says yes, but it'll cost us triple the original budget," Victor sighed. "And we'll have to pray that Marco actually shows up and doesn't embarrass us further."

Antonio nodded frantically. "Whatever it costs! We can't let the Johnson name be destroyed over this!"