THE SECRET SON-IN-LAW: Heir of War

CHAPTER 6 – The Thing Wearing Leon’s Jacket

Dust still swirled through the vault as the creature crouched in the center of the floor, its breath raspy and animalistic. Sophia stumbled backward until her shoulders hit a crate.

“No… no, no, no…” she whispered. “That’s… that’s not Leon… That can’t be Leon…”

Adrian stepped in front of her, gun already drawn, arms steady. “Stay behind me.”

The creature lifted its head slowly.

Its face was half-hidden beneath matted hair and streaks of dried blood. Its eyes—unfocused, feral—didn’t belong to any human. They glinted strangely in the flickering vault lights, pupils blown wide, tracking every movement like prey.

It sniffed the air once.

Then twice.

A low, rattled growl escaped its throat.

Sophia’s trembling hand flew up to her mouth. The jacket on the creature—the one Leon had been wearing earlier—hung loose around its twisted frame, smeared in what looked like blood and dirt.

“Leon’s jacket… oh my god… Adrian, what—what did they do to him?” Sophia gasped.

“That’s not him,” Adrian said sharply. “Listen to me, Sophia. Look at its hands—look.”

She forced herself to look.

The hands were wrong. The fingers too long, the nails cracked and jagged, darkened with blood. A thin metal collar dug into its neck, blinking with a tiny red light.

A tracking device. A restraint.

A weapon.

Sophia shook her head violently. “Where is Leon?! They—they must have hurt him!”

“They’re trying to break you,” Adrian said tightly. “The handler is playing mind games.”

The creature shifted its weight.

“Don’t move,” Adrian warned it softly, gun trained on its skull.

But the creature didn’t understand warnings.

It understood smell.

And hunger.

It sniffed again, its head jerking toward Sophia.

Then in a single violent motion, it launched forward.

“Move!” Adrian shouted.

He fired—

The bullet hit the creature in the shoulder, but it hardly reacted. It stumbled, then barreled forward faster, skidding across the vault floor.

Sophia screamed as Adrian shoved her behind a stack of crates. The creature lunged where she’d been standing, smashing into the metal. The impact echoed like thunder.

Adrian fired again—once, twice, three times.

The creature crashed back, snarling, blood spraying from its arm. It twisted unnaturally on its limbs and scrambled behind a metal cabinet with horrifying speed.

Adrian cursed under his breath. “This thing’s enhanced. It won’t stop.”

Sophia clung to the crate, heart pounding so loud she could hardly hear anything else. “Where—where is Leon? Adrian, tell me the truth!”

“I don’t know,” Adrian said. “But if the handler sent this thing in Leon’s jacket… then Leon is either captured—”

Sophia’s knees nearly buckled.

“—or fighting for his life.”

A metallic scrape sounded from the shadows.

Adrian grabbed Sophia again. “Stay behind me, no matter what.”

He edged toward the noise slowly, weapon ready.

The creature suddenly burst out again, leaping toward them with a guttural shriek.

Adrian fired—

The creature dodged unnaturally fast and slammed into him, sending him flying across the vault floor. His gun skidded away.

“Adrian!” Sophia cried.

The creature turned toward her.

Sophia stumbled backward until her spine hit the vault wall.

“Please… no…” she whispered.

The creature cocked its head, sniffing her again. It stepped closer—one slow step at a time—its broken nails scraping the concrete.

“Sophia—don’t move,” Adrian groaned from the floor.

But she was frozen.

The creature reached out, its long fingers brushing her cheek.

Sophia’s stomach twisted in terror.

Then its head jerked sideways, sniffing again.

A new sound.

Footsteps.

Heavy. Slow.

Coming from above.

Adrian stiffened. “No. No, no, no—another one?”

Sophia pressed herself against the wall. “What’s happening?”

The creature backed away from her, trembling. Not out of fear—but expectation. Like something else commanded its attention.

Something stronger.

The steps continued through the vents above, metal creaking.

Adrian crawled toward his gun, but the creature jumped onto it, pinning it down with a snarl.

Sophia’s voice shook. “Adrian… what do we do?”

He didn’t answer.

He didn’t know.

Dust fell from the ceiling as the thing above moved closer. The metal groaned again, and Sophia covered her head, terrified the entire vent would collapse.

Then—

A voice.

A real, human voice.

But not Leon’s.

“Still alive in there?” a deep, unfamiliar voice called from the vents.

Sophia’s blood ran ice-cold.

Adrian’s face drained of color. “Oh no.”

The vent grille overhead rattled.

Sophia grabbed Adrian’s arm. “Who is that?!”

He didn’t get to answer.

The vent suddenly tore open—and a pair of boots dropped through, landing heavily on the metal table in the center of the vault with a thud.

Dust exploded.

Sophia shielded her eyes.

Adrian grabbed his gun from under the creature’s foot in the chaos, rolling forward and aiming upward.

But the man was already moving.

He landed gracefully, straightening up slowly.

Tall.

Broad-shouldered.

Calm. Too calm.

Dressed in matte black, clean and unbloodied.

A mask covered the lower half of his face, but his eyes—dark, emotionless—surveyed the vault like he’d been here a thousand times.

The creature in Leon’s jacket immediately dropped to its knees, bowing its head as if submitting to a master.

Sophia’s skin crawled.

Adrian whispered, “A handler-level enforcer.”

Sophia grabbed his sleeve. “What does that mean?!”

“It means,” Adrian said hoarsely, “we’re in deep trouble.”

The masked man stepped off the table, his boots clicking softly against the concrete.

“Easy work,” he murmured. “They told me Hale would run here. But finding his wife and his watchdog? That’s a bonus.”

Sophia’s legs trembled. “Where is Leon?! Tell me where he is!”

The masked man’s eyes slid to her, sharp and cold. “Alive. Barely.”

Sophia nearly collapsed. “Wh—where is he? What did you do to him?!”

“Not what I did,” the man corrected calmly. “What he allowed.”

He walked closer, unhurried.

“Leon Hale used to be untouchable,” he said conversationally. “Now he’s weak. Hiding. Pretending to be one of you people.”

Adrian aimed the gun. “Take one more step, and I’ll—”

The man flicked two fingers toward the creature.

On command, the creature shot forward faster than human eyes could follow, slamming into Adrian and disarming him instantly. Adrian choked as it gripped his throat.

“Stop!” Sophia cried.

The creature froze—hand still wrapped around Adrian’s neck.

The masked man tilted his head. “Interesting. He listens to you.”

Sophia’s breath caught. “Why… why would he listen to me?”

“Because he smells Leon on you,” the man said with a shrug. “You’re marked. Leon did that much.”

Her heart hammered painfully.

This man knew too much.

The masked man stepped closer until he stood only a few feet away. “You know, Mrs. Hale… your husband spent years hiding what he really is. Running from the bloodline. Trying to be normal.”

Sophia’s voice cracked. “He is normal.”

“No,” the masked man said softly. “He never was.”

Her stomach twisted.

“Tell me where he is,” she whispered desperately.

The masked man clicked his tongue. “You’ll see him soon enough.”

He lifted a small remote-like device from his pocket. The red light on the creature’s collar blinked rapidly.

Adrian struggled beneath the creature’s grip. “Sophia—run—”

“I wouldn’t,” the masked man said calmly. “This creature is trained to hunt.”

Sophia was shaking uncontrollably now.

The man pressed a button.

The creature’s body jerked violently, like electricity pulsed through it. It snarled, releasing Adrian and throwing itself backward, convulsing on the floor. The collar blinked faster.

Sophia covered her ears. “Stop it! You’re hurting it!”

The masked man chuckled. “That’s the point.”

The creature clawed at its collar, choking, shrieking, eyes wild with pain.

Sophia took a step forward instinctively. “Please—stop!”

But the masked man grabbed her wrist.

Her breath hitched.

His voice lowered. “Leon Hale returned to the bloodline the moment you married him. You were just the tool to bring him out.”

Sophia stared at him in horror.

He leaned down, whispering, “And now you’re the bait to reel him back in.”

Suddenly, the vault lights flickered violently.

The metal door trembled.

Adrian’s eyes widened. “What now—?”

The masked man froze.

Sophia turned toward the vault door—

A deafening boom shook the entire vault.

Dust rained from the ceiling. The steel door bent inward—like something outside hit it with impossible strength.

Another boom.

Sophia stumbled, grabbing a crate for balance. “Adrian—what’s happening?!”

Adrian’s voice shook. “Someone’s trying to break in.”

Another bone-rattling crash slammed against the door.

The masked man tensed, stepping back a few paces.

The creature stopped convulsing and lifted its head weakly, sniffing the air.

Sophia’s heart hammered as she stared at the dent forming in the steel.

“Adrian…” she whispered. “Is it… is it them?”

Adrian swallowed hard. “No.”

The masked man’s eyes narrowed. He whispered something under his breath—something that sounded like disbelief.

The vault door dented again. Deeper. Harder.

This time, a faint, low growl seeped through the metal.

Sophia’s breath froze in her lungs.

Because she knew that sound.

She knew it down to her bones.

It was the sound Leon made when he was angry.

When he was pushed too far.

Another growl shook the steel.

The masked man stepped back suddenly. “Impossible.”

Adrian stared at the door, shaking. “Sophia… get behind something. Now.”

Sophia gripped the crate so tightly her knuckles turned white.

A final, earth-shaking boom crashed against the vault door—

And the steel began to tear open from the outside.

Not pried.

Not unlocked.

Torn.

Something—

someone—

was ripping it apart.

The last thing Sophia saw was a hand forcing through the metal—

A human hand—

Covered in blood.

And then—

A voice.

Ragged. Low.

But unmistakably his.

“Sophia… step back.”