The Despised Son-in-law Is The Shadow Monarch

0005: Broken Ice & The Smart Attack

Lloyd walked into the flower room. He was not wearing an expensive suit, but his walk was heavy and scary. His eyes were cold and dark, locked directly on his trembling sister standing in the middle of the broken crystal.

"Lloyd..." Julianne sobbed, her small hands holding her wrists as tears ran down her dusty cheeks.

Before Lloyd could take 3 steps, a big shadow blocked his way.

Hayden Peterson stepped forward, fixing his expensive suit. He held a glass of whiskey, his face red with pride and alcohol. He looked at Lloyd with mean amusement, stepping right into his space.

"Well, well! Look who finally crawled out of the gutter," Hayden sneered, throwing his whiskey glass onto a tray with a loud clatter. He poked his ring-covered finger hard against Lloyd's chest.

"I warned you at the docks, broke boy. You and your trash family don't belong near rich people. Get your peasant sister out of here before I have security break her legs and throw you both into the—"

Hayden never finished the sentence.

Lloyd moved with blinding, scary speed.

His left hand shot out and grabbed Hayden's pointing finger like a steel clamp. With a smooth, brutal twist, Lloyd bent the finger sideways and backward.

CRACK.

The sound of bone breaking echoed clearly across the silent room.

Hayden screamed a high, choking scream of pure pain, his knees bending instantly. But before he could fall to the floor, Lloyd's right hand shot forward and grabbed Hayden by the throat. His fingers dug deep into the expensive collar, stopping the scream.

With easy, monster strength, Lloyd lifted the 6-foot-tall heir off his feet with one arm. He took 2 stiff steps and slammed Hayden face-first through the massive 7-foot VIP ice sculpture on top of the main buffet table.

SHATTER!

The solid block of ice exploded into thousands of sharp pieces. Blood, cold water, and flying ice blasted across the front rows.

The heavy wooden table groaned and collapsed as Hayden crashed through the middle, his face covered in deep red cuts, his expensive suit soaked in dirty melting ice and blood.

"Ahhhhh!" Jane screamed at the top of her lungs, stumbling back in her high heels and almost falling into her mother's arms. "Security! Kill him! He's beating Hayden!"

The crowd erupted into chaos. Rich ladies ran backward, pushing over gold chairs and spilling expensive wine on the floor.

Lloyd stood over the groaning, bloody heap in the ruined ice sculpture. His breath was slow and steady. He reached to a nearby clean table, picked up a white cloth napkin, and calmly wiped the red blood from his hands.

His eyes slowly turned and landed directly on Madam Helen.

The older woman gasped, stepping back as her hands flew to her emerald necklace. The scary pressure coming from Lloyd made it hard to breathe.

"Your family loves making up fake debts," Lloyd said softly. His voice was not loud, but it cut through like a sharp knife. "You asked for 5,000 dollars from a 19-year-old girl for a broken glass vase."

He threw the blood-stained napkin onto Madam Helen's silk shoes.

"Why would you treat my sister with so much disrespect?" Lloyd added, his voice so low but dangerous.

"You... you crazy man!" Mr. Charlton roared, his face turning dark as he stepped out from behind a pillar, pointing his gold ring at Lloyd.

"You broke into a private party! You attacked the heir of the Peterson Real Estate Empire! You will rot in federal prison for the rest of your pathetic life! Security! Why are you standing there? Grab him!"

The 4 uniformed security guards snapped out of their shock. They pulled heavy iron sticks from their belts and rushed toward Lloyd from two sides.

"Stop! Touch him, and I will have you all fired and executed!"

A hysterical, shrill scream echoed from the main entrance.

The Hotel CEO, Mr. Harrigan, burst through the crowd. His hair was messy, his tie crooked, and heavy sweat soaked his expensive collar. He was holding a golden satellite phone to his ear, his legs shaking so violently he almost tripped.

Following the absolute order he got 5 minutes ago from the Valmont Genesis executive office, CEO Harrigan knew he had to protect Lloyd's secret identity at all costs. He could not bow to Lloyd. He could not show he knew his master in public.

CEO Harrigan intentionally ran past Lloyd as if he were invisible, charging straight toward Mr. Charlton, Madam Helen, and the bleeding Hayden crawling out of the broken ice.

"Mr. Harrigan!" Madam Helen shouted, her confidence instantly returning as she pointed at Lloyd. "Thank God you are here! This broke thug broke your doors and attacked Mr. Peterson! Call the chief of police immediately!"

CEO Harrigan stopped 3 feet in front of her. His face was stiff, his mean expression playing to the script.

"Shut up!" CEO Harrigan screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking. "Shut your wild mouth, you foolish woman!"

Madam Helen's eyes bulged, her fan slipping from her hand and hitting the floor. "W-what?"

CEO Harrigan turned his phone around, shoving the bright screen directly into Mr. Charlton's and Jane's faces. On the screen was a red, flashing notice with the official seal of Valmont Genesis Bank.

"30 seconds ago, Valmont Genesis Bank issued a global compliance!" CEO Harrigan gasped, his voice echoing across the silent atrium.

"The Peterson family's multi-million-dollar credit line has been flagged for massive misconduct! All accounts linked to their real estate firm would undergo investigations!"

A violent gasp rippled through the rich crowd.

"What?" Hayden choked out through his swollen, bloody lips, holding his broken finger as he pulled himself up against a chair. "That's... that's impossible! Our family credit line was approved 2 days ago!"

"The bank's senior audit board signed the compliance report personally!" CEO Harrigan yelled, his sweat dripping onto the floor.

"And because your family business is co-signing the Peterson Group's logistics expansion..." CEO Harrigan turned his glare onto Mr. Charlton, "...Charlton Logistics Group's secondary accounts have also been put on hold pending an immediate investigation!"

For a moment, Mr. Charlton felt the world spin under his feet. His knees bent, and he had to grab the edge of a counter to keep from falling. "Compliances? Our 20 million dollar loan under investigation?"

"Get out!" CEO Harrigan screamed, waving his arms wildly toward the doors. "Get this bleeding fool out of my hotel! Security, throw Hayden Peterson onto the street! Right now!"

The 4 security guards did not hesitate. They dropped their sticks, grabbed the bleeding, crying Hayden by his arms and legs, and dragged him out of the room like a sack of trash, leaving a wide trail of red blood across the clean white carpet.

Jane's heart skipped faster. Her eyes darted from the red notice on the phone to the bleeding trail on the carpet, and then finally to Lloyd.

Lloyd hadn't moved an inch. He stood in the center of the destruction, his face still cold.

‘No... this is just a timing coincidence,’ Jane screamed inside her head, her knuckles tightened as she dug her nails into her palm.

‘It's a banking error! A system glitch! It has nothing to do with him! Lloyd is just a broke car-washer! He doesn't have the power to freeze a 20 million dollar credit line with a single look! He's not significant!’

Her toxic pride built a protective wall around her delusion, refusing to let the scary truth pierce her mind.

Madam Helen clutched her chest, her face soured as she gasped for air. "It's a mistake! A banking mistake! Our trade contract is safe! We are expanding!"

Lloyd paid no attention to their hysterical cries and delusions.

He slowly walked past the puzzled in-laws, stepping up to his sister. He gently wiped a tear from Julianne's cheek with his thumb, his gaze softening into pure warmth.

"Are you hurt, Jules?" Lloyd asked softly.

Julianne shook her head rapidly, clutching his arm tightly as if holding onto steel. "No... no, Lloyd. I'm okay."

"Let's go home," Lloyd said gently.

He took his sister's small hand in his. Turning his back on the ruined ballroom, the ex-in-laws, and the whispering elites, Lloyd walked toward the shattered entrance doors, carrying his sister safely out into the quiet night, leaving the Charlton family standing amidst the first crack in their golden empire.

***

An hour later, inside the private VIP lounge of the Peterson private medical clinic, Hayden sat on an examination table with a cast wrapped tightly around his hand and fresh stitches across his swollen face.

Mr. Charlton and Jane paced back and forth across the plush carpet, both holding glasses of strong brandy.

"I spoke with our senior accountant," Mr. Charlton said, his voice shaking slightly as he took a heavy gulp of alcohol.

"He confirmed the account investigation. But it's not a cancellation! It's just an automated risk audit triggered by Valmont Genesis Bank's new regional system. It happens all the time with large transfers!"

"Of course it is!" Madam Helen declared from the sofa, dabbing her nose with a scented handkerchief. "That bitter loser Lloyd just caused a stupid scene!”

Hayden slammed his good fist against the medical table, his eye swollen shut. "When my finger heals, I will hire 10 street fighters to break both his legs! He got lucky tonight, but he is still a dead man!"

Jane looked out the window at the glowing city lights below. Her chest rose and fell heavily as she tried to calm her racing heart.

"Father is right," Jane said, her voice turning cold and firm as she turned back to the room.

"The compliance report will be resolved by tomorrow morning once our financial reports are reviewed. Our 45 million dollar trade license is completely valid. We own the shipping lanes. We own the market."

She adjusted her diamond bracelet, her lips curling into a sharp, arrogant sneer.

"Lloyd thought he showed his strength tonight by breaking a finger," Jane murmured, her eyes flashing with poison. "He has no idea what real power looks like. Once our Nirvana Group partnership is finalized next week, I will personally make sure he and his sister are driven out of this city forever."

In their blind, arrogant pride, the Charlton family raised their glasses together once more, not knowing that the golden rope they were clinging to was already tied into a tight knot around their necks.