The Hidden Dragon Son-in-Law

Dock 17

Chapter 3: “Dock 17”

12:03 AM – The Docks, Eastern Riverline

The wind was sharp, the air thick with the smell of oil and secrets.

A black SUV rolled silently into Dock 17, the engine purring like a predator. The doors opened.

Jaxon stepped out.

Gone was the composed, quiet son-in-law. He wore a black coat with no insignia, his eyes glinting under the moonlight. At his side, Commander Zhao—the Ninth Pavilion’s operations head—saluted without a word.

“They're here,” Zhao said. “Ethan’s people. Shipment's being offloaded—without licenses, just like you predicted.”

“Perfect,” Jaxon said calmly. “Let’s greet them.”

He moved like a ghost, boots echoing against metal ramps as he approached the container lot. The place looked deserted. But trained eyes would’ve noticed shadows — men with rifles hidden above the stacks, infrared scopes tracking movement.

Jaxon didn’t flinch.

He strode straight into the middle of it.

A large man stepped out from behind a trailer, tattoos coiled down his neck like snakes. “Who the hell are you?”

Jaxon smiled coldly. “I’m the one Ethan Xu sent to pick up his sins.”

“Wrong answer.”

The man lifted his hand. Guns cocked above.

But before a single shot rang out—Zhao whistled sharply.

In an instant, red laser dots appeared on every rooftop — and one by one, the hidden gunmen fell, each dropped by a sniper’s silent bullet.

The big man paled.

“You’ve made a mistake,” Jaxon whispered as he stepped closer. “You weren’t guarding a shipment. You were guarding evidence. Evidence Ethan has smuggled weapons with stolen military tech.”

“You… You can’t prove that.”

Jaxon tossed a folder onto a barrel.

The man opened it—and nearly dropped it. Inside were signed manifests, port camera stills, bribery records… all pointing back to Ethan Xu.

“I like to give my enemies time to panic,” Jaxon said, voice like cold steel. “So here’s your chance. Run to him. Tell him who he just provoked.”

“You—who are you?!”

Jaxon leaned in, his whisper colder than the wind. “I’m the Ghost Monarch. And your boss just declared war.”

—

The Lin Family Villa – Morning

Ivy hadn’t slept.

She kept replaying last night in her mind: the suit, the black card, the elite treatment… Jaxon hadn’t just shocked them.

He’d terrified them.

And now he was gone again.

A loud knock snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Open up!” her grandfather’s voice boomed from the hall. “Now!”

She opened the door to find Chairman Lin, Aria, and her father glaring at her.

“Where is your husband?” Chairman Lin asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Ivy said honestly.

“You expect us to believe that?” her father snapped. “He made fools of us in front of Xu Corporations—”

“And humiliated Ethan,” Aria added. “He cost us a partnership!”

Ivy stiffened. “Maybe you should be grateful. Ethan tried to belittle him publicly.”

Chairman Lin narrowed his eyes. “That man—Jaxon—is hiding something. And you, Ivy, are going to find out what it is.”

She blinked. “You want me to spy on my husband?”

“Spy? No,” Chairman Lin said coldly. “Control him. Or this entire family suffers the consequences.”

—

Later That Day – Unknown Location

Jaxon stood alone inside a high-rise office with glass walls overlooking the city. The lights were dim, the atmosphere suffocating.

A private phone buzzed.

He answered without speaking.

The voice on the line was heavy with panic. “They know. Ethan’s already trying to delete everything. He’s bribing his way into the Ministry to erase the shipment data.”

“Let him try,” Jaxon said. “Then release the documents to the Intercontinental Enforcement Authority. Leak them anonymously.”

The voice hesitated. “Won’t that expose us?”

“No,” Jaxon replied. “We’ll remain ghosts. Let Ethan fight shadows he can’t touch.”

He ended the call and turned to face a screen displaying surveillance feeds. On one of them—Dock 17, still under full lockdown. Another feed showed Ivy at the Lin residence, pacing.

He watched her silently.

“You’re in the middle now, Ivy,” he murmured. “And soon you’ll have to choose: the family that uses you… or the man they fear.”

—

Xu Group HQ – That Night

Ethan Xu slammed his fist on his marble desk, sending glassware flying.

“He has everything,” he hissed. “Every record. Every document. Where the hell did he come from?”

His assistant trembled. “Sir, someone just uploaded a full exposé to the Intercontinental Enforcement Authority. It’s gone viral on their darknet bulletin. Multiple ports are being shut down. Our vessels have been seized in three cities—”

Ethan stood up so fast his chair fell backward.

“Get me his name! Get me Jaxon Lin!”

Meanwhile, Ivy arrived at Jaxon’s old apartment—only to find the place emptied. No clothes. No photos. No sign he’d ever lived there.

Except one thing.

On the kitchen table sat a steel case with a note taped to it:

You said you wanted the truth. Open this if you’re ready to see the man I really am.

Her hand hovered over the latch—trembling.

She opened it.

Her scream echoed down the hall.