The Military Son-in-Law Who Owned Tomorrow

Dossier 5 - Where Is My Family?

“You sewer rat! How dare you touch my grandson?”

Lady Cressida shot to her feet, her face twisted with fury as she stared at Jorah sprawled across the marble floor. Every guest in the banquet hall was frozen in shock. No one had expected the useless live-in son-in-law they had known three years ago to put Jorah down so effortlessly.

“I considered you family,” Cressida continued, pointing an accusing finger at Adrian. “I forgot that you were nothing but a common sewer rat. That was why I allowed a member of this family to discipline you instead of humiliating you by having our guards drag you out.”

Her voice rose with every word.

“I gave you that much honor, and you repaid me by injuring my only grandson!” “I didn’t assault him,” Adrian replied calmly. “I defended myself.”

“You defended yourself?” Cressida laughed bitterly.

“I am the Dowager of this house, and regrettably, you are my first son-in-law. You were fed, sheltered and given a place beneath this roof by my family. As long as you lived under our roof, you were subject to our family’s discipline.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And now, I will treat you exactly like the dog you are.” Adrian’s expression remained unchanged.

“Why am I being disciplined?” The question made several guests exchange confused glances.

Cressida stared at him as though he had just asked something absurd.

“You betrayed my granddaughter. You broke your sacred marriage vows. You insulted this family in front of our guests and brought endless humiliation upon us.”

She raised her hand. “For that, I will have our guards teach you a lesson you will never forget.” Adrian slowly looked around the room before returning his gaze to her.

“The D’Aubery boy and your granddaughter caused you endless humiliation.”

The hall fell quieter.

“I loved Alyssa for years. I endured everything for her. I endured the Auremont family’s contempt. I worked myself to exhaustion trying to provide for the people I loved. And when I was sent to Blackridge, I spent three years believing that the woman I married was waiting for me.”

His voice remained controlled, but the pain behind it was impossible to miss.

“I nearly died in that prison. I nearly died fighting a war I was never supposed to survive. And when I finally returned home, I found my wife in bed with the D’Aubery boy.” The entire hall erupted.

“What?” “They were having an affair?”

“I thought Alyssa was a virtuous woman.” “Is that really true?”

Whispers spread through the banquet hall as guests exchanged stunned looks.

Adrian’s eyes settled on Cressida. “So tell me, Lady Cressida.”

His voice hardened. “Who deserves disciplinary action?” Alyssa’s face instantly crumpled.

“Adrian…” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “How could you do this to me?”

She covered her mouth, trembling.

“How could you stand here and defame me in front of everyone? What evidence do you have?” Adrian stared at her. For a moment, he said nothing.

Then Mrs. D’Aubery stepped forward.

Donna D’Aubery, the first lady of the D’Aubery family, looked absolutely furious.

“Lady Cressida, we will not sit here and allow this rat to accuse our firstborn son of something so disgraceful.”

She pointed at Adrian.

“Our son is the heir to the D’Aubery Furniture Corporation. We are currently preparing to finalize a one-billion-dollar contract with the Vanderleigh-Rothmere Empire. We will not allow some poor piece of trash to destroy his reputation with baseless accusations.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly. Vanderleigh-Rothmere. One billion dollars.

So the D’Auberys were about to do business with his empire.

And they had no idea who they were dealing with.

A faint, almost imperceptible smirk appeared on Adrian’s lips.

Donna continued angrily, “Our family’s reputation is not something a nobody like him can trample on.”

“I will handle this lying sewer rat myself,” Lady Cressida snapped. She stepped forward, her expression turning vicious.

“I have already heard from reliable sources that the president of the Vanderleigh-Rothmere Empire is finally preparing to reveal himself after decades of remaining hidden. Billions of dollars’ worth of contracts are expected to be approved under his authority.”

She glanced around the room.

“Even our family’s real estate division has a proposal worth billions currently sitting before the Vanderleighs.”

Her voice became colder. “That is precisely why we must protect our family’s reputation at all costs.”

Adrian listened quietly. They were talking about his company. His contracts. His empire. And yet they still stood before him calling him a sewer rat.

Cressida suddenly turned toward the guards.

“Enough!” Three enormous guards immediately stepped forward.

They were tall, broad-shouldered men who looked more than capable of overpowering an ordinary person. 

Cressida pointed at Adrian. “Bring him to his knees.” The guards advanced.

“Dislocate his hands and his legs.” The room fell silent.

“And make sure this rat remembers what happens when he dares disrespect the Auremont family.”

Adrian looked at the three approaching men. Then he slowly loosened his military jacket. His expression remained frighteningly calm.

“I am not here for a family disciplinary action, because I am no longer a member of this family.”

Adrian’s voice was calm, but the words carried through the entire hall.

He walked straight toward Alyssa.

She instinctively stepped back, but Adrian reached out and took the divorce papers from her hand. Alyssa gasped, her fingers briefly tightening around the document before he pulled it free.

For the first time in the three years she had known Adrian Vanderleigh, she was looking at a man she barely recognized.

The timid live-in son-in-law who used to lower his head whenever her family humiliated him was gone.

The man standing before her was tall, composed and formidable, dressed in a military uniform, his expression cold enough to make even the people around him uncomfortable.

Adrian took the pen from the table. Then, without hesitation, he signed the divorce papers in front of everyone.

The room went silent. He placed the pen down and handed the document back to Alyssa.

“Now there won’t be any stain on your reputation.” His eyes remained fixed on her. “I have officially severed my connection to this family.”

Whispers immediately spread through the hall. “He really signed it…” “He actually divorced her?”

“He’ll regret this.” Adrian ignored them. “There is only one thing I want from you.”

His voice hardened. “Which manor in this estate did you transfer my mother and sister to after you dared to throw them out of the home I built for them?”

Alyssa’s expression changed. Adrian’s hands slowly clenched at his sides.

He had been holding his anger in since he walked into the Auremont Estate. He had swallowed every insult, every accusation, every reminder of the years they had treated him like dirt.

But this was different. That house was the one thing he had worked relentlessly to provide for his family.

He had taken construction jobs. Delivery jobs. Cleaning jobs. Anything that paid.

He had endured exhaustion and debt just to make sure his mother and sister had somewhere safe to call home.

Lady Cressida gave a cold laugh. “Manor?”

She looked at him as though the question itself was ridiculous. “Those wretched people couldn’t afford a toilet in the Auremont Estate.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. Cressida continued casually. “They are on the streets where they belong.”

Adrian froze. His entire body went still. For several seconds, he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even process the words.

“…What did you say?” 

“They’re on the streets,” Cressida repeated. Adrian slowly turned toward her.

“Are you telling me you sold the house I spent years working to build for my family… and threw my mother and sister onto the streets?”

His voice trembled with rage, Alyssa sighed.

“What would you have me do, Adrian?” She folded her arms.

“You spent three years locked inside that prison. I was a young newlywed with a husband who couldn’t even provide for his own food and shelter. I had to survive somehow.”

Adrian stared at her in disbelief. “So you sold my family’s home?”

“It was your property,” Alyssa replied coldly. “And you weren’t coming back.” She paused.

“Besides, they’re grown adults.” Adrian’s expression changed. “My sister is sixteen.” Alyssa shrugged.

“Sixteen is old enough to start learning how the world works.” Adrian’s breathing became heavier.

“And my mother?” Alyssa’s eyes remained completely cold.

“My brother helped arrange a job for your sister at a five-star club.” She smiled faintly. “She’s probably dancing for some old men by now.”

Adrian’s blood ran cold. Then Alyssa delivered the final blow. “As for your mother…”

She paused deliberately. “I’m afraid she wasn’t so lucky.” Adrian stared at her.

“What do you mean?” Alyssa’s voice became almost indifferent.

“Your mother passed away.” 

The world seemed to stop. Adrian’s eyes widened. His lips parted, but no sound came out. His mother. The woman he had carried in his heart for three years. The woman he had fought through Blackridge believing he would return to her. The woman whose face had kept him alive when everything else told him to give up.

Dead?

“No…”

The word escaped his lips like a broken whisper. His fists trembled violently.

His chest rose and fell as years of restrained pain, grief, rage and guilt collided inside him. He had survived Blackridge. He had survived Operation Black Mercy. He had survived bullets, artillery and a battlefield where thousands of men had died.

But standing in that banquet hall, surrounded by people who had once called him family, Adrian suddenly felt as though something inside him had been ripped apart.

His head slowly lifted. His eyes were red.

He looked around the room, his gaze sweeping across the Auremonts, the D’Auberys and every guest who had watched him suffer.

Then his voice exploded through the hall like thunder. “WHERE IS MY FAMILY?!”

The chandeliers seemed to tremble from the force of his roar. “WHERE IS MY MOTHER?!” He took a step forward.

“WHERE IS MY SISTER?!” His voice cracked with fury.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FAMILY?!”