The Rise Of Jack Reynolds

It was another hectic morning at the Rhoades Estate, in the city of Hamsville.

Jack, a young man in his twenties found himself in an endless cycle of chores.

He plays the role of a housekeeper and an errand boy despite being married to one of the Rhoades' daughters.

"Jack, clean my bathroom and organize the pantry,” Amy Rhoades, Jack's sister-in-law commanded from the living room.

"Sure thing, madam," Jack replied.

Damien, Jack's wife's younger brother added, "Hurry up, it's 9 o'clock! Breakfast should have been ready ages ago, you lazy..."

"I'll get there soon," Jack responded, resisting the urge to remind Damien of their age difference.

"You better be, lazy ass," Damien who was engrossed in his video game said.

Just then, Jack's phone rang. The same unknown number that had been pestering him since last night.

"Hello?" Jack answered and placed the phone between his shoulder and neck while continuing to wash the dishes with his hands.

"Hello, is this Jack Reynolds?" a soothing female voice inquired.

"Uh, no, that's not me. My name is Jack, but my last name is Turner, not Reynolds. I think you've got the wrong person," Jack replied and before he could end the call, Mrs. Patricia Rhoades, his mother-in-law entered the kitchen, and delivered a stinging slap across Jack's face.

The phone slipped from his shoulder and landed on the ground with a loud sound, which made the screen crack.

"Jack, I've told you a million times, no phones in my kitchen! Now, get back to work!" Mrs. Patricia snapped.

Rubbing his stinging cheek, Jack stammered, "Sorry, Ma. I was just..."

Before he could finish, Amy shouted from the living room, "It's always the same with you, Jack. You never learn."

"But…" Jack attempted to explain.

Another slap followed. "Listen here, Jack. Don't talk back to anybody in this house because nobody is your mate," Mrs. Patricia scolded him.

It all started a year ago, Jack's life turned into a never-ending nightmare. His mom fell seriously ill, and needed an expensive surgery. Despite working multiple jobs, Jack couldn't gather enough money.

He was desperate and resorted to begging for money from his friends, but they mocked him.

One day, he met Olivia Rhoades, a famous actress who offered to pay for the surgery. But there was a catch—a marriage contract.

Jack, who was eager to save his mom, agreed without thinking twice.

But after paying, his mom's condition worsened, and she didn't survive the surgery.

Now, Jack was stuck in a contract marriage with Olivia and with the whole of the Rhoades family treating him poorly.

Bam! A bottle of water smacked into the side of Jack's head.

"How dare you not answer me?"

Jack didn't realize that Mrs. Patricia had been calling him while he was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" She scolded.

"Aren't you grateful that I'm letting you off easy?"

Jack wiped droplets of water from his face and lowered his gaze to the bottle lying on the floor, and then his broken phone which was now soaked in water.

He bent down and tried to pick up his phone, but Mrs Patricia stopped him. "Don't you dare pick that up, you b*stard."

He obeyed and left the phone on the floor.

"Remember to clean my bedroom and don't forget to do the laundry."

"I'll get to it right away," Jack said humbly.

"You better," she shot back. "You know the consequences if you fail to obey."

After she left, Jack picked up the phone. There was a message on the screen from an anonymous person, but he couldn't see it clearly because it was broken.

***

An hour later, Jack was done with preparing breakfast.

He carried the tray to the dining room where the Rhoades family members waited impatiently.

Mrs. Patricia occupied the head of the table in her husband's absence. Alongside her were Chris, the eldest son, his wife Amy, Damien, the second son, and Celine, the youngest Rhoades.

Olivia, Jack's wife wasn't present at the moment. She was mostly away, attending to business meetings.

"Good morning, everyone," Jack greeted as he placed the tray on the table and began serving them breakfast. But they all ignored him.

Damien sneered when he tasted his coffee, "What's this, Jack? No sugar?" He said and raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously! You couldn't even prepare a decent breakfast! Gross!" Amy said while chewing on her toast.

"I don't get why Olivia married you. You're worthless." Chris added with a snap.

Jack felt the sting of their words but kept his head down. After serving breakfast, he decided to leave the dining room, but in his rush, he missed Damien's sneaky move to trip him.

Accidentally, he crashed into Amy and caused the jug of coffee to splash onto her.

Slap! Amy Rhoades' hand hit Jack's face. "Are you stupid?" Amy blasted him and without a second thought, she lifted the jug of coffee and emptied what was left in it on Jack.

They all knew the mistake was from Damien but were all looking for a way to humiliate Jack further.

Mrs. Rhoades exclaimed, "What on earth, Jack? Can't you do anything right?"

"I-I'm sorry. It was an accident. I didn't see..." Jack stammered as he was wiping his clothes.

"Are you now blind?" Damien asked mockingly.

"Clumsy much, Jack? You're a disaster." Celine added with a smirk.

Jack pointed at Damien and yelled, "You! You're the cause of all this.

Damien retorted, "Are you mad?" He rose from his seat and slapped Jack in the same spot Amy, had slapped him earlier.

Enough was enough. Jack retaliated with a forceful slap that sent Damien sprawling on the ground.

"Ahh! My eyes!" Damien cried out.

Everyone went mad! The good-for-nothing son-in-law had the gut to return the slap by Damien? They couldn't believe it as Jack had never done something like this before.

"Oh my God! How dare he?" Mrs. Rhoades cried out.

"How dare you?" Chris demanded. He rose from his seat and advanced towards Jack. "Bring my belt, Amy!" He ordered his wife.

Amy ran upstairs to fetch his belt.

Chris hates Jack so much and often beats Jack when he makes a mistake. This was the moment he had been expecting to teach the pauper a lesson.

"Get on your knees," Chris shouted at Jack, as he received the belt from Amy.

"It was a mistake. I didn't mean to do it, and it won't happen again," Jack pleaded in desperation.

"I said get on your f*cking knees!" Chris thundered, flapping the belt to produce a lashing sound.

"Beat him up!" Mrs. Rhoades exclaimed. She always enjoyed it when Chris bullied Jack. It brought her a perverse satisfaction.

Before Jack could react, Chris struck him heavily on the stomach, forcing him to fall to the ground.

Chris began hitting Jack with the belt.

"What the hell is happening here?!" Olivia's voice cut through. She's Just returning from a business meeting to see her family beating her husband.