The Ryu Dynasty Returns

Chapter 3:

Valentin’s throat tightened as the courtroom fell into uncomfortable silence. Sweat broke out on his skin under the weight of the crowd’s stares.

“Everyone, it’s true!” A voice rang out. “Check the news.”

Pings of notifications and gasps ran through the air as everyone checked the news, Odessa included.

Her eyes widened slightly with surprise, shock etched on her face.

News about Valentin Gao’s secret affair with a secret of the rival company had surfaced online alongside the story about his gambling addiction which had plunged the Gao family into numerous debts.

Valentin’s face went pale, blood draining from his face as his eyes moved on the content of the news.

The crowd soon glanced over at Riven who looked calm despite the situation around him.

“How did he know?”

That was the question on everybody’s lips but no one could try to question him now. What if he reveals their own secrets in the process?

Elias’s expression darkened as he noticed that the situation was beginning to turn on them. He looked over at Valentin and his eyes narrowed.

Once the crowd finishes reading the news, they would think that he was also a gambler and if his grandmother were to find out, he would definitely be the one in trouble and not Odessa.

“I can’t believe you would do this, Valentin!” He began, his voice sharp with disdain. “You are a disgrace to the Gao family and the Kairen City as a whole. I don’t want to associate myself with you anymore!”

Riven’s lips formed into a small knowing smirk. Elias was trying to stir away suspicions from him.

Valentin, on the other hand, cared little about Elias’s outburst. His phone rang incessantly, his hands trembled as he answered the call.

“Valentin, what have you done?!” A voice thundered from the other line, making Valentin flinch. “You have successfully made the Gao family a laughing stock in the City! The stocks are going down, investors are moving away because they are scared you will use the money for your gambling addiction—”

“—If you don’t get yourself right in front of me to explain yourself to your grandfather, don’t even think of considering yourself as the son of the Gao family!”

Before the call could even end, Valentin was already running out of the courthouse like he was on fire.

Silence immediately followed.

But Elias wasn’t ready to back down.

“It seems I have had the worst luck with friends lately but even if the news about Valentin is true that doesn’t still cancel the fate that this man here must be a fake and he needs to explain to us how he knew about Valentin’s secrets!”

Riven’s eyes narrowed.

However, Odessa spoke up.

“Elias, I think that’s enough of you already. Go home or I will report this case to grandma about you disgracing our family by running around with a gambler. Who knows whether you have been infected by it or not.”

Elias’s face went as white as sheets, his fists clenched as he saw that Odessa wasn’t bluffing at all.

“Don’t think you have won, Odessa,” he said, regaining his confidence. “Grandma will definitely not agree to this marriage. Trust me.”

“Leave that to me to worry about.”

With a scoff, Elias walked out of the courthouse with his friends behind him.

The couple soon had their marriage certificate stamped and documented and they walked out of the courthouse.

Odessa noticed that Riven hadn’t come in a private car with a sigh, she beckoned on him to enter into hers. Her suspicions deepened.

“I know you must think that your cousin is speaking the truth,” Riven said, breaking the silence in the car.

Odessa glanced over at him from the steering wheel. He let down the collar of his shirt and showed her his birth mark.

Odessa’s face went red with a blush as she pursed her lips. She instantly felt guilty for doubting his identity but that still doesn't explain the Gao's situation.

“How did you know about Valentin’s dealings?”

Riven gave a light shrug. “It’s easy to guess.”

Odessa’s brows furrowed. She was stunned. A mentally unstable man would make a guess and coincidentally, it comes up on the news as credible.

What if…

A thought came to her but she shook it off.

She kept her eyes on the road as silence filled the car, but her thoughts remained on the man sitting beside her. The more she observed him, the more the rumors surrounding him stopped making sense.

His speech and reactions were calm and restrained. Even the pressure mounted by the crowd and her cousin did nothing to shake him.

Nothing about him resembled someone who was mentally impaired.

Beside her, Riven stared quietly out the car window as they drove deeper into the city.

His face darkened.

Somewhere within these streets, the people responsible for destroying his family still existed.

…

The Chen Residence.

“Grandma, you can’t let Odessa take over the company! It will be a disgrace!” Elias’ voice echoed in the living room.

Old Lady Chen sat on her high mahogany chair, her wrinkled face revealing a brooding anger and rage. Several members of the Chen family sat around as they listened to Elias.

“I went to the courthouse today and grandma, the man Odessa is married to, has nothing to write home about! He wasn’t even accompanied by the Zhao’s heir despite the rumors about him staying over at the Zhao’s residence. He could be a scam!”

“Enough!”

Old Lady Chen’s voice thundered, shutting Elias instantly but a small smirk formed on his lips.

“We will wait for them to get here before I will decide what to do,” her eyes darkened. “And if it’s true that Odessa has gotten married to an imposter then leave it to the elders to decide.”

“An imposter or not. We can’t allow a mentally unstable man into our family, mother,” Aurelius Chen, Elias’s father said. “Imagine what people will say. They will laugh at us!”

Old Lady Chen’s jaw tightened as she weighed her choices. Her son was right. Allowing her granddaughter to be married to a mentally unstable man and also to become the manager of the company will turn them into a laughing stock.

The Chen family had spent decades building influence within Kairen City. She would not allow Odessa to drag the family’s name into ridicule because of a mentally unstable man tied to a fallen bloodline!