The Secret Billionaire Son-in-law

CHAPTER 6: ENTER THE GRAYSONS

While Chloe was weeping on the cold concrete of the VIP parking garage, the scene upstairs in the penthouse banquet hall had turned into a desperate, chaotic frenzy.

Evelyn and Dexter were furiously pacing the floor. The remaining catering staff were packing up the untouched luxury food, casting amused, mocking glances at the two fallen elites. The phone in Dexter’s hand was ringing nonstop—each vibration representing another supplier, investor, or bank calling to cancel their contracts with Collins Logistics.

"What do we do? What do we do?!" Dexter pulled at his hair, his expensive burgundy suit now looking crumpled and pathetic. "Aunt Evelyn, the bank just officially froze our corporate credit lines! They said because of the Vance Group blacklist, we are a high-risk entity. If we can't pay the shipping port fees by tomorrow morning, our entire fleet will be seized!"

"Use the ten million!" Evelyn shouted, her voice shrill with panic. "I told you, we have Chloe’s money! Just transfer it into the company account!"

"We can't!" Dexter slammed his fist against a table. "I already tried! It's a personal account under Chloe’s name. Because she’s the one who signed the divorce papers, the bank requires her digital signature and physical presence to move that much capital to a corporate entity. And she’s not answering her phone!"

Just as Evelyn was about to curse her daughter, the heavy double doors of the banquet hall swung open.

A group of men in sharp, midnight-blue suits walked in. At the front was a young man around Dexter’s age, carrying a silver-headed cane despite walking perfectly fine. He had a sharp, hawkish nose and a smug, predatory smile that immediately made the temperature in the room feel hostile.

It was Garrett Grayson, the eldest young master of the Grayson family—a ruthless, cutthroat second-tier family that had been trying to violently dominate the city's shipping routes for years.

"Well, well, well. Look at the proud Collins family," Garrett chuckled, the sound echoing hollowly across the empty hall. He tapped his cane against the marble floor as he walked. "An hour ago, you were boasting to the whole city that you were about to ascend to the heavens. Now, you look like rats in a flooded cellar."

Dexter’s face flushed with anger, but he quickly swallowed his pride. The Grayson family was brutal, but they were incredibly wealthy. "Garrett... what are you doing here? If you came to mock us, get out. We don't have time for your games."

"Mock you? No, no, Dexter. I came to save you," Garrett said, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, calculating light. He stepped right up to the table, looking down at the scattered pages of the contract Ethan had crushed beneath his heel. "I heard what happened. Your pathetic, live-in loser husband turned out to be the hidden crown prince of the Vance Group. He blacklisted you, and now the entire city treats you like a plague."

Evelyn rushed forward, her face twisted in a groveling smile. "Young Master Grayson! Yes, it’s true! That ungrateful brute destroyed our reputation! But we have money! We have ten million dollars! We just need a partner to bypass the blacklist!"

"Ten million? In a frozen or locked personal account? That’s pocket change compared to the debt your logistics company is facing by tomorrow morning," Garrett sneered, completely exposing their financial weakness. He leaned heavily on his cane, leaning in close to Dexter. "Let’s be real, Dexter. Without a first-rate backing, Collins Logistics dies at sunrise. Nobody in this city will lend you a single cent. Except for me."

Dexter swallowed hard, his heart hammering. "What... what are your conditions?"

Garrett smiled, a look of pure, predatory triumph spreading across his face. He signaled his assistant, who immediately placed a thick, leather-bound document on the table.

"The Grayson Group will immediately inject fifteen million dollars into Collins Logistics to clear your port debts and bypass the Vance Group's local shipping block using our private maritime licenses," Garrett stated smoothly.

Dexter’s eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"But," Garrett’s voice dropped, becoming heavy and suffocatingly cold. "In exchange, the Grayson Group will take a 51% controlling stake in Collins Logistics. Furthermore, all your physical shipping routes, trucks, and warehouses will be legally transferred under our parent company’s name as collateral."

"51%?!" Dexter gasped, his face turning pale. "That means you own us! We would just be employees in our own family business! My father would never agree to this!"

"Then let your business drown," Garrett shrugged casually, turning around as if to leave. "When the banks seize your assets tomorrow, your family will be completely bankrupt. You'll lose your mansion, your luxury cars, and your status. You'll be begging for scraps on the street, just like Ethan used to."

"Wait! Young Master Grayson, please wait!" Evelyn panicked, aggressively grabbing Dexter's arm and digging her nails into his skin. "Dexter, sign it! Sign it right now! If the company goes under, we have nothing! Being employees is better than being beggars! Sign it!"

Dexter looked at the contract, his hands shaking violently. He was a proud man, but the thought of losing his wealth, his Porsche, and his high-society lifestyle terrified him to his very core. He couldn't handle being a nobody.

With a trembling hand, Dexter picked up a pen from the floor. He didn't wait for Chloe's return, and he didn't call his father. He firmly signed his name at the bottom of the Grayson Group’s agreement.

Garrett turned around, watching Dexter sign the papers. His smug smile widened into a dark, victorious grin.

What the foolish Collins family didn't know was that the Grayson Group had already secretly partnered with a corrupt high-ranking executive inside the local Vance Group branch. The entire debt crisis Collins Logistics faced had been orchestrated by Garrett behind the scenes to force them into this exact trap.

Even without Ethan’s intervention, the Collins family was already walking straight into a slaughterhouse.

"Wise choice, Dexter," Garrett chuckled, snatching the signed contract and handing it to his assistant. He patted Dexter’s cheek condescendingly, treating him like a obedient dog. "Welcome to the Grayson Group. From now on... you do exactly what I tell you to do."

As Garrett walked out of the hall laughing, Chloe finally stepped back into the penthouse from the elevators. Her eyes were blank, her face pale, and her spirit entirely broken.

Evelyn rushed over to her, completely ignoring her daughter’s clear distress. "Chloe! Thank goodness you're back! Guess what? We don't need Ethan's mercy! Young Master Grayson just saved us! We signed a partnership with them!"

Chloe looked at her mother, then at Dexter, who was staring at his bleeding forehead in a compact mirror. She looked at the empty, ruined banquet hall, a profound sense of doom settling deep into her chest.

"You partnered with the Graysons...?" Chloe whispered, her voice filled with a chilling clarity. "They are wolves, Mother. They don't save people. They eat them."

"Shut up! What do you know?!" Evelyn snapped, waving her hand dismissively. "Go wash your face. You need to look perfect for tomorrow. Now that you're divorced, we need to find you a real billionaire who can protect us from Ethan's petty revenge!"

Chloe didn't argue. She just turned around and walked toward the window, looking out at the stormy city. Somewhere out there, in a world she could no longer reach, Ethan was ascending to his throne—while her family had just willingly chained themselves to their own executioners.