The Son-In-Law’s 99 Days Of Deception

Chapter 4

The air in the room became suffocating.

Then the room erupted.

"Did I hear him correctly?"

“What the actual fuck?”

"What's going on here?"

More guards approached, but instead of surrounding Killian, they formed a path for him.

Katherine looked as though she might choke.

"No!" she shrieked. "He cannot live here! We refuse to share our villa with that animal! I forbid it!”

Killian stopped.

Slowly, he turned to face her.

"Since when did this villa belong to you Lancasters?"

The crowd's mouth fell open.

He glanced around the extravagant living room, taking in the interior design, enormous space, and the guests who had suddenly grown very interested in the conversation.

Then his gaze returned to her.

"This is my villa,” Killian said, his voice carrying clearly across the silent hall. “And if any of you are uncomfortable with my presence... you are free to leave.”

A wave of collective shock rippled through the ballroom. The gasps were audible. People pressed, their phones held high.

The murmurs that erupted from the elite guests this time weren't directed at Killian—they were aimed squarely at the Lancasters.

“His villa?”

"Wait. The Lancasters don't own this place?"

"Then they've been squatting here all these years?"

“They were trying to evict the actual owner? How utterly embarrassing.”

A woman near the staircase covered her mouth.

The humiliation spread across the room like a stain.

Edward's jaw tightened. Fiona looked away. Katherine stood rigid, her face burning beneath the scrutiny of people she'd spent years trying to impress.

Years ago, Killian had told them he won this property through a lottery, but the truth was simpler: his grandfather had handed the Pinnacle Villa directly to him to start his family. When he and Sarah were married, the Lancasters had practically begged to move in, arguing that the 22 empty rooms would be a waste and how a massive estate would elevate their fragile social standing and its value would elevate their status in Moon City.

Killian had agreed solely to please his wife.

Now that Sarah was gone, the parasites had forgotten whose roof they were sleeping under.

They must have mistaken his absence for ownership.

He almost found it amusing.

Lady Lancaster's grip tightened around her cane. “Killian, have you completely lost your mind?” she stepped forward, her face twisting with pure disdain.

“Lost my mind?” Killian stepped closer, lowering his voice but keeping it loud enough for every phone in the room to catch, “Or do you want me to reboot your memory?”

The heat in the air changed, sounds from the guest who had not expected it to go this far.

As if thoroughly sick of playing with them, Killian reached into his jacket, pulled out a thick brown envelope, and tossed it forward.

“Catch.”

Katherine caught it automatically, the conditioned reflex of someone grabbing mail before her brain could catch up with her hands. Her eyes scanned the legal title deed and asset transfer documents.

She turned the page, scanning it again as though the words might rearrange themselves into something less horrifying.

The room spun. Her stomach lurched violently, and she bolted toward the nearest hallway, barely making it to the bathroom before throwing up.

When she stumbled back into the ballroom minutes later, most of the family members were reading the legal documents in an unsettled state.

Lady Lancaster, however, had no intention of allowing the evening to end with the family being humiliated in their own social circle especially on an important day like this.

She pulled out her phone.

“You must be out of your mind if you think the Lancasters will spend a single night under the same roof as a stray dog,” She spat, slamming the phone against her ear as the call failed to connect on the first try.

She redialed.

The family uncle hurried over to her side.

“Grandmother... what are you doing?”

“Calling our estate manager to prep our old house. We're packing up and leaving this instant,” she announced rigidly.

The uncle let out a heavy, defeated sigh, running a hand down his face. “We can't.”

Lady Lancaster lowered her phone. “What do you mean we can't?!”

“We... We sold the old house eleven years ago,” he muttered quietly. “We needed the liquidity to ensure Killian stayed buried in the toughest prison.”

For a moment, the world seemed to stop.

Edward’s jaw hit the floor. “Are you out of your mind, Uncle? You sold our home?!”

“It wasn't my idea, it was your mother’s!” the uncle fired back defensively.

Lady Lancaster gripped her phone so hard her knuckles turned white. “You did that behind my back?”

Katherine felt every eye in the room turn back onto her.

For half a second, she was utterly paralyzed. Then, forcing a brittle, cracking smile, she swallowed hard, dread pooling in her stomach.

Edward's head whipped towards Katherine.

"Mother?"

Katherine said nothing.

The guests who'd spent the evening praising the Lancasters were now watching them unravel, and there was nowhere for her to hide.

She forced a laugh.

"Well, it's not as though the house has disappeared. We can buy it back."

She lifted her chin, and pulled out her own phone and dialed a real estate broker she hadn't spoken to in a decade.

The line connected on the third ring. Her voice pitched high and tight as she explained her identity and asked to buy back their old family estate.

"Of course, madam. The property is currently scheduled for auction this Friday."

Katherine frowned.

"An auction? Why?"

"The current owner has decided to sell."

"The estimated opening price is one billion pounds."

Katherine stopped breathing.

"I'm sorry. How much?"

Katherine’s head buzzed. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and opened it again. No words came out.

“One billion?” She finally blurted out, “That's insane! We sold it to you for less than seventy thousand!” she shrieked.

"I'm afraid I can't comment on the previous transaction. If you'd like to purchase the property, you're welcome to attend the auction on Friday."

The representative ended the call.

Katherine stared at the dead screen until her vision blurred completely.

Her face turned red too fast, she had to look away.

Even her hands shook so badly that she had to clutch the edge of a nearby table.

She avoided Killian's eyes and she forced herself to stand upright; collapsing in front of him and this crowd was a luxury she didn't have.

Killian noticed and almost laughed.

The way the Lancasters unraveled in front of him was more satisfying than he expected. Unfortunately for them, this was only the beginning.

He will destroy them. He will take everything they have and everything that keeps them sane and burn it to the ground and when he's done with them, living will become a luxury they can no longer afford.

He will make them beg for death.

He looked at them like they were bugs and without a word, he headed upstairs, ignoring the eyes that followed him. Then the guards carrying his suitcase followed suit.

The stares from the crowd became increasingly unbearable for Katherine.

She turned and walked towards the exit, her steps stiff and hurried. She made it outside before the shaking really started.

She made it five paces into the dark garden, pressed her hands against her knees, and let out a raw, helpless scream of pure terror.

One billion was entirely out of their budget. The family business was bleeding dry, and their assets were tied up in vanity projects.

They had two choices: endure the suffocating presence of the man who killed Sarah... or find a way to eliminate him before Friday.