The Son-in-Law They Regretted Losing

Chapter 7: The True Vespera

Linnea stepped into the store with the head designer following closely behind her. The senior saleswoman spotted the designer and her jaw dropped. She immediately bowed very low to him, her face full of respect.

She turned quickly and pointed at me, eager to show she was doing her job. "Master Designer, I am so sorry for the noise. A filthy beggar wandered into our boutique looking for empty plastic bottles on the floor. I am in the middle of escorting him out of the store right now."

The designer’s face darkened completely. He looked at the saleswoman, his eyes flashing with anger. "You are being utterly disrespectful."

The saleswoman completely misinterpreted the designer's anger. She thought he was furious at me. 

She turned around and barked at me, her voice filled with nastiness. 

"You heard that, didn't you? Even the most famous designer in the country is cursing you out! How vulgar can you get? Get out of this store right now before we call the police!"

Odette joined in right away with a heavy sneer, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"I told you not to strut around with that fake black card, Riven. If you do not have money, go out and earn it. Do not dream of pretending to be rich in a high-class place like this."

Toby chimed in with his own loud mockery, laughing at my damp jacket. "Exactly! Go back to your bicycle, delivery boy!"

I looked at the two of them and simply shook my head with a bitter smile. 

Three years of marriage. Three years of cooking their meals, scrubbing their floors, and giving absolutely everything I had to that family. 

It was only now, standing in this store, that I truly saw what kind of people they were. 

They were people who cared only about their own financial gain, who would stoop to any cruel means for a profit, and who would kick you aside like a dog the moment they had what they wanted from you.

The head designer had had enough of the noise. He stepped forward, his voice booming through the boutique. "All of you, get out!"

The saleswoman opened her mouth to continue berating me, thinking the designer was backing her up. 

But as she looked at his furious face, she suddenly realized the terrifying truth. The designer was shouting directly at her.

Linnea did not waste a single second. She used the store phone to summon the main store manager to the front. 

The manager arrived sweating and bowing. Linnea looked at him and fired the saleswoman right on the spot.

She then turned and gave the manager a cold warning. 

"This luxury store does not belong to you. You are merely managing it for our corporation. If this kind of behavior ever happens again under your watch, you will be thrown out on the street along with her."

The manager turned completely pale. He bowed apologetically to me over and over again, then turned around and slapped the saleswoman right across the face.

The sharp sound of the slap made Odette and Toby gasp.

"We do not tolerate arrogance in this store!" the manager shouted at the crying woman. "Take your self-importance and get out of here. You are fired!"

The saleswoman burst into loud tears and dropped straight to her knees on the marble floor. She grabbed at my shoes, begging me desperately not to fire her. 

"Please, sir! Forgive me! I have a one-year-old child to support at home. I cannot afford to lose this job!"

I looked down at her coldly and kicked her hand away from my boot. 

"When you looked down on someone who appeared ordinary, did you ever think this day would come for you?"

The saleswoman could not say a word. The manager waved his hand, and the other security staff quickly grabbed her arms and dragged her crying out of the boutique.

With the room finally quiet, the famous designer turned to me. He gave me a deep, ninety-degree bow, his face filled with genuine regret. 

"Mr. Kaelen, I am deeply sorry for arriving late and keeping you waiting. Please accept my apologies for the terrible humiliation you had to endure from our staff tonight."

I looked at his respectful bow and nodded my head calmly. "It is fine. Let us just get to work."

Linnea then turned her cold eyes toward my mother-in-law and brother-in-law, who were standing there completely frozen. 

"As for you two, you are officially blacklisted from this boutique and all its affiliated establishments across the city. You are no longer welcome anywhere under this corporate brand name."

Odette could not believe what she was hearing. Her face twisted with anger. "On what grounds? Who are you to blacklist us? We are paying customers!"

Linnea opened her mouth to explain my true identity as the hundred-billion-dollar owner of Veridian Global, but I reached out and tapped her shoulder, stopping her from speaking. 

I did not want them to know the full truth just yet.

I looked at Odette and simply said, "I did the billionaire owner of this shopping mall a small favor in the past. He gave me some special VIP privileges in return. That is all."

Odette's face cleared, and she immediately hurled curses at me. "I knew it! You are just a lucky beggar! You are using up your little favors just to play a big shot!"

Toby mocked me as well, spitting on the floor. "Exactly! You can only rely on other people's charity to put on airs in front of us. You are still just a worthless loser!"

Linnea did not let them finish. She signaled the guards, and security tightly grabbed Odette and Toby by their shoulders, dragging both of them out into the mall corridors while they screamed and cursed.

Once they were gone, the designer quickly took my measurements and tailored a beautiful, high-end custom suit for me right on the spot. 

The fabric was smooth and fit me perfectly. When the outfit was completely finished, I looked like a true nobleman. Linnea then escorted me out to the luxury sedan and drove us straight toward the grand city auction hall.

"This charity auction tonight was actually arranged with you in mind, Boss," Linnea explained quietly as she drove through the bright city streets. 

"I let the main organizers know that the hidden head of Vespera Corp would be attending the event tonight. Whether you want to step up and speak on the grand stage is entirely up to your own choice."

I adjusted my new cuffs and nodded. "I will speak."

One of the most anticipated items at the auction tonight was a legendary ring. 

It was said to have been put up for sale by an ancient, fallen aristocratic family. The rumors in high society claimed that the ring held a deep secret to a hidden treasure, a treasure worth enough money to buy an entire nation. 

Sloane had left the house specifically to try and bid on it with Lysander Croft.

Linnea glanced at me through the rearview mirror. 

"Boss, that black card I handed you has absolutely no spending limit. "

"The dividends from all the other small companies under Veridian Global will be deposited into your account in due course. "

"Apart from the one point five billion dollars already transferred to your card tonight, the account currently holds an extra cash balance of ten billion dollars. You can buy anything at the auction that catches your eye. Do not worry about the price."

I nodded in agreement, staring out at the flashing lights of the auction arena ahead. "Understood."

Thirty minutes earlier, outside the grand entrance of the Horizon Plaza Mall, Odette and Toby were still fuming with rage. Their faces were red as they stood in the cold air, holding their shopping bags.

"That useless trash!" Odette yelled, stomping her heel against the concrete. "How dare he have those guards lay their hands on us? He is just using some old favor to embarrass my family!"

They discussed how to get immediate revenge against me. Toby rubbed his chin, a nasty look in his eyes. "Mom, let us call Sloane right now. Her fiancé is so completely obsessed with her, he will never stand up to her family. Besides, there is no way a delivery boy actually became a real VIP at a luxury store like Luxe Aura. Something simply does not add up. He must be cheating somehow."

They quickly pulled out their phone and dialed Sloane's number. As soon as she picked up, they loudly vented to her about everything that had happened inside the boutique, making me sound like a monster who had attacked them.

On the other end of the line, Sloane was sitting in a luxury lounge next to Lysander Croft. She listened to her mother's screaming and tried to comfort them in a calm, confident voice.

"Do not worry, Mother," Sloane said coldly over the phone. "The grand charity auction is about to start in a few minutes. I heard a rumor that the top billionaire owner of Vespera Corp will actually be there tonight. "

"Once I make a strong connection with him, our family's business will completely take off. "

"And when that happens, I will personally make sure Riven pays for every single thing he did to you tonight. "

"He is nothing to me anymore.”