The Worthless Son-In-Law's Trillion Dollars Secret

Chapter 3: Danger at the Mansion

Romeo's Point of View

My chest felt tight. For a split second, the air got stuck. My body froze stiff. My eyes locked on the screen of a dark car sitting near the Chen's big house. The men wore dark stuff, and they had this creepy vibe as they moved around. This wasn't by chance. This wasn't just folks dropping by. These men were predators, and they knew where to find food.

"Emma," I mumbled. Her name cracked apart, like something inside me just broke into pieces. "My wife sits inside that house."

"I know," Vincent spoke. His voice stayed smooth, but his eyes jumped all over, figuring stuff out. "We got to go now. I got people headed there, but those men will get inside in five minutes. Maybe quicker."

I jumped up so fast the chair tipped over and smacked against the floor. My brain ran wild. Three hours back, I scrubbed bathroom floors. Three hours back, my life felt small, wrecked, and trash. Now, man with guns chase Emma, and somehow that's all my fault. This happens because of me. Because of what I truly am.

"We can halt them," Vincent spoke. He moved toward a cabinet across the room. He grabbed a phone and barked orders so quick I barely knew what he said. "Get guards to the Chen big house. Now. Block all doors. Do not let people go until we show up. Get a car ready now. Move!"

He caught my arm, tugging me to the lift with force. His hold was tight, I had no say if I would follow. "Hear me close, Romeo. Those guys serve Marcus Black now. He leads a dark group they call Shadow Web. Your grandpa stole his might, and Marcus sought you for years. He seeks payback. He craves cash. He wants all your kin made."

The lift doors sprung, we dashed right inside fast. Vincent's face felt grim, far more than I knew it. "But Marcus lacks knowledge that you know who you are now. He thinks you sweep floors still. He may use Emma to get to you then. He'll send warnings. He'll seek to spook you to grant him Phoenix Empire's wealth. Do you get it?"

I gave a nod, but the fact felt unknown to me. My brain spun like time crawled by though all else sped up. The lift dove so fast that my belly swam weird. Digits blurred past. Seventy. Fifty. Twenty.

"Just what do I do?" I then asked him softly. My voice seemed like a fake voice now. "What am I now to do at all?"

"For now, you shall hop in a car with me, to that mansion," Vincent spoke. "Once we're there, you must let me deal with this mess. You must stay chill and just have faith in me. Can you just do that?"

"No," I spoke truly. "I can't."

But I did just that now.

A dark, fancy car waited, with windows like night, just for us. We jumped inside, and before doors clicked shut, the driver zipped us through the town. Buildings zoomed by like streaks. It felt fast, but not like a chase. Time ticked, those guys crept closer to Emma. Each moment felt like doom inching nearer.

"Speak of Emma," Vincent spoke up, quick. "Tell stories of your own dear wife."

"She can't stand me," I blurted out fast. Then I paused. Did she truly? "She's like ice. So pretty. She wed me for dad's cash woes. Yet sometimes, glimpsed when she thinks no eyes see, she's not as icy as she acts. She's caged. Like my own past cage."

Vincent fell silent for a long while. "Granddad set up that marriage plan. He sought to keep you near the Chen clan for safety. But he wished to give you true life too. A chance for love to bloom real. Maybe that's his last gift just for you."

The car swerved hard 'round one bend, and I thumped hard 'gainst the door. We now drew near. The roads felt known to me. This was that spot where the Chen clan stayed, where I scrubbed floors three years long while eating their dinner scraps.

"How many bad guys wait?" I then asked.

"Five," Vincent spoke. "Or maybe six. Our guards now ring 'round the big house. No soul shall leave their tight grip."

"But Emma? Is she safe and sound?"

"Emma’s sharp," Vincent then said. "She's at risk, not helpless though. Your kin holds more grit than you know, Romeo."

The vehicle halted abruptly, like a confused animal. Through the dark glass, the Chen house loomed, making my insides flip. Three dark cars sat out front, figures in dark outfits swarming like ants. They sealed off the front door strangely. Our car glided back where stranger cars gathered—costly ones unknown to me. Crisp black figures stood near, faces sharp and risky, all the same.

"Those are my flock," Vincent declared. "Phoenix Empire's best guards, the sharpest in the land."

He swung the car door wide, hopping out like a playful kid. I trailed, legs doing a weird shaky dance. We dashed to the rear, toward the mansion's hum. Soon, voices drifted out, carrying anger. Harsh yells bounced out. Then, a sound pierced me, chilling me deep.

Emma's scream echoed out.

I lurched toward it, thoughts gone like vapor. Risks didn't matter; none of it did. Only Emma's scream fueled me; I must reach her.

Vincent's grip on my shoulder tightened. "Hold on," he urged. "We need brains here, not just guts."

But words blurred. I couldn't focus. A strange dawn broke inside, roused from a deep rest. The meek soul who took everything quietly was fading. Another took hold: bolder, fierce, won't let Emma suffer.

We sneaked through the door to reach the kitchen. The noises felt like bizarre echoes now. I seemed to hear folks shouting bizarre commands. I seemed to hear objects getting tossed all around. I seemed to hear Emma strangely calling. My hands made tight fists, and I sensed a weird shift. Unlike this morning while cleaning toilets somehow. Unlike this afternoon when fearing strange shadows.

I felt rage then. I felt set then.

Vincent took me soft through the kitchen towards that main room, noises rising from. Getting near, I seemed to see a strange man's shadow cast on the wall. A big, strange man. Risky. And somehow just beyond him was poor Emma.

Vincent held his hand up to stop me now. He spoke into a thing upon his wrist: "We’re there, friend. On my word."

He looked at me, eyes so old and so knowing too. "Romeo," he said soft. "Ready to face your strange old life?"

The sounds out from that room got so loud now. A strange guy was chuckling. A mean, cold chuckle. And fast, I knew that chuckle then. I knew it from dreams I didn't know held old times. I knew it from when I last saw mom and dad.

It was that man's chuckle when he killed them.