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

Chapter 5: Hidden Strength

Romeo's Point of View

Emma shifted, quite in charge. Her elbow to Marcus Black wasn't a wild thing. It found the spot to hurt him and make him weak fast. She knew just where to land it. She knew fighting like a book.

That flash flip-flopped all I knew of my wife, totally.

Marcus Black jumped back, and that was my shot. My body went on without my brain's say. Three steps got me there, and I kicked the gun from his grip. It sailed over and struck near the glass. Marcus swung to me, eyes full of rage, plus something new. It was fear.

"Vincent, deal with his group," I spoke out. The words felt so right, like bossing was old, not new. "No one moves now. No one shoots now."

The guards moved up and took guns from Black's guys quickly. It flowed so smoothly, like they did it tons. Maybe they did. Vincent stood by me, a grin on his face, like he was proud. Like he was waiting for me his whole life.

Emma stood tall now, breathing tough. Her ripped dress and lip made her look wilder, not beat. She stared at Marcus Black, eyes on fire. "Did you think a punk like you could beat someone who's trained since day one?" she said soft.

The cuts on Marcus Black's face lost color. He glanced at Emma, then at me, then again at Emma. "You," he spoke. His throat made a noise. "You come from the Chens. The late Richard Chen's girl."

"That's right," Emma spoke. She sounded steady, but deep down was a rock. "And you messed up badly by going after my people."

It all fell into my head like a door unlocking. Emma had said something a bit ago that I didn't catch. Something 'bout my grandpa planning our wedding. But it wasn't only to guard me. Not just to keep me near proof 'gainst Marcus Black. It was deeper than that.

"My grandpa was aware," I whispered softly. I stared at Vincent. "Right? He knew Emma was trained well. He knew she could throw a punch."

Vincent shook his head yes. "Your grandpa found out Richard Chen was teaching his daughter to be tough and brave. He thought a guy should wed a gal who could stand with him as a team, not someone needing help always. When he set up your wedding, he gifted you. He gave you a teammate."

I turned to really look at Emma since this awful thing began. Not like the icy wife who didn't see me. Not as the girl I had secretly liked from afar. But as a true soul. Like a fighter who had just fought with me 'gainst a killer.

"How much time have you known?" I questioned her then.

Emma looked like a puzzle. Fury lived there, plus a fog, and a sting like a boo-boo. "I learned zero until Marcus Black popped up and yammered about Phoenix Empire, big shots, and payback," she mumbled. "But I've been punching dummies in the basement for ninety days. Once I sensed a pickle. Once I caught you acting funny."

"Ninety days?" I tripped over my tongue. "When did this start?"

"When I trailed you to Phoenix Empire and saw you weren't smooching others," Emma chirped, a giggle almost bubbled out, but not quite. "I paid a snoop. He said you ducked into that spot daily. I felt hot, sad, and mixed up. So, I pumped iron to guard myself if needed. Didn't think I'd flex tonight."

Marcus Black knelt, hands in the air. His cut-up cheek dripped red where I'd booted him. He seemed like a squashed bug, not the boogeyman from my lost brain movies.

"You can't win," he groaned, but the lie tasted bad in his mouth. "The Shadow Crew is bigger than yours truly. Others lurk. They'll chase you forever."

"Perhaps," Vincent buzzed. He poked a thing on his wrist gadget. "But now, you're off to the slammer. A super safe slammer. Where no one can touch you, and you can't swat anyone."

Cops strolled in through the doorway. Not town cops. Feds with stone faces and hefty boomsticks. They snapped cuffs on Marcus Black and droned his rights in flat, pro voices. As they hauled him off, he glanced back at me, one final time.

"My grandpa snatched all from me," he spoke up. "And now you grab all from me too. But the dark group won't forget it. They'll chase you until your life ends."

Then he vanished away.

The Chen home's big room felt so still out of the blue. The safe men were tidying up soon, grabbing the guns and keeping things secure. But I didn't think of any of that then. I stared hard at Emma.

Some blood sat on her face then. Her gown felt ripped up and unclean now. Her hairs looked messed from the fight now. She seemed like she survived a war, since she had done so. She fought against death and won out.

"I feel bad," I spoke then. The words felt short for what I felt. "I feel bad for all this mess. For wedding you and hiding the truth. For letting you live as a maid at your own place. For making you unsafe at night."

"You made me not unsafe," Emma spoke. She got close to me in time. "I made myself unsafe when I chose to grow strong enough to guard what I love. I did just that for me, not for you though."

"I get it," I spoke then. And I meant every bit. I knew then that Emma wasn't one who needed saving at all. She felt like one who learned to save herself now. My grandpa knew of that all. He picked her for that thing.

"We should chat 'bout loads," Emma spoke then. "I want answers 'bout who you are. I need to know why you wed me then. I want to know if all felt real, or if this was all just... a scheme."

"That's what I thought," I spoke softly. "But that felt true. I've loved you for years, when you loathed me. It felt true. That felt like my only truth."

Emma's eyes began to well up. Before words came, my phone vibrated. A text came from Vincent. Reading it, my blood froze up fast.

"Say what?" Emma then asked. She saw dread all over me.

I stared at the message hard. It read: "Huge problem. The Syndicate base just sent a message. They're saying Romeo is target one. They want your head. Twenty million. Every thug wants you bad."

I gazed at Emma, fear flashed fast across her face, too. We won the fight, but war had just then started.

"We must move," Vincent spoke, now standing right by our side. "Move now. This place is unsafe now."

Emma held my hand super tight. "Where exactly are we headed?"

I didn't know what to tell her. What's next was a blur to me. I knew my life had changed much in the last hours, and all that I loved was unsafe.

From some place in the city, sirens began howling. Coming close. Getting louder fast.

And running won't keep us safe.

Only truth is our only hope.