They Mocked the Homeless Veteran Until He Fought Back

Chapter 006

The woman froze the moment she stepped through the door. A strange man was sitting in her living room, and the moment their eyes met, she felt an inexplicable sense of d*****d, as though their very energies clashed. Her guard went up instantly. "Who are you?"

Before Andrew could answer, Tessa jumped in with a bright smile. "He's my brother-in-law's comrade. His name is Andrew!"

The woman let out a cold, dismissive hum and lowered herself onto the sofa with deliberate slowness. She carried herself with the poise of a refined, aloof aristocrat, though the faint traces of dishevelment clinging to her clothes betrayed something entirely out of place.

Andrew despised being looked down on like that. But the memory of her flustered expression earlier brought a flicker of satisfaction to his face, and he couldn't help but smirk.

"Why are you smiling?" Tessa asked, noticing the expression. She realized, somewhat unexpectedly, that Andrew actually looked quite handsome when he smiled. "Did you think of something funny? Care to share?"

Andrew paused, then said with a straight face, "I finally understand why they say women hit their peak at forty. It's because..." His eyes locked onto the woman as he spoke, his gaze deliberate and knowing.

The woman shifted uncomfortably, her composure cracking just slightly. A flicker of hesitation crossed her face. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was talking about her, and then it hit her, that sudden, unexpected sound from earlier. It was him. It had to be.

Tessa burst into laughter. About half an hour later, Andrew emerged from the bathroom, his face freshly cleaned and his features now clearly visible. Tessa stared at him, utterly captivated, her eyes wide with admiration.

"Andrew, I had no idea you were this good-looking! You're like, Hollywood heartthrob level handsome. I really like..."

The woman, far more experienced in such matters, caught the way her daughter was looking at this stranger, a man they barely knew, and cleared her throat sharply.

"Do you have a car?" she asked, her tone sharp and scrutinizing.

"No," Andrew replied with a shake of his head.

"A house?"

"No."

"Then what exactly do you have?"

"I've got something that can cure a woman's loneliness," Andrew said evenly. "Interested?"

The woman's face flushed red in an instant. Tessa, on the other hand, looked genuinely curious. "What is it? Can I see it?"

Andrew's expression turned awkward, and he shook his head helplessly. This girl was far too innocent. But the woman sitting across from him? She was anything but.

The next day, Andrew accompanied Claire to lay his fallen comrade to rest. He told her everything his comrade had said to him before he died.

Claire nodded quietly and agreed to Andrew's request. She would let him work at her company. Andrew asked for a few days off first, though. He still had another comrade's ashes to deliver.

Meanwhile, at the police station, Mara was fuming.

"What do you mean you can't find anything? That's impossible! Every citizen has a file. How can this guy have nothing?"

"I'm serious, Captain. Look, there's only a photo," the technician said, gesturing at the screen.

Mara frowned, her mind racing. "That's strange. Could this guy be..." She trailed off, then pulled out her phone and made a call.

Elsewhere, inside a modest suburban villa, a voice dripping with smug satisfaction echoed through the bedroom. "I told you I'd take care of you, didn't I? Stick with me and you'll live the good life, babe. I promise."

The door slammed open with a bang. A man stood in the doorway, his expression cold and unreadable, his features sharp and striking. In his arms, he held an urn.

The sudden intrusion sent the woman on the bed into a panicked shriek. She scrambled into the arms of the man beside her, her clothes disheveled and her hair in disarray. Despite the state she was in, she was strikingly beautiful.

"What the hell? Who are you?" the man on the bed roared, his face twisted in fury. But then his eyes landed on the photograph affixed to the urn, and his expression froze. The face in the photo belonged to the woman's husband.

"Haha... he's dead. Heaven's on my side!" the man crowed.

Andrew's face remained expressionless. Then, without warning, he moved.

Three minutes later, Andrew walked out, still holding the urn. He straightened his clothes, adjusted his collar, and vanished into the streets without a trace.

In the bustling heart of Ashridge, a towering skyscraper stood proudly in the city center. From the outside, it was clear this company pulled in annual revenue of roughly a billion dollars.

"Ms. Bennett, they're here again. They brought even more people this time," a secretary said, rushing into the office with barely concealed panic.

Claire stood up slowly, her face impassive. "These people have shown up eight times in the past week. What the hell do they want? Have we figured out who they are yet?"

"Not yet. We still don't have any leads. But given how many times they've come to cause trouble, I think..."

"I know," Claire said, her voice weary. The company had just started to turn a corner financially, and now, out of nowhere, these thugs kept showing up with one excuse after another to cause chaos.

"Get your boss out here! If she doesn't give us an explanation today, we're not leaving!" a loud voice shouted from the lobby. A gang of men had already barged past the entrance, and the company's security guards stood by uselessly, unable to stop them.

"What the hell are you all doing? Who let them in?" Claire snapped, her eyes boring into the head of security.

The captain looked helpless. "There was nothing we could do. You have to understand, they..."

"Useless," Claire spat. She turned to face the intruders. "So. What do you want?"

"What do we want? Your factory's noise levels are through the roof. It's seriously affecting our quality of life. Our demand is simple. One million dollars, and we walk away," the leader said.

"What? One million? Why don't you just go rob a bank?" Claire knew exactly what this was. These people were a bottomless pit. Even if she gave them a million today, they'd be back tomorrow with another demand.

"Well, if that's how you're going to be, then we'll just camp out here until you pay up," the leader said with a smirk.

Claire trembled with barely restrained anger. She was in the middle of negotiating a major deal, and if these thugs kept causing a scene, it would destroy everything.

"Ms. Bennett, let's be realistic here. Think about it. This isn't a bad deal for you," the leader said smoothly.

"One million isn't that much, Ms. Bennett. Maybe you should just agree," a voice chimed in from the entrance.

Everyone turned toward the man who had just walked in. His outfit was utterly absurd, a mismatched disaster that would make anyone laugh, but his face was undeniably handsome.

Claire's eyes narrowed when she recognized Andrew. She'd been wondering when he'd show up. The man had a knack for appearing whenever there was trouble. But what puzzled her most was how he'd even found the company.

Everyone in the room froze, staring at the stranger in confusion. Who was this guy? And why was he telling her to pay?

The thugs, however, looked pleased. Their leader grinned. "Now here's a guy who gets it. And who might you be, friend?"