War God: Revenge of Trash Ex-Son-in-Law

Chapter 4

The roar of the black Cadillac’s engine slowly faded as Yudha parked the vehicle in a hidden area just a few blocks away from Manhattan’s business district. Raymond continued staring out the window, observing the bustling city that moved on without caring about the fate of the people inside it.

“Raymond,” Yudha called, quickly adjusting to a modern way of speaking according to the God of War’s orders. “There’s one important thing you need to know about what happened that night. Altar Logistics intelligence has just hacked the entire encrypted communication network belonging to the Miller family and Julian Vance.”

Raymond did not immediately turn around. He merely gave a signal by tapping his finger against his knee, indicating for Yudha to continue.

Yudha turned around from the driver’s seat and handed over a military-grade digital tablet displaying chat transcripts and voice recordings. “Those cheating photos at the motel in Queens... they were completely fabricated digital manipulations created by Julian Vance’s hired cyber team. Your ex-wife, Chloe, knew about it from the very beginning.”

A faint golden glow briefly flashed through Raymond’s pupils. “So, she deliberately used that excuse to gain a strong legal foundation to divorce me without paying a single cent in marital settlement.”

“There’s more,” Yudha’s voice deepened as he restrained his fury. “Evelyn, your mother-in-law, hired a woman to approach you while you were shopping for kitchen supplies last week. They intentionally took the photos from blurry angles. They needed that stain so the contract with Vance Corporation wouldn’t be disturbed by the existence of a ‘trash husband,’ as they always called you.”

Raymond stared at the tablet screen displaying detailed payments of thousands of dollars from Chloe Miller’s account to an amateur photographer. A low, cold laugh filled with contempt escaped Raymond’s throat. For three years, he had given them sincerity, cared for their home, and ensured warm meals were always waiting on the table every time they returned from work, and this was the reward he received. A rotten scheme designed by the very people he had considered family.

“Mortal humans always think they can cover the sky with the palm of their hands,” Raymond muttered as he handed the tablet back. “Keep all this evidence, Yudha. Let them believe they’ve won for a little while longer.”

“Then what’s your first move, Raymond? I can freeze all of Chloe’s personal accounts right now if you want,” Yudha offered.

Raymond slowly shook his head. “No need to rush. As planned, I need a perfect disguise so the factions from the Upper World won’t sense my existence. I’ll find an ordinary job in Manhattan for the time being. Let Miller Group continue walking toward the financial trap we’re preparing behind the scenes.”

Two hours later, beneath the warming midday sun of Manhattan, Raymond walked along the sidewalk in a commercial district near Rockefeller Center. He was now wearing the casual clothes Yudha had bought for him—a loose striped flannel shirt, comfortable dark jeans, and black leather boots. His old backpack still hung over his shoulder, giving the impression that he was nothing more than an ordinary young man struggling to survive in the metropolitan city.

Raymond’s destination was a mid-level office building currently hiring for a daily warehouse logistics staff position. For a God of War, physical labor like this was extremely easy, while also serving as the perfect hiding place from the public radar.

However, mortal fate seemed to enjoy playing with circumstances.

Just as Raymond was about to step through the glass doors of the building lobby, a white Mercedes-Benz sedan screeched to a halt in front of the entrance. The passenger door opened, and two women dressed in luxurious designer clothing stepped out with an arrogance deeply familiar within Raymond’s memory.

Evelyn Miller adjusted her Gucci sunglasses while Chloe walked beside her holding a warm-toned Hermes handbag. The two of them had come to the building to attend a meeting with one of the small property subcontractors they planned to acquire.

Chloe’s footsteps suddenly halted on the lobby stairs. Her eyes widened as she stared at the man standing only a few meters away from her.

“Raymond?!” Chloe shrieked, her sharp voice immediately attracting the attention of several office employees passing through the lobby.

Evelyn turned as well, and the middle-aged woman’s face instantly twisted with overwhelming disgust. “Oh, for God’s sake! Why is this bum here?! Is he following us, Chloe?”

Raymond did not avoid them. He remained standing tall, staring at the two women with an empty, indifferent gaze, as though they were nothing more than utility poles on the side of the road.

Chloe quickly stepped forward, the heels of her Christian Louboutin shoes clicking angrily against the marble floor. She looked at Raymond’s new clothes with disdain. “Raymond, I already told you last night at the hospital, never show your face in front of me again! Where did you get those new clothes? Did you steal money from the hospital, or were you begging on the streets?”

“I’m here looking for a job opening, Mrs. Miller,” Raymond answered calmly, without the fear or anger he used to show in the past. He deliberately used the title ‘Mrs. Miller’ to emphasize the distance between them.

Hearing his calm response, Evelyn laughed out loud, a sharp, mocking sound that echoed through the lobby. “Looking for a job? In this building?! Raymond, wake up! This is Manhattan, not a homeless shelter in Brooklyn! An amnesiac with no diploma and no background like you is only fit to clean toilets in underground subway stations!”

Several people around the lobby began whispering among themselves, looking at Raymond with expressions of pity mixed with scorn. They were influenced by the upper-class appearance of the Miller family.

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, staring at Raymond with a false sense of moral superiority. “Raymond, stop making yourself look pathetic. I know you deliberately came to the area where we do business so I’d feel sorry for you and take back the divorce papers, right? Let me make this clear once again: we are over. Those cheating photos of you in Queens are more than enough to make my family sick of seeing you.”

Raymond curled the corner of his lips into a faint smile that suddenly sent a chill down Chloe’s spine for reasons she could not understand.

“The photos in Queens?” Raymond took one step forward, causing Evelyn to instinctively step back, intimidated by Raymond’s tall figure. “Chloe, you and your mother know exactly how much money you spent from Miller Group’s accounts to fabricate those blurry photos.”

Chloe’s face suddenly turned pale. “W-what are you talking about?!”

“Don’t try pretending to be stupid in front of me anymore,” Raymond said, his voice extremely low yet carrying a pressure that seemed to choke Chloe’s throat. “For three years, I stayed silent not because I was weak, but because I chose to respect the marriage contract we made. But since you yourselves destroyed it with that cheap slander... then prepare yourselves to watch Miller Group collapse beneath your feet.”

“How dare you threaten us, you bum!” Evelyn screamed hysterically, her face red with embarrassment as several people began staring at them curiously. “Legally, you have nothing! Tomorrow morning, the announcement of our merger with Vance Corporation will be released, and the Miller family will enter the ranks of New York’s top elite! Meanwhile, you... you will remain nothing but street trash!”

“We’ll see about that,” Raymond replied briefly.

Without paying attention to Evelyn’s increasingly hysterical insults, Raymond turned around with a firm and elegant movement, walking away from the building lobby with steady steps. He no longer needed a job in this small building.

Chloe stood frozen in the middle of the lobby, staring at Raymond’s retreating back. Her heart pounded with strange anxiety. The Raymond who had just walked away... truly no longer resembled the obedient man she had trampled on in the kitchen for the past three years.

“Chloe, don’t think about the nonsense of that madman! Come inside, Young Master Julian Vance is already waiting for our report,” Evelyn urged as she irritably pulled her daughter’s arm.

Meanwhile, inside the Cadillac parked not far away, Yudha watched the entire incident through the city’s cyber surveillance cameras. He smiled coldly while typing a command into his encrypted phone.

“Begin the first stage of restricting Miller Group’s logistics immediately. Let them understand the true meaning of collapse,” Yudha ordered coldly, ready to unleash a massive storm upon the Manhattan stock exchange.