The Forgotten Son-in-law's Magical Rise

Chapter 2

Sofia pushed open the car door in anger. She made her way to the front door of the Laurent’s mansion, screaming profanities. Liam stumbled after her, closing the door weakly as images spun inside his head. The old man’s voice rang in his head over and over. His vision became cloudy; he could barely see the steps as he made his way into the mansion.

Liam realized all too soon that he was having a moment, and it began right after he remembered the old man. He’d thought about him sometimes, but his face had never become so clear like it had just an hour ago. He vaguely wondered if today was the day the man had promised; the day he would become great. If only he could get to his room on time and check his calendar.

“He almost killed me!” Sofia shrieked. “He is a lunatic and I specifically asked you not to send him to me, Mom! I need a change of driver and I need it now!”

Liam’s knees weakened. He leaned heavily against the front door as the living room panned out in front of him. The family was having lunch, and Sofia was causing a scene. There was his wife Taylor and her mother Esther, arranging the food on the dining table with a few maids. Taylor looked up, her eyes falling on him. Her blond hair was neatly tied at the nape of her neck and her eyes were questioning when they met him.

I didn’t mean to cause a minor accident on the way, Liam wanted to say. It was only for a minute. I just lost space and time for only a minute.

He couldn’t talk. The words came up to his throat and nearly choked him. Esther glared at him as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.

“How dare you try to kill her, you fool?! Look at her face—such a huge bump!”

“Don’t call him a fool,” Taylor rebuked, her eyes still on him.

Esther turned sharply to her. “Are you defending him now? He could have killed your sister!”

“And he would have died too. He doesn’t look so good either.”

“He almost rammed us into a building!” Sofia whined. “If I hadn’t called his attention to it, I would have been dead meat by now. He’s such an i***t!”

“Sofia, no one has the right to insult my husband but me.” Then she pushed aside a chair. “Come, Liam. Tell us why you almost killed Sofia.”

Liam started to walk towards them, but then stopped. A rib cracked within him. He sharply raised a hand to the side and changed direction. His insides felt like a bubbling mess; he needed to get to his room and he needed to get there now.

Esther scoffed when Liam walked away. “Look at that; he doesn’t even respect you. So much for handling him alone. He’s a weakling, Taylor. Get rid of him.”

“He doesn’t look so well,” Taylor said. “Sofia, what happened out there?”

Sofia was all too glad to spill the beans. “I think he’s having one of his episodes again. He was zoned out throughout the ride and his face was red. They’ve become even redder in the past hour!”

“We shouldn’t bother with him. He could die in that room for all I care. Let’s eat,” Esther suggested.

The family sat down to eat. Liam shut his bedroom door, hoping to shut out their voices. That was an impossible feat to achieve. His senses seemed heightened; he was picking up on every little detail and every little dirt in his room. He staggered to the calendar on the wall to check the date.

May 28th.

It was the exact same day he had met that man; the same day that he experiences unnecessary episodes every year. This was the last year, the one he promised would be the end. He would stop being mute and—

“Ahh,” he cried out, crumbling to the floor.

Liam curved into himself, an overwhelming sense of cold gripping him. With his ear to the floor, he could hear the conversation down below.

“I’m going to check on him,” his wife was saying. “He looked a little too blue.”

“Are you trying to care for him now?” Esther asked.

“Mom, stay out of this. I’ll be back in a minute.”

He could hear her make her way to his room just as his pain worsened. Liam could feel a dark, swirling substance inside him, forcing its way to his brain. A complex of ideas erupted inside him. Images and knowledge that he had neither seen nor touched before.

Taylor threw the door open. Liam looked at her, their eyes immediately locking. He didn’t know what she saw, but he saw as fear took over her system.

“Oh my god.”