The Unwanted Son-in-law

Chapter 3

Victoria slammed the door behind her so hard the frame shook.

Her hands trembled, as though she had brushed against fire itself. She pressed them to her chest, trying to steady her wild, thundering heartbeat, but the image wouldn’t leave her mind. Adrian—her husband—was on the floor, shivering violently. His skin was pale, his body twisting unnaturally, as if every bone wanted to wrench itself free from his skin.

“Adrian…” Her voice cracked, breath shallow. “What… what’s happening to you? Are you—possessed?”

He buried his face in his arms, raising both hands to clamp down on the sides of his head, as if trying to shut out her voice… or the countless other voices only he could hear. His entire body convulsed like a string pulled too tight.

The date—May 30th—pounded behind his eyes. The cursed day. The flood of knowledge he had never earned crashed into him, battering his skull like waves against a fragile glass wall. Words he had never read. Languages he had never learned. Secrets no human should know. All of it poured into him at once, twisting his mind and body alike.

And her presence—Victoria’s presence—only made it harder to breathe.

She swallowed sharply, pacing in a circle, running her hands through her dark hair. Then her voice broke the tense silence. “Adrian… I know I haven’t been perfect. I’ve never claimed to be… but that doesn’t mean I’m heartless.”

Her gaze fell on him again. “But right now… you’re twisting like something dark is devouring you alive, and—”

Her eyes widened, flicking above him. “Oh God… am I seeing things? There… there’s something huge. Dark. Something moving… like a bird? No, that can’t be…”

Victoria squeezed her own face with both hands and groaned. “Am I stressed? Am I imagining this? Adrian… tell me I’m not seeing it. Tell me I didn’t just see that thing over you. If anything happens to you… it will reflect on this family. On me! I need to know—tell me!”

Something inside Adrian finally snapped. His throat, unused for years, unlocked. Words erupted raw, sharp, and commanding.

“Get out.”

The voice wasn’t shaky. It wasn’t weak. It was whole. Solid. Terrifyingly strong.

Victoria stumbled backward, eyes wide as if the floor had shifted beneath her. “Did you just—” Her voice wavered. “Did you just… speak to me? Adrian… oh my God… am I losing it?”

Adrian ignored her disbelief. He pushed himself off the floor, his body still trembling, but the pain that had clawed at him for hours began to ebb. Her incessant questions, her fear, her frantic energy—they hammered at his mind like nails. He needed silence. Space. Alone.

The torrent of knowledge inside him spread like wildfire, each thought heavier than the last. It was as if the world itself had cracked open and poured into his skull. He wanted to scream, to tear through walls, to unleash all the years of silent torment.

But instead, he walked to the bathroom.

“Adrian!” Victoria rushed forward, grabbing his arm. “Look at me! I’m talking to you!”

He didn’t respond. He didn’t look. He flicked on the heater, then twisted the tap. Hot water thundered into the bathtub, steam curling around him like a veil, obscuring the room—and giving him the isolation he craved.

And as the steam curled around him, so did his aura. No longer the quiet, broken man everyone had dismissed. No—something colder, sharper, untouchable had stirred inside Adrian.

“Adrian!” Victoria called again, her voice shaky.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” His roar tore through the room, echoing off the walls, forcing her to stumble back.

Her lips trembled, disbelief flashing across her face. “So… all this time… you could talk? You were… pretending? You’ve been lying to me?” Her eyes widened. “You… you’re something else.”

Her phone rang somewhere on the table, but she ignored it, riveted to the terrifying calm radiating from him. Adrian stepped into the steaming bathtub, letting the heat soak into him, as if it could burn away the darkness clawing through his veins.

“You lied to me,” she whispered, pacing. “All this time… lying. What else are you hiding, Adrian? What else haven’t you told me?”

Suddenly, the door slammed open.

“Victoria!”

She flinched, spinning, only to see Margaret storming in with her assistant, Nathaniel. His tie was loose, his face red and anxious, as though he had sprinted up the stairs.

“Sorry to barge in,” Nathaniel panted. “I’ve been trying to reach you—called, messaged, left—”

“The company,” Margaret cut him off, eyes blazing. “We’re in crisis. You have to come with us. Now.”

Victoria, still shaking, blurted out, “Mom—Adrian… he can talk! He’s been pretending all this time. He isn’t mute! He made us pity him for nothing!”

“Victoria!” Margaret’s voice thundered, silencing the room. “Forget that worthless man! Do you even realize what’s at stake? If we don’t act immediately, we could lose everything!”

Her glare darted toward the bathroom. “That freak you married can stew in that tub for all I care. We have no time for him.”

Victoria’s lips quivered. She brushed her hair back, trying to steady herself. “What… what’s really happening? Tell me!”

Nathaniel stepped forward, jaw tight. “The sister of the richest man in Florida is filing a negligence lawsuit against the company. Thirty million dollars.”

Victoria’s chest tightened. “Thirty… million?”

Margaret grabbed her shoulders, her grip iron-strong yet trembling with desperation. “Our company doesn’t even generate ten million a year. Do you realize what that means? We’re finished, Victoria. Ruined!”

“When?” Victoria whispered, barely audible.

“They’re waiting for us now. At the headquarters,” Margaret said, tugging her toward the door.

Their voices faded as they all rushed out, leaving the house swallowed by silence.

Adrian sank deeper into the steaming water, letting it swallow him completely. Finally, the quiet he had craved enveloped him. The endless clamor in his head dimmed, replaced by a clarity so sharp it hurt—a vision that stretched his mind wider, deeper, infinite.

When his eyes opened ten minutes later, everything had changed.