Turning The Table Around

Elena gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white as she sped toward her small apartment. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs. Her parents had just been chased out of their home, forced to crash at her place. But they couldn't know the truth about her marriage to Kaelen. They couldn't find out it was a fake, platonic arrangement. If her strict parents saw Kaelen sleeping in the study, all hell would break loose.

"Dad, you and Kaelen move the luggage while I head in first to tidy your room for you," she had told them moments earlier.

It was the perfect excuse. Now, she burst through the front door of her apartment, not wasting a single second. She threw her purse onto the kitchen counter and sprinted straight for the study. She grabbed Kaelen’s clothes, his shaving kit, and his scattered books, shoving them haphazardly into a laundry basket. She hauled his belongings across the hallway and dumped them onto the floor of her own bedroom. She arranged his shoes near hers, draped one of his jackets over her desk chair, and placed his toothbrush next to hers in the bathroom. The deception had to look flawless.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Gareth and Kaelen were busy loading the remaining discarded suitcases into the trunk of Gareth's battered sedan. The late morning sun beat down on them. Gareth hefted a heavy duffel bag, wiping sweat from his brow.

His phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, expecting Elena checking in on their progress.

"Hubby!" Miriam's voice tore through the speaker, hoarse and broken by frantic sobs. "I got beaten up by the people in the bank! They locked me in the back room! Hurry up and bring that wanted criminal Kaelen here right now! Bring him here!"

Gareth's grip on the phone tightened until the plastic casing creaked. The color drained from his face.

"What?" Gareth gasped, his voice trembling. "The bank personnel hit you? Which bank are you in right now? We'll be right there!"

Kaelen dropped the suitcase he was holding. It hit the pavement with a heavy thud. His casual demeanor vanished, replaced instantly by an icy, terrifying intensity.

"Get in the car," Kaelen ordered.

They abandoned the rest of the luggage on the sidewalk. Tires screeched as Kaelen slammed his foot on the gas pedal, weaving through city traffic like a madman.

They skidded to a halt outside the Global Bank Union branch. Kaelen didn't even wait for Gareth. He shoved his way through the glass entrance, his boots pounding against the polished marble floor. He bypassed the teller lines and marched straight for the back offices. A crowd of curious onlookers and bank staff had already gathered near the hallway, whispering nervously among themselves.

Kaelen spotted the heavy, solid oak door of the manager's office. He didn't hesitate.

He raised his leg and delivered a single, devastating kick.

The impact sounded like a bomb going off. The thick oak shattered inward, the heavy hinges snapping off the doorframe. Splinters of wood showered the room. The door crashed to the floor, missing the cowering figure of Miriam by mere inches.

"Who are you people?" the smug bank manager shouted, jumping back from his desk, visibly jolted by the sudden, violent intrusion.

Kaelen ignored him. His eyes locked onto Miriam. She was huddled on the floor, her clothes wrinkled and her face a mess. Her cheeks were severely swollen, bruised an ugly shade of purple, and stained with fresh tears and a trickle of blood from her split lip.

The temperature in the room plummeted. A murderous aura radiated from Kaelen. The air itself felt thick and suffocating.

"Mom," Kaelen said, his voice dropping into a deadly, gravelly register. He glared at the manager and the older security guard standing nearby. "Who did this to you?"

Instead of relief, sheer, unadulterated panic flashed across Miriam's swollen face. She scrambled backward on the tile floor, pressing herself against the wall.

"Get the hell away from me!" she screamed hysterically, waving her trembling, bloodstained hands in the air. "I'm not your mom! What the hell did you do? What criminal acts did you commit for the bank staff to interrogate me the second they saw that card?"

Her wild accusations echoed through the ruined doorway. The gathering crowd in the hallway gasped, murmuring speculations.

Gareth rushed into the room, panting heavily, only to freeze at his wife's outburst. Both men turned their attention to the bank manager, demanding an unspoken explanation.

The manager recovered from his initial shock. A vicious, triumphant grin spread across his face.

"Are you the maniac who stole the rose gold card and sent this woman to withdraw money?" the manager sneered, his chest puffing out. He pointed a manicured finger at Kaelen. "Security! Tie him up and send him to the police station!"

The older, heavy-set security guard pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and lunged at Kaelen.

Kaelen didn't even blink. He raised one arm and effortlessly shoved the charging guard. The impact sent the heavy man flying backward across the room as if he weighed nothing. The guard crashed into a filing cabinet with a sickening crunch and slumped to the floor, groaning in pain.

Kaelen took a slow, deliberate step toward the desk.

"This is my personal card," Kaelen stated calmly, his tone dangerously low. "Why in the world do I have to steal someone else's?"

The manager scoffed loudly, throwing his head back in a mocking laugh. He picked up the heavy metal card from his desk and held it up to the light.

"Ha! You're still stubborn at this point? Do you have any idea what kind of card this is?" The manager paced around his desk, a sneer plastered on his face. "This is a legendary, highly restricted bank card issued exclusively by the Global Bank Union. It comes in a primary and a supplementary version. The credit limit for this supplementary card alone is a staggering billion dollars. Do you understand? A billion. There are only ninety-nine of these in circulation worldwide. The vast majority of them belong to untouchable royalty and supreme heads of state. The balance on this one is one hundred million."

The manager stepped right into Kaelen's personal space. He arrogantly tapped the heavy metal edge of the rose gold card against Kaelen's cheek.

"May I ask which country's mighty prince you are, you filthy beggar?" he mocked, a vicious grin exposing his teeth.

A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers crowding the hallway.

In the corner of the room, Gareth knelt beside Miriam, his hands shaking as he helped her up. Despair washed over their faces. The sheer magnitude of the situation paralyzed them. This wasn't just a simple theft; this was a massive, federal-level crime involving a card meant for royalty.

"This won't do, Hubby," Miriam whispered through her tears, her voice quivering with terror. "When we get out of here, we have to force Lena to divorce him immediately. We have to make her abort that supposed child. He's a dead man walking. He's going to permanently ruin our daughter's entire life."

Gareth nodded rapidly, crippled by fear, unable to tear his eyes away from the impending disaster.

Kaelen heard their desperate whispers, but he remained unfazed. He didn't even swat the manager's hand away.

"I'm not from any royal family," Kaelen replied smoothly. "But that doesn't change the fact that this supplementary rose gold card belongs to me. If you doubt its authenticity, check the system."

He casually rattled off a string of six digits. His highly secure PIN.

The manager rolled his eyes, clearly intending to dismiss him again. "Still trying to deceive—"

Before the manager could finish his sentence, Kaelen reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out his slim leather wallet. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed two items directly onto the sprawling mahogany desk.

A valid ID card.

And a second rose gold card. The primary version. Limitless.

The heavy metal card landed with a sharp clink against the polished wood.

The manager's mocking laughter died in his throat. His eyes bulged as he stared at the two objects resting innocently next to his computer monitor. His breath hitched. The smug arrogance melted off his face, replaced by a creeping, suffocating dread.

With trembling hands, the manager snatched Kaelen's ID card. He dropped into his expensive leather chair and frantically typed the details into his secure terminal. He cross-referenced the profile attached to the limitless primary card.

The screen blinked. The terrifying, undeniable profile loaded.

All the blood drained from the manager's face. His skin turned a sickly, translucent white. His eyes widened to the point of tearing. The air left his lungs in a sharp gasp.

He tried to stand up, but his knees buckled. He violently fell backward, his expensive leather chair flipping over. He crashed onto the hard floor in a tangle of limbs, paralyzed by absolute, unadulterated terror.

"M-Mr. Thorne!" the manager shrieked, his voice cracking.

He scrambled onto his hands and knees, ignoring the pain shooting up his spine. He crawled around the desk and immediately began to grovel pathetically on the hard floor, pressing his forehead against the cold tile right at Kaelen's boots.

"Please, please forgive me! It's my fault! It's my fault for being completely blind! I didn't know! I deserve to die!"

The gathered onlookers gasped loudly. The hallway erupted into shocked murmurs.

Gareth and Miriam reeled backward, absolute, jaw-dropping shock painted across their features. They stared at the groveling manager, then at Kaelen's impassive face. They were thoroughly and deeply confused. Their minds spun in dizzying circles. If this man possessed such unimaginable, world-shaking wealth—a card with a billion-dollar limit and a primary card with no limit at all—why on earth couldn't he afford a mere three hundred thousand betrothal gift just yesterday? Why was he kicked out of his previous family like a stray dog?

Kaelen ignored the stunned crowd. He ignored his in-laws' bewilderment. He kept his icy gaze fixed downward.

"It's good that you own up to your mistake," Kaelen said coldly, methodically addressing the brutal assault. "Now, let us settle the score. Who hurt my mom?"

The terrified older security guard, who had just managed to pull himself up by the filing cabinet, froze. He looked at the groveling manager, then at Kaelen. His legs gave out. The guard dropped heavily to his knees with a loud thud, tears streaming down his weathered face.

"Sir! I was just following his orders!" the guard cried out, desperately pointing a shaking finger at the manager. "He told me to hit her! It's illegal, I know, but he's my boss! This has nothing to do with me!"

"No one can hit my mom and get away with it!" Kaelen declared ruthlessly.

His voice echoed through the ruined office like a death sentence. The sheer authority in his tone made the air vibrate.

"I don't care about your excuses," Kaelen continued, his eyes narrowing into dark, merciless slits. "Break the exact hand that has hit my mother. As for the corrupt manager, cutting off his tongue should entirely suffice."

He turned away from the trembling men, offering his arms to Gareth and Miriam. He gently escorted his speechless, trembling parents-in-law out of the office, guiding them through the sea of terrified onlookers.

As they stepped out of the room, a tall, imposing figure detached himself from the crowd. Dorian. He emerged silently like a ghost, his face a mask of lethal intent. He stepped right into the manager's office, kicking the shattered oak door out of his way.

Kaelen kept walking, guiding Gareth and Miriam toward the front entrance.

"Ahhh!"

A bloodcurdling, agonizing scream erupted from the back office. It was the security guard. The sickening sound of bone snapping echoed through the lobby.

"Oh my god! Someone chopped off the security guard's hand!" a woman in the crowd shrieked.

Another scream followed, this one a wet, gurgling howl of pure agony from the manager.

"This is scary! The manager's tongue... his tongue is on the floor!"

Fleeing, terrified customers scrambled for the exits, pushing and shoving to get away from the carnage. Several people clamped hands over their mouths. A man in a business suit stumbled out the front doors and immediately vomited onto the sidewalk.

The crisp outside air hit Gareth and Miriam as they stumbled out of the bank. They were shivering uncontrollably, their teeth chattering. They stared intently and fearfully at Kaelen's face. They had just witnessed a man command a brutal, bloody mutilation without batting an eye.

Kaelen turned to face them. The icy, murderous aura vanished, replaced by a warm, gentle smile.

"Mom, how dare they hit you!" Kaelen said softly, his voice full of concern. "They should seriously count their lucky stars right now that I've mercifully spared their lives. Let's go back. I don't want Lena to wait for us anxiously at home."