I'm not the Son-in-law

Chapter 5: "Son-in-law's Double"

Marcus Xu froze, unsure of what to do. His worry mounted about his pay and contract with Magic Entertainment potentially going to waste.

"Your physique looks exactly like that of my husband, but mister..." Margarette commented, scrutinizing Marcus's appearance. "My husband never answers back. He's good at sitting still."

"Ah, that's why Philip Cheng told me to stay still," Marcus admitted, resigning himself to the situation. There was no need to continue acting now that he had been caught. He removed his mask and met Margarette's gaze with a brave face.

"You're really nothing like him. My husband's ugly," Margarette remarked bluntly the moment Marcus's handsome face was revealed.

"Why do you even mock Sir Gregory?" Marcus asked in disbelief, wondering what kind of mistreatment a wealthy man had been enduring until now.

"Where did you find this man, Philip?" Margarette inquired, ignoring Marcus's question.

"He's one of the performers here at the hotel. His body looks similar to Sir Greg's, so I hired him. I'm sorry," Philip Cheng responded, his head lowered as if afraid of repercussions.

"No, it's fine. You did well finding a proxy. Everyone would have attacked me more if Greg hadn't shown up," Margarette sighed. "Anyway, where's my husband?"

"He became unstable after the incident. He—" Philip began to explain, but Margarette raised her hand to silence him.

"Explain everything in the car. Send this man away and ensure he never speaks," Margarette instructed.

Philip Cheng nodded and swiftly ushered Marcus away from Margarette.

"You heard her. I'll take care of your payment later. Send your details here," Philip said, tapping the calling card that was in Marcus's hand.

Marcus Xu simply nodded, not wanting his contract to be ruined because of his curiosity. He hailed a taxi and left quietly.

Meanwhile, in the car, Margarette tried calling Gregory’s phone; her face contorted in frustration as Gregory had no intention of receiving the call.

"Why didn't any of you report that he ran away?" she angrily demanded.

"We don't know, madam. Philip didn't report this to us," Jaucian, her secretary, replied.

They then watched as Philip hurriedly hopped into the car.

"What happened, Philip Cheng?" Margarette asked, her anger palpable. "How could this happen?"

"I'm sorry, madam. We thought we could fix this right away," Philip replied anxiously.

"He'd better return, or he'll never see his family again," Margarette threatened, her expression turning even darker.

"Madam, I'm sorry," Philip began.

"What are you sorry for now?" Margarette snapped, her irritation evident.

"Actually, Sir Gregory disappeared with his family," Philip hesitantly admitted.

"What? Didn't I tell you to guard them well?" Margarette exclaimed.

"Sir Greg bribed all the guards, and we didn't notice he had taken them somewhere else," Philip explained.

"He bribed them? He doesn't have money. He seriously used my money to escape?" Margarette scoffed angrily, her disbelief turning into fury.

"We will make sure to bring him back, madam," Philip said, stuttering slightly.

"You all better get him back. I am too close to my goal for him to suddenly disappear," Margarette insisted.

"He must be really shocked after the poisoning incident and when his face got burned," Philip reported.

"He really is weak. How can he become so mentally unstable just because someone tried to kill him? It's a pretty normal thing; why can't he get used to it yet?" Margarette grumbled.

"For most people, being threatened with their lives is the scariest thing imaginable," Jaucian said.

"Men really are weak," Margarette snorted. "Father was wrong to think that men are way stronger than women."

Jaucian and Philip remained silent, listening to their boss's monologue.

"Once you catch Greg, fix his head. I can't reveal to Father that all of Greg’s achievements were actually my work if Greg can't speak properly to him," she ordered.

"Yes, madam," Jaucian and Philip replied, though they knew her directive was near impossible. Gregory William was truly traumatized and scared of returning as the son-in-law of the William family. Convincing him to return would be a daunting task.

…

…

The next day, Miguel Xu returned home angrily, slamming the door open and calling for Marcus immediately.

"Marcus, where did you go?" he yelled, his anger growing as he noticed empty beer cans on the floor while Marcus was asleep on the couch.

"Oh, geez, why are you so noisy early in the morning? Sleep if you're tired from your shift," Marcus mumbled, yawning.

"Why did you leave early? The event manager was furious; he doesn't want to hire you anymore!" Miguel exclaimed, grabbing Marcus's collar and shaking him to wake him up.

"Don't worry. I didn't really want the job anyway," Marcus reluctantly admitted.

"Even if you don't want the job, you still have to finish it! How many times do I have to remind you that all businesses have connections? Don't ruin your chances of getting hired by other companies! Reputation is really important, Marcus!" Miguel nagged.

"Yeah, I know. A new opportunity came up, so I left. Sorry, I forgot to tell the event manager," Marcus responded, finally fully awake due to his brother's persistent nagging.

"Don't lie to me, Marcus. Grow up! How can you live on your own if you're like this?" Miguel frustratedly said.

"I can live on my own too, bro. You're just worrying too much. Chill," Marcus said, offering a sweet smile.

"Sometimes, I really want to punch your face. You're lucky we share the same blood," Miguel groaned, massaging the back of his head as he looked at the naive expression on his brother's face. "This is my fault. I've spoiled you too much."

"Hahaha, bro, you sound like an old man," Marcus chuckled as he guided Miguel to sit on the couch, handing him a glass of water.

"You're really stressing me out. Because of you, I'm aging too fast," Miguel said, calming himself after finishing the water before he continued. "So, what's this opportunity you're talking about?"

"I met someone high up at the William Group. I think they're affiliated with William Constructions. They said they'd give me a contract," Marcus replied, excitement evident in his voice as he showed Philip Cheng's business card.

"At the construction firm? They're giving you a job there? What would you do?" Miguel asked, his tone tinged with suspicion.

"No, not the construction firm. They promised me a contract at Magic Entertainment," Marcus clarified, pointing to the William Group logo on the card. It was a logo that was almost everywhere in the country. William Group was the richest and top conglomerate company in the country, leading in nearly every industry they were involved in. However, because of its reputation, there were impersonators trying to scam people, and Miguel suspected that might be happening to his brother now.

"They said they'd land you a contract at Magic Entertainment even though they're affiliated with a construction firm?" Miguel questioned skeptically.

"Yes! You don't have to worry anymore. I'll become a superstar soon!" Marcus exclaimed excitedly.

"What are you, a building they need to construct?" Miguel yelled, hitting Marcus with the calling card.

"Ow! Stop hitting me!" Marcus protested.

"This is obviously a scam! You stupid ass!" Miguel scolded him, continuing to hit him.

"No, it's not!" Marcus yelled back in frustration, unable to explain the real details of how he would get the contract.

"I told you! Grow up! You dimwit!" Miguel angrily yelled, his frustration mounting as he began throwing things at Marcus. He felt hopeless about how to make his brother mature enough to fit into adult life.

"Ah, seriously! Believe me! Stop it!" Marcus yelled as he ran out of the door to escape Miguel's fury, still clad in his tracksuit. Grumbling, he walked away from their apartment, considering leaving his brother alone to calm down.

"You'll be surprised once I finally debut in a lead role!" Marcus muttered to himself, looking up at their apartment and clenching his fist. He was startled when a luxury car stopped right in front of him.

"Sir Philip Cheng?" he exclaimed, recognizing the foreign-looking man in the driver's seat.

"Mister Marcus Xu, can we request your service again?" Philip Cheng asked with a professional smile.

"What service?" Marcus asked, feeling awkward meeting Philip Cheng while he was not well-dressed.

"Please be the son-in-law’s double once more," Philip Cheng said.