RISE OF THE UNDERDOG SON-IN-LAW: DRAGON'S POWER UNLEASHED

THE LOTTERY

The meeting room of Steel Group was full of energy till a few minutes back, everyone had gathered for the much-anticipated discussion about a potential partnership with Tarlose Group, a major player in the business world.

But before the topic could even be started, the subject of Rose's necklace took center stage grabbing everyone's attention.

"These days it's too easy to fabricate transaction details, so, we can't believe you, Julian," Mia, even at that moment couldn't accept that someone like Julia managed to afford the necklace.

She leaned forward, her eyes still fixed on Rose's neck. "Rose please tell us the truth, are you sure about this being a real piece?"

Carlos Leon, ever the showoff, joined in. "Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Must have cost a fortune, surely, Julian didn't get it for you, if he is the one who brought it, I'm sure, it must be the fake piece," He paused, his gaze flicking over to Julian with a raised eyebrow. "You do realize, no one would believe Julian could afford something like that, right?"

Rose’s face flushed slightly. "I...I told you, it’s a gift from Julian, even if you ask me a hundred times, the answer will be the same."

Mia wasn't convinced at all by any of their words, "A gift, huh? So, you're saying this is a real piece?" She sneered, pulling out her phone. "Why not scan the QR code on it? That’ll clear up all this mystery, if it's not fake, then let us check it."

The tension in the room was palpable. Julian kept his expression neutral, though inside, he felt a wave of discomfort.

Rose glanced nervously at him, but he only gave her a subtle nod.

With a deep breath, Rose handed over the necklace. Mia held it up to the light, scanning the code with her phone.

The seconds stretched into what felt like an eternity. The phone buzzed, and Mia’s eyes widened in shock. "No way..." she shouted while staring at the screen.

“What? What’s going on?” Carlos asked, leaning over her shoulder.

Mia looked up, with a mix of disbelief and astonishment on her face. “It’s real. A limited edition, the 7Star necklace, thirteen million!” She scanned the code again, just to make sure, but the result was the same.

Everyone became silent once again.

"Thirteen million?!" Someone exclaimed from the back of the room. “And Julian bought it? How?”

Carlos couldn’t help himself. “Are you serious? The ‘good-for-nothing’ husband bought something worth more than most of us make in a year?”

Mia turned her head slowly to look at Julian, a smirk tugging at her lips. "So, Julian, how did you afford this little treasure? Did you rob a bank or something?"

Everyone in the room started to murmur amongst themselves. Their eyes flicked from Rose to Julian, trying to piece together the puzzle.

Julian remained calm, leaning back in his chair, unfazed by the accusations. He took a slow breath, his tone nonchalant. "I won the money in the lottery, so simple."

The room went silent again, except for the faint sound of someone muttering, “The lottery?”

Mia burst out laughing, though her voice carried a hint of bitterness. "The lottery, really? You expect us to believe that? I mean, come on, Julian, you couldn’t even afford a decent meal last week, and now you’re claiming to win a fortune? Give me a break."

Carlos joined her to humiliate him. "No one’s buying that, buddy, did Rose help you out with a little side gig? Or are we talking about something more... shady?"

His tone was filled with sarcasm, but the insinuation hung in the air.

Julian narrowed his eyes but his voice was calm and steady. "I’m not interested in justifying myself to you." He turned his gaze to Rose, who seemed caught between disbelief and concern.

Rose’s face was pale, she tugged nervously at the collar of her blouse, glancing down at the necklace once more. "Julian, how... how did you really get the money?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Julian met her eyes, his expression unreadable. “Like I said, I won the lottery.” He shrugged. “Believe it or not, it’s the truth.”

Rose's heart raced as the weight of the situation sank in. "Could he have done something illegal?" She didn’t know, but the rumors were already flying around, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about the whole situation.

As whispers filled the room, Julian remained a pillar of composure.He could feel the judgment, the whispers, the stares, but he didn’t care. They didn’t know what he was capable of, he had nothing to prove to them.

Mia leaned back in her chair, clearly unsatisfied with Julian’s response. “Yeah, well, you’ve got us all fooled. But let’s not pretend you didn’t do something shady to get that money. No one’s buying the lottery story, not when you’ve been so broke for years.”

Carlos was nodding in agreement out of jealousy and frustration. “And let’s be real, Julian, you’re nothing but a hanger-on, a ‘good-for-nothing’ who just got lucky, you’ll never really be one of us.”

Julian didn’t react, except for a slight twitch of his lips. Instead, he turned his attention to the meeting at hand.

“Enough of this,” he said flatly, his voice cutting through the noise. “Let’s focus on what we’re here for, there’s a lot more on the table than some necklace, I don't think we are here to talk about the necklace I've gifted to my wife.”

Rose caught the edge of his words, especially the change in his tone, he was right, this meeting is for business, but not family gossip. Still, she couldn’t shake the unease that settled in her stomach. "Was Julian really hiding something?"

Before anyone could say more, the door to the conference room opened, and a man in a sharp suit walked in, carrying a sleek briefcase.

His presence immediately took over the attention of everyone.

“Ah, the representative from Tarlose Group has arrived,” said one of the Steel family executives, standing up quickly to greet the newcomer.

The man shook hands with the executives, then turned his gaze toward Rose and Julian.

“I’ve heard much about the Steel Group,” he said, his tone polite but calculating. “We’re excited about the potential partnership."

The family watched the interaction closely, confusion flashing across their faces. "Why was Tarlose Group interested in collaborating with them? What was the reason behind it?"

Julian leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of water from his glass. Tarlose Group was a company known for making bold moves and high-stakes partnerships. The fact that they were here, meeting with the Steel Group, felt like something big was in the works.