Stalked By The Mad Dog Nephew

Stalked By The Mad Dog Nephew

Zhu Xiaying

5.0
Comment(s)
View
10
Chapters

For years, I played the role of the fragile, fading wife in the Garrison dynasty, a "little doll" who looked like she'd break if the wind blew too hard. My husband, Augustus, treated me like a piece of inconvenient furniture, while his volatile nephew, Brandon, stalked me like a predator in the shadows. Everything shattered during a family brunch when Augustus's mistress, Gilda, lounged in his shirt and announced she was pregnant with the Garrison heir. Instead of hiding his shame, my husband beamed with pride and slid a thick manila envelope across the table in front of his gloating parents. "We need to make room for the family, Avery," he said coldly, "and you're barren." His mother laughed, calling me a "worthless asset" who provided no value to the lineage. They offered me fifty million dollars to disappear-a pathetic pittance for a man worth over four billion. I let a single, perfect tear fall, playing the part of the defeated, broken woman they all expected me to be. They didn't see the cold calculation behind my watery eyes or know that I had spent three years documenting every illegal insider trade and offshore account Augustus owned. I didn't just sign the papers; I walked into the final settlement meeting in a sharp black suit and shredded their offer in front of their faces. I demanded two billion dollars in cash and controlling voting shares, threatening to hand the SEC the evidence that would send Augustus to federal prison for life. As he lunged at me in a blind rage, realization dawning that he had underestimated me, I leaned in and whispered the final blow. I told him about the box of condoms in his nightstand and the silver needle I used to ensure Gilda got pregnant. "I gave you exactly what you wanted, Augustus," I smiled as I walked out with half his empire. "And in exchange, I got my freedom."

Chapter 1 1

Rain slashed against the tinted windows of the limousine, a rhythmic drumming that matched the pounding in Avery Preston's temples. She didn't move to open the door immediately. Instead, she sat in the climate-controlled silence, staring at the neon sign of the Vanguard Club blurring through the wet glass. Her fingers, manicured to a pale, harmless nude, trembled slightly in her lap.

It was a practiced tremor.

"Mrs. Garrison?" the driver asked, his eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror. "Do you need an umbrella?"

"No, thank you, Charles." Her voice was soft, barely a whisper. It was the voice everyone expected from her. The voice of a woman who was slowly fading away, consumed by nerves and a constitution too fragile for the harsh realities of New York City.

Avery pulled her coat tighter around her throat, stepping out into the deluge. The cold dampness bit at her skin, but she didn't hurry. She adjusted her posture, hunching her shoulders just enough to look small, defenseless. The bouncer at the velvet rope took one look at her pale face and the expensive cut of her soaking coat and unhooked the barrier without a word.

She stepped inside.

The bass hit her chest first, a physical thud that vibrated through her ribs. The air inside was thick, a cloying mixture of expensive cologne, stale cigarette smoke, and the metallic tang of spilled alcohol. Avery navigated the crowd, keeping her eyes downcast, playing the part of the terrified wife searching for a wayward relative.

The bartender, a man with tired eyes and a heavy beard, didn't need to ask who she was looking for. He simply jerked his chin toward the far corner of the room, a VIP booth shrouded in shadow.

Avery walked toward the darkness.

Glass crunched under her heels. The sound was sharp, distinct even over the music. She stopped at the edge of the booth.

Brandon Garrison was sprawled across the leather banquette like a fallen king. His shirt was unbuttoned halfway, revealing a chest sheen with sweat. His knuckles were split open, fresh blood trickling down his fingers to stain the pristine white tablecloth. He was laughing, a low, guttural sound that had cleared the immediate area of anyone sane.

A waitress, terrified and holding a dustpan, tried to approach the mess of shattered tumblers on the floor.

"Leave it," Brandon snarled, not looking at her. He waved a hand aggressively, sending a half-empty bottle spinning off the table. It crashed against the wall. The waitress flinched and scurried away.

Avery took a breath, holding it in her lungs until it burned. She stepped into his line of sight, clutching her purse to her stomach as if it were a shield.

"Brandon," she said. Her voice wavered perfectly.

He froze. The laughter died in his throat. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot, wild, the pupils blown wide. He looked like a man who had been running for days, or perhaps hunting.

A slow, dark smirk spread across his face as he recognized her.

"Aunt Avery," he drawled. The title dripped with venom. "Did Augustus send his little nurse to fetch me?"

"Please, Brandon." Avery took a step closer, careful to avoid the glass. "It's late. You're bleeding. Let's go home."

He stood up.

The movement was sudden, violent. He towered over her, six feet and two inches of coiled muscle and drunken rage. He kicked the heavy oak table aside as if it were made of cardboard. The crash silenced the nearby conversations.

Avery didn't back down, though every instinct in her body screamed at her to run. She couldn't break character. Not here. Not yet.

He cornered her against the high back of the leather booth. The smell of him-whiskey, copper blood, and a feverish, overwhelming body heat-invaded her senses. He leaned down, invading her personal space until his nose was inches from hers.

"Home?" he whispered, his voice rough like gravel. "To that mausoleum? To your husband who is currently balls-deep in his secretary?"

Avery flinched. It was a reflex she allowed herself. "Stop it, Brandon."

"You're such a dutiful little doll, aren't you?" His hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. His grip was iron-tight, bruising. He pulled her hand away from her chest, exposing her. "Do you even have a pulse, Avery? Or are you just plastic all the way through?"

His face moved closer. The line between aggression and desire blurred terrifyingly. He was looking at her mouth, his eyes dropping to her lips with a hunger that had no place between a nephew and his aunt by marriage.

"Let's see if you break," he murmured.

He leaned in to kiss her. It wasn't a kiss of affection; it was a weapon. A tool of humiliation meant to shatter the fragile reality she clung to.

Survival instinct overrode the script.

Avery's free hand moved before she registered the decision. She slapped him.

The sound was a sharp crack, cutting through the heavy bass of the club music. Her palm stung, a burning sensation that traveled up her arm. She gasped, her chest heaving, realizing instantly that she had slipped. The terrified, submissive Avery Preston would never strike a Garrison.

Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.

Brandon didn't recoil. He didn't get angry.

He slowly lifted his hand to his cheek, touching the red mark blooming there. And then, he smiled. It wasn't the mocking smirk from before. It was a genuine, dark smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"There she is," he whispered, almost reverently. "Why do you stay with a man who doesn't even want you, Avery? When you have fire like that?"

Avery regained her composure, pulling the mask back into place with a sheer force of will. She yanked her wrist from his grip, rubbing the spot where his fingers had dug in.

"Get in the car, Brandon," she ordered, her voice trembling not with fear, but with a suppressed fury she couldn't let him see. She turned her back on him, walking away without checking if he would follow.

She didn't need to look. She could feel him behind her. He followed her out of the club, not like a chastised relative, but like a predator stalking its prey.

Continue Reading

Other books by Zhu Xiaying

More
Reborn Heiress: Revenge On My Ruthless Ex

Reborn Heiress: Revenge On My Ruthless Ex

Modern

5.0

I was dying in a rusted warehouse, paralyzed in a wheelchair while the man I loved and my own stepsister watched with smiles on their faces. The air smelled of old oil and damp concrete, and my vision was fading into a milky haze. Dillon, the man I’d sacrificed everything for, smoothed his custom suit and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear, lethal neurotoxin. Beside him, my stepsister Bianca toyed with my mother’s sapphire ring—the one they’d just pried off my hand while I was too weak to even make a fist. She leaned in and whispered that my father’s trust fund was already offshore and that they’d sent my husband, Kade, to the wrong coordinates to ensure he’d only find my corpse. Dillon slid the needle into my vein with the chilling efficiency of a man who had done this before. "This will stop your heart in thirty seconds," he said, sounding as bored as if he were explaining a tax form. Ice flooded my chest, and my lungs seized, fighting for oxygen that wasn't there. As the warehouse lights blurred into white streaks, an explosion echoed in the distance. Kade had come for me, but he was too late. I died staring at the ceiling, my heart giving one last violent kick of pure, unadulterated hatred. I had been such a fool, believing Dillon’s lies and running away from the only man who actually cared for me. I died with a single thought: if I ever get another chance, I will drag you both to hell with me. Then, there was nothing. And then, there was air. I sat up gasping, my silk pajamas drenched in cold sweat. The rusted beams were gone, replaced by a vaulted ceiling and the glittering Manhattan skyline. I grabbed the digital clock on the nightstand—it was five years ago, the exact night I first tried to run away with Dillon. The bedroom door slammed against the wall, and Kade Mullen stood in the doorway, looking dangerous, furious, and very much alive. I looked at my shaking hands, then at the man I had once hated. This time, I wasn't going to run. I was going to make sure Dillon and Bianca lost everything.

Bitten By The Billionaire: My Darkest Night

Bitten By The Billionaire: My Darkest Night

Modern

5.0

I spent three weeks scrubbing carbonized grease off woks at the Jade Garden, hiding my elite tactical training behind raw knuckles and a practiced, submissive stutter. My mission was the only thing keeping me sane: finding my sister, Elena, who vanished into thin air after her phone last pinged near the city’s Restricted Sector. The breakthrough came when my boss, a bully named Uncle Wong, forced me to take a delivery to 101 Blackwood Drive—a high-security fortress where the drivers whispered that people went in and never came back right. It was a geographic match for Elena's last known location, but as I rode my battered scooter toward the massive steel gates, I realized I wasn't just investigating a lead; I was walking into a spider's web. The mansion was a monolith of cold concrete and military-grade surveillance, owned by Hugh Bradford, a billionaire who controlled the city’s elite like puppets. During my delivery, the magnetic locks hissed shut, the lights died, and I was plunged into absolute darkness with a predator who didn't want my money. Bradford pinned me against a stainless steel counter and did something unthinkable: he sank his teeth into my shoulder, using the rhythm of my frantic pulse to anchor his own fractured mind. I escaped with a bruised neck and a thousand-dollar "tip," feeling the crushing weight of his violation and the terrifying realization that my "clumsy immigrant" act hadn't fooled him for a second. I didn't understand why a man of his power would treat a delivery girl like a biological drug, or what he had done to the other girls who had vanished behind those black glass walls. My heart hammered against my ribs as I realized I was being hunted by a man who could buy and sell my life a thousand times over. "You're terrified," he had whispered in the dark, and for the first time in years, I wasn't faking it. Back in my apartment, I found a note tucked inside the cash that confirmed my worst fears: "For the inconvenience. See you Tuesday." He thinks he’s found a new toy to play with, but he just gave me the one thing I needed to find my sister—an invitation to go back inside and finish what I started.

Ninety-Nine Times, Then No More

Ninety-Nine Times, Then No More

Modern

5.0

This was the ninety-ninth time I caught my husband, Chase Vargas, with another woman in our five-year marriage. I stood in the hotel doorway, numb, tired of the cheap perfume and his cold, familiar eyes. But this time, his mistress, a blonde woman, hissed, "He told me all about you. The pathetic wife he's stuck with because of some business deal. He said he can't stand the sight of you." Her words, meant to hurt, were things I already knew, things Chase had made sure I understood. Still, hearing them from a stranger felt like a new humiliation. She lunged, scratching my face, drawing blood. The sting was a surprising jolt in my numb world. I wrote her a check, a routine part of this pathetic scene. Then my phone rang. It was Chase, calling from across the room. "What are you doing? Are you making a scene? Clean it up and get out. You're embarrassing." He thought I had orchestrated this, that I was the embarrassing one. The betrayal was casual, complete. "I'm tired, Chase," I said, the words finally coming from a place I thought had died. "I want a divorce." He laughed, a cruel sound. "A divorce? Elena, don't be ridiculous. You love me too much to ever leave me." I hung up. He then handed me a signed divorce agreement, telling me his true love, June, my adopted sister, was back. He wanted me to play the dutiful wife for her welcome-home concert. My heart, which I thought had turned to stone, felt a final, crushing blow. He wasn't divorcing me because I wanted it. He was divorcing me for her. I signed the papers. The ninety-ninth time was the last time he would do this to me.

Wedded Lies: The Perfect Trap

Wedded Lies: The Perfect Trap

Horror

5.0

I stood frozen in my doorway, staring at the live security feed. It showed my fiancée, Clara, in the secret room she called her "sensitive PR work" space. She was straddling a man, wearing the nightgown I' d bought her. The man was Ryan Hayes, my childhood friend, supposedly dead for three years, now reduced to a vegetative state, hooked up to humming medical machines. My mind reeled. She was having sex with his body. This couldn' t be happening. We were getting married in ten days. She was perfect. Then it all clicked: the "accident" where Ryan attacked me, my mother' s death, Clara nursing me back to health, and my sister Sophia's comforting words, all became a twisted façade. I remembered overhearing Clara and Sophia talking about a "host," a "target," and something called "the system." They needed my signature on the pre-nup, which had a voluntary organ donation clause. My money and my organs were to be used to revive Ryan. My own sister, who had mourned my mother with me, was helping Clara execute this horrifying plan. The women I trusted most had orchestrated this elaborate lie, turning me into a walking bank account and a collection of spare parts for the man who killed my mother. When Sophia texted Clara, "He's home," Clara's passionate façade vanished, replaced by cold calculation, as she adjusted herself before emerging from the room. Later, Clara tried to manipulate me with an expensive watch, dismissing my suggestion to postpone the wedding on the anniversary of my mom's death. Her tone was dismissive, blaming my mother's "weak heart" for her death. Then Sophia, my own sister, threatened me when I expressed my anger at Ryan. I realized I was merely a pawn in their twisted game, destined for sacrifice once my utility ran out. My world shattered. I was nothing but a placeholder, a donor. The casual way they plotted my death, discussing staging an "accident," turning my heart, kidneys, and liver into a "miracle" for Ryan, filled me with a cold, clear rage. A text from my private investigator, "Flight confirmed. You have seven days," finalized my growing resolve. I would turn their perfect plan into their worst nightmare.

Radio Waves, Racing Hearts

Radio Waves, Racing Hearts

Romance

5.0

As the campus radio station manager, my life was a comfortable, soundproofed bubble of classes and curated playlists, far from the chaotic drama of campus life. I liked it that way. That afternoon, a guy from the drama club borrowed our equipment for a "big, romantic event" on the quad. I thought nothing of it until my phone buzzed with Sarah's frantic shriek: "It's Liam Hayes! He's proposing to Chloe Miller!" The world stopped. Liam. My secret, pathetic daydream. Proposing to Chloe, the confident English major everyone knew was determined to make him hers. And I had handed him the very tools for my own heartbreak. "No!" I whispered, but Sarah' s voice chirped, "Yes! He's got a microphone and everything!" Our microphone. A terrible, insane idea formed as I sprinted to the quad, lungs burning, heart hammering. I had to stop it. Not for him to magically choose me, but because I couldn't let my station' s gear broadcast the end of my foolish hopes. Pushing through the crowd, I zeroed in on our speaker, the master volume. My hand trembled, but then my traitorous heart screamed, "I like him so much it hurts." A horrific screech of feedback erupted, followed by my amplified confession, booming across the entire quad. Silence. A thousand eyes swiveled to me, still outstretched, my fingers accidentally on the talkback button. I had just confessed my deepest crush to the entire campus. To Liam Hayes. My blood ran cold; my life, as I knew it, was over.

You'll also like

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book