Thunderlord

Chapter 11

Seeing Ryan rush out the door, everyone in the house felt a wave of awkwardness wash over them.

Jenny turned to comfort Bryson. "Bryson, Ryan has a bad temper, but he doesn't mean any harm. As long as you put in the effort, he won't have anything to complain about you."

"I know, Jenny."

"Just don't take it to heart. What Ryan said is true; you can't keep going like this without a plan."

Jenny continued seriously, "Look, you're not a kid anymore. You haven't achieved anything yet, and you can't even support your family. Do you think that makes you a man?"

Bryson remained silent, his expression unchanged.

Audrey sighed. "Just try not to talk less before Ryan from now on. If he says something harsh, just laugh it off and don't take it too seriously, okay?"

"Yeah, I understand." Bryson nodded.

At that moment, Bella raised her fist. "Bella will protect Daddy so Grandpa can't bully him anymore!"

Bryson pulled Bella into a tight hug.

He vowed to protect his daughter, even if it meant risking his life.

***

At the Russell Villa, Linda exited the operating room with the butler, Julian, both wearing smiles.

A doctor in a white coat followed close behind, carrying a silver case, with several bodyguards hurrying out of the hall behind him.

"This little girl's heart transplant was a success. It was great working together!" The doctor removed his mask and shook hands with Linda.

At tonight's charity banquet, three adopted children had been taken to the operating room, but only one matched and received a heart transplant.

All three children had their organs removed and had just been pushed into the incinerator for cremation.

Linda smiled with pride. "She was just a bastard who didn't even know who her parents were. Donating her heart to Mr. White is a real stroke of luck for her!"

Linda felt grateful that the matching was successful, giving George White a new heart that would help her climb the social ladder and achieve great success.

"Well, I have to leave now." The doctor grabbed the case and hurried out with his team.

Just then, Ryan walked in and was taken aback to see the doctor with blood on his hands.

Noticing this, Linda quickly forced a smile. "Oh, Uncle Ryan."

Ryan asked, "The butler called me so late; there must be something urgent."

Linda's expression shifted immediately. "It's all because of Bryson. He ruined the banquet. And Mason's hand is messed up too; he's lying in the hospital right now!"

Ryan's face turned pale. "Is that true?"

Linda replied coldly, "Do you think I'm making up stories to fool you? Just check on these bodyguards and see what he did to them!"

Ryan turned and saw the bodyguards sprawled across the living room, all bruised and battered, some with broken bones.

"God... It was Bryson who did this to us."

"What?" Ryan's hands felt cold; he never imagined Bryson would cause such chaos right after coming back.

"You don't have to feel too guilty; this was all Bryson's doing."

Linda pretended to care. "If we called the police, your whole family would have been in trouble. But since we're all part of the Russell family, I can let the others off the hook."

"Thank you... Thank you so much..." Ryan quickly nodded and bowed in gratitude, entirely losing the dignity of an uncle in front of his niece.

"Well, I haven't finished yet," Linda continued. "Bryson thinks just because he was a soldier who can fight a bit, he can do whatever he wants. You wouldn't want him to drag you and Audrey down, would you?"

Ryan was terrified; he had witnessed Linda's methods before, making him feel particularly anxious.

"Linda, since we're part of the Russell family, please show some mercy! Bryson is ignorant. When I go back, I'll teach him a lesson and bring him here to apologize."

Linda sneered. "Someone like him is just a disaster waiting to happen."

She then shot a look at Julian.

Julian patted Ryan on the back with a smile. "Here's a chance for you to redeem yourself; you need to seize it."

As he spoke, he handed Ryan a white drink bottle.

"What is this?" Ryan's face paled.

Linda smiled and said, "This is anesthetic. Bryson thinks he is invincible. You get him to drink this, and once he's out, our people will be waiting outside your house to take him away."

Ryan felt a chill run through him. "I... I'll try to talk him out of it. Isn't it too serious to use this kind of drug on him?"

Even though Ryan harbored resentment towards Bryson, it was mostly because he had left three years ago, abandoning his daughter and granddaughter.

He could blame Bryson, but he never genuinely wanted to harm Bryson.

Julian patted Ryan, who was already in a daze, and threatened, "If you cooperate with us, you'll still be part of the Russell family. Miss Russell promised to help your company and set you up for a good life. If you refuse, Bryson Reed will be in trouble, and your whole family will suffer too."

"Think about it. Are you really willing to offend the entire Russell family over a loser who hasn't shown up in three years? That's not worth it. Besides, Miss Russell doesn't want his life; she just wants him to come and admit his mistakes."

Ryan swayed slightly, feeling deeply conflicted.

He knew what they wanted, but he felt trapped.

His family meant everything to him; for their sake, he was willing to give up everything, even his dignity and his life!

"Okay, I'll do it." Ryan trembled as he stared at the bottle in his hand.

He left the Russell family, feeling lost.

Linda's expression turned sinister as she said, "Silly Uncle Ryan, what you just took was sodium nitrite; whoever drinks it will die!"

Julian laughed coldly. "Miss Russell, you're truly decisive; you show no mercy, even to your family."

Linda replied with pride, "Without this kind of decisiveness, I wouldn't have been able to take charge of the entire Russell family in the first place! Immediately send someone to follow that old f*ck!"

***

When Ryan returned home, Bryson was still there.

Seeing him come back, Audrey finally felt relieved and asked, "Dad, what did they want from you?"

Ryan shook his head. "They didn't say anything."

After saying that, he glanced at Bryson and felt a tremor in his heart as he placed the bottle on the table.

Despite looking down on Bryson, Ryan realized that Bryson was still his daughter's husband.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Bryson said, "The Russell family is always ruthless; they wouldn't reach out to you for something good."

Ryan snapped at him, "Aren't I part of the Russell family? Isn't Audrey part of the Russell family? Haven't you caused enough trouble?"

Just then, Bella ran to the table, curiously picking up the bottle.

"Bryson, you better stop causing trouble for me; I'll be grateful if..."

Crash!

Before he could finish, the bottle shattered, the sound cutting through the air.

"Ouch, Daddy, my stomach hurts so much!"

Everyone gasped in shock as they turned to see Bella spitting up blood, collapsing to the ground. Her body twitched a few times before lying still.

"Bella..."

"Bella!"