Chapter 4

The moment I gave in, Parker burst out laughing triumphantly. "See? You should've done that from the start. Why make me force your hand?"

"You're right, Parker. We're family, after all." I forced a strained smile. "But since we're building a house, we should follow the proper procedures and sign a contract."

The smile froze on Parker's face. "What contract?"

I took them to my car, retrieved the contract, and handed it to him.

"Regulations are strict these days. If we're going to use company materials, we need the proper paperwork. Otherwise, even if I secretly take materials from the company, and the company finds out, you'll be held liable as the homeowner, too.

"You don't want to get dragged into a lawsuit before you even move into your new house, do you?"

Parker took the contract and flipped through it with a frown.

Page after page was packed with technical jargon: "design specifications", "construction standards", "material requirements"...

His eyes glazed over. Irritated, he asked, "Is any of this actually necessary?"

I adopted the same professional demeanor I used with clients and answered sincerely, "Of course it is. With a contract, the house will be legally compliant. No one will be able to find fault with it.

"Besides, the contract clearly states that I'll cover the material costs upfront. You can pay me back later.

"Once the house is finished, you'll be able to marry your bride in style. There's no rush. You can repay me little by little afterward."

At that, Parker's eyes lit up.

I didn't need to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking. He intended to get something for nothing, and he had no intention of paying me back.

"Don't worry! Once I get married and collect the wedding gifts, I'll pay you back!"

Grinning from ear to ear, he eagerly signed his name on the contract.

Over the next three months, I deliberately turned down several projects so I could prioritize designing Parker's new house.

I hired the construction crew myself. They were all people I knew who specialized in industrial buildings.

I gave them instructions privately: "Follow the blueprints. Don't ask questions or say anything. I'll pay you as agreed."

The foreman, Roger Floyd, looked over the plans and chuckled. "Adrian, no one's going to be able to live in this thing once it's built."

"It doesn't need to be livable. It just needs to meet the requirements of the contract."

Several times during construction, Cameron and Parker tried to come by and inspect the progress. Each time, I managed to distract them with a few jokes and excuses until they left.

Parker had always been lazy, to begin with. After a few visits, he stopped showing up altogether. Nevertheless, he never stopped bragging to everyone he met that I'd designed a million-dollar "ultramodern, minimalist, high-tech villa" for him.

Finally, one week before Parker's wedding, construction was complete.

On the day of the handover, the whole village turned out to see the finished house.

People gathered around the site, chatting excitedly and holding up their phones to take pictures. The newly built structure was completely hidden beneath an enormous tarp, and everyone waited for the big reveal.

Cameron and Parker had even dressed up in brand-new suits, their faces glowing with excitement.

"Well, Adrian, looks like you've finally learned to behave," Parker said as he walked over to me, blowing a ring of cigarette smoke into the air. "Once we pull that tarp off, all the bad blood between our families will be water under the bridge."

I looked at him with a faint, knowing smile, gripping the contract and a thick stack of receipts tightly in my hand. "Of course, Parker. Are you ready to have your mind blown?"

"The moment has arrived! Pull the curtain!"

At Roger's command, the enormous tarp was yanked away in an instant.

The noisy, bustling scene fell into an abrupt, total silence, as if someone had hit the 'pause' button on the entire world.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Finally, someone broke the dead silence.

"What... what the hell is that? A bomb shelter?"