Everything clicks into place when I behold Han Ying Ze in all of her baleful glory. Some tension in my chest eases. If I had to die today, I can take peace in directing my vengeful last wishes to the mastermind behind it.

“My surname is Han,” I sneer. “As said by your well-dressed pet at the bank.”

“To say that with such confidence shows how absurd you’ve become after being left to fend for yourself.” Ying Ze glances at Ling Ge, a smile in her voice. “As for the woman… she is not one of my own. I simply offered a deal she couldn’t refuse.”

It doesn’t take a genius to know how Ying Ze bought Shueqi’s compliance. The indent between Ling Ge’s brows deepen, striking a stark contrast with his state of dress. It’s hard not to laugh at a man in a half-buttoned shirt and no pants being talked down by his mother.

“That decision was never yours to begin with, Lady Han. You never acknowledged me, but your husband did. Enough to make legally make me part of the family.” I take pleasure as Ying Ze’s nose flares in disgust. “How does it feel to have to claim the offspring of your husband’s mistress as your own?”

“You shouldn’t antagonize her,” Ling Ge cuts in before I can push his mother to the boiling point.

“Get some pants on and then we’ll talk.” I ignore my half-brother’s sputters and continue, “You know, I’m really flattered you went through so much effort to get me here. Hiring a bunch of thugs, staining the hands of a civilian. You could have saved all the money and time you wasted by officially summoning me, even if it was a lie.” I shake my head. “And I thought I was the idiot.”

“Mei Ling!” Ling Ge snaps, “Stop digging us into a deeper hole. Can’t you see how precarious our current position is?”

I turn to him. I look him up and down from the silken scarves that catch light around his wrists to his unblemished and unbound feet, then at the plush bed on which he sits.

I don’t know how I look. But from my throbbing jaw and uncomfortably wet clothes, it’s almost insulting to compare our difference in treatment. That, plus I was tied to a chair like some kind of criminal while he gets to lounge around in his underwear.

I tell him as much. His reaction is a defensive yell of, “I was also brought here against my will!”

“Oh, you poor thing,” I say. I don’t miss how Ying Ze’s eyes flick over to Ling Ge every few seconds. As if she’d let harm come to her precious son. “I’m sure you were also drugged and treated like a punching bag.”

“With your terrible personality, you deserve to be punched every now and again,” Ling Ge says, his eyes fixed to the spot on my face I’m sure is turning blue and black.

“And you deserve to be stabbed in the di–”

“Enough!” Ying Ze’s thundering shout cuts our budding argument by the root. We don’t say anything else and simply glare at each other.

I don’t want to give her hired thugs another reason to manhandle me, but I don’t understand why Ling Ge is worried. I’m the one who should be rallying against the injustice of this situation considering the measures my stepmother took to get me here.

“Untie my son.” Ying Ze tells one of the men. She gestures at me. “Loosen the binds on this one, but don’t remove them.”

“Thank you for your kindness,” I say. “I’d curtsy if I could.” I swallow my next sarcastic words when she levels me with a chilling look. I’m left to seethe in silence as Oscar goes to release Ling Ge from his pathetic binds.

I seriously need to work on controlling my tongue if I don’t want to be punched again. Sherlock hadn’t held back any strength, even the slightest shift of my head makes the pain in my jaw go from sore to a piercing, teeth numbing pain.

My biggest worry is that Ying Ze might dislike me enough to allow violence in her presence. She hasn’t said a word about the blossoming bruise I’m sure must be visible on my face. That doesn’t bode well.

Sherlock moves to do as Ying Ze says. I’m swallowed in his shadow as he bends down to loosen my binds. Rough hands pull at the ropes around my wrists, half-hearted motions that don’t do much other than rub my skin raw. He doesn’t even make a show of touching the ones on my feet.

I decide not to bring it up. I suppose I deserve it for mouthing off to Ying Ze, earlier.

When returns to his post somewhere behind me, Oscar finally finishes undoing the scarf entrapping Ling Ge. My half-brother rubs his wrists, scowling.

“Couldn’t you have done it more gently?”

Oscar rolls his eyes at my Ling Ge’s dramatics. At least someone here understands my plight.

“You bruise as easily as rotten fruit,” I tell him, snickering.

Ling Ge flushes in anger, his hands closing into twitching fists. I keep my gaze trained on him, daring him to try anything. It would be just like him to kick someone when they’re down.

“Ahem.”

Ying Ze’s clearing her throat makes him falter, and as if remembering the undignified way he was brought here, a look of indignance overtakes his face. He almost looks constipated.

He turns to her. “Mother, why do you insist on treating us like this? I’ve done nothing to warrant this kind of rough tactics.” Ling Ge glances warily at Oscar, who wiggles his fingers playfully when he catches him staring. “And look at the state Mei Ling is in. What did us siblings do to earn such animosity?”

“Ling Ge,” The bottom half of my stepmother’s dress flares as she crosses her legs, the jet black dress rippling like a sheet of silk. “I trust you know what will happen if you continue deceiving me.”

To Ling Ge’s credit, he continues as if he were unmoved by her threat. “My conscience is clear. I’d like to know what you’re basing your accusations on.”

“Did you both believe that I, Han Ying Ze, would never find out about your hand in Shi Ning’s murder?”

I look at her, startled by her choice of words. “Murder? She killed herself, and you’re blaming us? What kind of backwards world do you live in?”

“As Mei Ling says,” Ling Ge releases a body wracking sigh. “Shi Ning’s boorish romance and consequent death, however regretful it was, has absolutely nothing to do with us. If you recall, the police report clearly stated she’d clearly died by her own hand.”

“By her own hand…” Ying Ze scoffs. “Your sister would never do such a thing.”

“I’m sure the police already told you we had alibis,” I say. “And everyone knows Shi Ning was found in her room with every door and window locked tight. It’s even more impossible that she would have been done in by an outsider given the level of security at the mansion.”

I’ve never read the report Ling Ge is referring to. But the information on her death had more or less been echoed across the country, everything from reputable news outlets to trashy gossip rags. The Han family is high profile and Shi Ning had been a socialite long before her scandal. No one would dare deface the family name, more so regarding such a troublesome topic.

Ling Ge nods along with my explanation. “As she says.”

Ying Ze surveys us. “Is that all you both have to say?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“What else do you want?” My voice rises to a fevered pitch. “Yes, I killed her with my bare hands and phased through the walls with my innate powers to transform into a fucking ghost.”

Oscar bursts out laughing behind us. Even the gargoyle-like Sherlock grunts out something resembling a muted laugh.

“Unless either of us were magicians,” Ling Ge chortles. “I don’t see how we could have helped tie the noose around her neck.”

I roll my eyes. “What are you talking about? Didn’t Shi Ning overdose on sleeping pills?”

If this is his attempt at a joke, he better watch himself. He might be the Han family heir, but Shi Ning has always been the apple of Ying Ze’s eyes. There were murmurs that if Shi Ning had been born a man, Ling Ge would have been thrown by the wayside ages ago.

“Ah,” Ling Ge says. “That’s right.”

His eyes dart to the woman observing us. I squint at his face, not understanding why he’s gone pallid. His lips flatten into a thin line and he squeezes his eyes shut. “What’s wrong with you?”

Ying Ze begins to laugh. The noise startles me into silence. When she eventually stops, she daintily retrieves a handkerchief from her pocket to dab her eyes.

I’m suddenly made aware of how quiet the room is. This silence is a different beast from before. Where the previous one was charged with condescension and self-righteous fury, it’s now frigid and tense enough that my nerves feel prime to snap.

No one speaks. The moment seems to drag out into infinity.

“It’s as my son says.” Ying Ze smiles. My eyes are drawn to those frightful upticks at the corner of her mouth. “Shi Ning had indeed hung herself.”

Her lips are dark red, lending a splash of colour to her naturally pale complexion. As handsome as my father was, it’s clear that he did not grasp Ying Ze’s heart through his looks. As much as I loathe this woman, I will admit she was (perhaps still is) devastatingly beautiful.

I’m told that my birth mother was a gentle and comely woman that men would trip over themselves to protect. Compared to Ying Ze, who holds a fearsome beauty people would wage war over without hesitation, I sometimes wonder what made my father stray in the first place.

When Ying Ze doesn’t make the initiative to speak further, I gather my wits and deliberate on what to ask next. I settle on the most obvious, glaring question. I heed the warning in my head to be cautious of my words and say, “I never heard anything about Shi Ning hanging herself. It’s clearly stated in the news that she overdosed.”

Ying Ze’s eyes are glaciers. “Did you not think to question the validity of that news in the first place?”

It takes all the strength I have to shrug off her cutting words. “Why would I?”

Frankly, Shi Ning has given nothing but grief when she was alive. Though a tiny part of me felt guilty for her death, I refuse to waste my limited time in this world pondering over her. Of course, my stepmother or half-brother didn’t need to know I felt somewhat guilty over it. They would just use it to exploit me.

I continue, “I might share your name, but you’ve never cared about me. I won’t pretend I care about any of you, either. Even if Auntie Bao hadn’t taken me in,” Ying Ze’s eye twitches. “I’d still have left this god forsaken house, even if it meant living on the streets.”

“Impertinent child.” Some of her overwhelming animosity fades, and Ying Ze huffs out a laugh. “Hmph… that straightforward manner of yours reminds me of Shi Wei. He was never one to mince his words.” Her gaze turns distant.

I snort. “He’s my father. It’s obvious some traits would be passed down.”

Her expression sours at the reminder that I am a by-product of his infidelity. She sends me a scathing glare. Now that’s the ruthless woman I’m familiar with.

“Madam, I mean no disrespect.” Sherlock speaks up. “While the situation has been enlightening, I’d like to remind you that our services will be terminated in less than two hours as per our agreement.”

Wow. His attitude is a total one eighty from how he’s treated me. Is this the power of money?

“My partner is trying to say that we’re bored shitless, so please move on and let us do what were hired to do,” Oscar simpers. “Breaking bones and digging up deep, dark secrets.”

“How much are you paying them, Lady Han?” I ask, emboldened by the annoyed set of her mouth. “It must be quite a bit, given their amazing professionalism.”

Ying Ze sighs, one hand reaching up to rub pinch the bridge of her nose. “Enough. Should your services still be needed, I will pay any additional fees you require.”

“Understood,” Sherlock concedes.

Ying Ze’s gaze bores into me once again.“ Now tell me, bastard child. What makes you certain Shi Ning had died the way it was reported?”

“The information would have never been released if you didn’t allow it. There’s no way it wouldn’t have gone through you before it reached the public,” I say. “No one would be reckless enough exaggerate the information they were given, either. People should be aware of how… terrifying you can be.”

I recall being in the middle of giving Auntie Bao a foot massage when I heard the announcement. One of the patients had turned up the sound of the hospital television loud enough for the deaf to hear, and the news anchor had delivered the news of Shi Ning’s passing along with an appropriately worded apology.

“Tell me what you remember,” Ying Ze says. “Being reluctant won’t help spur my son to help you since he insists on acting blissfully unaware. Perhaps hearing what you have to say would jog his memory.”

Ling Ge doesn’t say a word. I’m struck by the urge to sigh. I can’t help but feel as if I’m being manipulated. But again, what choice do I have?

“Fine.” I grouch. “But don’t expect me to have all the facts straight. I’m just going to say whatever I remembered.”

Ying Ze gestures for me to begin. I take a breath before launching into it, sticking to factual accounts and avoiding giving my opinion on the matter. The gist of what I remember goes something like this like this:

The body of Han Shi Ning, daughter to Han Shi Wei, former CEO and founder of the Han conglomerate, was discovered in her room one week after her scandal broke news.

The police swiftly determined the cause of death. It was revealed that the victim had accidentally overdosed on medicine she had been taking for insomnia.

After investigation, there has been no evidence of her drugs being tampered with. She had been at home, which was where her body was discovered. Security footage and witness accounts reveal no external intervention, leading the police to conclude lack of foul play.

“And that’s all I know. I can’t say which source said what exactly, but to be honest, everyone just rehashes the same old facts and regurgitates it across different platforms.”

I don’t mention how I had almost burst out laughing after hearing that her death was classified as an accident. Shi Ning’s dabbled with drugs before, and even if she hadn’t, she’s not stupid enough to take a lethal dosage unless she really wanted to.

Which leaves one conclusion. She conspired to take her own life.

I have no opinion of the method she chose, just that it’s unspeakably shameful for a rigidly traditional family like the Hans. It was funny how every major news outlet had to dance around the subject and avoid the term ‘suicide’ to stay in their good graces.

Ying Ze begins to clap, mocking and slow. “Knowing all you do, I am astonished you haven’t realized you’ve been schemed against under your nose.”

“Stop being so cryptic and tell me what you really mean,” I say. I wish she’d stop talking in circles. As if I’m not tired enough after being drugged.

I jerk in surprise when Ying Ze walks up to me, capturing my chin between her slender fingers. “Having been up against Shi Ning your entire life, do you think her so weak to give up due to a mere scandal?” She leans in close, her perfume pervading my every pore. “My son would not understand. But you should.”

Ying Ze lets go, leaving me to puzzle over her words. I review everything I said, trying to make sense of this whole mess.

Before she died, Shi Ning’s reputation could be said to be smeared beyond repair. I’d assumed Shi Ning had killed herself because there would be no other reason not to. Pride was something she could never risk losing.

I feel my heart jump to my throat. “Oh…”

Pride. Would someone as prideful as Shi Ning take a coward’s way of escape?

I think about it further. No, she wouldn’t have. If she were hit, she would return the favour with twice as much fury. Shi Ning would have hunted for the perpetrator of her scandal and exacted her revenge. Especially if she believed she could no longer make a comeback, there was nothing to prevent her from attempting a pyrrhic victory.

There’s a nagging feeling I’m missing something important. I rack my brains for the supposed answer I hold.

My eyes flit toward Ling Ge. He sits sullenly on Shi Ning’s oversized bed, one hand drumming a soundless beat on the mattress.

One of the assurances he had given me, before I’d agreed to work with him, was that he would handle everything not pertaining to the procurement of ammunition to ruin Shi Ning with.

Monetary reward aside, it was the sole reason I had jumped on board. Being the actual scion of the fortune Ying Ze sat on, his connections would surely far exceed any ace Shi Ning kept up her sleeves. Even if I didn’t trust him, I could trust that he and I had the same goal. To take down Shi Ning down a peg or two.

So I did as I said and gotten the evidence, and Ling Ge followed up on the rest. If I had to be crass about it, Shi Ning’s death was an unfortunate turn of events, but an accidental bonus. All the loose ends were tied up and our case was soundproof.

“I know you are brighter than I give credit for.” Ying Ze says. “So tell me. Do you really think Shi Ning would have willingly gone through with it?”

Her smile does not hold disgust, contempt, anger, or even apathy. Though aloof, it brims with satisfaction, and I find it more frightening than any scowl or sneer she has directed at me over the years.

It reminds me of the way Shi Ning used to smile. Seeing that expression on my half-sister’s face would set me on alert me instantly. I’d come to distinguish it as the prelude to more suffering.

The realization isn’t shocking. Rather, it’s like searching for something and finding it had been with you the entire time.

I can’t believe it. Had I really been this blind?

“I think that Shi Ning wouldn’t have taken her own life unless someone made her.” The words come slowly. They taste strange on my tongue.

“Indeed,” Ying Ze says, her voice saccharine. “That was what I concluded. And on the topic of the news, you aren’t wrong. I’m responsible for having the details of her death falsified.”

And this can only mean one thing.

“Ling Ge,” I say in a wavering voice. “How did you know Shi Ning hung herself?”