He looked down at his hanfu. “I went to a formal dance.” He hadn’t blinked since her insane accusation.
“You at a formal dance? Who would you even go with? It’s not like you have friends. Make up a better lie.”
“Melying?” Biting fury flushed his entire body. He glared at her. Her crossed arms loosely pressed against her chest. Despite her accusation, her shoulders hung relaxed. Her eyes dared him to prove her wrong in front of her two children where one appeared far too bored to engage and the other always unfailingly at her side.
Do you have anything to defend yourself with?Her gaze screamed at him.
Aiden could just answer the question. He could dial Brendan’s phone number, put him on speaker, and have his stepmother hear the boy on the other end who asked him to the dance. Instead, he snapped at the bait dangling before him. The words slipped out, and he relished in the truth blared in earshot of her two children. “Are you sure you should be questioning me, when you’re the one who took suspicious photographs of my brother before he died?”
Her face paled, and the arms tightened around her body. Aiden watched Zhu Zhu lift her head up from her iPad, and He Bao turned to his mother with disbelief in his eyes.
Aiden continued. “It’s hidden in She Diao Ying Xiong Zhuang. The one with the green cover. You should go look for it.”
“He Bao, grab him.” His stepmother’s command shrilled in the quiet night. She yanked at her son’s arm. “Are you just going to let him accuse your mother like this? Grab him!”
He Bao’s eyes flared. Aiden counted his steps and stepped to the side just as the taller boy lunged at him. He positioned his legs to keep his feet sturdy on the ground, and he watched He Bao’s eyes to analyze where his stepbrother would aim next to attack him.
Pain connected to the side of his head as his stepmother smashed her heavy bag against him. He stumbled, reeling, and He Bao wasted no time pulling him to the porch’s floor. Aiden’s chin smashed against the wood. He Bao sat down on him, while his stepmother ran over and kicked him in the stomach. He heaved for air, and he barely caught his breath before his stepmother kicked him in the same spot with acute intensity.
“Ma, I have him down. I’m stronger than him. You don’t have to attack him like that—I got this!” He Bao yelled, but she slammed her bag down on Aiden’s head once more, leaving Aiden wheezing.
“You want me to remain calm after he accused me of being the traitor? Accused me of putting us in this precarious situation where our entire lives hinge on a missing will!”
“You’re the one who decided I accused you,” Aiden spat. The purse swiped against his head again.
“You traitor!”
Zhu Zhu gasped, staring with trembling shoulders.
“Zhu Zhu!” Aiden reached for her, but He Bao grabbed his arm and pinned it. “River—I’m not the traitor!”
“You’re trying to turn us against Ma. Just like a traitor.”
“She’sthe one hiding things. Zhu Zhu, go to the study room. I swear you’ll find those photographs!”
“Zhu Zhu, call Mr. Zhou this instant. Tell him to come here and to get rid of Hui Lang as quickly as possible.” His stepmother kicked him again, knocking the air out of his body.
“Ma, I got this. Stop kicking him like this—it’s unnecessary,” He Bao protested.
“What have I taught you He Bao? The second you show any sympathy toward the enemy, you are nothing but a dead body. Zhu Zhu! What are you waiting for?”
“I’m calling—I’m calling.” Zhu Zhu’s voice shook. Her hands scrambled for the contact in her phone. The phone slipped from her hand to the ground, and her mother screeched at her.
I can’t breathe…
Aiden could no longer feel his legs, and his whole body ached too much for him to throw He Bao off. As his stepmother’s flurried attacks continued to rain down on him, Aiden looked up to see Zhu Zhu’s terrified eyes. Her eyes were the last thing he saw before the darkness closed in.
Chapter Eleven
The still air around Aiden pressed against his chest. Images of blood flashed before his eyes, and he swallowed down his panic and vomit. People murmured in Chinese while his ears rang. Slowly, his vision cleared. He stared down at his legs bound to a metal chair. The floor was ominously clean.
His wrists were cuffed behind his back. His head throbbed, but he forced himself to look around. Bright lights hung overhead in a room without windows, and the floor and walls smelled of strong sanitization. He smelled blood but did not find any before realizing it came from the slow drip trickling down his own head. At the edge of the room, a long metal table with cabinets lined underneath stared back at him.
Mr. Chen walked into Aiden’s view. Dressed in his usual casual business attire, he gestured to a guard, and the stranger brought in a chair, positioning it across from Aiden. Mr. Chen slowly lowered himself on it.
“Give me a light.” He held out his cigarette, and the guard obediently did as told.
Mr. Chen smoked while turning away. The smoke mixed with the strong scent of bleach, and vomit threatened to erupt from his mouth. Mr. Chen abandoned the cigarette after a few more whiffs. He turned toward Aiden.
