Brendan told him he could do whatever he wanted to do. His brother said he would give him whatever he wished for.But I can’t just depend on them like that.Aiden’s hands clenched against his back.
He couldn’t give up. Not when the photographs provided all the evidence he needed to confirm the truth felt in his heart—his stepmother betrayed Infinite to the government and killed his brother.
He needed to buy time past Yang’s interrogation. Something or someone would waltz into this prison for him to use to make his escape. Once he escaped from the chains holding him down, Aiden knew what to do.
Infinite was already breaking apart at the seams. The secrets each interrogator held close to their chests and the different cultures of each family proved that to him. The foundation that once held the group together had been lost to time. The group lacked a heart and a focused brain.
Good. Aiden’s heart eased as satisfaction flowed through his body.Let them tear each other apart. I’ll make sure to help with that.
Chapter Twelve
Incessant clapping that could only belong to Mr. Yang dragged Aiden out of his slumber. He screwed his eyes open and kept his breath steady. Mr. Yang pranced over and knocked him on the head. “Anyone still present in that brain of yours?” he sang.
“Do you want to know about the Guo family, too? You’re asking the wrong person,” Aiden forced the words out before Mr. Yang kept talking.
Mr. Yang paused. A full-chested laugh burst from his mouth, and he slid his own chair over in front of Aiden before plopping himself in the middle with his legs spread apart. “Chen and Zhou have been bothering you about that family, haven’t they? They keep saying the Guo family was just another disgraced member of Infinite they kicked out, but their insistence on the matter makes it all the more intriguing. So? What do you know?” Mr. Yang tipped his head. “You’re going to die anyway so might as well spill every secret.”
I knew it.Aiden pressed his mouth in a line.He knows the least of Infinite’s top families’ histories.“You’re asking the wrong person.”
“Ah, not this, Hui Lang. You can do better than that. The other two have already told me how you’ve denied all accusations yet have nothing to show for it. We’re arranging something between a family relative of mine with your stepsister, you know? Why would your stepmother go as far as to request such an arrangement if she plans to just betray us all to the government?”
“If you want to know more about the Guo family, you need to ask Zhou.” Aiden raised his head, leaned forward, and stared into the empty eyes before him. He willed himself to keep contact, and he kept his face tight and straight. His fingers grasped onto each other behind him. “He’s the one who has all the information about that family.”
A shadow fell over Mr. Yang’s face. “Why do you say?”
“He keeps detailed records of people who loiter around the business buildings in which he owns and operates. Every single person who even hints at involving the Guo family is noted down. Whatever I do know about the Guo family, I know because of him. Chen doesn’t think much of the Guo anymore, but Zhou still sees them as threats.”
“Is that so…?” Mr. Yang tilted his head upward. Aiden refused to look away.Ask me for more.He willed his thoughts into the atmosphere.Ask me for every detail I know.
“Say—you wouldn’t have an inkling as to why Chen has already disregarded the Guo family, but Zhou still considers them a threat, do you?” Mr. Yang leaned forward with a lighthearted grin.
Aiden shook his head. “I do remember most of the reports written about them,” he added. His nails dug into his palms, and his heart pounded louder against his chest. He leaned forward with a grin. “It’ll take me some days to tell you everything. I don’t understand why they have such different views of that family, but maybe you will once I’ve told you all the details.”
“I’m still going to torture you after you give me everything.” The words dropped like an anchor in Aiden’s chest. Mr. Yang rose from the chair and stared down with those lightless eyes. “I know you’re just buying for a few extra days, but since I find Zhou and Chen annoying, I will humor you.”
That’s fine.Fear reared its ugly head inside him, but he pushed his tears back.It’s better than nothing.He bit the inside of his cheek, drawing blood.It’s better than dying today.
He nodded.
The playful light returned to Mr. Yang’s eyes. “Good! Give me what you know today in the hour remaining—I am a very busy man after all.” He gestured to his men outside the door.
With a purposeful flourish, they brought in packages of needles, wedges, and other instruments into the room and laid them out on the floor. Another man handed Mr. Yang a locked package. He opened it and showed the alignment of chemicals strapped inside. “This one was what I used on Lu Han. The guy you refused to kill.” He pointed to a syringe before having the package locked away.
Aiden pressed his feet to the ground to keep his legs from shaking.Even just one day,he told himself, opening his mouth to spill what he knew of the Zhou family.Just one extra day to find something or someone to escape.
• • •
A woman’s scream cut through the darkness, but Aiden didn’t even flinch. His eyes wanted to stay shut, but he forced them open. He watched one of the guards drag a woman in by her badly dyed blonde hair and threw her to the ground.
“I know an agent when I see one,” the guard growled and slammed the door shut. “Who are you spying for?”
The woman sobbed and held her head. Trembling, she scrunched herself into a ball, but the guard pulled her up and slapped her so hard that she fell to the ground again.
“Stop that…” Aiden groaned.
The guard leveled a glare at him. “She’s one of yours? You know her?”
His head felt like lead through the drowsiness, but he managed to shake it.
