Brendan blinked awake right when the phone lit up again. Aiden held the bright screen in front of his eyes.
“Oh shit.” He snatched the phone from Aiden’s hands. “Hey, Dad—sorry, I was actually asleep and silenced my phone.”
With a small smile, Aiden left Brendan to his concerned circle of family and friends and turned around the corner into the kitchen. Celia stood by the stove, flipping eggs over while reaching for a cup of coffee.
“You sleep well?” she asked before he could greet her.
Aiden sat at the counter without answering. She slid a plate of food over to him and poured a cup of coffee before returning to clean up the stove. The smell of fried eggs drenched in soy sauce reached his nose, and his stomach grumbled without warning. The steam from the bowl of rice porridge rose into his eyes and tickled his eyelids. Aiden licked his lips at the spicy red pickled radishes in the container beside the porridge. He dumped the radishes in and scooped up his first taste of breakfast since his stepmother banished him to the basement of her fancy home.
“Good, right?” Celia drank her coffee. “Your brother taught me.”
Aiden gulped the porridge down, only pausing to blow quick puffs of air. He drained the coffee, and the bitterness shot an arrow into his consciousness. He placed the cup down. “What’s the plan?”
“The plan?” She tipped her head. “I’ll handle the plan. I’m going to have one of the Guo agents drop you off at your prince’s home with his parents. It’s safest there.”
“And then what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to kill the family heads and anyone else who gets in my way.”
He stiffened, remembering the names listed in Mr. Chen’s schedules. “There are children at these meetings,” he said, rubbing his suddenly freezing hands together. “They act like it’s a potluck to make it appear less suspicious.”
Celia raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“If you don’t plan this well, they can get caught in the crossfire or they might actually see their parents getting murdered.”He Bao and Zhu Zhu will be there.He grasped the still warm coffee mug with his shivering hands, but his body continued to tremble.
She stared. “And?”
Her words froze the kitchen air. Her eyes saw nothing unusual, but blood splattered before his eyes. Her ears heard nothing, but he heard sobbing and screaming echoing in the lonely homes.She is who she says she is,he found himself thinking. She would grant her brother’s final wish—no matter the cost.But I’m part of the deal.He poured himself more coffee, wincing at the bitterness washing down his throat, and slammed the mug down.
“I’m not okay with it. I know how these meetings go. I saw Mr. Chen’s schedule book when I was working for him. The timing, the rooms, the guests. After dinner, the kids will get grouped together and ushered somewhere, then the teenagers and young adults will go to their own rooms, and then the family heads will have their private meetings with bodyguards. I also know the meeting’s going to take place at Mr. Chen’s home due to the schedule,andI know which rooms each group will be in.”
She tipped her head. “So, what do you suggest?”
“You don’t need to kill anyone. Infinite is already falling apart.” Mr. Chen’s secret. Mr. Zhou’s paranoia. Mr. Yang’s ambition. His stepmother’s own agenda. Not a single goal to unite them except an outdated foundation falling apart beneath the power, money, and legacy. “I’m already a point of contention for all of them. I just need to expose the fact that my stepmother knew everything the entire time for them to turn their guns at each other.”
Celia held a finger up. “You’re not using yourself as bait. You’ve already been through enough. If self-sacrifice is involved in this new plan, I’m still going to follow my original.”
“Then—disguise yourself as one of Mr. Yang’s people.” Aiden sat straighter as the new idea formed. “Out of all the families, he’s the most disliked. He has the least qualms about killing, and he doesn’t even hide that he wants more power. Do something as one of his men, and they will turn on each other.”
The seconds ticked by while he watched the cogs turn in Celia’s mind. She grabbed an apple, biting and chewing slowly. She swallowed. The coldness inside her eyes vanished, and her mouth curled into a fox grin.
“Ah, yes, the better of humanity indeed. You will fight just as hard and even harder,” she mused. “I admit that my plan wasn’t ideal. Killing the family heads, even with evidence at hand, will just paint them all as victims. No matter what, the facts would be they were murdered. Having them kill each other works much better in favor of the justice your brother was pursuing. And,” she tossed him an orange from the bowl, “I can record how it all happens.”
His squeezing chest released a sigh. Stomach growling, Aiden thawed from the frozen tundra of Celia’s words. He dug into the orange, shredding the peel and swallowing the pieces whole. Energy spread its wings inside him, and he smiled at her. “I’ll tell you the layout of the mansion and the timing.”
“Yes, you should do that after you shower. It’s a change in plans, but it’s an easy change to implement for tonight. The Guo agent still won’t come for a couple of hours to deliver you and your prince to safety.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“What?” Celia snapped her head around.
“I’m coming with you.” Aiden kept his eyes on her. “It’s a large house, and I know the layout better. I can direct you on where you need to go rather than you having to find the important rooms yourself. You’ll also need someone to identify who’s working for the Yang family so that you can steal their place.”
Celia sighed. “Listen here—”
“I also want to tell Zhu Zhu and He Bao the truth. I’d like it if my stepmother doesn’t get killed in the crossfire, and I want my stepsiblings a chance to escape Infinite with me.”
Aiden didn’t recognize the brazen feeling inside him that compelled him to sit straight, stare an assassin in the eyes, and say words that slid across the air like butter on a knife. However, his heart remained calm. Somewhere down the hall, he heard Brendan’s promising reassurance upon reassurance of the people in his life.He’s doing the best he can. I need to do the best I can, too.Saying out loud what he wanted tasted like cold water on a burning day, and he only wished for more. “I’ll need to come with you to do that.”
