It’s him. The bastard who slaughtered my family.
Only, Kray had changed.
When Bremerton turned Kray’s chair in their direction, the blackguard’s condition struck Wei fully. His chest surging, he took in Kray’s vacant stare and skeletal features. The slack mouth, drool dribbling down the sunken chin. Kray’s clothing draped his emaciated figure, bones jutting against the stained linen. His limbs were spindly…as if he hadn’t used them for some time.
“Alas, my poor uncle had an accident,” Mrs. Swann murmured. “He cannot move from the neck down, and even speaking is difficult. Perhaps it is for the best that he lacks conversation, for his mind also suffered much damage.”
At the sound of her voice, Kray’s gaze suddenly sharpened. It was as if a mask slipped off, and Wei saw a glimpse of the cruel killer. Instinctively, he took a step forward, ready to take down the bastard. With his bare hands and a great deal of pleasure.
Kray’s face was mottled with emotion, yet all he could do was sputter, “You…you…you.”
“Do you recognize me, Uncle dear?”
Mrs. Swann glided over, and Wei could have sworn he saw fear in Kray’s eyes.
“Bi…bi,” Kray managed.
“I am happy to see you too.” She glanced at the table next to his chair, which held a tray of shaving implements and a folded newspaper. She picked up a razor. “Having a shave, were you? Let me help you with that.”
With her free hand, she gripped his jaw, turning it this way and that whilst he wriggled his head like a worm on a hook. She brought the blade a hairsbreadth from his throat.
“It looks like someone missed a spot,” she crooned. “Shall I fix it for you?”
Kray shrank away from her.
“I’m afraid I didn’t manage a clean shave today,” Bremerton cut in, his tone apologetic. “Your uncle isn’t cooperative with grooming. It helps if I have one of the other attendants read to him whilst I wield the razor.”
He gestured to the newspaper, and Wei noticed the blazing headline: Ransom and Rothwell, Rising Stars in the Fight Against Opium. It made him think of Glory, how pleased she would be for her papa. Wei realized how lucky he was to have won her love and loyalty as well…gifts he’d done nothing to deserve.
The doing is in the not doing.
Something clicked in Wei, unlocking the door to awareness. The simplicity of the insight made his breath catch even as it grounded him. Filled him with conviction for what he had to do.
“But even reading the newspaper didn’t calm Mr. Smith today,” Bremerton went on. “Made him worse, in fact. I had to give him a sedating elixir.”
“Perhaps he was anxious for my visit,” Mrs. Swann said. “If it is not too much trouble, I would like to review my uncle’s care. Perhaps we could speak in private whilst Mr. Wong keeps my uncle company?”
“Of course, miss,” Bremerton said. “Shall we talk in the front office?”
As the pair headed out, Mrs. Swann turned and looked at Wei.
Her gaze glittering, she said, “Enjoy your visit, Mr. Wong.”
Alone with Kray, Wei strode over, looking down at the pathetic figure. He grasped Kray’s right sleeve and tore it off. The familiar black vines crept over Kray’s bony arm, the blooms withered upon his skin.
Balling his hands, Wei said, “Do you remember me?”
Kray’s eyes widened, lucidity glimmering in the pale depths.
“I can see that you do,” Wei said. “Which means you must know why I am here.”
He reached for Kray’s bobbing throat and felt the fragility of his enemy’s existence.
“You slaughtered my family. Why did you do it? For money? Because that bastard Governor Li paid you coin and turned a blind eye to your opium smuggling?”
When Kray didn’t answer, Wei tightened his grip on the other’s throat.
“Did you even know their names? My father was Chen Qiang, my mother Chen Jumei. And my sister Chen Meiling was only ten years old when you cut her throat.”
