"Whatever," Chen said dismissively as he closed the door and walked over to the driver's side.
Yìchén climbed into the backseat, strapped in, and while Chen drove them back home, he edited the video.
Chapter twenty-one
Da Han
"Iwanttofuckingwringyour neck, Yìchén!" Da Han yelled as soon as his rebellious son entered his office.
"I know, I'm sorry," Yìchén said, his head lowered in contrition.
"Save your fucking 'sorry,' Yìchén! I lost good men today and one of my best. Your mother gets injured when those assholes tried to take me out, then I have to worry about you when I find out you're not home. Do you understand how fucking seriousthis is?" Da Han asked as he glared at his son, feeling all the rage that flowed through him.
"I don't know what else you want me to say? I'm sorry, Dad. I swear, I won't do it again," Yìchén said in a remorseful voice he'd perfected since childhood.
Da Han huffed and shook his head. "Why the fuck did you leave? Do you think this war is a fucking game?" he asked his son in a tone that wasn't as lethal as before.
Yìchén shook his head. He looked around the office and saw his father's bodyguard and lover, Jun De, in the room, along with Chen, Zhang, and three more men who he knew were some of his father's top associates. He was annoyed that he was getting his ass chewed out in front of the big players, but it was still worth it to him to get the video and spend time with Chen.
"So, then you know that if my enemies are watching my every move, they could have taken you and used you against me. Is that what you fucking want?" Da Han asked him.
"No, Dad, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Yìchén said. "Please forgive me."
"Why did you leave?" Jun De asked him since Yìchén never answered his father when he first asked the question.
"I don't have to answer to you." Yìchén rolled his eyes at Jun De. "Just because my father fucks you doesn't give you power over me."
The slap Da Han delivered to Yìchén's face had the young man staring at him in a mixture of shock and sadness. Da Han noticed that Yìchén turned to Chen as if he expected the man to come to his aid, and when Chen remained still, he returned his gaze back to his father. What was that little exchange between the two? Da Han wondered. He let it go because he had to stay focused. He didn't physically discipline his children often, not unless he had to. Yìchén, out of all of his children, tested the limits of his patience more than his other children. Still, theexpression in his son's gaze gave him a pang of guilt, but he had to put his foot down.
"You hit me? For him?" Yìchén pointed an accusatory finger at Jun De. "I don't have to answer to him!"
"The fuck you don't," Da Han snapped. "He is head of security, Yìchén. You don't run this family. I do. I'm the only one who doesn't have to answer to my subordinates. Now, answer our fucking question."
Yìchén huffed as he rubbed his cheek; his dad's slap still stung. "I just needed to get away. I felt trapped here with all of you watching my every move."
"We weren't watching you good enough. I'll make sure we tighten security," Jun De said.
"I won't leave again; I can't take feeling all this suffocation," Yìchén said, then turned to his father. "Dad, I admit, I made a mistake. I wasn't thinking about getting caught. I thought I was safe."
"Jesus fucking Christ," Da Han said as he threw his hands up. "Get out of my fucking sight, because I might kill you myself if you don't."
"You won't kill me," Yìchén shot back.
"Get the fuck out!" Da Han yelled as he pointed to the door.
Yìchén frowned but left.
"He's young and impulsive," Chen said.
"Don't defend his nonsense." Da Han shook his head.
"Let's move on, then. What happened with the strike team? Esposito's men took them out? How? Stephen should have been able to handle business." Chen waited to hear the answer.
Da Han snarled. "One of my people said it was the fucking Costiello family and the Lords who took out both the Esposito family and my strike team."
"Fuck. And do we know who in their groups did it?" Chen asked.
"My man only recognized Akane Himura, but not the others. He didn't get a chance to take pictures before they got into the cars and drove off," Da Han said. "Shit... fucking Costiellos. I want them all dead!" Losing his people, and especially Stephen, was another reason why he was more agitated than normal about Yìchén. He walked back over to his desk and sat down to think about his next move. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out, hoping to get some good news. It was a text message from a number he didn't recognize. He opened it and saw a frame of a video of his son and Chen. Immediately, he sat up in his chair and played the video. His eyes widened, then a deep crease formed in his brow as he recognized what was going on in the video.
