Horrific Propositions #2
“He wanted to trade Qi’s potential criminal record for Qi paying him with more intimate services,” Qiang continues when I remain silent for a moment.
“Of course, you know me; I flew into an all-out rage fit at that. I told him all about the thumb drive and warned him that if either he or his son came after me or any member of my family, I’d make damn sure it hit every social and live media outlet.
I’d make damn sure it grew too big for him to contain it, and he’d have to watch his image get blown apart. ”
“And he let it go just like that?” I probe, because rich men and pride are a concoction that leaves devastation in its wake. The sting of losing a prospect usually prickles the pride because it challenges their deluded belief that they rule the world or some shit.
“Sterling Adair’s image is everything to him, and his son presenting the same image is equally important.
So, I promised my silence about Kingston’s sexuality for Qi’s safety.
The only one who knew he’d lost Qi was me, and I was definitely not worth his pride.
And with men like the Adairs, there are always options.
Qi’s price came too high; there are others for him to choose from that didn’t come with such high stakes.
” Qiang’s mouth twists at the end, and I know the statement isn’t a careless one being made to justify making Qi undesirable, but disparagement that a man can get away with such abhorrent things.
“Do you have proof?” It’s an almost callous question at the moment, but if they do, it’d be an amazing point to start from with taking Sterling down, because there is no longer a question of if anymore.
Even if I can’t find the proof, I’ll find a way to make goddamn sure he never lays a hand on another child again, even if it means cutting his dick off myself and shoving it down his throat to choke on it.
Qiang lets out a sardonic snort. “Do you think his reputation would be intact if I did? Without proof, there was nothing I could do. I mean, who am I? Just some middle-class kid who just got kicked out of their high school halls for an explicit sex tape of their own, against someone like Sterling Adair? He would have destroyed my family and me, and there wouldn’t have even been the beginning of an investigation into the accusations. ”
They turn and look at me imploringly with tears streaming down their face. “How many kids has he hurt in the four years I’ve known him for the kind of predator he is, and I’ve never said a word.”
And now I know the true root of Qiang’s trauma.
They’ve hyperfixated it onto Kingston because Kingston was the stone that led them to the real horror.
The heart of Qiang’s pain is right here, buried so deep that they’ve hidden it in a cocoon of a false trauma to protect themself from the hell within the hell.
And in true Qiang-like fashion, they blame themself for this evil as well, as though they’d ever had an ounce of control over it.
I reach out and tuck a strand of their hair behind their ear, taking the time to drift my fingers soothingly along the shape of their face.
“Qiang, without proof, what could you have done?”
“I don’t know, but it’s always felt like I should have done something. If knowledge means power, then why is it not enough? I don’t know how I could have stopped him, but with his money and connections, every road I could think of was a dead end,” they say quietly.
“And what does Grant say about all of this?”
Qiang shrugs. “That he could leave an anonymous tip to have an investigation started, but with how meticulous Sterling is, they’d most likely find nothing and just have him put up more barriers to make it even harder to trap him if something usable did happen to surface in the future.
“Even when Sterling brought it up to me, he didn’t expressly say anything damning.
He hedged his words, used double meanings, facial expressions, and body language to express his intentions and desires without actually explicitly saying anything concrete, beyond the blatant request for me to not only step aside so he could assault my baby brother, but for me to facilitate the meeting for him to do so.
But I wasn’t exactly recording him at the time, so it’s my word against his. ”
“I wasn’t asking about that aspect of it.
You’re obviously holding on to a heavy amount of blame for what Sterling has been doing behind closed doors, simply because you know it happens and have no way to speak out or prove it.
What does Grant say about that? Especially since his advice seems to be leaning towards you getting the pain off your chest by leaning on others and telling Qi the truth of what happened.
That doesn’t sound like the advice a professional would give to someone in a situation like this if they felt they were in the wrong and should pay a price for it, does it? ” I point out.
Qiang swallows hard, their eyes meeting mine with so many emotions it’s hard to grasp them. The pain is so visceral I can feel the barbs of it in my skin. I run my thumbs across their cheekbones, gathering the lingering tears on their face as I seek out their eyes.
“And all this time you’ve lived with the devastating knowledge that that man is hurting children, and even propositioned you to hand your baby brother over to him on a silver platter.
Maybe you knew Qi was safe and that you protected him.
But what about protecting yourself from the trauma of having an adult actively ask you to give your kid brother’s innocence over to him?
Or to know what that man has been doing behind closed doors all along? ”
Qiang shakes their head, at a loss for words as they break down the rest of the way, and a painful sob tears its way out of their body.
The sound shatters my heart as it splinters at the thought of what they’ve held on to all on their own for so many years.
No wonder tackling their trauma over Kingston was left untended to, when part of their brain knew that, to tackle that, they’d eventually have to tackle this too.
I reach over and pull Qiang into my arms, their legs landing on either side of my thighs as their head nestles against my chest. Under any other circumstances, I’d be over the moon, but right now, I just want to set the whole fucking world on fire.
Qiang’s cries ring through the room, bouncing off the walls and coating every surface with the veracity of their pain.
Years of holding this inside. Of surviving behind a wall of apathy.
Of surviving without really living because the reality of being that tangibly close to something so horrific had crippled them.
Eventually, as it always does, the well runs dry. The hysteria in Qiang’s cries dies down, but they remain curled against my chest. The violent shaking of their body as heartrending sobs tremble through them slowly fade into quiet little hiccups and wavering breaths.
“Everything is going to be okay. I’m here now,” I murmur in their ear while running my fingers through their hair.
They nestle their face deeper into my chest, and I feel the vibration of their question more than hear it.
“How can this ever be okay?” they rasp out, their throat raw from their tears.
“Because I told you before, they are going to get theirs.”
“Marcus–” they start to chide me as they pull away from me enough for me to see their face.
Their pretty eyes are bloodshot, their cheeks blotchy, and moisture still clings to their eyelashes.
They are, as always, the prettiest sight I’ve ever seen, both internally and externally, and it only strengthens my conviction as I stare at them now and see nothing but the strength and fortitude they have to fight their way back to the surface after being submerged in apathy and avoidance for so long.
I reach out and cup their cheeks, my thumbs wiping away the tracks of tears and runny makeup that have stained their face.
“I swear on the first football I ever held, Qiang, if you seriously get all bristly about me getting involved right now–” I huff out a bit before taking a steadying breath.
“I’ve told you, you’re a part of my family.
It doesn’t matter what our relationship is; it’s always going to be tied from here on out.
And Tristan and I have already been investigating Kingston and his father for weeks now, but you just told us where to look.
Trust me, he isn’t gonna get away with this for much longer. ”
Qiang shakes their head. “How? We have no proof, and even if we did, he’s the kind of man who can escape punishment.
He’s got officials in his back pocket that can help him lose evidence, drag investigations out, get cases overturned, make people disappear; you can’t just throw justice at him and expect it to play out,” they say, and I realize how deeply they have thought about finding a way to turn him in.
I nod and lean my forehead against theirs.
“You’re right. We live in a society that gives the rich and the powerful the means to hide behind cloaks and daggers and get away with the most horrid of crimes, even when they are thrust right in the public’s face for all to see.
But Qiang, power has levels, and my family, Tristan’s family, and even Darryl’s family are all higher up the chain than the Adairs are.
Trust me, now that we know what we’re looking for, they will be handled. ”
Qiang swallows hard, a hitch in their breath racks through them, and they slowly shake their head.
“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt by this,” they say, fear evident in every facet of their voice.