Chapter 21 Da Han
Chapter twenty-one
Da Han
"Iwant to fucking wring your 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 serious this 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, the expression 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.
"What the fuck!" Da Han yelled, then threw the phone as Chen instinctively dodged it, but Jun De caught it, which was a testament to both of their reflexes.
"Sir, what is wrong?" Chen asked as Da Han came around his desk, stalking toward him. He tensed and prepared himself for the blow that struck his jaw. "Hold him!"
Jun De and the other two men in the office obeyed. They grabbed Chen's arms and held him still as Da Han delivered another punch, then another and another. Chen didn't try to fight back; he was too loyal to betray the triad that had been his family since childhood.
"Boss, what's wrong?" Zhang asked, as he hated seeing his best friend get beaten but knew better than to interfere.
Da Han reared his fist back to deal out another blow, but stopped.
"Fuck!" he yelled and took a few steps back to lean against his desk.
He took several deep breaths to calm himself down because he didn't like being out of control like this.
A leader being ruled by his emotions lowered the morale of his people. That wasn't his style. "Leave us."
"Are you sure, boss?" one of the men asked.
Da Han didn't answer him with words, but the look he gave the man let him know that he was going to repeat himself.
Everyone left, and Chen repositioned himself on his knees before Da Han, head bowed.
His face burned and bled from various wounds, but it wasn't the first time he had taken such blows; it was, however, the first time he had been assaulted by Da Han so viciously.
Chen knew why, too. After everything that went down—the attack on Da Han earlier, his wife being wounded, Yìchén going missing, and then losing his strike team and Stephen, who was vital to the family—whatever Da Han saw on his phone was the catalyst that tipped him over.
Chen did wonder why he was the outlet for Da Han's rage.
"When you went to bring Yìchén home... what did you do?" Da Han asked because he wanted to see if Chen would be honest.
Chen wondered why his boss asked the question, but he also knew he had to be honest. Whatever message was on Da Han's phone might have something to do with him and Yìchén. But he also knew to play it smart. "I don't understand, boss. He was at that hotel, and I brought him home."
Da Han's jaw tightened as he exhaled, his glare fixed solidly on Chen. "What did you do at that hotel?"
Oh shit... he knows, Chen thought, and he took a deep swallow. "I can explain, sir."
"I'm waiting to hear your explanation," Da Han said as he drummed his fingers on the top of his desk.
"I didn't mean for it to happen. Training Yìchén has been a challenge as he's very flirtatious—"
"So, it's my son's fault that you put your dick inside him?"
Chen bowed deeply, pressing his hands and forehead to the floor. "Forgive me, sir. That's not what I meant."
"Explain yourself better then," Da Han snapped.
Chen sat up but remained kneeling and cleared his throat. "I was attracted to your son, sir. I tried to ignore those feelings, but the first time he ran away and I found him at the nightclub..." he trailed off.
Da Han cocked a brow. "I'm waiting."
Chen sighed, then continued. "I fucked him then before I brought him home.
Since then, I'd been trying to avoid Yìchén, and he's been coming on strong.
He ran away today to lure me to the hotel because he knew you'd send me to get him.
When I got there, I tried to avoid fucking him again, but. .. I fucked up."
Da Han took a deep breath to calm himself, then looked away. The room filled with uncomfortable silence before he spoke again. "What's going on between you two? Is this experimental or something serious?"
"I honestly don't know, sir," Chen said.
"What do you mean? You've been fucking him."
"I've slipped up twice, but I told Yìchén we can't be together."
"Why?" Da Han asked because he wanted to know Chen's reasons behind his rejection of his son.
"Because he's your son."
Though it was true, none of the people who ever worked for him were in relationships with his children, Da Han wasn't necessarily against it if the love was there.
He wanted his children happy, which was why he gave Ren the marriage that he wanted with Montgomery William-Price.
It just so happened that he had managed to wrangle himself a deal out of their union too.
With Yìchén and Chen, it was more difficult as Chen was his right-hand man.
The age gap wasn't anything that concerned him.
He was older than his wife too, and both of them were older than Jun De.
As long as both parties were consenting adults, all was fair.
"Is that your only reason for why you don't think I would approve?" Da Han asked him.
Chen frowned. "I was under the impression that your children were off-limits."
Da Han scoffed. "And if they were, you would have violated that rule twice, Chen."
Chen winced at that because it was true... if that was the case. "I know... I'm sorry."
"The reason why I disapprove isn't because you work for me and Yìchén is my son."
Now Chen was curious. "I'm listening, sir."