Chapter 5
Calvin ledme down a hallway into a small room that looked like an office with warm-colored walls. He closed the door as I took in the rest of the room. A round table with four chairs sat in the center of the space. A long couch and other cozy furniture adorned the lounge area.
He pulled out a seat for me, and I sat down.
“How are you?” Calvin asked, folding himself into the chair across from me. “It’s been a while. You grew up. You look . . .” He studied me. “Fabulous.”
I blushed at the compliment. “You grew up as well. Looking better than the scrawny boy I remember.” Calvin and I were the same age.
He wasn’t the twelve-year-old boy who had helped me once. Now, he stood around six feet tall, and he”d been working out based on his muscular form. He’d played an important role in my past, and I had wished he had the chance to get out of The Triad like my family did.
I had so many questions for him, but I feared that the dark past would come flooding back if I asked. Then ugly things would start floating like debris, disturbing me. It was best to leave the past where it belonged.
“What’s going on?” His hands moved to a steeple in front of him.
Nerves twisted my stomach. “I know it’s odd to just come out of the blue after so many years and ask for your help, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“Help with what?”His eyebrows furrowed.
“Are you still heavily involved with The Taipans? Or are you just working for their wine label?”
He smiled. “They’re my family, Viv. My dad lived and died as a member of The Taipans. And so will I.”
The members of The Triad valued brotherhood, respect, and honor. I’d learned that these definitions varied between people and circumstances.
The elders seemed to value honor more so than the younger generation. One time, I witnessed a punishment at my grandfather’s massive house when I’d gotten lost and wandered around. I hadn’t seen my grandfather’s fury until that day when he beat a man to death. But that man had raped and killed a member’s wife. What kind of “brother” would do that?
At that moment, the line between right and wrong blurred for me. I never told my parents what I’d witnessed.
“Why didn’t you get out?” I asked. “You loved astronomy. You could have . . . made a difference in the world.”
He sat back in the chair, surprised by my statement just as much as I was. It wasn’t my business, but I couldn’t help it.
“Like what you’re doing? I hear you’re a dentist in California. Why are you in Providence?”
“Before I answer your question, I just wanted to thank you for helping me back then. I would’ve died if you hadn’t stopped him.”
His expression turned serious. “I’m sorry about your mom.”
“Where’s Ghost’s body?” I asked about the monster who tortured me and my mom. “I heard he died. Is it true?” My voice grew, and it surprised me.
I shivered as the memory flooded my vision.
“You little shit. Tell me where your mom is hiding the key.” Ghost holds a branding tool. I recognize it from a TV show. “Tell me!” he shouts.
He’s wearing a clown mask. Fear grips me. I hate clowns.
He comes closer to me and tilts his head. I race toward the door, but then he stabs me with the tool, and my skin sizzles.
I thought the anger had subsided after all these years, but it had lingered like an awful toothache that came and went as it pleased.
“Grandpa never wanted to talk about Ghost whenever I asked.” I swallowed as my throat went dry. Grandpa probably felt guilt for not being able to save my mom or help me.
“He’s dead.”
The confirmation loosened the knots in me.
“Ghost is in the past.” Calvin’s firm voice anchored me to the present.
“How did he die? Why didn’t Grandpa tell me?”
“It took time to locate Ghost. He went rogue and murdered another member’s daughter. His father, Rattlesnake, had begged your grandfather to be lenient. That didn’t happen. Eventually, Ghost was caught, tortured, and tossed into the sea.” Calvin looked at me. “After your mom’s death, no one from The Triad could disturb you and your father.”
I thought Grandpa had resented me and my father. He had wanted Mom to marry a Chinese business executive that would benefit The Triad, but Mom loved my dad. Dad was Vietnamese American, and he wasn’t part of The Triad. Grandpa had never reached out to me or Dad after Mom died. It was like my mother was the only connection he had to us. When she died, our relationships severed as well. But I supposed he cared about us in his way.
“King Viper wanted to protect you. The less you know, the better.”
Grandpa was a ruthless man, which was how he’d become The Triad tycoon for The Taipans until his death from a heart attack eight months ago. Knowing that I was related to a ruthless gang leader wasn’t something to be proud of. It was a shameful family history that I never shared with anyone. No one would have wanted to be friends with me. They’d have thought I’d send someone after them if they wronged me.
“He would’ve wanted you to attend his funeral,” Calvin said, not knowing the truth.
I had attended the funeral, but from afar. I didn’t want anyone to recognize me. My appearance would have stirred up too much uncertainty. Why is she here? Does she want The Triad’s money? The last thing I wanted was a target on my back.
“It’s better that way,” I said. “Where’s Ghost’s father? He must hate me.”
“Rattlesnake died two months ago from a gunshot wound. He’s made a lot of enemies.”
I wanted to know who was left if their members kept dying like this, but I refrained from asking.
“How are your wounds?”
I blinked at the question. “They’re still there.”
“You could’ve removed them. Some plastic surgeons can?—”
“Some wounds are worth keeping, Calvin. They remind me of the evils humans are capable of.”
Calvin didn’t say anything. He knew the malice that existed in the world he lived in. Did he ever have a good night’s sleep? Did he ever feel guilty for killing people?
“I’m not here to talk about the past,” I said. “I’m looking for a nine-year-old girl named Aimee Chen. She was abducted eight months ago.”
He leaned on the table. “And you think we have her?”
I couldn’t read his face. “Do you?”
His lips curved. “That’s a dangerous question, Vivian.”
Calvin served The Triad, which meant he had to be careful of what he told me.
“Aimee is like family to me. Like a niece. I can imagine how terrified she is because I was once that little girl.”
“Why do you think we have her?” he asked, still not showing any emotion.
“Because she’s a prodigy. You people have a tendency to use children with brains. My mom was one of those kids, remember?”
Grandpa had ensured he used his daughter’s exceptional memory and mathematical abilities to benefit The Triad.
“Your mom wasn’t mistreated,” he said. “She’s the daughter of King Viper. No one would dare hurt her.”
“And she died, remember?” I reminded him. “Abuse comes in many forms, Calvin. Sometimes, the worst scars are invisible.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it.
“I haven’t heard about any children being used for anything.” But something flickered in his eyes.
Had I been wrong to suspect The Triad?
“Can you ask around and let me know?” I looked at him. “Please?”
A smirk slid onto his face. “Is this a business negotiation, Vivian?”
This conversation was transpiring into something I didn’t know how to navigate. I didn’t want to do business with The Triad.
But this is your only chance.
“It could be. What’s your price?”
He crossed his arms. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“Your ability to comply.”
What the hell?
Caution flared as I tried to figure out what he wanted. Something wasn’t right.
You’re talking to a triad member, Vivian. It’s not supposed to be right.
I stared at him, weighing the pros and cons of this negotiation. Could I trust him? No, but I needed him. A little girl needed me. He knew something. He had to, which was why he was being cryptic. I needed any clue he could give me.
Even if The Taipans hadn’t taken Aimee, he could find out who had her. Surely they had connections within underground society. Money and power could buy information. Calvin was my key to Aimee.
I crossed my legs, trying my best not to look disturbed about making a negotiation with a Triad member. “Okay, but I have some criteria.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Go on.”
“I’m not committing any crimes. I’m not hurting anyone, and I’m not going against my morals.”
“Morals.” A laugh bubbled out of him as though he’d never heard of such a word. “Fine.”
“We have a deal.” I extended my hand out to him for a shake.
Calvin held my hand for too long. For a moment, I wondered if we could’ve been good friends if circumstances had been different. He dwelled in a dark world that I was familiar with. How could anyone survive in a world with that much violence, pain, and sorrow?
“I’ll be in touch,” he said.
Despite my deal with Calvin, I had a backup plan. A man known as The Tip at an underground club could get me information—for a price. The problem was that I didn’t belong to the Midnight Chaoss club and needed a creative way to get in.
I couldn’t rely on a single source of information, so I’d been training a certain special skill to ensure my acceptance. I had to prepare myself for when the event occurred, and right now, I’d absolutely fail.