Chapter 42 The Long Game
Every instinct screams at me to return to Aria.
“Calm, my son. Your Aria is smart.” Sir Tao clicks his tongue with amusement. “Like she said, if I wanted to hurt you both, I’d have done it long before now.”
He’s taking me on a scenic route to the central courtyard, passing by rows of soldiers straightening, then bowing with respect as we stroll by.
Everything is orderly.
Too orderly.
The blood-stained walls have been painted over, broken furniture replaced.
All traces of Cornelius Kong—photos of him shaking hands with dignitaries, accolades framed and placed on shelves—have been removed, as if he never existed at all.
“Sir Tao.” Another guard snaps his boots together, taps his fist to his chest, and bows the way I used to toward Cornelius.
My mentor nods, his hands relaxed behind his back, a satisfied smile on his lips.
But there’s something new in his eyes I didn’t notice moments before. Clarity and hunger, not the soft resignation or satisfaction of someone in full retirement.
Like this is his moment of victory, and this detour was to let me see how tightly he has the house fisted in his grip.
Something in my posture must’ve given my thoughts away, because he chuckles.
“I see you’re putting the pieces together,” he says as we turn toward the French doors leading to the courtyard. “I don’t have children, and I’ve always thought of you as my own.”
“You planned this. A coup against Cornelius,” I murmur. “But how? How did you know I was going to kill him?”
He laughs and stops in the hallway.
“I’ve known you since before you could talk. Your father and I were good friends. He was the enforcer. I was the strategist. We built Ernest Kong’s empire together.”
Wrinkles appear at the corners of his eyes as they take on a faraway look, like he’s reminiscing about the past. “Of course, Cornelius hated us for it. For having his father’s trust. The bastard never understood why he wasn’t in favor.”
Sir Tao smirks and shakes his head. “Because Ernest knew his son had no loyalty. No spine. Only greed. But he never knew his son would conspire with the Russians to take him out.”
I think of Aleksei’s revelation in the catacombs. How Dad pulled the grenade, killing himself and Cornelius’s father at the same time. How the truth was buried and not talked about.
“Dad was loyal. He’d never kill his boss,” I force the words out.
I still remember him teaching me how to shoot. How he and Mom would share a hug at the doorway of our cabin when he thought Celia and I were asleep.
“Of course not…unless it was a choice between Ernest and his family.”
I snap my gaze to Sir Tao, who glances at me with pity.
“What are you saying?” I rasp.
“Cornelius threatened to kill you, Celia, and your mother. It wasn’t much of a choice for your dad.”
My dad betrayed his master and killed himself for us.
I stagger back a few steps, fingers gripping the closest side table. Glassware rattles. Lights flicker.
“Ernest had an important meeting with the Russians. He was going to enter into a partnership with them, which, of course, the rest of The Council opposed. Nobody wanted a consolidation of power.” Sir Tao tuts under his breath.
“Cornelius saw an opening. He got the backing from the other families to stop this partnership by all means.”
“Two birds with one stone.” I clench my fists.
“Exactly. He had your father carry out a suicide mission. Take everyone out. He ascends into power uncontested.”
“But…how did he know Dad would do it? There was no reason for him to trust Cornelius.”
The old man scoffs then. “He had people on the three of you. Snipers at his order. If your dad hadn’t followed instructions, all of you would’ve been killed. Your dad had no choice.”
I want to go back in time and kill Cornelius again. But this time, I’ll take every second to drag out his miserable life, remove his extremities one by one, showing him all the special skills I’ve gained over the years as Si Shen.
His monster.
“Cornelius retired me then. It was much later when I found out what happened,” Sir Tao continues, lips tipped in a snarl. “He diminished me to be the old man past his prime. Powerless. Eating scraps he’d throw my way.”
His words ring in my ears. Images of Dad still sift through my memories.
“So you engineered all this.” I can barely hear myself.
For a chess player, I’m damn slow this time.
“I knew deep inside your cold exterior was a bleeding heart,” he says. “Couldn’t train it out of you. Your father died of the same weakness. But then, I realized I didn’t need to erase it. Just needed to point it in the right direction.”
A slow smile stretches across his face as he ambles toward the doors. “When I saw how you reacted to Cornelius’s order about Aria, I knew I had my chance.”
Something breaks out of me, laughter or a shocked gasp, I can’t tell. “I played into your hands.”
“You were a man in love who’d do anything to protect his woman. Just like your father. A little encouragement was all I needed.” Sir Tao looks back, brow arched. “And now, the bastard’s dead and all this…”
He yanks open the French doors, letting in an icy gust from the courtyard, a storm on the horizon beckoning us with its violent tendrils.
Smiling, he steps outside and waits for me. “This is all mine now. But I’m old. My years are limited. And you, son, you can have all this after I pass.”
The wind howls as I step outside. We amble toward the long reflecting pool, more snippets of my past pummeling across my mind—Mom and us laughing under the moonlight, Celia clapping when I bring home a new koi fish, the few moments of peace after grueling martial arts training, when I’d slumber underneath the willow tree, listening to the birds chirp.
This beautiful estate. Drenched with blood. Stained with death.
Evil loves beauty.
And this beauty could one day be mine.
My vow to The Antihero Syndicate was to take down The Association. But the things I could do with that power. What if I could change this place? Use corruption to fight evil?
But unease stabs anyway.
“This is what you wanted to discuss with me alone—”
I turn, my gaze sweeping past the slate-gray buildings and the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Until they land on Aria in the office.
Upset. Angry. Devastated.
She waves her hands in the air, her mouth moving, clearly talking to someone.
Everything inside me stills. The world fades away until all I see is her.
Then I glimpse the short, blond hair.
That man who once held the heart of the woman I love.
Blake Amscot. Very much alive.
I dash back inside.
“How dare you,” I seethe.
I knot my hands into fists.
Blake keeps to the shadows. “I had no choice—”
“You had every choice!” I pound the desk.
“We were engaged. What made you think any of this was okay? That you could pretend to be dead for over a year, let me grieve, cry endless tears over you, give me the fucking trauma of feeling helpless, holding your bleeding self in my arms, watching you die in front of me?”
Oxygen rushes in too fast. But I don’t care.
“And the tattoo?” I thrust out my forearm. “This damn key unlocks something so messed up that the worst of mankind want a piece of it? You had it inked without me knowing what it meant. You endangered my life!”
Reaching him in a few steps, I slug him across his chest. “You lying, conniving bastard. What the hell are you mixed up in? With the Kongs? The Association?”
“Aria.” Blake’s voice breaks. “It’s not what you think.”
“Tell me, then. What makes any of this okay in your eyes? Tell me!”
“It started with one patient. One!” He whirls around, those beautiful blue eyes flashing, showing a hint of madness I’ve never noticed before.
“He was dying. Wasn’t an organ donor. Because he was superstitious.
Bullshit reasons. But Aria, aside from his heart, everything else was pristine.
You know how hard it is to come by organs for patients.
How many people we’ve watched die waiting. ”
Ice settles through me.
“Cornelius Kong reached out. He had someone important who needed kidneys. My patient’s kidneys were a perfect match.
Cornelius said I could save more people.
All I had to do was tell him when someone came into my office, too sick to operate on or recover.
He’d handle the rest. Made sure organs went to deserving people.
I’d get a cut for my efforts. That took care of my investment loss. Lives would be saved. Win-win.”
Acid burns my throat.
“S-So you ignored your patients’ wishes? Ignored your oath? Played God?” I whisper, shaking my head. This wasn’t the man I thought I knew. The kind cardiologist who claimed to be the sunshine of my life. “Y-You killed your patients, didn’t you?”
That’s why there were anomalies in cardiology cases. The dip in numbers Dr. Cavendish noticed. Blake’s patients disappeared.
“No! I just gave him names. Only the worst cases. If there were any hope, I’d work to save them. As much as I could.”
I laugh. The sound is broken and ugly, bouncing off the windows and walls of this horrible place.
I’m in a nightmare. That has to be it, because how could I have been so blind to the reality of this man?
How did I not see any of it?
“I know it’s hard to accept. That you might not agree with my actions or my logic.
But Aria,”—the bastard moves toward me again.
I flinch and shove him away—“everything I did was for us. For you. Because I love you. I didn’t want to start our lives together in debt.
I wanted to save other sick patients. My intentions were good. ”
“No.” I back away. Everything inside me is bruised, torn up, and rearranged.
How can he claim to love me while violating me this way?
“The tattoo key?” My nostrils flare and I hold up my arm. “How do you explain that then?”
Blake pales. He rolls up his sleeve, exposing his forearm where he got his matching ink.
Except it’s scarred. The flowers are barely visible.
“I wanted out,” he whispers. “We were getting married. I wanted to be done with the Kongs. But they wouldn’t let me. Of course, they wouldn’t. But I had a plan. You see, I was here every two weeks when they discussed the organs they were moving through the system—”
“The consolidation meeting,” I say. The same meeting we interrupted to break Celia out.
Blake’s eyes widen, and he nods. “I got access to files, the documents. Everything tying them to organ trafficking, heroin trade, and other shit they do. And so, I took a shit ton of evidence, enough to take down their entire organization. Hid it along with the money I siphoned off. Spread them across ten accounts in the Caymans. The accounts are unhackable. Passwords that changed daily. The only way to get the right password was through a cipher key. A cipher I—”
“The tattoo is the cipher key. No wonder they want it so badly. You can take them down with the evidence.” I stare at the delicate sunflower petals. I glance at his disfigured arm. “Your tattoo is gone.”
“Injured in the shootout.” He barks out something resembling a laugh. “Scarred over. But that’s okay, because—”
“Be prepared,” I mutter.
“Yes!” He smiles now. “You’re the love of my life. The safest place I have left. Of course I put the cipher key on you. I trust you more than anyone.”
Blake’s eyes glint with something like satisfaction. Like I should be honored. Like this is proof of his love for me.
A frown pulls at his mouth. “Too bad Cornelius caught on. The idiot wasn’t dumb after all.”
He steps forward again. “But it doesn’t matter now. He’s dead. I’m here.”
But Blake died before my eyes.
I saw him. Blood gushing out of his neck, his body lifeless on the gurney.
I buried him.
My eyes drift over this familiar man who now seems like a complete stranger.
The same eyes and lips.
The same voice.
“But you died,” I whisper. “Ren got an order to kill you.”
Blake beams now. “That was the beauty of it. I faked the order. Paid a lot of money for a hacker to help me. I got a body ready—someone who looked like me. Ren was the perfect fall guy. That man,” he chuckles and says, “that man was a robot. He never questioned orders, and he was good at it. Killing. When we vanished, the trail would lead straight to him.”
Shock must’ve flashed across my face because he adds, “Yes, Aria. I was going to buy us fresh identities and start new lives together. Everyone knew about Celia. Ren had motive. And the best part?”
Blake grins, like he’s gearing up to deliver a punchline.
“The asshole was in love with you. If only you had seen him all those times at Arcana & Bloom. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you.
The cold-blooded bastard smiled when you weren’t looking.
I knew the guy wouldn’t put a bullet through me if it meant shattering you. ”
Ren’s face flashes through my mind. The pain when he confessed his version of what happened that day in the hospital. How he blamed himself for Blake’s death. How he turned his gun at the last second because he couldn’t bear to make me sad.
How were his feelings so obvious to everyone else but me?
Blake paces in front of the window. “It was tricky faking a tracheal wound. But my team was loyal. Lots of fake blood and gauze and some good acting on my end…”
His eyes dim for a brief second. “It broke me to see you screaming. But that was the point, wasn’t it? Your grief sold the lie better than anything I could’ve staged.”
My voice deserts me. I think back to the worst day of my life. The chaos on the surgical floor. Me barreling past dead bodies. Water cascading from the sprinklers. The stink of gunfire in the air.
And yes, the blood. So much of it.
But I didn’t really see the wound up close, did I?
The other nurses didn’t let me.
All I saw was blood. All I heard was his gurgling. All I remembered was the sudden stillness of his body when he “died.”
And in the morgue, there were medical ways to briefly cool someone’s temperature and slow down their heart rate.
The man had thought of everything.
“I just needed to wait for Cornelius to die. Tao told me to be patient, but I couldn’t. I missed you. The sunflowers were supposed to keep you hopeful. Keep you ready for me.”
Hollowed, I finally see Blake for who he really is.
A cunning, vicious man who camouflages terrible decisions as mercy. A man with no boundaries, no morals.
The man I thought I loved never really existed.
And both versions of him—the fake Blake from my now polluted memories, and the real monster standing before me—all pale to the man who currently holds my heart.
The door crashes open.
A click engages.
“Blake Amscot,” Ren seethes, “you get the hell away from her before I empty my clip inside you.”