Chapter 175
Ethan looked up from where he sat on the couch, a half drunk glass of whiskey in his hand. Lila wasn’t there, thank God. But the look on Ethan’s face when he saw Lucien said it all, guilt, surprise, and a hint of satisfaction.
“Lucien Feng,” Ethan drawled, setting down his glass, his voice lazy but his eyes wary. “Didn’t expect a visit from you tonight.”
Lucien’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Cut the act. What did you tell Serena?”
Ethan tilted his head, feigning confusion. “What do you mean?”
Lucien crossed the distance between them in two strides and grabbed him by the collar, slamming him back against the wall. The sound echoed through the room, sharp, final.
“Don’t play with me, Zhao,” Lucien hissed. “You spoke to her tonight. You said something, something that made her look at me like I was a monster. What was it?”
Ethan’s grin faltered, replaced by something darker. “Maybe she finally saw you for what you are.”
Lucien’s eyes narrowed. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Ethan laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. “You want me to spell it out? The great Lucien Feng, hiding behind his empire, pretending to be some clean cut savior. You think people don’t talk? You think the whispers about your family don’t spread?”
Lucien’s grip tightened. “You’re walking on dangerous ground.”
Ethan smirked through the pressure. “I’m already there. I know about Meilin. About what your family did to her. What you did.”
Lucien froze, the air between them crackling with tension. Ethan took it as permission to keep going.
“She was one of the girls your father’s men took, wasn’t she? Disappeared without a trace. And you...” Ethan laughed harshly, shoving at Lucien’s chest, “...you were right there in the middle of it. You were the one who delivered her to them. God, no wonder you don’t want Serena knowing. She’d leave you in a heartbeat.”
Lucien’s vision went red.
He slammed Ethan back again, harder this time, his forearm pressing into his throat. “Watch your mouth.”
Ethan choked out a laugh even as he gasped for air. “You can kill me right now, and it won’t change the truth. Serena deserves to know who she’s sleeping next to, a man who built his empire on blood and bodies.”
That was the moment Lucien snapped.
He drove his fist into Ethan’s jaw, once, twice, three times, until the sound of cracking bone drowned out the words.
Ethan stumbled, clutching his mouth, blood streaking down his chin, but still managed to sneer through it.
“Go on,” Ethan spat, voice hoarse. “Prove me right. You’re no better than your father. Serena will see it too, she’ll see the monster.”
Lucien grabbed him again, dragging him up by his shirt, his breathing ragged. “You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know what happened to Meilin.”
Ethan’s laugh came broken, bitter. “Then tell me. Tell me what happened, Feng. Tell me where she went, and maybe I’ll believe you.”
Lucien’s jaw clenched so hard it hurt. His silence said enough.
Ethan’s smile turned sharp. “Exactly. You can’t, can you?”
Lucien dropped him, disgust twisting his features. “You think you’ve done something noble by running to Serena with half truths? You’ve only destroyed what little peace she had left.”
“She deserves the truth,” Ethan shot back, wiping the blood from his lip.
“No,” Lucien said coldly. “You just wanted to hurt her again. You wanted her to look at you instead of me, even if it meant breaking her apart.”
Ethan didn’t deny it. His expression hardened, his voice lowering. “If that’s what it takes to save her from you, I’ll do it again.”
Lucien’s fists flexed, but he forced himself to step back. One more hit and he’d end him for good, and that wasn’t what Serena needed. Not now.
He straightened his jacket, his voice calm again but laced with venom. “You think you’ve won, Zhao? You think you can play god with other people’s lives? You’re nothing but a coward hiding behind guilt.”
Ethan laughed, though his voice trembled now. “Keep telling yourself that, Feng. But deep down, you know she’s gone. Serena’s not coming back to you after this.”
Lucien’s expression went blank, almost eerily so. “We’ll see about that.”
Then he turned and walked toward the door, his footsteps slow, deliberate.
Just before he left, he paused, his hand resting on the doorframe. “You should’ve stayed out of this. Because the next time you open your mouth about Meilin, or Serena, I won’t stop myself.”
Ethan didn’t respond, only glared, blood on his teeth and defiance in his eyes.
Lucien left without looking back, his pulse still thundering in his ears as he stepped into the elevator. His knuckles were bloodied, but he barely felt the pain. All he could see was Serena, her pale face, her trembling hands, the disbelief that shattered him more than any blow could.
He didn’t know how Ethan had twisted the truth, but he’d find out. And when he did, he’d burn every lie down to ash. Because if Serena thought she could walk away from him after this, she was wrong.
........................
The sun barely broke through the heavy curtains of the Lin estate, its light weak and pale, like it, too, was afraid to touch the aftermath of last night.
Serena sat at the edge of her childhood bed, still wearing the clothes from yesterday. The faint scent of the city clung to her, exhaust, wind, confusion.
Her hair was tangled, her eyes swollen from hours of crying that had refused to end.
The room was quiet except for the faint hum of cicadas outside and the distant clinking of porcelain from the kitchen downstairs. She felt like the girl she used to be, lost, small, trembling in a world that kept moving without mercy.
Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, cold and stiff. Ethan’s words still echoed in her head, looping endlessly. Lucien. Meilin. Disappearance. Trafficking.
Each word another blade to her chest.
“Serena?”
Her mother’s voice came softly from the doorway, filled with hesitation. Mrs. Lin stepped in, her silk robe drawn around her shoulders, her hair tied up neatly despite the worry etched across her face.
Serena looked up, trying to smile, but it only made her lips tremble.