Wrath of the Forsaken Son

Chapter 7

The iron crowbar was suspended in the air, a heavy shadow hanging over Jian’s head. Tiger, the lead thug, had a grin on his face that showed yellow teeth. He was ready to hear the sound of bone breaking.

Then, his phone screamed.

The sound was so sharp and sudden that Tiger flinched. He stepped back, the crowbar lowering just an inch. He grumbled, reaching into his leather jacket to pull out the vibrating device.

"This better be good," Tiger hissed into the phone. "I’m in the middle of a job."

There was a silence for half a second. Then, a voice exploded from the speaker. It was so loud that even Elara, pinned against the wall, could hear it. It wasn't the voice of Lord Halloway. It was a voice that sounded like grinding stones and cold graves.

"Tiger! Are you at the Callaghan apartment?"

Tiger’s face went from red to a sickly, pale grey. His hand began to shake. "B-boss? Lord Lu? Yes, I’m here. I’m just taking care of the beggar for Halloway like you ordered—"

"DO NOT TOUCH HIM!" the voice roared. It was Scarface Lu, the undisputed king of the city’s underground. A man who made billionaires like Halloway tremble. "If you have touched even a hair on his head, I will skin you alive myself. Do you understand? I will put you in a cage and drop you in the harbor!"

Tiger dropped the crowbar. It hit the floor with a loud clang, narrowingly missing his own foot. "Boss... what? Why? He's just a convict!"

"He is the man who just saved my daughter!" Lu’s voice was breaking, thick with a mix of terror and gratitude. "The hospital called. My little girl... her heart stopped. The doctors gave up. But a man in rags walked into the room, pushed them aside, and put a single silver needle into her chest. She’s awake, Tiger. She’s breathing. And the security cameras showed it was him. It was Jian Mercer!"

Tiger looked at Jian. Jian was still sitting in the broken wooden chair, slowly blowing on his tea. He looked like he was watching a boring play.

"B-but boss..." Tiger stammered.

"Kneel!" Lu screamed. "Kneel and pray he doesn't kill you before I get there!"

The phone went dead.

Tiger looked at his two partners. They were both frozen. The man holding Elara’s hair let go so fast it was as if he had touched a hot stove. Elara slumped to the floor, gasping for air, her eyes wide with total confusion.

Tiger didn't hesitate. He fell to his knees. Then, he slammed his forehead against the floorboards. Thud.

"Please!" Tiger cried, his voice high and thin. "We didn't know! We were just following orders! Please, Great Master, have mercy!"

His two friends joined him. Thud. Thud. They banged their heads against the floor so hard the wood began to splinter. Small drops of blood stained the floor. They didn't stop. They were terrified. In their world, Scarface Lu was a god, and if Lu was afraid of this man, then Jian Mercer was something far worse than a ghost.

"The room is a mess," Jian said quietly, not looking up from his tea.

Tiger scrambled toward the broken vase. "I'll fix it! I'll buy a thousand vases! I'll paint the walls! I'll give you my house!" He began picking up the shards with his bare hands, the sharp porcelain cutting his fingers, but he didn't seem to feel the pain.

Elara crawled toward Jian, clutching his arm. "Jian... what is happening? Who is Scarface Lu? Why are they doing this?"

Jian looked at her. The "meaningful struggle" in his heart was clear in his eyes. He wanted to keep her safe, to keep her in the light, but his world was becoming very dark, very fast. "He is a man who owed a debt to a needle," Jian said. "And now, he is coming to pay it."

Ten minutes later, the sound of a dozen high-powered engines filled the narrow street outside. Tires screeched. Doors slammed.

A man entered the apartment. He was tall, wearing a suit that cost more than the entire apartment building. A deep, jagged scar ran from his left eye down to his chin. This was Scarface Lu. Behind him stood twenty men in black suits, their hands folded in front of them.

Lu looked at the three thugs bleeding on the floor, then at the ruined apartment. He turned to his men. "Take them outside. Break their hands. They won't be needing them if they can't use them to respect a master."

The thugs didn't even scream as they were dragged out. They were just glad to be alive.

Lu walked to the center of the room and did something that would have shocked the entire city. He bowed. He bowed so low his forehead almost touched his knees.

"Master Mercer," Lu said. "My daughter is my life. You saved her when the world said she was dead. There is no price I can pay to equal that, but I must try."

He signaled to one of his men, who stepped forward and placed a silver suitcase on the only table that wasn't broken. He also laid down a small piece of paper—a blank check with Lu’s personal seal.

"The check is for your comfort," Lu said. "But I think you will find the suitcase more interesting."

Jian stood up. He opened the suitcase. Inside was not money. It was a thick, yellowed file and a charred piece of metal that looked like a bird’s wing.

Jian’s breath hitched. He recognized the metal. It was from the hood ornament of his father’s car—the car that had "accidentally" caught fire twenty years ago.

"My men have been watching the Mercers for years," Lu said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We knew they were pawns. The file inside contains the names of the people who bought the Mercers' silence. It’s a group called the Crimson Sect. They didn't want your father’s money, Master. They wanted his research. They wanted the Emerald Codex."

Jian picked up the file. His fingers trembled slightly. The Crimson Sect. It was a name he had heard whispered in the darkest corners of the Abyss. They were a shadow organization that dealt in forbidden medicine and ancient martial arts.

"Why give this to me now?" Jian asked.

"Because," Lu said, his eyes turning grim. "The Crimson Sect found out you saved my daughter. They see your medical skills as a threat to their monopoly. Even as we speak, they have put a bounty on your head. But they didn't just target you."

Lu looked at Elara, then back to Jian.

"They have also sent a team to the hospital. They are going to finish what the fire started twenty years ago. They are going to erase everyone who knows the Mercer name."

Jian gripped the file so hard the paper began to tear. The "Sovereign" inside him was waking up, a cold, killing intent filling the small room.

"Lu," Jian said. "Take my wife to your most secure safehouse. If she loses a single hair, I will tear your empire down."

Lu bowed again. "On my life, Master."

Jian turned to the window, looking out at the city. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky the color of blood.

"The Crimson Sect wants to finish the fire?" Jian whispered. "Then I will bring the sun down on their heads."