Fan Fiction |
by manggang_hilaw
Chapter 117: Old Wounds
Four hours before.
Zhong Zhe opened the door awkwardly as he carried an unconscious figure in his arms. He was about to step into the barely lit room when a hostile voice met him.
“Where have you been? And what the hell is that you’re carrying?”
Zhong Zhe froze momentarily, not quite expecting the other person’s presence. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean what am I doing here? I own this place!”
Zhong Zhe was glad for the darkness for it enabled him to hide his anger from the man standing across from him. “I meant no disrespect. I just didn’t think you’d be here.” It galled him to have to apologize but he wasn’t stupid. The other man, his partner in crime, had more power in his little finger than all he could ever muster with his whole being.
“You still haven’t answered me.”
“I…” Zhong Zhe didn’t know what to say. “I brought her for you.” He almost kicked himself for what came out of his mouth.
“Her?” The other man was quick to pounce on the word. “You brought me a woman?”
“She’d make a nice addition to your stable of girls at the club.” Zhong Zhe offered lamely. He’d planned to have her for himself but he supposed that even if someone else had her, it would be enough that the deed was done. Either way, Ximen would still end up devastated and humiliated. The thought cheered him up.
“Bring her closer.” The soft way the words were uttered in no way disguised them as a command to the younger man.
Zhong Zhe brought the unconscious woman he was carrying closer to the other man.
“She looks a bit too young for my taste…” the other man commented lightly as he saw her face. “But that’s probably for the best. Mr. Stewart would probably appreciate her much better. Is she still a virgin?” he asked dispassionately.
“Yes.” Zhong Zhe answered quickly. In truth, he had no idea. Probably not, with Ximen for a boyfriend, but somehow he’d like to think otherwise. He stifled the momentary pang of pity for her. Mr Stewart was known to both him and the man before him for being partial to young girls, the younger, the better. He was also known for being a sadistic son of a bitch. But, that’s neither here nor there. He paid big money and for Zhong Zhe, money was everything. That and the idea of making Ximen suffer.
“Take her to the blue room. And see that she doesn’t hurt herself. Mr. Stewart doesn’t like it if they’re bruised.”
“That’s because he likes to do the bruising himself.” Zhong Zhe thought, but only nodded in acquiescence.
***
Dao Ming Feng stared coldly at the girl before her. “And why are you here?”
The younger woman just shrugged, although her fear was evident in the way she paced the length of the room in agitation.
“Did you do something to arouse his ire?” Dao Ming Feng couldn’t help but ask again. There was nothing to do anyway.
“Would you just shut up you old fart!” Candy couldn’t help herself. The shocked expression in the old woman’s face made her smile in satisfaction. She figured she was going to die anyway so she shouldn’t care anymore if she offended the matriarch of the Dao Ming fortune.
“You dare call me…” Dao Ming Feng was livid. After being treated so callously by her abductor, for she refused to even consider accepting that that vermin was remotely related to her, this bitch dared to call her an old fart. Why the ignominy of the whole thing!
Candy couldn’t help it. She laughed. Even if she died now, it would have been worth it to see the mighty empress so disgraced. She had no idea what the man in the other room had against the old woman but she was glad he’d made her suffer. “You don’t even remember me, do you?” she asked.
“And why should I?” the older woman asked frostily.
“You had me thrown out at one of the parties you hosted. You thought I was a servant.” Candy could see the old bitch didn’t even remember. But she did. Clearly. It was before she’d become Ximen’s girlfriend.
“If I did, then you must have been.”
“You bigoted old hag! My family might not have been as rich as yours but I deserved some respect.”
Dao Ming Feng refused to acknowledge the other woman’s words. Instead, she turned around and tried her level best to ignore her.
Candy debated with herself on whether to come at the older woman with nails bared but ended up just shrugging. The truth was, both of them are probably going to die before the night was through. Maybe she could just spend what’s left of her time praying.
***
Xiao You came to awareness slowly. She tried to sit up but realized that her hands and feet were tied. “What the…”
“I see you’re awake now.”
She gave a startled jerk. “Zhong Zhe!”
“I see you still remember me.”
“Why are you doing this?” she really couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t as if she’d done something against him. It was the other way around after all. Wasn’t he the one who dumped her?
“Payback.” He answered simply.
“For what? You dumped me!”
He sighed. “You shouldn’t have come back for Ximen. You should have just stayed in Canada.”
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked, more in curiosity than in actual fear, although she felt that too.
“Nothing.” Well, at least not directly, he amended in his mind. “I need you to make a call first though…”
“Call?”
***
Four hours later.
“Slow down baby, what do you mean you think it was Xiao You?” Mei Zhou asked his wife patiently as he shot Lei a worried look. A very worried look. He wondered too why it was that Xiaoqiao was the one Xiao You called and not Ximen nor Shan Cai.
“She…Mei Zhou she was crying. I could barely understand her. She sounded scared. I think she’s hurt.”
“Did she tell you where she is?”
“No…she just…” Xiaoqiao struggled to remember what Xiao You had said. “She said she was in some house…she didn’t know where but that she was with…Zhong…I‘m not sure…it sounded like Zhong but then someone took the phone from her and talked to me. I didn’t recognize his voice but he called me Shan Cai…”
“What did he say?”
“He said I should tell Ximen to come alone at…he dictated an address…” Xiaoqiao then dictated the address. It was somewhere in the outskirts of Taipei.
“Did a number reflect on our caller-ID?” Mei Zhou asked carefully.
“No…”
“Okay baby. I have to hang up now and call Ximen. Don’t leave the hotel…Lei and I will be there shortly okay?”
“Okay. Baby I’m scared…”
“Ssshhh…just relax. It’s not good for the baby if you’re so tense…I…She’s going to be alright.”
“Hurry back…I love you.”
“Love you too.” Mei Zhou looked at Lei grimly as he hung up the phone. Xiao You must have thought to protect Ximen and Shan Cai by calling Xiaoqiao, knowing that his wife was an ocean away and thus unable to come to her rescue. “Zhong Zhe’s got her.”
***
Ah Si was glad Shan Cai had already fallen asleep, otherwise she’d be terrified now. Ximen had been catatonic since the phone call from Inspector Zhou. It seemed that the car Xiao You had been in was found deserted along the highway. Lei’s driver was found several miles back and was immediately brought to the hospital. Ximen had wanted to go there to ask the driver himself what had happened but he was told that Mr. Chan had gone into a coma. As a compromise, Inspector Zhou had sent some of his men at the Dao Ming mansion to set up call surveillance and tracing, just in case Xiao You’s kidnappers call. All calls to any of the F4’s numbers had been re-directed to Ah Si’s home phone.
“Ximen…” Ah Si called out to his friend tentatively. He sighed at the lack of response. He was about to ask his friend again when the phone rang. He looked at Inspector Zhou’s men first before answering. “Wei.”
“Ah Si, is Ximen there?”
“That was debatable.” Ah Si thought silently. “He’s here.” He answered aloud though.
“Can you put him through? It’s about Xiao You.”
At the mention of his girlfriend’s name, Ximen quickly snatched the phone from Ah Si’s hand. “Yes?”
“Ximen, Xiaoqiao just called…”
***
Zhong Zhe stared at Xiao You’s sleeping form and suppressed the feeling of guilt and remorse. He reached out to touch her hair and sighed softly. He knew it wouldn’t do to focus on his feelings for her. She’d already been marked for someone else…but still. He cursed his own stupidity for bringing her here. He should have just taken her somewhere else.
All these years he’d worked to rise up in the organization just so he could have enough resources to finally get his revenge on F4. Those rich boys who hadn’t understood how it was to be poor. The memory of F3 beating him up for his bungled attempt at ‘kidnapping’ Dao Ming Si remained etched in his brain.
He just hadn’t bargained on seeing her again. When she’d been with him, she’d been too young. Too innocent. Too naïve. So he’d fooled around and hurt her. But then Ximen had gone after her too. And it had surprised him how much it had hurt. It had been too much for his pride to realize that he hadn’t mattered to her as he thought he had. At how quickly Ximen had replaced him in her affections. It hadn’t helped that Ximen had even sought to humiliate him at that bar. Ximen definitely owed him. Big time.
He’d made her call her friend. She hadn’t wanted to at first. She was so proud. So brave. So he’d sought to break her. He thought it would give him pleasure to see her cry. Make her beg. And it had been easy enough. Just a threat to hurt Ximen had done it. But it had left a bitter taste in his mouth. And an even more bitter feeling inside to realize just how much Ximen meant to her.
So he’d done the only thing he could. He’d drugged her. Again. As long as she was out, she’d be safe. Mr. Stewart, for all his depravity, never touched someone who was not conscious. He didn’t fool himself that it was any sense of fair play. It probably gave the rich old fart more pleasure to see fear etched in his victim’s face. Zhong Zhe sighed again as he finally stood up. He’d been gone too long.
***
“What took you so long?” were the words that met Zhong Zhe as soon as he stepped out of the blue room.
He was about to answer but he older man cut him off. “Never mind. Candy’s in the other room. Get rid of her.”
“How did…”
The older man just gave him a quiet look and said instead, “My mother’s with her…”
Zhong Zhe gave a startled look. Dao Ming Feng was here? He had been doubtful at first when his boss had claimed that he was the old matriarch’s son. It hadn’t seemed possible. Why would he be estranged from his family? He thought surely it was wishful thinking or just hallucination on the older man’s part. But he’d been so convinced and so hell-bent on seeking revenge against one of Taiwan’s most powerful families that Zhong Zhe had gone along. After all, it had given him an ally in the organization in his vendetta against F4. It was actually one of the reasons why he’d risen so quickly within the group's hierarchy. The older man had already been high up in the pecking order and had taken Zhong Zhe under his wing and even made him his right hand man. The move had given Zhong Zhe the power and opportunity to do as he’d pleased.
“What do you want me to do with Dao Ming Feng?”
“Leave her there. Just take care of Candy. I’ll deal with the old woman myself.”
***
Ximen knew he was taking a huge risk with Xiao You’s safety by coordinating with Inspector Zhou. He hadn’t wanted to but Ah Si had convinced him otherwise. So now, he was in his car, just a couple more minutes away from his rendezvous point with Zhong Zhe. Ah Si and the police were a distance back. Far enough to look like they were headed to a different location, yet close enough to keep Ximen in their sights.
He’d never been more afraid as he was now. He prayed fervently that nothing had happened to Xiao You. He didn’t know what he’d do if she’d been hurt. He fought to keep his concentration on the road. He had to get to her in one piece. So he could save her. And ask her forgiveness for allowing harm to come to her.
***
In New York, things were also quickly coming to a close. Lei and Mei Zhou had gone to Xiaoqiao. But not before they’d received word from the police that Zhong Zhe’s accomplices at Ximen Corp. and Dao Ming Group had been caught. It turned out that it had been the senior Ximen’s most trusted managers in Taiwan, Mr. Lee and Dao Ming’s operations manager in New York, Mr. Cao. It seemed that the Lee had fallen into debt with the Chinese mafia from his gambling habit and Cao had been blackmailed into participating because of his predilection for young boys.
Lei, Mei Zhou and Xiaoqiao could only wait in anxiety for word on Xiao You’s plight.
***
Zhong Zhe was about to take the blindfolded Candy towards the woods when he realized what time it was. “Shit!” he muttered inelegantly. It was nearly time for him to meet Ximen. He quickly signaled for one of their men to take care of Candy. He needed to leave quickly if he was to meet Ximen on time.
***
“Dammit to hell!” He swore violently as he threw the cell phone at the wall. He’d just received word of Lee and Cao’s arrests in New York and his superiors were very displeased. He needed to take care of things quickly or else everything he’d worked so hard for would all turn to dust.
Dao Ming Feng! She was his ace in the hole. He could do a lot with her as a bargaining tool. Quickly, he walked towards the room where he’d been keeping her.
***
“Where is she?” Ximen asked Zhong Zhe quietly. They were some distance away from where the other man had left Xiao You.
“Patience Mr. Ximen. Patience.” Zhong Zhe mocked him.
“Tell me where she is and you just might leave with your life.” There was no emotion evident in Ximen’s voice.
The other man laughed. “Such arrogance! I hold the Ace here. Not you.”
“I’m giving you fair warning. Tell me where she is.”
“I know how badly you want to hurt me. But you’re not going to. You know why? Because if anything happens to me…you’ll never see hide nor hair of her. Ever!”
Ximen clenched his fists and jaw. It was taking all his strength not to lunge at the cocky bastard! “So why meet me if you’re not going to tell me where she is.”
“Why, for pleasure of course! To see you squirm.” Zhong Zhe gloated. “To hear you beg me.”
“And why should I believe you even have her?” Ximen bluffed.
“You wouldn’t even be here if you didn’t believe me!” the other man laughed merrily.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to beg.” Zhong Zhe’s mirth was suddenly replaced with seriousness. “I want you to feel the shame of having to beg.”
“Please. Tell me where she is.” Ximen’s tone belied his words.
“Oh no! That’s not going to do it.” The other man clucked. “I want you to mean it. And I want you to kneel in front of me.”
“You mean like the way you begged for your life?”
“Do not try my patience Ximen! Beg or I give the word and she dies.”
Ximen didn’t move an inch. He looked at the other man silently. Rage evident in his eyes.
“I’m making the call now….” Zhong Zhe threatened.
***
“What the hell are we doing here?” Ah Si demanded to Inspector Zhou. “There’s only one of him. We can take him.”
“He might do something drastic. We still don’t know where your friend Xiao You is. Until we do, we let him play his game. My men are combing the surrounding area as we speak.”
Ah Si controlled his impatience. It went against his nature to keep from taking action. He also didn’t want to have to witness his friend kneel down and beg that no good son of a… “Don’t kneel…” he willed Ximen not to do as the other man suggested. Because he knew how proud his brother was. But then another part of him also willed his friend to put aside his pride for Xiao You’s sake. Because he knew Shan Cai would be devastated if anything were to happen to her best friend.
***
“Get out!” Dao Ming Feng shouted coldly at the man before her.
“You’re calling your son.”
“Says who? I don’t follow orders from scum!” She sneered at him but couldn’t help from flinching when she heard the sound of a gun cocking.
“Call him or I shoot you where you stand.”
She laughed at him. “Shoot me and you’re left with nothing to bargain with.” She had not become the powerful businesswoman that she was now by being easily intimidated.
“You don’t get it do you?” He answered her quietly as he pointed the gun at her. “It was never the money. If it had been I wouldn’t have done all this. I have more money that I can spend in this lifetime!”
She didn’t say anything.
“All these years I’ve watched you raise that pompous bastard as your only son! Nobody knew that you had another son. A son you didn’t want. A son you threw away like some garbage! I’ve always wondered why that was so? Why mother? Why did you throw me away?”
“Ah Si’s my one and only son.” Her voice remained calm.
“Liar!” He shouted at her. “Tell me or I shoot you now.” He took aim. His forefinger rested on the trigger.
“Then shoot me! I don’t care! I’m dying anyway.” She goaded him.
“Tell me or I shoot you and then come after him.” His voice had gone back to normal.
She remained mute.
“Tell me or I not only kill him. I’ll kill your precious grandson too.” The quiet way he uttered the words told the older women he spoke the truth.
“You want to know why I gave you away?” She finally answered. “I’ll tell you why. I gave you away because I hated how you came into being!”
***
“One. Two.” Zhong Zhe counted. At the sight of the other man’s unyielding demeanor, he slowly raised his cell phone to press the dial button. “And you tell yourself you love her?” he sneered.
Ximen didn’t react.
“Wrong move Ximen. Unlike you, I keep my word." Zhong Zhe shook his head. Just as he’d thought. Ximen, like the rest of F4, only loved himself. "You can say your goodbyes to her then.” Poor Xiao You. She should just have stuck with him.
But then an unbelievable thing happened. Time seemed to stand still as slowly and awkwardly, before the surprised eyes of Zhong Zhe, who stood just several feet away, and Ah Si and Inspector Zhou , who were watching from afar, Ximen’s knees started to bend.
“Please.” One word. Just the one word came out of Ximen’s mouth as he kneeled before the surprised man. The words held a wealth of feeling. He should have looked pathetic. Weak. Debased. But even in such a pose, he looked proud and imposing.
It left Zhong Zhe stunned. And angrier than he had been before. It wasn’t to be borne! He’d thought that Ximen would look like he had when he’d begged them. Instead, he looked…
From a distance, Inspector Zhou finally received the words that he had been waiting for.
***
“I gave you away because you were a product of my disgrace! I was already bethroted to Cheng when it happened.” Dao Ming Feng’s voice had taken on a far-away quality. As though she was drawn against her will back into the past. “Three men had broken inside our house. Some thugs that Cheng’s enemies had hired. They’d come to my room and they…”
Flashback---
“Let me go!” she screamed violently as two of the men held her down on each arm. She fought and kicked the third man as he pushed her skirt up, and her underwear down. She fought and fought but they’d been stronger.
They’d used her. One after the other. And just before they’d left her, one of them whispered.
“Tell your future husband Cheng, everything’s all squared up.”
End of flashback---
“Cheng went through with the wedding. Nine months later I had you. I hated you the moment I knew about you. I wanted to get rid of you but Cheng wouldn’t let me. So we made it appear as though you’d died. I never forgave him for what had happened to me. It was all his fault.”
“If you hated him, why did you have children with him?”
“Because we had to have heirs.”
“Nobody knew about it?”
“Nobody except the midwife…”
There was silence in the room after her revelation.
And then from outside came the words,
“Freeze! You’re under arrest!”
***
Zhong Zhe whirled towards the sound.
Ximen was quick to take action. He launched himself towards the other man as Ah Si barreled through the thicket to come to his brother’s aid, with Inspector Zhou following closely behind.
And before Zhong Zhe could even think to draw his gun, Ximen’s hands were already wrapped around his throat. “Where is she?” The other man choked, unable to speak. “Where is she?”
Ah Si quickly drew Ximen away from the choking man as Inspector Zhou took over the role of holding the man down.
“Where is she?” Ximen shouted again as he fought Ah Si’s hold.
***
Before Dao Ming Feng could move, he was upon her, his arm around her throat, the gun, held against her temple. “Don’t move or I shoot her.”
“Give up. Your men have all been subdued. There’s no way out.” One of the policemen answered him calmly as four other officers trained their guns on him.
“Give up.” Dao Ming Feng added.
“Shut up!” He shouted as he tightened his hold on her.
“You’re never going to get out of her alive if you don’t surrender.” She continued despite the stranglehold he had on her.
“Shut up!” He shouted again as he moved backwards and dragged her along with him towards the blue room. The other girl was another bargaining tool he could use.
“Don’t move any further or we’ll shoot.”
He paid them no heed and turned his head for a second towards the blue room.
It was all the opportunity the sniper needed.
He was dead before he even hit the ground.
Dao Ming Feng whirled back to finally look down at his lifeless figure.
“Ma?” Ah Si’s surprised shout made her start and turn towards the door. He and Ximen had ran inside after the sniper had made his shot.
“Ah Si.” Dao Ming Feng’s voice came out shakily as his son quickly wrapped his arms around her. He hadn’t even known she’d been held hostage. The knowledge filled him with emotions he couldn’t quite decipher. He’d thought he’d hated his mother. Even when they’d had a truce for Shan Cai and baby Lei’s sakes, he’d resented her. But seeing how he could have lost her made him realize that after all’s said and done. She was his mother. Always. And that he loved her. Still.
***
Ximen ran inside the room like the devil himself were on his heels. He almost had a heart attack when he and Ah Si had been told that a woman was being held inside the house at gunpoint. He’d thought it had been Xiao You.
The sound of the sniper shot almost brought him to his knees. Again. But when they’d run in, he saw it was Ah Si’s mother. Where was she?
Quickly, he began opening the doors inside the house. Everytime he saw them empty, his hope had slowly died. Until finally, he opened the last one, and saw.
Her.
His salvation.
His beloved.
And just like before, he was brought to his knees. This time, willingly. Happily.
“Baby…” he whispered as he stroked her hair. “Baby, I’m here…”
She came to awareness slowly. She opened her eyes and focused on the sound. “Ximen?” her throat felt scratchy and her voice came out hoarsely.
“Yes baby. You’re safe.” He whispered. Thank God!
“Ximen!” this time her voice came out more clearly and she launched herself at him. “How did you find me?”
He pulled away from her and held her face between his palms. “Baby. I’d find you wherever you are. Nothing would keep me away.”
***
Just before his body was taken away, Dao Ming Feng took a couple of minutes staring at him. He was actually handsome. There was even some resemblance with Ah Si. He looked like he was sleeping innocently. The bullet hole on his forehead though marred the image. She tried to feel something for him. Some pity. Some remorse. But found that she couldn’t.
Some wounds she supposed never really heal.
No matter how old.
***
A/N: Finally! This chapter had been so hard to write. I’ve had a major writer’s block and had actually feared I wouldn’t ever be able to finish it. *(di ba andy?). Anyway, am I ever so glad that the muses have finally deigned to visit me after such a looooooooooong hiatus. I hope everything made sense and that its length made up for my long absence. My apologies to MG purists for all the liberties I’ve taken with DMF’s character as well as for the others. I’ve decided not to name Ah Si’s half-brother anymore…I’ll just leave it to your imaginations what he looked like…[I have an image in my head but you just fill in the blanks yourself =) ]
Do forgive typos and grammatical errors. Haven’t had the chance to proof it. So sorry for taking so long to update. I hope you’re all still there for me =)