36. Chapter Thirty-Six Abby

Chapter Thirty-Six: Abby

K enny, known in hushed tones as the Serpent's Head, had been calling the shots for too long.

He’d threatened me, threatened us all. Killed his wife. Brutalized his family.

Kenny would do whatever it took to destroy Nathan…but not if we destroyed him first.

I took note of the others gathered here. The Triad wives hid their tension; beneath their skirts, they hid their weapons.

Knuckles was there too, muscles tensed like coiled springs beneath his suit. He was anxious–I got that. I initially assumed he was in control. But, it was clear that the women were the real force behind the insurgents.

Xinyi sat in an old loveseat as if it was a throne, holding an air of authority that commanded attention. Her gaze swept the room, missing nothing. She hadn’t hesitated to slap Nathan–one of the most dangerous assassins in the nation–and he’d accepted it.

And Nathan…something in him had changed, shifted.

He was ready to take on whatever the Vipers required.

Nathan's hand was warm in mine, hanging onto me like a lifeline. Lily, Justin, and Alex completed the circle around the room, clinging to each other. Derek was seated next to Justin now, Bao moseying around the room like she was the one in charge, while Jack leaned on a bookshelf by the door. He was always doing that. Leaning.

I saw Alex smile at Nathan. It didn't reach his eyes. It was a strained, but real, connection.

Nathan wasn’t the only one who’d been changed.

I barely had time to linger on the thought when Xinyi leaned forward. "We need a new approach," she declared. "The Serpents will not hesitate to put another Kenny in power. We must think ahead."

A hush fell over us. Xinyi's next words felt like the slow pull of a knife's edge against the fabric of our reality. "They must be convinced to accept Nathan as their leader. Only then can we ensure change without further bloodshed."

Nathan's reaction was immediate and visceral. His grip on my hand tightened, almost painfully. His dark eyes were wide with shock. It rippled through his frame. I knew that look. It was a man facing his fate, weighing his choices.

I’d rarely seen Nathan afraid. I didn’t like it. But I had to wait for this to play out before I could offer anything resembling reassurance.

To see Xinyi propose this path, given their stormy past, seemed to shake him to his core.

"Xinyi," he began, his voice hoarse with disbelief, "you want me in charge?"

"Without question," she nodded. Even her son, standing behind her with his hands clasped, gave a subtle nod. "And I'll make sure everything is set for your ascension."

Nathan looked at her, his jaw set, saying nothing.

"Nathan," Xinyi pressed, her gaze unwavering as she met his wide-eyed disbelief. "I know what's going through your mind. Your father's shadow is a long one, and you fear following in his footsteps. But you are not him."

Her words echoed in the silence that hung over us. It was true; Nathan had inherited his father's brutality, his capacity for savagery. But he was also more than that. Beneath that hard exterior was a man who cherished life. He reveled in the beauty of the world around him.

I knew that more than anyone else.

"I've watched you grow up. I've seen your care for flowers, your interest in philosophy, and your love for your people. I’ve seen you with Abigail," Xinyi continued, her voice softening slightly. "You have something your father never had—compassion. You're driven by a desire to protect, not just to rule."

A sense of unease twisted through my gut. I looked at Nathan, taking in the faint creases etched into his forehead as he grappled with Xinyi's words. I was the only one who knew he’d offered to leave this all behind for me.

Now we both knew that wasn’t really an option.

"You care about your family," she said, leaning back in her chair. She then swept her gaze across Lily, Justin, and Alex.

“I do, yes…,” Nathan said, and for a second, his voice wavered. “But I’ve done terrible things.”

"Listen to me, Nathan," Xinyi said, her voice sharp. Her dark eyes held mine, their intensity sending shivers down my spine. “We’ve all done terrible things. That's part of this life."

Her gaze softened then, and she looked at each of us in turn. "But it’s about balance. We must remember why we do what we do."

The room was silent, except for the distant traffic hum. The outside world was blissfully ignorant of the grim scene within. Xinyi shifted in her seat, drumming her fingers against the polished mahogany table.

"We don't do terrible things for fun or because we're evil," she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. It carried more weight than a shout. "We do them out of necessity. For survival. For our families."

I saw a strange mix of emotions on Nathan's face. Doubt, fear, disbelief. Then, his usual stoic expression masked them. I squeezed his hand once more, trying to silently communicate my support, my understanding.

Xinyi leaned back in her chair, observing us all like a chess master over her board of pawns and knights.

“Nathan,” she said. “You have to make a choice.”

As the eldest son of the Serpent's Head, he had always been destined for greatness or ruin. Now, it seemed, the choice would be his to make.

But it seemed like he had already made up his mind. “There’s no choice,” he said. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The room was a tomb of secrets, and the conspirators within it were its guardians. The light's shadows did little to soften the tension between us. Xinyi's proposal still hung in the air.

“And of course, I’ll do whatever it takes to help,” Xinyin said.

I saw the risks as threads, a web of outcomes. They were woven by fate's indifferent hand. I knew I needed to be careful in these treacherous waters. One misstep could send us into chaos. Mafia politics was a deadly game, and we were about to play our hand.

"Good, because look," I said, breaking the silence after her declaration. "We need all the help we can get to take down Kenny. And honestly…I hate the guy." I glanced at the table. It landed briefly on Nathan's siblings, then skittered away. "No offense."

A smirk twitched at the corner of Nathan's mouth as he shook his head, the familiar glint of dark humor in his dark eyes. "None taken," he replied, laughing.

squeezed Nathan’s hand. His skin was warm against mine, his grip firm—here was a man who had faced down death and lived to tell the tale. "We're taking Kenny down, come hell or high water," I said firmly, locking eyes with him. My resolve hardened like steel; fear had no place here.

Nathan's lips curved into a smile, a rare glimpse of the boy he once was before life handed him a gun instead of choices. "I know we will," he replied, the fire in his brown eyes mirroring my own.

From the head of the table, Xinyi's voice cut through the tension, steady and unwavering. "Couldn't agree more." Her agreement felt like a promise, the kind that binds not with ink but with blood and shared conviction.

“So what now?” I asked.

"Leave that to me," Xinyi said, rising from her seat to state the meeting was at an end. "I'll get things in motion and we can reconvene at the teahouse tomorrow. We can make our case to the Triads then."

"What if they don't listen?" Knuckles had been quiet all this time, his presence almost forgotten. As usual, he lurked in the shadows, an observer playing his cards close to his chest.

Xinyi turned towards him, a slow, dangerous smile creeping onto her face. Her eyes sparked with a fire that was almost alarming. "Then," she said, her voice laced with icy determination, "we'll have to make them listen."