He sat alone at the dining room table in the tea room reading an American newspaper. He preferred to take his breakfast here instead of the actual formal dining area. He sat very still almost completely motionless. So, much so that it was difficult to tell if he was even breathing. Only the large vein moving on the side of his neck was a giveaway. His stillness was attributed to his focus. His eyes were transfixed on every word in the article that he was reading. With a steady hand, he picked up a small container from off the table and added a bit of milk to his steaming hot tea without once removing his eyes from the paper. “Explosion rocks Chicago Towers. Possible Terrorist Act.” As he continued to read each word, his eyes narrowed until they were nothing but tiny slits. “Powerful attorney, Braylee Hinsdale was among the survivors.” His lips pursed into a thin firm line. He spoke angrily to himself in Mandarin. “Why can’t they ever get anything right? Why must I do everything myself?” Even in Chang’s anger, he was the picture of calm. It always meant trouble for anyone who happened to be in the vicinity when he needed to release his frustration or God forbid his wrath.
Someone entered the room and cleared their throat to get his attention. Chang was completely hidden behind the newspaper. He never lowered it. Instead, slowly he lifted his arm and waved the person into the room.
“Uncle—”
In hushed but angry tones, Chang interrupted. “Shh! I’m reading.” He would never fully raise his voice. The controlled anger was even worse on some levels.
Immediately, he stopped talking to wait for Chang to turn his focus onto him. After another moment, Chang finally lowered the newspaper giving his full attention to Joseph Ling Xiou. Joseph could see the simmering rage in his uncle’s eyes. Bowing his head, he spoke. “Uncle, I came as soon as I could.”
Chang glared at him briefly before turning his attention to his tea. He picked up a bit of sugar and added it to his cup. Taking his teaspoon, he swirled it around a few times before pulling it out and tapping it against the porcelain cup. Meticulously, he placed the spoon on his napkin.
Joseph was anxious. He knew he’d disappointed his uncle and wasn’t quite sure how he would have to suffer because of it.
Slowly, Chang picked up the cup and deliberately took a long sip. Once he placed the cup back down on its saucer, he exhaled. “Now, that’s better.” He didn’t offer Joseph a cup of tea or even a chair to sit. His voice was low and menacing. “I’m finding it very difficult to wrap my mind around your failures, Joseph. They are starting to pile up.”
“I’m sorr…”
Chang put his hand up to silence him. “I don’t want to hear your I’m sorry’s or your excuses. I want results. We are mere days away from Manchetti Enterprises getting their patent and approval to market the TNG2. That will destroy my company and everything I’ve spent my life to build. A company that so far, you haven’t proven to be a worthy successor of. Why is Braylee Hinsdale still walking the face of this earth? We all know that her connections with people in the US Congress are the reason the TNG2 has been fast-tracked for approval. I want her out of the way.”
“Sir, the bomb was meant for her. My plan should have worked.”
“But, it didn’t. Neither did your plan to discredit the Manchetti brand by sabotaging the TNG1 and putting it into those faulty switches causing all of those accidental Private Aircraft carrier deaths. That plan quickly unraveled. It caused a lot of public sympathy for Alexandro Manchetti and his company. You’ve left two messy crime scenes and a sloppy sabotage. I could have hired someone to do a better job of creating a suicide scene than you did for Luciano Manchetti. And, a bomb? It doesn’t get any sloppier than that.”
“The bomb wasn’t supposed to go off until they left the parking garage.”
“Ah!” He hissed. “Stop while you’re ahead, that makes it even worse. Even Gina could have done a better job than this!”
Joseph cringed at the mention of Gina’s name. It was no secret that he hated her, and she hated him. Nervous that Chang was going to find him useless, Joseph had to get Chang to give him one more chance. A useless Joseph most likely meant a dead Joseph. Determined but showing just enough contrition, he spoke. “I know that I have disappointed Uncle. I think I know of another way to end all of this and get Alexandro Manchetti out of the way.”
“You are out of
