Page 23 of Emperor of Wrath

Fumi worked her damn ass off, went to college and then law school, and later got hired at Crown and Black, one of the most prestigious law firms in New York.

Coincidentally, that happens to be the firm where Annika’s twin sister, Taylor, is a managing name partner: she’s the “Crown” in Crown and Black.

Fumi was already doing extremely well for herself, but a year or so back, she fell in love with Gabriel Black, her boss at the time. She married him, and now, that man is Governor of New York.

This is why Hideo now lives in a stunningly gorgeous apartment near Central Park with a full-time nurse-slash-personal-guard.

“How’re things, Tate?” I nod at the man as he walks with me through the huge apartment toward the front living room.

“They’re good, Mr.—” He clears his throat and shoots me a look. “Kenzo.”

“And my father?”

Hideo and I have a complicated relationship. It’s not cold, but let’s say we’re still learning who we are to each other.

I could, but don’t, blame him for not knowing I existed, just as I don’t blame my mother for keeping us from him. She was terrified, and rightly so, of the Yakuza life. And to be fair, he never knew about us.

Still, I know my father feels shame and regret for not having been in my and my siblings’ lives. There’ve been tears shed at the thirty-four years of my life he missed. But there have also been smiles at the time we have now. He might not approve of my heavy involvement in the life and organization he sacrificed so much to escape from, but he respects the fact that my choices have been my own.

He and Sota have even reconnected, too, which I know has made both of them happy.

“Your father is doing great, Kenzo,” Tate says with a smile.

Hideo, like Sota, was also formerly battling lung cancer thanks to a lifetime of being the sort of old school Japanese gangster chain-smoking Lucky Strikes. He’s on the mend, now. But the lingering health issues are partly why Tate looks after him full-time during the day, with his own apartment directly above.

Hideo’s also been turning Tate into a monster at shoji, Japan’s version of chess.

Voices filter in from the living room as I follow Tate down the hall. Before I can ask, he turns to me. “Oh, your sister stopped by about an hour ago. They’ve been laughing it up ever since.”

I smile.

Finding new family can be an interesting thing. It depends on the person. Me, I’ve enjoyed getting to know my father and half-sister, but I know Takeshi and Hana feel a little differently. There’s no blame directed at our parents. But it’s been hard for them to move past initial meetings and pleasantries with either Hideo or Fumi.

It is what it is. Maybe I had an easier time bringing my half-sister and my father into my life because it was just me and Mom for a couple of years. When Tak and Hana were born, they instantly had both of us, plus of course each other, being twins.

Who knows.

“Hey!” Fumi beams as she scrambles up from the couch and runs over to give me a big hug.

She’s had a rough go of it. Being chased by the Yakuza. Losing her mother. Having to adopt a new name and identity, and cross the world to start fresh.

And yet… None of that broke her. None of that took the smile from her face. And I love that for her.

“Madame First Lady,” I bow almost as comically deeply as Tate does. “I didn’t realize I was going to be in the company of American political aristocracy.”

“Oh please, fuck off,” she snorts, rolling her eyes.

I grin, giving her another hug before walking over to my father.

“Hey, Dad,” I smile as we embrace.

For the first few months when we initially connected, I called him Hideo. Now, it feels weird to call him anything but Dad.

“Heard you guys were getting crazy over here.”

Fumi laughs. “Yeah, totally wild. We’re going to do sake bombs in a second.”

Hideo chuckles, wheezing a little. “Not unless you want to carry me to bed and tuck me into it, we’re not.”

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