Page 32 of The Fall of a Promise

“It’s okay.”

I’m not sure why, but the pleading in his eyes is telling me I should hear him out. Also, the last thing I need is to draw attention from the other patrons. The restaurant is busy, so I gesture for him to go into the back hallway that leads to the restrooms. I can feel the girls’ eyes boring into the back of my head.

“Give us some room, Tao.”

“You sure?”

I look over at the stranger, who is already waiting for me in the hallway. He’s tall, with black hair and eyes to match, tattoos littered down his left arm. He could easily fit in with the Triad, but I’ve never seen him before. He could be the son of one of the families we’re trying to get to return to the black society. He’s staring but not in a creepy serial-killer way. Something in his gaze looks familiar.

“You underestimating me, Tao?” I raise my brow.

“Wouldn’t dare,” he replies, chuckling. He waits at the front of the hall where he can still see me, making sure no one enters.

I approach him as he stares at me, moving to the small table where I assume the staff sometimes sits.

“How can I help you...” I ask, pulling out a chair.

He reaches out for a handshake that I return before taking his seat opposite of me.

“Grayson. Grayson Chen.”

“Right. How can I help you, Mr. Chen?”

“I’m sorry to show up like this. You’re a lot more difficult to get a hold of than I anticipated. I tried calling your office, but I couldn’t get a meeting.”

“It was bold of you to approach my security team, so this must be important. They aren’t always this gracious.”

Looking around, he fiddles with his hands.

I wonder if he’s trying to show me he isn’t a threat. I mentally check if my Beretta is on me. I can feel it pressed against my back.

“I’m not sure how else to tell you this, so I’m just going to go right out and say it.” He rubs the back of his head. “I’m your brother.”

Chapter Nine

ANYA

"Ididn’t know he was alive, Anya. I swear I never would’ve left him to fend for himself as a child if I had known,” Bo explains as I pace the room.

When I don’t respond, he sighs. “His birth name was Haitao Chen.”

“This feels like déjà vu. What’s up with all of you changing your names?” Nico remarks from his seat at the large conference table in the middle of The Lair.

I had Liling schedule a meeting with Papa, Dom, and Bo first thing in the morning. Bash had a briefing with investors he couldn’t get out of.

When I got home last night and dropped the bomb on Nico, he fired up his laptop to dig up anything he could find.

We learnedGraysonwent into the foster care system after his mother died, shortly after my uncle took over the Triad. The timing of it all didn’t go past us. Grayson then enlisted in the Marine Corps when he turned eighteen, where he served for five years before going to community college, then graduated with a business degree at UCLA. He’s been working odd jobs since, from private investigating to bounty hunting and personal security, but nothing long term. Something that stuck out to us, though, was the fact that he sent in an application with the FBI several months back.

“So, you believe it’s him,” Papa booms from the speaker.

I look over at the monitor where he is sitting, while Dom stands behind him and leans against the window with his arms crossed.

“You knew about him, and for my whole life, you never said a thing? You said it yourself Peter didn’t care for a male heir after I was born when—”

“And I meant that, bambina,” Cesare states.

I’m so furious at him and Bo for keeping this from me. I’m struggling to keep my composure. This could cause a world of trouble for us. Who knows what’s come of him. Is he seeking revenge? He claimed yesterday that he just wanted to get to know me, but Nico isn’t sold, and I’m not entirely either.

---