After some bench pressing and a short round of sparring with a young cadet at the station's gym, Kai took a quick shower and headed straight to the observation room to keep a close watch on Duncan's interrogation. He had just been informed about the scuffle between Duncan and Grace earlier, and his lips curled into a cold smile.

It wasn't difficult to see that Duncan was just a paper tiger. His behavior was caused by a lack of parental presence and affection all throughout his childhood and adolescence. Him dropping the dime on Desmond yesterday was his extreme cry for his father's attention. Kai understood this very well.

He knew that after a night in isolation, Duncan may have regretted his sudden outburst and would likely try to back down from testifying. This was also the reason he didn't want Duncan to find out about Desmond's passing prior to him giving his testimony. If Duncan had heard about the news in advance, he would have most likely blamed himself for his father's death and refused to say anything against his father out of remorse.

Kai needed Duncan to be blind with rage in order for him to talk. That was the only way to distract him from the feeling of guilt he may have had toward Desmond. So, he had arranged for Grace and Duncan to be brought to the interrogation rooms at the same time in order for them to bump into each other. And the result pleased him.

Indeed, there were other ways to provoke Duncan's emotions than pitting him against Grace. But his muscles still tensed at the thought of Violet's disheveled appearance that night, and of her pained expression when she tried to recall the incident the morning after.

As police, it was his duty to ensure that the two miscreants would be punished legally and lawfully, but turning them hostile toward one another was just a cherry on top. A small treat that gave him a complete sense of satisfaction.

He, too, was amazed at all the strong emotions that the girl, whom he had just met a few nights ago, was able to evoke in him. But there was no dismissing the bright orange glow that crackled over the corner of his icy-cold heart the moment he locked his eyes with hers. No matter how strange it was, he had no way of denying—nor did he have the intention of denying—that Violet Lee was the woman who had made him feel alive again. He wasn't going to let anyone who'd tried to hurt her off easily.

The custody officer standing guard outside of Duncan's interrogation room greeted him with a salute. Kai responded with a slight nod before he entered the observation room next to it. He quietly observed through the one-way mirror as the young man started to talk.

***

On the other side of the one-way mirror, under the fluorescent lights of the cold and joyless room, Duncan's chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as Kimmy, who was sitting across from him, informed him of his rights. His temper was still hot over his encounter with Grace, and the fact that his father hadn't even sent any words to relieve him.

"Do you understand what I was just telling you, Mr. Lo?" Kimmy asked.

"Yeah yeah, you don't have to treat me like an idiot," Duncan retorted.

"It's just standard procedure, Mr. Lo," his lawyer explained.

Duncan snorted. "Whatever. Just make sure you pass on the word about my cooperation to the prosecutors. Your boss promised me that yesterday," he said to Kimmy.

Kimmy said nothing and proceeded to lay down Victor Tse's photograph in front of Duncan.

"Have you seen this man before?" she asked.

"Wow... so uncreative. Your boss asked me the same thing yesterday," Duncan snickered, curling his lips to a mocking smile. Kimmy kept quiet, only staring at him with a seemingly unperturbed facial expression. The growing silence made Duncan feel ill at ease. He found himself clearing his throat and answering, "Yes, I've seen him before. He's Victor Tse. My dad asked me to entertain him about a month ago."

"Tell me what happened to Victor Tse."

Duncan leaned back in his chair, his cuffed hands remained clasped together on the table. "I don't know much about his disappearance. In fact, I only heard about it yesterday from your boss. All I know is that the night before the Hong Kong Transportation Department opened the bidding for the Sky highway construction project, my dad asked me to provide a service to two very important guests. It was him and Tommy Siu."

"Who is Tommy Siu?"

"He's the boss of Legion Homes Construction Company, one of my dad's business partners. I've entertained him before, but Victor Tse... that was the first time I'd met him," Duncan said, cocking his head at the photograph.

"What do you mean by providing a service for them?" Kimmy prodded, her game face still on.

"What I always do whenever my dad instructs me to entertain his business partners. I take them out for drinks. And then it depends on their preference for fun. Some were already satisfied with the drinking. Some like gambling, so I would take them to the casinos. Some like women..." Duncan paused, looking irked before adding, "That's when I usually hook them up with Grace."

"So, what kind of amusement did you provide Victor Tse and Tommy Siu with?"

"Well, Mr. Siu likes women. I've always hooked him up with Grace. So that night, I booked a hotel suite and drank with them for a bit. I called Grace—asked her to bring a friend. You know, since there were two of them." Duncan smirked. "But Mr. Siu said it was his daughter's Gwoh Dai Lai [1] the next day, and he couldn't stay. He told me Grace would be enough for Mr. Tse, so I told her to come alone. I left the room with Mr. Siu right after she arrived. And that was the last time I saw both Mr. Tse and Mr. Siu."

Kimmy nodded and questioned further, "How was Victor Tse that night?"

"In good spirits. He kept praising Mr. Siu, thanking him for introducing him to my dad. He was excited about Grace, kept asking us if she was good."

"And how was he when you left the hotel room?"

"Still the same jolly fellow, just a bit tipsy. We hadn't drunk much. There were hard liquors too, but we'd only touched the beers. I had two. Mr. Siu only had one." He then inched forward, trying to make a point. "I remember because he kept saying he would only drink one bottle since it was his daughter's important day tomorrow."

He leaned back against his chair again, pointing his finger to Victor Tse's photograph. "Mr. Tse... I don't quite remember, but he drank more. Maybe four or five beers."

Kimmy's forehead slightly creased. "You said this happened the night before the bidding for the Sky highway project was opened. Did your father ask you to entertain these two to persuade them to bid higher in the project?" 

"Persuade?" Duncan let out a sneer. He looked at Kimmy smugly and went on, "There was nothing to persuade, ma'am. It was already a done deal. It's all rigged."

He slanted his body forward again. "Look," he explained, "several contractors are working together and formed a clique—powerful one, too. Every time there's a bidding on a public contract, they take turns on who'll win the tender. When it's your turn to win, the other members would purposely bid higher for you to automatically get the tender. In exchange, you'll have to subcontract the work from the project to the other members." Duncan repeatedly poking the table with his index finger. "This way, everyone gets a slice of the pie. Of course, as an extra token of appreciation, you also have to provide them with their preferred entertainment."

"So, this time it was Lo Construction Holdings' turn to get the tender? That's why you had to entertain Victor Tse and Tommy Siu?"

"My dad never said that to me in those exact words, but yes, the fact that I had to entertain them that night meant it was our company's turn to get the tender this time."

"Why only the two of them?"

"I don't know, ask my dad. He just ordered me to entertain those two, so I did."

Kimmy pondered for a while. "What if another contractor that's not part of the clique submits an even lower bid? Wouldn't the collusion between the clique members be for nothing?" she asked.

Duncan let out a derisive laugh, slouching back onto his tailbone. "They wouldn't dare..."

"Why not?"

Duncan sat upright again, his shoulders clearly tensed. "Let me put it this way, ma'am. If any other contractors that aren't part of the clique put in a bid when they're not supposed to, there will be people who will ruin their lives," he hinted with a low voice, as though he didn't want anyone else to hear him.

"What people?"

"I don't know." Duncan started to feel his palms getting sweaty. "Just... people. People who have the means and ability to make other people's lives miserable. Maybe even disappear."

"Are they also members of the clique?"

"They aren't contractors. But the clique members would give them a percentage of their project earnings, in exchange for, you know... protection."

Kimmy leaned forward, shortening the gap between them. "Protection money? Like a triad?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Uh... I don't know," Duncan hesitated. Feeling intimidated by Kimmy's piercing stare, he rubbed his face with both hands, sighing heavily. "Look, ma'am, my dad never told me any of this directly, but I'm not stupid, okay? I see things. I hear things. The clique wouldn't be this strong without these people's protection."

Kimmy's gaze was still fixated on Duncan, her eyes still narrowed. She appeared to be thinking about something. After a few moments, she asked, "You said it was your first time seeing Victor Tse. Does it mean that he was new to the clique?"

"Yeah..."

"And the next day, instead of Lo Construction Holdings, it was Blue Ladder that won the bidding," she stated.

"Yeah. And then as your boss told me yesterday, Victor Tse disappeared."

Kimmy promptly stood up and handed Duncan a pen and a paper. "I'll need you to write down the names of all the contractors that are part of this clique, Duncan."

She then put her hands on her hips, turning around to stare into the one-way mirror with a concerned expression. On the other side of the mirror, Kai's gaze gradually turned dark and unfathomable.

♡──── ❝ Author's Note ❞ ────♡

[1] Translates to "Passing of Gift." One of the traditional rituals in a Cantonese wedding ceremony.

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