The early morning in the Reznikov house was riddled with the aftermath of Lien and Vitya's passionate sex. On the bed, Lien lay tattered with bruises over his skin and messy hair, dried blood down the back of his thighs and Vitya standing by the window, smoking a cigarette while looking over at his dominated territory. Everything was a haze for Lien, the muffled voice of Vitya whispering in his ear and then silent darkness and the smell of ply wood followed. Hours had passed by when Lien finally woke up inside of a small and enclosed space without any idea where he was or how he got there. Then, the cracking of wood let in sharp sunlight into the wooden box he was inside of and the scent of sex rose out of the top.

Master Cheung and Lien's bodyguard peered inside the box and were completely shocked by the sight in front of them. Lien laying nude and battered like he had been beaten, though that assumption was short-lived and brief when Peng had reached inside and pulled Lien out, covering him with his jacket. The box was littered with polaroid images of Vitya having sex with Lien and that's when Master Cheung knew the truth. Not only was his grandson consensually sleeping with the enemy, but that the enemy was a man. He rose his hand for Peng to take his grandson away, his expression cold and enraged as he ordered his men to burn the images and the box.

Lien was disoriented from the blinding sunlight and was plopped down in the base of a shower, icy water splashed on him and Peng started yelling, "How stupid can you be?! Really! Tell me he forced you to do it, tell me that he drugged you and took advantage..." Peng begged for there to be a reason that made sense, anything to get rid of that festering jealousy and anger. Lien shook his head, "No," he responded and Peng turned off the shower. "It's denial right? He raped you and now you're in shock and you don't know what to think." Peng tried to convince Lien as he lifted him up and took him to the bedroom and made haste to dress Lien, sickened by the sight of bruises and hickeys. Peng's caring nature bordered on obsession with the youngest grandson of Master Cheung and those images in the box were burning holes in his judgement.

"He didn't do anything to me except for what I wanted, Peng." Lien pushed the other away from him and stood up, rubbing his eyes and shuffling to the window of his bedroom, peaking outside the curtain to see his grandfather, Gao, and three men getting into the Mercedes and driving away. His brow raised and he turned his hand to see Peng standing behind him looking as though he was an angry bull. "How could you? Sleeping with the Russian. Do you have any idea what you've done?" Peng grabbed Lien by the shoulders and shoved him up against the wall. This was the first time Peng had ever been physical with him and it was frightening.

"What is your problem? I can sleep with whoever I want." Lien kept up his spiteful responses and his bodyguard tightened his hands on Lien's shoulders. "You...left me in that hotel room and lied to me. If your grandfather discovers you willingly went to that beast...he'll...he'll," Peng trailed off and attempted to quell his rage. "He'll what? Be mad at me for the rest of the year and forbid me from going out, please. You think I'm scared? He barely pays attention anyways." Lien stated and Peng loosened his grasp and stepped away, clearing his throat and holding his hand over his mouth. "Acting like a child, he'll punish you or worse for this. He's already killed two of his men for suspicion of betrayal. You slept with him, Lien. What message do you think that sends to your grandfather?" Peng scoffed and began to go to the door.

The silence that followed their conversation made Lien's hands balmy with nervousness. He never thought for a second what damage he had done by beginning an affair with Vitya. The younger man rushed to the door and caught Peng's hand and firmly tugged. "Where are you going? You're just going to leave after saying all of this?" Lien demanded more from Peng who had snatched his hand away. "You have no honor, I can't look at you right now." The man said and shoved Lien away, closing the door and locking it behind himself. There was a moment that Lien stood in disbelief and had a resentful expression forming on his face. Eyes focused on the locked door and he threw a punch at the reinforced wood, "Fuck you!" He screamed as his knuckles crashed against the door, leaving bloody prints after and he shook his hand, sucking his teeth from the pain.

Meanwhile, the black Mercedes outside that had driven away held the same atmosphere of tension as Gao was in the backseat sandwiched between two men who dared not to look at him. His grandfather was in the passenger seat and the driver focused on the long stretch of road ahead. Gao shifted uncomfortably and his brow formed fat droplets of hot sweat, his clothes doused in body odor from being locked in his room, much like Lien, for days. "Grandfather, where are we going?" He asked and no response was given. He could only listen to the hum of the engine and feel the vibrations of the car pulling off of the paved roads onto the gravel.

He swallowed a lump in his throat when the engine abruptly turned off and the two men next to Gao exited the vehicle. It was a matter of seconds that one of them grabbed Gao's arms and pulled him out of the car, his body dragging along the gravel road. "Let go of me asshole! What're you doing?" Gao protested and whipped his arms and legs in every direction to get away. For a moment he was successful and punched the man in the face. He ran around the front of the car and banged his fists on the hood of the car. "Grandfather! What is this? Is this about the Italians? Let's talk about this!" His voice was trembling with distress and the two men approached him from either side; subduing the heir of the Triad. They kicked the back of his knees to bring him to the ground and overwhelmed him to avoid an escape.

With that, the passenger door opened and Master Cheung stepped outside, his fine leather shoes crunching on the ground. Menacingly, his footfalls landed around the car until he planted them directly in front of his grandson, nodding his head. One of the two men forced Gao's chin up to look at Master Cheung. "My boy, we can be honest with eachother, right?" Master Cheung's voice boomed in the desolate area shrouded in swaying trees and cloudy skies. Gao writhed in the ensnarement of the two men holding him in place, his dark eyes riddled with confusion and worry. "I've never lied to you, never." Gao desperately pleaded, his hair beginning to mat from how sweaty he was.

"I want to tell you a story that I think you'll enjoy. Would that be alright with you?" Master Cheung said with a bleak voice, holding onto his cane as a small smile formed on his face and Gao just watched his grandfather, breath shaky and his eyes fixated. "My son, your father, was my pride and joy. He was strong and ensured that the Triad would have a future by marrying your mother. I remember when they had you, how honorable it was to have a son to take the place of their firstborn daughter. I knew then I could retire and give your father my trust." He continued to speak, letting each word soak the air around him. "But, I realized that trust was not guaranteed. Not even by my own blood and your mother," he gritted his teeth, "That whore convinced my son that their eldest daughter should take over after their time." The old man began to chuckle, "Could you imagine such a thing? A woman? Running the Triad?" He continued to laugh, and Gao grew exceedingly impatient. However, Master Cheung's smile soon faded and he tightened his aged fingers around his cane.

"It was then I knew your father could never lead the empire I've built. I couldn't allow it." Master Cheung cleared his throat and patiently stood there, a sickening proudness held on his face. "I-It was you? It wasn't an accident?!" Gao came to an unsettling realization of the truth that had been buried for his whole life. That his parent's death was never a stroke of bad luck, but an orchestrated plan. Master Cheung began to hum and approached his grandson slowly, and looked down at him. "No...it can't be true. You wouldn't kill your own family! I refuse to believe that." Gao began to thrash violently against the men holding him down on his knees.

"For your sake, I wish it wasn't. I'm sorry, my boy." Master Cheung responded lowly, reaching to his side and Gao's eyes widened.