As usual, the four of them sat in the living room of the Jiang family mansion. It had become customary, any important information had to be discussed there. The room itself was actually a section of circular design situated slightly below the actual flooring. Elegant cream-coloured sofas encircled a round table, behind which the French windows extended a breathtaking view of the vast gardens. A crystal chandelier hung just above it, casting a soft, golden glow in the room. A glass, spiral staircase extended towards the various floors of the mansion, creating a vibe fit for the class and elegance of the Jiangs.
"Alright, I'm going to read out the next letter," Irene said, clearing her throat.
Ezekiel had insisted on reading this letter together, much to the surprise of Genevieve. She didn't like the idea for some reason, it felt like outsiders were trying to pry into their family's business and that thought did not settle well with her. Nevertheless, Irene did say that it was okay as she had translated the letter first hand before meeting the brothers so it settled her worries to an extent.
"If you're reading this, I assume that you have found something at the secret place. If not, don't read anything after this letter. In the previous one, I'm sure I confused you with the relationship between Karl and myself--"
"Sorry, but what does she mean?" Archer interrupted, looking at the sisters suspiciously. With a start, Genevieve realized that both Ezekiel and Archer did not know the real story of their family. Sighing, Genevieve told them what their grandmother had written in the last letter but she hesitated when it came to her father. With a reassuring look from her sister, she finally told them everything.
"Just to make this clear," Ezekiel said after she finished speaking, "Benjamin Pierce was your father and Rosalina Carson, the one who built Silver Inc., was your grandmother, correct?"
"Yes," Irene nodded. Ezekiel looked like he was about to say something but motioned for Irene to continue reading the present letter.
She held the paper straighter in her hand before continuing from where she left off, "I'd like to give you an explanation to exactly what it is. Karl was born because of my father's affair when I was about 18. You can understand how I felt when I found out that the person I used to look up to cheat on the person I cared about the most. I was angry, disgusted and definitely not ready to accept the little child who had torn my family apart. It may be wrong on my part, but nothing good ever happened in my life after that. I moved out when I was 20, started a small business whilst completing my education, on my own. Those were the most difficult years of my life but I got successful, became the richest female entrepreneur by the time I was 26. With the support of your grandfather and my best friend, I was happy."
Irene took a deep breath as if the next part was something that bothered her too much, "One day, I got to know that my mother died and my father brought his mistress home. That day, I felt very angry and went home to confront him. What happened next was not something I had ever imagined. You see, Irene, I discovered something very dangerous and I knew a war was coming sooner or later. I won't tell you what exactly right now, it's too early. Just know that Karl and you have something in common and that could not only put your life in danger but Genevieve's as well. I want you to be careful. As for what you should do, look for a special blood vial, it should have a rose engraved on it. The Jiangs will be able to tell you what it is."
She folded the paper and placed it inside her pocket. None of them spoke for a good minute, what they had just learnt was too much to grasp at once.
"The blood vial," Ezekiel said, eyes fixated on Irene's, "belongs to my grandmother. What I don't understand is why she asked you to look for it."
"If we had known, we wouldn't have been here." Genevieve snapped, feeling worked up. Irene grabbed her hand, squeezing gently.
Ezekiel seemed unbothered by her words, rather his attention was elsewhere. His left leg bounced up and down in what seemed like nervousness, an emotion that seemed foreign to his personality.
"I think what's more worrying is the similarity between Irene and Karl, something we have no clue about," Archer said.
"I'm not sure if grandmother is trying to imply that Karl knows about this similarity but if he does then it won't do us any good," Irene replied, biting her lip in nervousness.
"Regardless, we should focus on--" Ezekiel started but was interrupted by a servant who seemed to hurriedly whisper something in his ear. He handed him a suspicious-looking paper, looking scared.
Ezekiel's eyes widened when he read the words and he motioned for the servant to leave them alone.
"What?" Archer asked, taking the note from him. His eyes widened as well, as he showed the content of the paper to the sisters.
A simple message was scrawled on the paper in messy handwriting. It read, 'Watch your back or you'll pay.' There was nothing else on it, the sender was anonymous.
"Who dares to threaten us like that?" Genevieve asked, tracing her fingers on the red ink, deep in thought.
"It's probably a sick joke, Ezekiel receives threats like that all the time," Archer said, though his tone was unsure.
"I don't have a good feeling about this," Irene said, clasping her hands together, "it can't be a coincidence, this is the second note we have received since we've arrived here."
"I know!" Genevieve exclaimed suddenly, "this handwriting is the same as the note we received at the hotel."
Irene nodded, her expression grave. Her eyes met Genevieve's and they agreed on one thought. Someone else knew about the Crown of Fire.
----------
Ezekiel and Irene decided to stay back at the mansion for a while to research more on the Crown of Fire, based on what they knew themselves and from the books in Ezekiel's study. Archer and Genevieve decided to take a walk in the enormous garden of the Jiangs, having nothing else to do. Genevieve didn't mind the fact that Irene held some secrets from her, she knew what her sister was doing was probably for the best. That did not mean that Genevieve wasn't dying to know just about everything that Irene knew and she didn't but decided to be mature and wait for the right time. She wasn't sure if she wanted any more truths that could turn her whole life into a lie anyway.
"I haven't had the chance to ask you," Archer started, kicking a stray pebble on the stone path, "what do you do usually?"
"You mean?"
"I mean I've seen Irene do most of the things since I've known her, including getting Jamie into trouble. Don't take this in the wrong way but what do you do to help her?"
Genevieve let out a breathy chuckle. She was used to comments like that from everyone they've met till date. Irene and she were experts in carrying underground missions like these where they usually extracted information for their clients in any way possible. She knew Irene did all the dirty tasks though she had no idea just how Irene did that. Whenever she'd try to ask, Irene would simply tell her that she didn't need to know. Whatever the method, Irene always succeeded. Genevieve had never seen a dead body or someone lethally injured so she knew that Irene had different tactics and that somehow, put her at ease.
"Well, I'm a hidden pawn that no one looks at," Genevieve said in reply to Archer's question.
"That's vague," Archer said, cocking an eyebrow.
"Which is why it shouldn't matter," She smirked, "I'm not saying anything else."
"Whatever," He rolled his eyes. "There's a club nearby, wanna go?"
Genevieve looked up at the sky turning darker as night approached. The stars were dim, clouds covering their shine. She was distracted from the vast emptiness by the lights around the garden flicking to life, the sound of nocturnal insects becoming more prominent.
"Cool, I think they'd take time anyway," She said, referring to her sister and Ezekiel. She pulled out her phone and dropped a quick text to Irene who immediately texted back affirmatively with a 'be safe'.
"Let's go," She said, following the male towards their garage.
Twenty minutes later, they walked into the club. It was already packed with people and manoeuvring their way through the mass of sweaty bodies proved to be a little difficult. Genevieve felt various eyes on her, not that it bothered her anyway. She was dressed in a black spaghetti crop top and black leather jeans, paired with her favourite denim jacket and boots. Her hair flowed freely down her back and she felt an itch in the back of her neck because of the heat. Pulling her hair away from sticking to her skin, she seriously contemplated cutting them short.
"Drinks?" Archer asked when they were settled on the bar stools.
She shook her head in negative. "I'll have fruit juice."
"Can't hold your liquor?" He asked, a smug smile stretched across his handsome face.
"I can but I'm not so sure about you," She replied, leaning closer to the man with her who did not take his eyes away from her face. They were close enough to feel each other's breath until Genevieve pulled away with a glass of juice in her hand.
"I'll drive so go ahead and drink," She said, taking a sip out of her glass. She had herself seen the bartender pouring her juice in the glass from a bottle so she did not have to worry about it being spiked.
"Weird woman," She heard him mutter under his breath and she held back a smile. She knew what effect she had on him.
Fifteen minutes later, she had started to ignore Archer and his attempts at flirting with her. The guy was clearly intoxicated and she wondered if the sober him also knew no reservations. She couldn't help but mark the difference between him and his brother, Ezekiel. The latter always had a poker face, he kept everything to himself. His powerful aura and his confidence were attractive but Genevieve didn't feel drawn to it. She smiled slyly to herself when she realized that he was exactly the kind of guys Irene preferred.
"Archer," She said, contemplating the idea in her head, "what do you think of my sister?"
"Scary," He mumbled immediately, causing Genevieve to laugh. Yeah, Irene was scary at times.
"Wait," His eyes widened, "you're not trying to set us up--"
"No," She waved a hand dismissively, "I was thinking of your brother and my sister."
He blinked twice before laughing. "As much as I like the idea, what makes you so confident?"
"I mean, Irene prefers guys like your brother," She shrugged, "Why, does your brother like curvy women caked in heavy makeup?"
"No, no," He said, shaking his head, "I've never seen him around women, frankly."
"Great," Genevieve clapped her hands together, "the two of them have been single for too long which is why it makes sense. Those workaholic idiots will at least learn to live a little."
"Damn, woman," Archer gulped down the rest of his drink, "why are you so confident my brother will fall for your sister?"
Genevieve took Archer's glass from his hand and placed it on the counter, smiling smugly. "You haven't seen her in full action yet. I can bet that the icy heart of your brother will melt sooner or later."
"And you?" This time, he leaned closer to her, their noses brushing in the lightest of touches. His expensive perfume and slightly alcoholic breath infiltrated Genevieve's sense of smell, causing her heart to skip a beat.
She knew he was playing with her, causing her to push him away.
"What about me?" She asked sweetly, though her tone resonated a warning.
"What if you fall for me?" He asked, unaffected. He got up from his seat, causing Genevieve to do the same. They walked towards the exit silently until Genevieve spoke.
"You're underestimating me, Archer," She said, "there's no way I'll fall for you."
"We'll see," He said as they move towards the car, "You will fall for me by the time we complete this mission."
"Right," She scoffed and pulled the door open before shutting it close and turned to face the guy.
"I need to use the washroom, wait inside." She said and walked away from him without waiting for an answer.
It was unusually quiet which caused her body to tense in alertness. A few people leaned against a dark van, smoking. From her peripheral vision, she noticed that their bodies were aligned in the direction from where she came from and with a start, she realized that they were looking at Archer. She quickly turned around on her heel and ran towards him and the car against which he was leaning.
"You're back so quick--" He started to say but she interrupted him.
"Shady people. We need to go." She forced out, trying to catch her breath.
"What--"
Before they could move, they were surrounded by five men dressed in black. Genevieve couldn't see their faces as they were covered with a black mask and a cap.
"You were warned, Archer Jiang," One of the men sneered at them, "You deliberately ignored that. Now, you'll pay."
The man pointed towards Genevieve and at his indication, she saw two men move towards her and two towards Archer. They were outnumbered but Genevieve wasn't affected by that. She knew she could easily take the men down but she was worried about Archer. She involuntarily stepped closer to Archer, her eyes fixed on the movements of all four men approaching them slowly but cautiously. The guy who spoke earlier laughed, a sound that made Genevieve want to punch the living daylights out of him.
"Sorry little girl, are you scared?" He laughed in that disgusting voice of his and Genevieve felt her blood boil.
"Genevieve run--" Archer whispered but before he could complete his sentence, Genevieve had kicked the guy nearest to her in the crotch and he fell, groaning in pain. With the others distracted, she jabbed her elbow in the second guy's ribs and kicked his shin, causing him to double over and fall after she hit his back with her elbow with force. She managed to grab his baseball bat and used it to beat down the other two. It was almost comical to see their eyes widened in shock, not being able to process her quick movements. They collapsed to the ground like the other two before they even had the chance to react.
She turned to the guy who she assumed was the leader. The guy looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Sorry, little boy, did I scare you?" She mocked him in the same tone that he had used. Her hand throbbed in pain but she ignored it. The guy came back to his senses and stepped forward to attack with a growl. He was stronger than his minions because of his bulky figure but it didn't matter. His fighting skills were too bad because Genevieve only had to kick his stomach and knee him in the back to bring him down.
She finally turned to look at Archer who was looking at her with his jaw dropped. She ignored his surprised look and dragged him inside the car before driving away quickly. She had not killed those guys, they had only fainted because of the pain. It would've been troublesome if they had regained their senses.
She noticed Archer staring at her with the same questioning look.
"What?" She asked, eyes darting between him and the road.
"How did you do that?" He exclaimed. He wasn't wrong in thinking that, after all when they had first met, she had not reacted a bit to him trapping her against the wall. It was only natural for him to assume that she was weak.
She looked at him once again before focusing on the road. "Didn't I tell you I was the hidden pawn?"