Thomas was nervously glancing at his boss from the rearview mirror. Lucas was seemingly cool and composed but the temperature inside the car was chillier than usual. He was stiff and his eyes were hardened in anger. Thomas did not even dare to let out a sigh in front of his boss at that moment. Whenever Lucas had to visit the main mansion, the atmosphere around him always turned tense.
"We're here, sir," he announced after a while. Lucas lazily looked up at the mansion in front of him.
Stretched across several acres of land, the Hao Mansion was easily one of the most beautiful structures in the country. The Italianate style home was made of white marble with a neatly trimmed lawn. Aluminium coated windows shone through as the lights inside illuminated the panes. He could see movements from within which meant that the family members were at home.
Lucas got out of the car and fixed his tie. He slowly made his way towards the mansion, putting on his usually aloof attitude. A camera at the entrance recorded him approaching the threshold and the door slid open. The butler of the house, Garrett Lim, welcomed him.
"Master Lucas," Garrett greeted him in a robotic manner. Garrett was the loyal butler of the Hao family, having worked with them for over forty years. The man was in his seventies with an air of humility and his white hair was properly brushed back. He stepped aside to let Lucas enter.
"May I take your coat?" he offered.
"That won't be necessary," Lucas replied. "Where's grandma?"
"She's in the bathroom, attended to by the maids," Garrett stated. "Master Hao and Mistress Yan will be downstairs shortly."
Garrett bowed and backed away as Lucas stepped into the large living room. He was immediately blinded by the annoying bright light projected by the chandelier. The walls were plastered with a sick shade of yellow ochre. Mock Elizabethan style furniture was placed all over the mansion, an attempt to give it a royal touch but it simply made him cringe. While Lucas found the taste of the inhabitants quite plain, others apparently thought the mansion was exquisite.
He sat on one of the couch and crossed his legs, looking regal in the midst of the atrocious yellow room.
"Sir…"
Thomas had just entered the house and addressed him.
"I just received a call from our informer," he muttered to his boss. "Alex Wang will be at the club tomorrow."
"Is the information correct this time?" Lucas asked.
"Absolutely," Thomas confirmed. "His client has also booked a private table there. They'll make the deal tomorrow."
"Get the men ready then," Lucas said in a cool tone. "And-"
He suddenly stopped when his glance fell on the grand staircase. Two figures had appeared there.
A man who resembled Lucas a lot was standing next to a bony woman. The man was in his fifties with greying hair and was almost identical to his son except that he had beady brown eyes. His name was Charles Hao and he was one of the most reputed businessmen in the country. Clad in a dark suit with a properly ironed shirt and a haughty demeanor, he was talking to his wife, not noticing his son in the hallway.
Walking with him was his wife, Donna Yan. She was not a beauty but had an exotic allure. Her dark hair was cropped short and she wore a tight fitting sleeveless dress which highlighted her skinny limbs and curves. She was holding her husband's arm and descending the staircase.
"The Kim's have decided to hold the engagement in their manor," he was telling his wife. "This is an important deal for us. Once Aidan and Jenny get married, our problems will be-"
He stopped short when he saw his eldest son standing in the hallway. Donna followed her husband's gaze and her nostrils flared in anger.
"So, you've come here again!" she scoffed. "Are you here to butter up your sick grandmother again?"
"Don't bother to talk with riffraff like him, Donna," Charles said loudly. "If he had any shame, he'd have never shown his filthy face to us but it seems that he is adamant on getting hands on the Hao property."
Lucas did not reply but was looking at them with mock interest. Thomas could feel his boss' seething fury and braced himself for the worst.
"Shame?" Donna laughed. "A bastard like him can never have any shame! Always coming back to this house in the hopes that we'll take him in. How pathetic!"
"That's rich coming from a mere maid who seduced her way to the top," Lucas said in a cold tone. "Tell me, did you seduce Mr. Kim as well? A reputed businessman like him agreed to get his son married to your daughter. He's crazy about money and won't associate himself with a former maid as his son's mother-in-law who'll bring no profit to him. Then how did you guys convince him?"
"Quiet!" Charles snapped at his son. "Andre Kim is an old business partner and is very keen for this engagement! But thanks to your actions, he keeps on having second thoughts but we managed to convince him that we've got no relationship with you! And yet, you came back to the mansion to humiliate us!"
He picked up a newspaper and read the headlines out loud.
"Respected businessman or Mafia kingpin?" he read. "And it even has your picture on it! Disgusting!"
Lucas smirked. "Better than what you're doing, Mr. Hao," he said. "If I recall correctly, you paid a gang to attack one of your business rivals and also had many plots illegally destroyed by some criminals so that you can get your hands on them."
Charles' face began to contort in anger and he wanted nothing more than to kill his eldest son on the spot.
"How dare you talk to your father like that?" Donna spat at him.
But Lucas did not care. He was in no mood to deal with these people
"I mean, I'm not even pretending to be a respectful guy here!" he went on. "I'm the Demon of the Underworld and I have no respectable image to lose. But you...you're hiding behind a facade of humility and honor. You have more to lose."
"You fucking brat!" Charles stepped forward to slap his son but before he could even raise his hand, Lucas stood up and grabbed his father's hand. Donna screamed as Lucas twisted Charles' arm behind him and pressed him against a glass table.
"HELP!" Donna shrieked but Lucas took out a gun and pointed it at her with his left hand while his right hand locked down his father. His dark eyes were gleaming with a murderous glare.
Thomas was about to stop his boss but before he could do so, Lucas stopped him.
"Don't," he threatened. Instantly, Thomas backed off, choosing to remain silent. Several maids and servants came to their mistress' rescue but were shocked to see Lucas holding a gun.
"I can shoot you dead if I want," Lucas said in a soft yet spiteful tone. "And trust me, there's nothing more satisfying to me than seeing these disgusting walls being covered in your blood. Yet, I'd rather have my hands stained by the blood of millions of people than dirty them with your stinky blood!"
"Lucas!" Charles exclaimed, frightened of his son. "Son, let me go! I'm your father-"
"Spare him!" Donna begged. "Let us live in peace! There's no need for violence!"
"Should have thought of that all those years ago," Lucas stated. "Thanks for the happy memories, stepmother."
Still pointing the gun at Donna, he turned to Thomas.
"Thomas, arrange a meeting with Mr. Kim," Lucas ordered him. "Tell him that we will be delighted to invest in his company."
"Yes sir," Thomas said obediently. "I'll tell him."
Lucas roughly released his father, who immediately ran towards his wife, hiding behind her.
"Filthy brat!" Charles muttered. Donna shook her head in warning and turned to the terrified staff.
"Off to work!" she snapped at them. "And not a single word about this should go out! You understand me?"
The staff murmured in agreement, daring not to look at Lucas as they scattered. Donna grabbed her husband's arm and led him away. Both of them glared at Lucas one last time before turning away to leave.
"Sir…" Thomas began but Lucas put his gun back inside his pocket.
"I'll go and check if grandma is out of the bathroom yet," he said and headed upstairs. Once he was gone, Thomas sighed and noticed that Garett was standing at a corner, having witnessed everything.
"You didn't try to save your employer," Thomas noted. "Why?"
"I think Master Lucas already stated his reason why he won't kill his father and stepmother," Garett replied. "Besides, it could have been worse."
"Worse?" Thomas echoed.
"Oh yes, you weren't here the last time Master Lucas visited the mansion," Garett recalled. "That was almost three years ago."
"What did he do that time?" Thomas asked.
"Set the master bedroom on fire," Garett shrugged.
"Crazy man," Thomas muttered, shaking his head.
"Can you really blame him?" Garett questioned. "After what they did to him, I'm surprised he let them live."
He did not elaborate on his words nor did Thomas ask him to explain. The less he knew about the complicated family dynamics, the better it was for him.
"God help us all," he muttered.