48 Rou Yanlin

"What makes you think you can just make me worry like that? Have you ever considered that there is already a WE in your decisions? Especially if it involves your safety!"

"Don't ever go running around inviting any shoot-out without my knowledge again!"

"Every time you put yourself in danger, remember that I will run after you no matter what, putting us both in a difficult situation."

Andrea was about to reach out to Lu Fang, but he did not give her a chance.

"I am going back. Grandfather is already here."

And just like that, she watched him walk away leaving her behind the bunker. She let out a sigh then closed her eyes, internalizing everything. She now knew how different it would be moving forward. Commitment, permissions, considerations of the other's feelings and well-being. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Expectations will grow even bigger as the relationship progresses.

'Yes, that's right, Andy. These are the problems when you get into a relationship. Are you ready for this?'

In another room, the men of the Lus were sitting in a roundtable with Gao Rou trying to learn more about their unknown enemy.

Lu Jie has been cursing for minutes after learning who was behind all this.

"That son of a b***h! It wasn't enough he took my wife! Now he wants my grandson!"

Lu Fang was caught by surprise and asked, "Grandfather, kindly elaborate on this. What grudge does the governor have with us?"

"He was your grandmother's best friend."

Lu Jie was shaking his head as he brushed his hand through his hair before speaking again.

"Ahh… I never thought his anger could last so long… Rou Yanlin was deeply in love with your grandmother even before I met her, but the fool never confessed to her so I got to her first! He only started to become a problem for me when your grandmother and I were together. Before we got married, it was only simple schemes but after that, he started creating problems for my business."

"Back then my empire was still small, and I did not have Gabriel's Den. Yanlin's family was very influential that he would manage to create false reports of tax evasion and employment violations against my company."

"I had seen the pressure he had put into your grandmother as well. Her parents were also faced with the same threat. My company that time almost went into bankruptcy, then all of a sudden your grandmother disappeared and the scheming had stopped."

Lu Jie looked up to Lu Wei and observed his reaction. This was the first time he was telling him the whole truth. He used to ask about his mother but, at that time, he could not prove that his wife was taken my Rou Yanlin. All he had was speculation, so he only gave him vague answers.

"Years passed, I firmly expanded my empire with the hope that I can grow in power one day to bring justice to my wife. Coincidentally, both Yanlin and I had our own vigilante group but with proper logistics, Gabriel's Den received more and more jobs from the government that eventually, all requests were brought to me and not anywhere else. I was already planning on ruining him, but my wife suddenly resurfaced. She came to me asking if I could let her go and that she marry Rou Yanlin."

It did not take long for Lu Jie's voice to become frail. The recollection of his love letting go of their vows was painful to him.

"I tried to convince her otherwise, but she insisted and said that it was for the best. She said she no longer loved me and she was doing this for Lu Wei. So our son can grow up peacefully with me as his family. I could not bring her to change her mind and at that time my pride dominated, so I let her go."

The old man sighed and looked back to Lu Wei and said, "Son, your mother died just last month… and I… I could not even see her remains. I'm sorry… I was weak and eventually, I had learned to let it go and moved on."

Lu Wei may not have known the reason behind it all, but he already knew about his mother abandoning him for another man. He no longer cared. What matters to him now was his family - his wife and his son.

"I see…It was a bargain. Her for you and father's safety. Now that she has left this world, he is at it again." Lu Fang finally spoke.

"I did not see through clearly that time. When you are angry and hurt, you only see the surface and not the meaning behind it."

"We need to take care of him once and for all. We may not be in the position but our connections run deep. Let's start with convincing Ariana to testify against him and dig dirt on him. While that is in the pipeline, I'll have a talk with the president and General Lei. They would extend their help without question." Lu Wei said as he stood up to leave.

"Oh, and son, your inauguration is in two days. We cannot push it back any longer."

"Hmmm... Go Bolin is taking care of it."

Earlier that day, the leader of The Shadows received a call from Ramon.

"Drive at her, you idiot! She's obviously one of them!"

The revolving car and gunshots could be heard on the other line before Ramon Spoke again, "We have been set-up! This girl coming at me is no ordinary, Lorenzo. Your Intel is bulls***!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The exchange of bullets continued to be heard until an explosion had cut the call completely.

BOOM!

Lorenzo's poker face suddenly turned monstrous. He clenched his fists tight and thrusts it against his desk before giving instructions. "Check who is helping the Lu Family and let Rou Yanlin know! He needs to pay a premium fee! That buffoon! He paid us cheap for such a troublesome job!"

"Yes, sir."

"Find out if there are survivors!"