Read The Enemy in His Bed :: Prologue: Everybody Has a Secret Part 2

"I cannot believe this! Are you accusing me of treachery and adultery? In front of everyone? This is a lot to take in. Mr. Larks, I would never ever betray you - your trust and my husband's -"

The woman resumes her speech, yet Benjamin Larks appears to only be listening with one ear as he wipes his mouth with a thick napkin and signals something to one of the servers. Soon, two large men in suits enter the dining hall with their arms hooked around a barely conscious man, technically dragging him into the room. It is clear that the two larger men have done a number on the latter as he was bruised in the face and bleeding on the nose.

"Imagine what it'd do to my husband's career and our little fami - OH!! Oh my God, Jason!! Jason dearest!! What did they do to you!?" Her speech turns to a scream of horror the moment she lays her eyes on the pummeled man. Quickly, she rushes to the battered man, leaving her husband's side at the dining table. The 2 bruly men released their hold, causing the man they spent the last hour beating up to drop ungracefully to the marble floor.

"Your handsome face!" She holds his head in her lap, checking his condition with her bare hands. From one of the pocets inside the man's dirtied suit jacket, she pulls out a small camera that is split in half, "Your camera!"

"Kick them out," the Larks patriarch barks. Just like that, the two guards dragged them out of the room. The woman's voice echoes well after she disappeared from view. Her husband, a new face to the local politics scene, Steven Hong, does not budge. He continues slicing the perfectly seared duck breast on his plate.

"That's one problem dealt with," Benjamin Larks gets back to his own meal, seeming like he's merely commenting on the taste of the food, "We'll deal with the press. And of course, you can always get yourself a better wife".

Steven Hong nods, "Of course, Sir".

To many, the scene is quite bizarre. But to those working under Benjamin Larks, this is a very common scenario. Obviously, when Benjamin Larks ordered two of his men to find the reporter who is also Mrs. Hong's secret lover, he had done an in-depth investigation on what that woman and reporter have been up to. The two have been secretly stealing information on Mr. Hong's political affiliations, which could potentially affect his own business as one of Mr. Hong's biggest donors.

Ivanov Phillips, whose uncle is a notorious member in Mr. Larks' private security firm, Larks International, has intimate knowledge of this investigation. With the amount of embezzling and stealing the woman had done, there will be more to follow up after this evening to ensure that she and that reporter would not have any credibility to their name.

"He should've find himself a wife and not a wifey".

Ivan's mind comes to an abrupt stop. "What?"

The guy next to him, Li, turns a bored face to him, "Huh?"

"What did you say?"

"What'd ya mean?"

"Something about a wifey".

"O yea, I mean, the woman is a little too young to be his wife, y'know. A little immature, a little dumb. I'm saying, he needs to find a wife. A real woman; one smart and mature enough to be in the business, y'know?"

You see, never in his life would Ivan considered Li as one of those people whose words he would take seriously. Simply put, he thinks Li is an idiot. But this time, Li's words have such a grip on him that he's pulled back to an hour ago, in Michelangelo's penthouse. His patron, the boy he's been tasked to befriend and to protect since 10 years ago, stood at the top of the stairs. There was a glint in his eyes when he cheekily said: "Just picking up my future wifey".

"Oi, Ivan!"

Ivan snaps out of his head space and blinks wildly at a confused Li. "What's up with you today?" Li mutters suspiciously.

Ivan says nothing and instead turns his bewildered gaze at the diners in front of him.

He, along with Li and a few other top bodyguards from Benjamin Larks' private security firm, is currently standing guard in Mr. Larks' favourite baroque dining room. That evening happens to be the time of the month where Benjamin Larks hosts a private dinner party for some of the most influential people in Buangan City. He'd have them in one of his richly-furnished dining rooms, sitting around a long table with himself at the head, and have a luxurious spread for dinner made by his chefs.

Sitting closer to the head of the table are the people closest to Mr. Larks himself; politicians, fellow businessmen, scholars, and phillantropists. The farther away they sit, the less they are connected to Mr. Larks' businesses. In fact, the opposite end of the table is usually for first time guests.

That particular night, Mr. Larks is having 4 young CEO's at the end of his table; all considered quite succesful for their age. One of them is a CEO of a fashion app that allows its users to collaborate and upcycle their old clothes. The second one owns a number of food franchise around the city. The next one just started a publishing company. And the last one is a young businessman who owns a chain of trendy clubs and lounges.

That last CEO is Michelangelo Drake.

Of course, no one knows that he is also there as the son of the host. They all think he is there as a newly-established businessman; a fresh face to make connections with.

"That's crazy! He just had that man's wife kicked out!" One of the young CEO's exclaim in a hushed tone.

"Do you think he did something to that reporter?"

"Duhh! Didn't you see? The guy's bleeding!"

They bicker among themselves, throwing a shocked gawk over the other end of the table every once in a while. And, with the acting skill of a true silver screen actor, Michelangelo mirrors the expression of his peers; looking all tense and surprised at what just transpired in the dining room.

Then again, Michelangelo is a former teen-actor.

Yes, it has been more than 10 years since he last acted for the big screen, but it has to be that very skill he inherited from his movie-star mother that he tapped into tonight to appear so oblivious to what was happening - because Michelangelo is the very person who convinced his father to out Mrs. Hong publicly at the dinner.

And perhaps, it is also that same skillset that he used to lie to his own father just an hour ago, when the older man asked him where he was in the last couple of hours before the dinner.

"Actually I was just bar hopping for a while. I still get a little nervous before these social functions. Sorry, dad".

Strangely enough, Benjamin Larks, the man obsessed with knowing anything and everything about the people around him, believed him. Perhaps it's the sculpted face, the tan skin, and the wavy brown hair that reminds him so strongly of his decade-long lover, Brianna Starling, that makes Mr. larks so gullible to his own son. Still, it does not change the fact that Angelo used this knowledge and lied to his father.

Ivan knows the truth. Angelo went to the airport to pick someone up. His car, the one that Ivan bugged so he could track wherever it was going, then went to an area in the fashion district, where he presumably dropped that someone off. This someone is a person Angelo refers to as...

Wifey.

The idea gives Ivan the shivers.

Ivan has stuck by Angelo's side since the latter was only 16. He has witnessed many faces come in and out of Angelo's life; man and woman; young and old - each and every one of them known by the Larks patriarch and Ivan himself as Angelo's sword and shield. It's a first for Angelo to lie about someone he's bedding.

Unless this is more than just a fling...

No. Michelangelo, son and only heir to Benjamin Larks, was born for something bigger. If he's going to have someone by his side, it has to be someone worthy - not a wifey, but a wife.

Ivan directs his gaze at his patron, who is laughing at what the other CEOs are saying with that angelic smile of his.

No matter what, he will find out who this wifey person is.

***

Lenny does not know who this 'Ed-Ed' person is.

Clearly, this 'little brother' of Kai's is a completely different person to his adoptive brother. His skin is as pale as a ghost's, a clear contrast to Kai's golden tan. If Kai always pull his hair up in a dramatic pigtail in his natural black hair with multiple colorful streaks, 'Ed-Ed's hair is bleached silver with a slight wave. If Kai dresses in a lot of leather, flowy layers, skinny jeans, and piles of accessories, dear little brother is dressed in a plain sweater layered on top of a white button up. And is that a Star Wars keychain on his backpack? Great. The kid's a nerd.

He is Hisashi's adopted son. Naturally, he should bear no resemblance to Hisashi's biological son. However, there are some resemblance.

The slim but defined jaw, the small lips, the nose - a lot of those features Lenny recognizes in Kai are also present in the face of this strange kid. The one notable difference is perhaps the large sleepy eyes the kid has that succesfully makes him look eternally bored and uninterested, which unnerves Ivan when he stares blankly at Kai after receiving the first of many bear hugs of that evening from his older adoptive brother. Kai, on the other hand, has this slanted piercing eyes that easily pulls people in.

"Are you sure he's adopted?" Ivan whispers to Kai once they're all seated around the Owen's dining table.

"Hm? Yea".

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Okay, what is this about?" Kai's expession turns incredulous. Ivan maintains his serious face.

"You sure Hisashi didn't impregnate some other woman and this is the kid?"

"Uh, no!" Kai answers confidently, "My mom would've killed her," they blink at each other. Then Kai adds, "And the baby".

Lenny nods, "Right".

What's even more ridiculous is that Edward the elder, Kai's grandfather, is also there at the dining table, fawning over the fact that Edward the young (Ed-Ed, Edski, Eduardo, and whatever name Kai would throw at his new little brother in the future) has learned how to do the dishes.

Edward (the young) is 20 years old. How the fuck is he being congratulated by the leader of Buangan City's most feared vigilante group for knowing how to wash plates.

Apparently the kid is very smart - so smart that he fails miserably at mundane everyday tasks. He is smart enough to skip grades and enter university though (and not just any university, mind you, he attended Asia's number 1 university, Jaxxon University) at the age of 15. Now at the age of 20, he just finished his engineering degree and holds a permanent position at XenTech.

And the fact that he just learned how to do the dishes at the age of 20 (and almost burned his dad's kitchen a few months back) is why he has to move in with Kai while he is stationed for XenTech's branch in Buangan City.

"So you're in XenTech," Lenny twirls his seafood pasta with a fork, "That's a feat. Mind humoring us with some cool company's secrets? Like, what future projects are you working on at the moment?"

This question might seem like one coming from a curious fan of the company. Afterall, what person does not own a single XenTech device nowadays?

"Hmm, hovercars and smart road system," Edward answers, voice flat and somewhat detached.

"Any new exciting project?" Lenny presses on, "Like weapons -"

"Ah, look at the time! How about some dessert, Kai? I heard you got some tiramisu?" Edward the elder smoothly interrupts.

Kai technically slams his hands on the table as he stands up. "Oh, right! I'll get to that. Lenny, come and help me in the kitchen!"

Lenny is not at all surprised when Kai starts pointing at his chest and gets in his personal space once they're in the kitchen. The happy-go-lucky persona Kai puts on that night slips, and Lenny is faced with the cold-toned one. "I dont know what you're up to, but do not bring Edward into this. No more talks about the Organization in my home, do you follow?" Lenny nods stiffly, allowing Kai to resume, "I don't want Edward to hear or see any of it. No more of that XenTech weapon business, understand?"

He pushes at Lenny's chest before stepping away to get the tiramisu. Lenny huffs in annoyance. "It wasn't anything like that. I was curios. Plus XenTech is not part of our mission, that's the Sevent -"

"There's no 'our' in this, Len. I'm not doing the Organization's work while Edward is here. There is no 'us', it's you and your Organization," Kai growls as he gathers the antique plates to bring to the dining table.

"Right, right...," but Lenny plans to slowly bring Kai back into the mission with finding the Larks' heir instead. At that reminder, he takes out his phone to check on some updates. He's been following some people he believes to be part of Benjamin Larks' inner circle in hopes of finding more information about the man's private life. To his surprise, one of the politician's Instapost's has a very recent picture posted of himself and Benjamin Larks, along with a group of other people all dressed up to the nines. It seems to be a gathering. In the corner of that post, a distance away from where the politician and the Larks patriarch, he notices a familiar figure dressed in a dark navy suit. There's no mistake, that is...

"Angelo Drake".

Lenny flinches and turns around. Kai's little brother is standing right behind him, peering to see the screen of his phone. Nervous, Lenny lets out a little stutter. Perhaps it's the deadpan gaze that seems to read into him. Perhaps it's the fact that Kai just threatened him.

"Right! The celebrity. He may not look like it, but Lenny right here is a huge fan!" Kai teleports magically to Lenny's other side, hooking an arm around Lenny's neck while chuckling lightheartedly, "Rumor has it, the guy moved here, so Lenny over here is all excited".

Edward tilts his head, "Didn't take you as one for celebrities, Samuel".

He's not, but that was a good save from Kai. "I prefer being called Lenny".

Edward holds his gaze for a full 3 seconds. "Okay".

Lenny can't help but be annoyed by this kid already.

"I'm more surprised you know who he is. Didn't take you as someone who'd remember celebrity's name either, Ed-Ed," Kai chimes in, succesfully diverting the topic to Edward instead.

Edwards seems thoughtful for a moment, "Well, he is from Angkasa City. But I know him from my time in Jaxxon".

Lenny and Kai are both taken aback, "Jaxxon?"

***

Later that night, a text is sent from the discord account Ed_Weird to thechaoticthinker.

Ed_Weird Guess what?

Ed_Weird 873802.jpg

thechaoticthinker Woah!

thechaoticthinker Where did you get that

thechaoticthinker thats weird

Ed_Weird Apparently people take pictures and post them online

thechaoticthinker haha!

thechaoticthinker My mom and dad will be pissed