Xiaokai had no illusions that Sun Yue was in love with Liu Baiyan. He’d heard about love, certainly—he saw it in books and movies, and had studied it extensively so he could mimic it in his appointments, but to find it in his own family? There were no such indications. The Liu family simply wasn’t capable of it. Sun Yue and Liu Baiyan each came from prominent families in the List—the Liu family controlled the members of the List on the surface, and the Sun family controlled the members of the List underneath that surface. When the two of them had been born only a few years apart, it was only logical to put them together and form the perfect List family. They had a business relationship. That was all. Sun Yue had conceived Xingyu and Xiaokai with Liu Baiyan, but that didn’t at all expand their relationship to anything more profound than professional—Sun Yue had sex as part of her job, just as Xiaokai had. That meant nothing to her. Liu Baiyan as a romantic partner meant nothing to her. It was a matter of respect, their relationship—nothing else.

But this picture in front of Xiaokai begged to differ. Was she…grieving? He didn’t think she was possible of such a thing.

He locked the door and pressed his lips together for a moment. Then he said, “I didn’t know. I don’t have any reason to want him dead.”

“Is that the truth?”

“Of course it’s the truth. I’ve been waiting my entire life for Liu Baiyan to give me his position. Why would I want him dead before he gave me that?”

“I just…” She pressed her face into her hands. “How could he be capable of this? His own father.”

Another thing that baffled Xiaokai. “I don’t know what you mean. Liu Baiyan taught Xingyu how to be this way. He taught him how to kill. He taught him to take what he wants. He probably didn’t hesitate any more than Liu Baiyan would have hesitated if he discovered what Xingyu was planning or if he even just determined that Xingyu wasn’t useful to him anymore.”

“Would you be capable of it?”

“Would I be capable of killing Liu Baiyan?”

Sun Yue nodded.

“I don’t think so. Probably not. I guess it depended on the situation. It’s not like you taught me to be very empathetic, either.” He came closer and dropped into the seat in front of her. “Tell me what I need to do to help. Have you already taken care of the body?”

“Yes. I sent it to the mortician and already paid the money to get a proper death certificate.”

“What about the press? Do they know yet?”