“Well, it’s not Xingyu’s fault that he was the heir! He tried running away, and he came back to bring them down!”

That look in Xiaokai’s eye turned dangerous. “Me of all people?” His voice was softer. “What, so what I do is so much worse than perfect Xingyu, right?”

Weiran had a very bad feeling about this, and Xingyu’s hand was back on his shoulder, gripping so tight it hurt. As far as he knew, Xingyu still hadn’t found out what Xiaokai’s role in the company was. He didn’t know about all the appointments, about the things Xiaokai said he’d done just to get deals for Liu Incorporated—for the List. “Maybe it is,” he said.

“And the only sin Xingyu ever committed—if he even did commit it, as you said—can be excused because it was just Liu Baiyan, right?”

“He—”

“And how do you think he learned to kill like that, Zhang Weiran?”

Weiran bristled. “Xingyu—”

“Where do you think he learned how to use poison? Who do you think he practiced on?”

Weiran stopped. All of the fight drained out of him at once. “What does that mean?” He looked back at Liu Xingyu, who wasn’t even looking at him anymore—both brothers were just looking at each other, Xingyu looking pained and Xiaokai looking ready to murder. “Xiaokai, what does that mean? Xingyu?”

Xingyu’s hand dropped back to his side. He took a step back from Weiran. “I—”

“Xingyu, what is he talking about?”

Xiaokai let out a bark of a laugh. “Unbelievable. Even now, you can’t let go of your perfect-son routine and come clean. I—I’m going to get fresh air. Wocao.” He left again, forgoing his suit and jacket, slamming the door behind him.

“Xingyu,” said Weiran. “What is he—”

“I’ve been lying to you,” said Xingyu heavily.

“Lying? About what?”

“I did try to tell you. I told you I’m a monster. And you didn’t believe me.”

24

THE LIE

ZHANG WEIRAN’S EYES were shining, but he didn’t cry. He was stronger than that. He’d always been stronger than that. He hadn’t cried when Liu Xingyu told him that his parents had killed Weiran’s, and he wasn’t going to cry now. But he did look closer to it than Xingyu had ever seen. “So you did kill him.”

The fact that Weiran hadn’t even expected that Xingyu could have really killed his father was a testament to how far off from reality his perception of Xingyu was. Xingyu lifted his hands helplessly. “This is the real me, A-Wei. Xiaokai was right. I’m the monster Ba raised me to become.