The Lady of the Han Family
The Lady of the Han Family
"This looks nice," Ririna said, her hand gently rubbing her chin. "The theme suited Cindy, but I do hope you can meet the expectations of the director and the co-producers for your next movie."
"Do you really think I could make it?" Annika asked dryly, "I still can't see myself portraying that kind of character," she confessed.
"You can't still find a connection between you and the female lead? Are you sure you want this? You keep on hesitating with your decisions. If you couldn't believe in yourself, how could you prove to everyone that you deserve the spotlight?"
"I don't want that much attention. I will be happy to receive some recognition for my work."
"You think so? I can't say I could agree with that. You were popular before. Aren't you upset that your fans easily forgot about you?" Ririna said, her eyes still fixated on Cindy's face.
"What do you mean?"
"Humans tend to attach their happiness and satisfaction. The more people recognize you, the more accepted you feel. You will not be happy once the numbers dropped, and you will be disappointed in yourself. Appreciate and be grateful to those who will stay with you even if you think you're falling down."
"I hadn't realized that when I left the industry. To be honest, my only concern was to hide Mika and try to give her a normal life; but I guess it didn't work out well," Annika said.
"Didn't you try any other work aside from acting?" Ririna asked. With Annika's beauty, she should be able to find another job.
"I did try, but it was hard for me to leave Mika alone. She was a sickly child when I gave birth to her, and she always needs me beside her so I couldn't find a stable work to support both of us."
Ririna led her to the elevator. Annika had successfully signed her contract with Han Zhou Entertainment and had met her new manager.
"I don't know how you were able to convince Jillian Kang to come back, but I'm really grateful Miss Han." Annika bowed her head in gratitude. She would forever in debt with Ririna for helping her.
"I have a feeling that she's the best one out there who could help you rise from the ashes. Do your best and prove to everyone that you can make it." Ririna patted Annika's shoulder and smiled.
----
"Why are you going down to Southern Province? Did something wrong happened, or does the bureau want you to inspect another smuggling deal again?" Ririna asked Eli that night as she took the tea tray into his study room.
"Mother requested that I supervise one of the rescue and retrieval operations. She mentioned one of her colleagues was trapped in the area." Eli set some papers aside and turned off his laptop. "I've got to see what really happened and check if it is connected with Hattori. He's been on a run for weeks, and we couldn't find his tracks."
"I guess you're right, but I'm going to enjoy these peaceful days. I do hope you can find him. Did the bureau say what they want from him?" Ririna sat down on a couch across his desk and poured the tea.
"Of course, they want him dead. They have finally given me the personal data of that man." Eli accepted the teacup his wife offered to him.
Ririna blinked. "You know his identity now? For years, they refused to help you with these details; what made them change their minds?"
Eli's brows rose slightly.
"The news about the black market is starting to leak to the public. Some people refuse to believe such things happened in our world. The government needs to protect their interest, or else people will lose their trust in them."
"But his personal file…"
"The file said his real name is Samuel Shao, second generation to the title. He has a younger twin brother that he fought for the title years ago as well as your mother."
At the mention of her mother, Ririna looked at him in surprise.
"My mom?"
"Yes. Apparently, she also participated in a successor's game before." Eli sipped his tea with a considering air around him. It wasn't really surprising at all. "Your mother knew him. There might be something that he wanted from her and that lead her to her own death."
"I don't know." Ririna put her cup down with clutter. "Do you think he was the man who kidnapped me when I was younger?"
"I assumed that it was him." His hand reached out to touch the side of her face. "We will end this. He won't be able to hurt our little Sky," he whispered.
Ririna scowled at him. "Why won't you bring me with you? I want to help you."
"I want you to stay here and keep Skyler safe. Please, Ririna. Don't make this hard for me." Eli's eyes hardened almost imperceptibly. "I can't allow myself to put you in danger."
Ririna groaned, but she didn't want to argue with him tonight, least of all why he didn't want her to join his mission. Perhaps this would be one of those moments that a wise wife would listen to her husband and let him do his job.
"How long will you be gone?" she asked quietly.
"Just overnight. I will be back on Friday morning."
"Okay."
Eli studied his wife in silence for a moment. He then pulled her to his side and tucked her head under his chin surprising her.
"Will you miss me, Ririna?"
"Of course," she admitted.
"Good," he said. His gray eyes gleamed with an expression that could make everyone wonder if the devil was really capable to love someone.
----
"That's about it as far as Christian Jiang and his family are concerned," Aoi said as Jonathan eased the private car through the heavy airport traffic with a precision that could be expected from an assassin that could wield his sniper rifles well. "Nothing as usual on their backgrounds. The bureau wasn't using them against our family. Just a couple of calls and requests about surveillance on the Eastern Provinces since there was a high rate of smuggling of guns in their area."
"So the bureau still believes in our capabilities," Eli observed. He flipped through the thin folder that Aoi had given him earlier to read. "If that's the case, we don't have to worry about the government turning their back to us."
"I can't see why they would do that, Master," Aoi commented, "One more thing, Master."
"Yes?"
Aoi turned and rested an arm on the back of his seat. His dark eyeglasses reflected the light outside the car.
"I didn't find any valuable information about the Jiangs," Aoi said, "but there is something interesting happening right now at the Southern Provinces. It seems Samuel Shao was also being hunted by his twin brother."
"Daniel Shao? He's still alive?"
Eli took aside the papers and sighed. He knew Hattori was involved all along. Aoi's report just confirmed his suspicions.
"What else?"
"Samuel Shao supposedly went down there specifically to run away from his brother. After years of hiding, Daniel Shao has decided to seek his brother and hope to kill the tradition of passing the title to another one."
"You mean he also wants to release the control of the Underworld from his older brother?"
"As far as I could tell, Daniel is doing a great job. He has managed to push him and destroy all of his illegal transactions in just two weeks."
"I'll be damned if this Daniel decided to cross our path and obstruct our plans." Eli felt something click into place. Was Daniel Shao the one who had helped him tracked those smuggling transactions at the ports of Central City?
"Furthermore, he isn't the only involved at the hunt. I couldn't believe it at first, but when I reviewed the recording of the cameras, I thought I was seeing your wife at the scene which was quite impossible since Miss Ririna stayed with you last week."
"She did."
"The woman who had saved those innocents at the ports was the lady of the Han Family," Aoi concluded.
Eli hesitated. There was only another person who could be the Lady of the Han Family. He finally realized why his mother insisted on his cooperation on this mission. He was going to save his mother-in-law from whatever doom she was in.
"Do I need to accompany you on this trip, Master?" Aoi asked.
"No," Eli finally said, "Keep an eye to Ririna and Skyler. Make sure Ririna won't do something stupid this time."