The Revenge

Wendell Chung applied ice to his swollen face. First that pathetic bar maid had slapped him and then her rescuer had punched him.

His life had gone from bad to worse over the period of several months. He thought back to the night his luck started changing for the worse. It had been at that charity ball when he'd attempted to get that drunk woman alone. Gordon Zhou had beat him to a pulp and his bodyguards had broken his bones in multiple places. If that weren't enough, in a matter of weeks, his company was bankrupt and he realized Gordon Zhou had immense power in this city.

Wendell Chung was a man who kept account of those who had wronged him and he intended for Gordon to pay dearly. He wondered how proud and arrogant the young businessman would be if he lost the things most important to him?

He heard that Gordon had married the woman from the ball and that she was pregnant. He had plans for her but he was patient. He could wait until the right time.

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"Uncle, my men have confirmed the hit on Amy came from the Red Vipers." Gordon said over the phone the next day.

"Who ordered the hit?" Calvin asked.

"I don't know yet. We may have to shake things up for them to talk." Gordon said.

Meanwhile, at a large shopping mall in Beijing, Charlotte and her girlfriends were spending the day together shopping and looking at baby things. They decided to eat lunch in the mall food court and visit a few more stores later.

Charlotte, Cora, Rachel, Amy, and Sara sat around a large table in the center of the food court. Bella was beside her mother and Rachel wore baby Eason in a wrap across her chest.

They were in high spirits, laughing and talking. They were completely unaware of the man taking aim on the floor above them. He set his site on the woman who was his target, and pulled the trigger.

It happened in seconds but the scene seemed to play out in slow motion. The bullet sunk into the woman's chest and screams filled the air. Chaos broke out as people scrambled for the exits. The hitman blended into the crowd, unnoticed.

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All over Beijing phones were going off about the incident. However, for five men, it was especially harrowing as they received text messages and phone calls from the women they loved.

Gordon, Andrew, Michael, Calvin and even Edward rushed to the hospital where their ladies waited. However, one of those women was hanging by a slender thread between life and death.

Outside the operating room, the women were sobbing, holding each other and huddled close. As the men arrived, the women were pulled into the secure embraces of the men. Even Edward was overcome in the moment and crushed Sara to his chest.

Calvin arrived last. The message he'd received had only said he needed to get to the hospital as fast as he could.

As he rushed toward the group of friends and family he realized he didn't see Amy.

"Amy! Where's Amy?" His voice was ripped from his soul as panic and a sense of foreboding filled his heart.

"Calvin, she...I'm sorry." Rachel spoke up but chocked on her words.

"You mean she..? Is she?" Calvin asked, terrified.

"She was alive when they took her into surgery but the doctor said her chances aren't good." Charlotte whispered.

Calvin looked down the hall at all the bodyguards. Not only did Amy have a team that followed her, but Charlotte and Cora were always accompanied by some of Gordon's men.

He stormed up to them.

"What the heck happened?! Why is my wife in the operating room?!" Calvin yelled.

"Sir, it was a sniper's bullet." One stepped forward to say.

"I want the ones responsible for this! Get a group together and storm the Red Vipers headquarters. Make them talk. I want to know who ordered the hit and who carried it out. I'll deal with those two personally. Take men from the Black Hand if needed. I don't care how you do it, but do it before the sun sets today!" Calvin raged.

He turned around to see people in scrubs carrying bags of blood running towards the operating room.

Calvin fell to his knees, a deep guttural wail erupting from deep inside.