Marcus leaned across the table, his eyes fixed on the boy in the chair.
"Your name. Tell me."
The boy swallowed hard before answering.
"My name is Zeng. But sir, I swear… I don't really know what Dongmin is involved in. Not fully. I only know bits and pieces."
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"Dongmin? Who the hell is Dongmin?"
Zeng hesitated, then whispered, "He's the one everyone calls Master Tiger Tattooed Guy. My… my boyfriend."
"Oh, I see." Marcus raised a brow, lips curling into a thin smile. "So your boyfriend lied to me."
"No, sir!" Zeng's voice shook. "Everyone calls him that. But you don't understand—Dongmin is a good man. I don't know about drugs, or who he works with, or who his leaders are. I just know his heart. He… he saved me."
Marcus didn't speak, letting the silence weigh heavy as Zeng's eyes clouded with memories.
"When I was a child, I lived in a brothel with my mother. The head there tried to sell me to some man. My mother begged for mercy, but no one cared. Then Dongmin came. His own life was already broken—his father treated him like dirt, abused him in every way. He even once caught his father in that brothel… with another woman. That night destroyed him."
Zeng's voice cracked. "And still… he gave everything he had to save me and my mother. Paid a fortune to buy our freedom. From that day, I knew—I loved him. Not just because he was handsome, but because his soul… was kind. Even when he's angry, he never raised a hand to me. He's taken care of my mother as if she were his own."
The room was quiet, the confession spilling out like blood from an open wound.
Finally Marcus leaned back, his voice measured.
"Alright. Then tell your boyfriend this—walk away. Slowly, carefully. Leave this life behind. I'll give him a chance. I'll even give him a job. He won't have to worry about survival."
Zeng blinked, hope flickering in his eyes. "You… you'd really do that? Alright, I'll tell him."
From across the glass, Lucas smirked. "See? Didn't I say he wasn't all bad?"
The junior female officer shook her head.
"Still doesn't change the fact that he's a suspect. Our job is to interrogate, not sympathize."
---
Later that night, Zeng lay with his head on Dongmin's chest, listening to the steady beat of his lover's heart. He hesitated, then whispered, "Let's walk away from this, Dongmin. Leave all the dirty work behind. We can start over."
Dongmin's eyes darkened. "If I give this up, our lifestyle—everything we have—will vanish. I won't be able to give you the life you deserve."
"You don't need to," Zeng murmured, clutching him tighter. "The detective promised. He'll give you a job. We'll survive. That's enough."
Dongmin studied him for a long moment, then suddenly laughed, soft and broken. "Fine. Whatever you say, I'll do it. For you, Zeng. For your mother. You two are all I have left. My family abandoned me long ago."
Zeng smiled faintly. "Then don't worry. Everything will be alright. I'm here."
But before the warmth of that moment could settle, the doorbell rang—loud, insistent.
Zeng froze, glancing at the clock. 1:40 a.m.
"Who could it be at this hour?" he whispered.
Dongmin's expression hardened. "Stay here. I'll open it."
He strode to the door and pulled it open—only to find his uncle standing there, flanked by bodyguards.
"Uncle?" Dongmin's voice wavered with surprise. "At this hour? You could've just called."
His uncle chuckled, a smile too smooth to be trusted. "What, do I need an invitation now to see my own nephew? I just came to check on you. See how you're doing."
From behind the doorframe, hidden in the shadows, Zeng listened. His gut twisted with unease. Why would Dongmin's uncle arrive so late… with an entourage of guards?
Something wasn't right.
Quietly, Zeng slipped his phone out and typed a message, his fingers trembling. Marcus… they're here. Dongmin's uncle brought men. Something's wrong.
Miles away, Marcus read the text, his jaw tightening as dread set in. Without hesitation, he grabbed his pistol, called for one of his junior members, and the two sped into the night—heading straight for Dongmin's home.
The storm was about to break.
To be Continued....