The assassination attempt happened on a Tuesday.
Gene was in the office reviewing supply chain contracts when Steven burst through the door, face white, phone pressed to his ear.
"Lock the door," Steven said. "Now."
"What—"
"Lock it. Don't ask questions."
Gene locked the door. His hands were shaking and he didn't know why yet.
Steven finished his call, then turned to face him. "David Koh is dead. Shot outside his facility in Singapore three hours ago."
The room tilted.
"What?"
"Two bullets to the chest. Professional hit. He was getting into his car." Steven started pacing, that manic energy Gene recognized from crisis mode. "The police are calling it a robbery but that's bullshit. This was planned."
"Who would—"
"Someone who didn't want him talking. Someone who knew what he was working on." Steven stopped pacing, looked at Gene. "We need to leave. Today. Not the office—Taiwan. We need to get out of Taiwan."
"You're not making sense."
"The deal we almost did with David? The Malaysian expansion? He wasn't just processing rare earths. He was laundering them." Steven's voice dropped. "Taking conflict minerals from Myanmar, running them through his Singapore facility, selling them as clean. Big money. Very illegal. Very connected to some very bad people in Beijing."
Gene felt sick. "And we almost invested in that."
"Yeah. And someone knows we were looking at it. Someone knows we have his financial records, his supply chain data, everything." Steven grabbed his laptop, started shoving things into a bag. "Pack up. We're going to my father's place in Kaohsiung. It's secure."
"Steven, this is crazy—"
"Diana's dead too."
Gene's world stopped.
"What?"
"Got the call ten minutes ago. Car accident in Singapore. Except it wasn't an accident. Her brakes were cut." Steven's hands were shaking now. "She was on David's board. She knew everything. And now she's gone."
Diana. Laughing at Lin Yue's party. Drinking coffee with Gene, talking about whether she could make things work with Steven. Gone.
"We need to call the police," Gene said.
"And tell them what? That we almost invested in a criminal operation? That we have evidence linking us to international mineral smuggling? They'll arrest us or kill us, and I don't know which is worse." Steven grabbed Gene's arm. "Trust me. My father has connections. He can protect us while we figure this out."
"This is insane."
"This is business at this level. Sometimes people die. And right now, we're on someone's list." Steven's eyes were hard, desperate. "Are you coming or not?"
Gene thought about calling Mei. About Lin Yue. About his parents in Irvine who had no idea their son had stumbled into something this dark.
"I'm coming."
They left through the back exit, took a taxi to Steven's apartment, grabbed passports and cash. Steven made three calls in rapid Mandarin that Gene couldn't follow. By the time they reached Taipei Main Station, Steven's father had arranged a private car.
The drive to Kaohsiung took three hours. Neither of them spoke much. Gene kept checking his phone—no news about Diana yet, but he found an article about David Koh. "Prominent businessman killed in apparent robbery."
Apparent.
Steven's father's house was in a gated community that felt more like a fortress. Guards at the gate, cameras everywhere, walls topped with something that looked like razor wire but probably cost ten times more.
Mr. Chen met them at the door. He looked older than Gene remembered from the party—or maybe just tired.
"Inside. Quickly."
The house was massive, cold, filled with art that probably belonged in museums. Mr. Chen led them to a study and closed the door.
"Tell me everything," he said.
Steven did. The David Koh deal, the Malaysian facility, the mineral laundering, Diana's death.
Mr. Chen listened without interrupting. When Steven finished, the old man poured himself whiskey and drank it in one swallow.
"You're idiots," he said. "Both of you. Did you do any background checks? Any due diligence beyond financial statements?"
"We did standard—"
"Standard isn't enough when you're dealing with rare earths from Southeast Asia. Half that supply chain is controlled by triads and Party officials. You don't just stumble into that business." Mr. Chen refilled his glass. "How many people knew you were looking at David's operation?"
"Our team. Maybe ten people. Plus David's board, his CFO—"
"Diana knew. David knew. Both dead." Mr. Chen looked at Gene. "Who else?"
Gene's mind was racing. "Lin Yue knew we went to Singapore. Mei knew we were looking at the deal. But they wouldn't—"
"Everyone talks. Everyone has connections you don't know about." Mr. Chen pulled out his phone. "I'm calling some people. You two stay here. Don't leave the house. Don't call anyone. Don't post anything online. As far as the world knows, you're on a business trip to Hong Kong."
"For how long?" Steven asked.
"Until I figure out who wants you dead and whether we can pay them to stop."
After Mr. Chen left, Gene and Steven sat in the study in stunned silence.
"Diana," Gene said finally. His voice cracked. "She just… she was just here."
"I know."
"Did you love her?"
Steven was quiet for a long time. "I don't know. Maybe. I didn't have time to figure it out." He stood up, walked to the window overlooking the garden. "This is my fault. I pushed the David deal too hard. I ignored the warning signs because the numbers looked good."
"We both ignored them."
"You tried to tell me to pass. I didn't listen." Steven's reflection in the window looked haunted. "Everyone I get close to ends up hurt. Mei was smart to leave. Diana should've been smart enough to stay away."
Gene wanted to argue, but what could he say? Diana was dead. David was dead. And they were hiding in a fortress because someone might want them dead too.
His phone buzzed. Mei.
*Where are you? Lin Yue said you left town. Everything okay?*
Gene stared at the message. Should he tell her? Should he lie?
Steven appeared behind him, read the message over his shoulder.
"Don't answer," Steven said. "Not yet. Not until my father tells us it's safe."
"She'll worry."
"Better worried than dead."
Gene put his phone away, and the reality of what was happening crashed over him. Twenty-four hours ago he'd been drinking coffee, setting boundaries, thinking he'd figured out how to make this life work.
Now he was hiding in a mansion in Kaohsiung, and people were dying.
"What did we get into?" Gene asked.
Steven didn't answer. He didn't have to.
They both knew the answer. They'd wanted to play with the big money, the real deals, the networks that moved countries and economies.
They just hadn't realized how much blood ran through those networks.
Or how easily that blood could be theirs.