Meanwhile, in another part of dragon scale, in A luxury villa. This was the home of the Chen family, led by London Chen, the patriarch, and his wife, Krista Chen they had five children three boys and two girls they were also married with their own families.
Louis Chen, the oldest son, was married to Rachel Wong, daughter of influential politician, Governor Wong. They had two children, Ethan and Ava.
Jacob Chen, the second oldest, was married to Sophia Lee, heiress to the Lee family's vast real estate empire. They had a son, Lucas.
London Chen Jr., the third oldest, was married to Maya Patel, daughter of renowned businessman, Raj Patel. They had a daughter, Mia.
Samantha Chen, the fourth oldest, was married to Alex Rodriguez, son of a prominent tech mogul, Carlos Rodriguez. They had two children, Julian and Emily.
Lisa Chen, the youngest, was married to Michael Tan, son of wealthy entrepreneur, Henry Tan. They had a son, Benjamin.
The Chen family was known for their business acumen and their involvement in various philanthropic endeavors. They were a close-knit family, and their gatherings were always filled with laughter and warmth.
However, this night, Louis Chen had his son, Ethan, tied up to be whipped for his foolish actions. "Strip him down and give him fifty lashes," Louis Chen ordered his bodyguards, his face twisted with anger.
His wife, Rachel, tried to stop him. "Louis, stop this! He is our only son. Why are you doing this?" she asked, desperation in her voice.
The commotion drew the rest of the family members outside into the courtyard. "What's going on here, Louis? What are you doing? I demand an explanation for this," London Chen spoke firmly, his voice commanding attention.
The scene was tense, with the family members looking on in shock and concern.
"Father, I'm glad you're here. This foolish boy has done the most idiotic thing of his life. And because of him, our family might be facing certain demise," Louis said, his teeth gashing in anger.
"Calm down, Louis, tell me what he did," London said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure it's not that bad ..."
"See, that's the problem, Father. You favor him too much, you spoil him, and now he's going to be our downfall," Louis spat.
"Oh, come now, brother. I'm sure it's not that bad. Just tell us what he did. I'm sure it's a problem money can solve," Jacob said with a sigh.
Louis started laughing. " Hahahhahahhaahhahah, This foolish boy decided it was a good idea to hire someone to kill David Wright. The worst part about it is that he actually succeeded. David Wright is dead because of him."
The courtyarderupted into chaos as everyone started panicking.
"He... did... he did..... He did what?" London asked, stumbling back, breathing heavily. "You fu*king foolish child! You have sealed our fate! We are done for!"
Rachel collapsed to her knees, her face white with shock. "No, no, no, this can't be happening. Were all going to die"
Krista Chen rushed to her husband's side, trying to comfort him. "London, calm down. We'll figure something out. We have connections, we can-"
"Connections hahahhahahahHaha?" Louis cut her off with a laugh. "The Wright family is ruthless, and they won't let David's murder go unpunished."
London Chen's face turned grave, his voice low and menacing. "You know what this means, don't you? The Wrights will stop at nothing to avenge David's death. We need to take action, and we need to take it now."
The family's arguing and shouting died down, replaced by a tense silence. They all knew that their lives were about to change forever.
Louis Chen's eyes locked onto Ethan, his gaze cold. "You will pay for this, boy. You will pay for what you've done."
But Father, it's not my fault. I only told them to rob him, nothing more. Besides, no one knew it was me. I was wearing a disguise.
Ethan's words sent a wave of shock through the family.
"YOU WHAT?!?" Louis Chen's voice boomed, his face purpling with rage. "You hired someone to rob him? And you think that's an excuse? You got him killed, Ethan! You might as well have pulled the trigger yourself!"
London Chen's eyes narrowed, his expression icy. "A disguise? You think a disguise is enough to protect you from the Wrights? They'll find out it was you, and when they do, we're all dead."
Rachel collapsed onto a nearby chair, her face buried in her hands. "What have we done? What have we raised?"
Louis Chen's cold voice cut through the silence. "I should have killed you when you were in your mother's womb."
The courtyard fell silent, the only sound the sound of Rachel's muffled sobs and the distant hum of the city. The Chen family's world was crumbling around them, and they knew they were living on borrowed time.
Rachel walked over to Ethan and slapped him across the face. "You foolish boy! I should have never had you! I should have terminated you when you were still in my womb!"
,"That's enough, we need to find a way to get ourselves out of this. It's going downhill fast. Does anyone have any ideas?"London Jr. asked.
The family members and in-laws started to brainstorm ideas, throwing out suggestions and counter-suggestions.
"We could try to negotiate with the Wrights, offer them a settlement or something," one of the in-laws suggested.
"We could try to cover our tracks, make it look like it was a random robbery gone wrong," another family member chimed in.
London Chen's voice cut through the chaos. "No, we need to be realistic. The Wrights will never buy it. We need to come up with something better than that."
Krista Chen spoke up, her voice calm and collected. "What if we use our connections, see if we can get someone on the inside to help us?"
The room fell silent as everyone considered the idea.
"What if we hire someone to take out the ones who killed David Wright?" Lisa Chen asked. "Not only would that clear Ethan's name, but it would also get us out of hot water."
"That's not a bad idea, sis," Samantha said, rubbing her forehead, "but first we need to find out how much the police know's and if they have any leads."
"I "I like that idea, let's do it," London said.
"Grandfather, What about Ethan? Is he still to be punished?" Benjamin asked.
"Yes, Grandfather, he deserves to be punished. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place," Mai chimed in.
"Ava, Julian, and Emily nodded in agreement, their faces stern and resolute.
"I originally wanted to give him fifty lashes ," Louis said.
"Increase it to five hundred and fifty lashes," London said, his expression hardening.
"But, dear, that may kill the boy, he is still our grandchild after all," Krista said, slightly concerned.
" Mother! We do not care. If he dies, so be it. We can make other sons," Rachel and Louis said in unison.
"You heard it straight from his parents' mouth," London said. "Krista, note that. I shall now quote a line from one of my favorite movies , Rocky 4: 'If he dies, he dies'."
Ethan began begging his grandfather, but it was futile.
"Someone turn up the music, make sure no one passing by can, hear his screams," London shouted.
"Grandmother, please don't let them do this to me," Ethan begged.
Krista sighed. " Dear child, If I stop your punishment, you will never learn anything. You need to understand we are not afraid of the Wright family, we are afraid of the people who are backing them."
"Let me tell you a little story. Have you ever heard of an organization known as The Core? Of course you haven't. Let me tell you who they are."
"The Core. It's an elite, highly secretive organization that operates under the Wright family's umbrella. Their existence is a whisper in the shadows, a rumor that only surfaces when it's time to collect a debt or settle a score. The Core's operatives are the best in the business – ghosts, hackers, killers, and strategists. They are the ones the Wright family's call when they need a problem to disappear, a situation to be handled with precision and finality. That is who The Core is. Only people of high society know and The Core and the Wright family's partnership."
There once was a family known as the Benson family; they had an altercation with the Wright family, and now the Benson family is no more—disappeared overnight.
"See now, you understand why we can't just brush this off and let you go with just a warning. And for your begging, it is now six hundred lashes," London said.
Then he turned to the bodyguards. "You may begin."
The sound of the music blasting through the speakers, drowning out Ethan's screams.