Chapter 12 - The Dragon’s LedgerThe private office beneath the Costa casino smelled of aged bourbon, expensive cigars, and old parchment.
Tommy Mercer slid a thick, manila dossier across the mahogany desk. The cover was stamped with a crimson seal depicting a coiled dragon holding a broken scale.
"Found it in the safe of the warehouse office," Tommy said, his face carved from stone. "Property titles, shipping manifests, and a list of local councilmen currently on the Triad's payroll. They aren't just looking for territory, Boss. They're looking to take over the municipal transit grid by Friday."
Edmund opened the dossier. Inside were names, bank accounts, and photographs of men who thought they were operating in the shadows. But what caught his attention wasn't the logistics—it was a handwritten note at the bottom of the final page, scrawled in fluent Mandarin.
“The bride belongs to the house of Wu. Return her by the new moon, or the harbor runs red.”
Edmund looked up slowly, his gaze locking onto Vivien, who stood by the bookshelf tracing her fingers along the spines of old ledgers.
"House of Wu," Edmund said softly. "Arthur Wu. He controls the Pacific shipping corridors. He's also the man who put out a contract on your father's life three years ago."
Vivien didn't stop tracing the books. Her hand paused only for a fraction of a second.
"My father lost two cargo ships belonging to Wu in a poker game in Macau," she said, her voice completely steady. "Wu didn't kill him then because a dead man can't sign over his assets. Instead, he made a deal: my father’s debts would be cleared if he delivered me on my twenty-fifth birthday."
The room grew so quiet that the hum of the neon sign outside the window sounded like a low-frequency roar.
Edmund stood up from the desk, his movements slow and deliberate. He walked across the room until he stood directly behind her, his large frame casting a heavy shadow over her slender shoulders.
"And you didn't think to mention this before I put a ring on your finger?"
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Vivien turned around, her back pressing gently against the bookshelf as Edmund closed the distance between them. She looked up, her dark eyes flashing with a fierce, defiant pride.
"You didn't ask what my father was trading," she whispered. "You just asked for the ledger that saved your empire. Well, congratulations, Edmund. You bought the entire war."
