Chapitre 60: Shadows of Night

The banquet was coming to a near end.

Su Xiang was munching on some snacks, alone, at one of the dining tables. Her body tensed when she noticed a hard stare directed at her. She spared a glance, finding a young man looking at her unwaveringly.

She looked away, picking up a fork, pretending to be interested in it. After a moment, she put it down, glancing around the room again, and the man still kept his gaze locked on her.

She felt unsteady. From her side-eyed view, she saw him get up, approaching her.

He stalked carefully, stopping right at her feet. It took a moment to look at him. He was an average-looking young man with black hair and restless eyes as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked her.

Su Xiang hesitated. She didn't know him, but he seemed to be harmless. Su Xiang nodded slowly as he offered her a hand. She took it, heading with him on the dancefloor.

He held her waist modestly when they began to dance, and he held her other hand as he guided her. It wasn't the first time Su Xiang accepted a dance from a guest or a man she didn't know.

She followed his lead, twirling her around. He neared her as he pulled her close.

"Are you Su Xiang?" he asked her.

"Yes," Su Xiang answered. "What's your name?"

"Cloak," he replied.

"Cloak?" Su Xiang questioned. "That's not your real name."

"No," he answered what she might be questioning.

"Then who are you?" she asked.

He pulled her in closer. "I am no one," he said. "But, I am here to take something—someone."

Su Xiang froze. Her chest clenched tightly, her heart nearly stopped. She heard about these things, of people kidnapping women, or taking elite daughters to hold for ransom. But she was in the middle of a hall, in front of many people who very much saw them. She held her breath, holding his gaze.

"You're not good at concealing your face," she said, "for someone called Cloak."

He faced her. "The cameras around the entire perimeter and few blocks from now are blocked off with old recordings on a loop. No one will capture my face."

Su Xiang stilled. She tried to prevent her knees from buckling with fear. "What do you want?" she spat.

"I'm not here for you," he whispered, though she was able to hear him through the music.

It didn't assure her.

She delved the courage to face his dark and depthless eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm here for him," Cloak said, glancing at someone behind her. She turned her head slightly, finding Su Chen speaking with some staff from the office. She quickly turned her head back, her eyes raging with fury.

"If you hurt him—" she began.

"I'm not," the man responded.

Su Xiang looked at him skeptically. She didn't trust a word as to what this stranger was saying. She wanted to bolt and run away from him as fast as possible, but his grip was firm, and he mentioned Su Chen.

"Then what do you want?" she asked again.

"I was sent by someone that is looking for him."

"Who?"

The man narrowed his eyes. He was someone not willing to spill secrets or tell any details.

"What do they want with him?"

Cloak shrugged. "My job is only to bring your brother to them...oh, wait, sorry; he isn't your brother at all."

Su Xiang trembled as he twirled her again; her golden hair flew along with her body. He helped her stand straight.

No one was supposed to know that.

She was breathing heavy now, but she tried to remain calm with each breath she took. She didn't dare to respond.

"Listen," he said, "the people who want him aren't telling me anything. When I do these jobs..."

Su Xiang's eyes widened. He didn't have to continue as she could fill out the words, 'End up dead,' was what he didn't finish saying. He was a reaper. A person that looked for people wanted by gangs, low-lives, or influential people with power. He wasn't a killer. He was the hunter who brought his prey to those who wanted to feast, dead or alive, whatever his clients requested.

"Then why are you telling me this?" she demanded.

The man smiled, a cruel smile that had seen a lot of things that people shouldn't have, and he was numb to that pain and torture. He wasn't afraid of anything.

"It's rare to have a client with power and money," he began, "But they won't pay me until I bring him. And considering as my target is so rich, I want you to pay triple what they're offering," he replied.

Su Xiang gritted her teeth. "Can you at least confirm who, in particular, is looking for him?"

The man shook his head. "Can't tell you, sweetheart. It doesn't go too well for snitches."

Su Xiang rolled her eyes. The song finished, but a new one began.

"But I can say it's someone that won't be happy to know, he's alive."

Su Xiang almost fell. Didn't Su Chen come from an ordinary background, an orphan boy that didn't have a home? But her parent's contacted his family before for the medical issues he had. Or had that been a lie?

There were so many questions she had and so little answers. She was more confused than ever.

"Who is Su Chen, really?" Su Xiang questioned, wanting to know desperately.

The man dipped her, arching her back. "He's the son of someone that's not alive right now, for a certain reason."

His answer was vague. He was trying to avert the question. Su Xiang pulled away from him when the song stopped.

"Transfer me the money, and you won't ever see me again," he warned her with a chilling voice.

"How can I believe your word?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Believe that if you don't. You won't see him again."

Su Xiang fisted her fingers into white knuckles.

"You only care about money," she said, her voice falling. "And not the lives of others."

The man chuckled. "It's a cruel world. And I am rather tired of the police questioning me about where certain people are. So, I decided why not profit more by telling you? It's a win-win situation," he said with a sly smile.

"What if more people look for him?"

"No one but me knows that he's with the Su family. I spent months digging for this information, hoping for a jackpot. And I was given almost nothing. I became obsessed with finding that boy who was wiped from existence. "

She gave him a questioning stare.

"There was a minor slip-up," he said, "that your parents did; reckless it was."

Su Xiang might know what he was referring to. But she wasn't 100% sure. Su Xiang glanced at her parents, who were casually speaking to other guests at the party. When she turned around, the cloak had disappeared. She gazed around the crowd, and he was nowhere to be seen, like a shadow blending into the night.

Su Xiang released a breath, running fingers through her golden hair. She then returned to her family, pretending as if nothing happened.

"Are you okay?" Su Chen said, stepping to her side. He held a worried expression on his face. He could see how visibly shaken she was.

Su Xiang forced a smile, "I'm fine. I just want to go home."

Su Chen nodded, setting his jaw and stepping away from her.

Su Xiang felt like going to his apartment, telling him that people were looking for him, asking if he remembered anything, even if it was a small fragment of memory. But he had been a child when her parents took him in. But just who was looking for him? And how did it connect to her parents?

Su Chen left with Yu Haoran, dropping her off at home.

Su Xiang waited for her parents, who were wrapping some things from the event. She idled around, reaching into the pockets of her dress, finding an odd business card, with only a few details.

On the car ride home, she sat in the backseat of the car, gazing at her mother and father. They spoke to each other about the highlights of the party, and Su Xiang frowned. She couldn't imagine the secrets they must be keeping.