The Rise of the White Lotus

"Dylan Lu."

A moment of silence dawned on the interrogation and monitoring room. Ethan Lu could hardly process Dylan Lu's involvement into this. 

Deep down, he had suspected that his cousin was involved. However, confirming it had still took him some time to process the information. 

"I see..." Nodding her head, Churu turned to the mirror where Ethan Lu was watching them. "You got your answer." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

After that, Churu turned to the man and smiled. "Thank you," with that, Churu stood from her seat and left the man who was reflecting on his future. 

"Master..." Glancing at Ethan Lu's back, Lyrick Jiang's shocked eyes had a worried glint flashed across his eyes. 

"Still check who were the other D's and..." without turning to Lyrick Jiang, Ethan Lu's shoulder trembled. "Look through Dylan's activity and his connection to the black market. I'll give Lou a call." 

"Yes," Lyrick Jiang stared at Ethan Lu's back for a second before he nodded his head and left to execute the order. 

When Ethan Lu was left alone inside the room, his chest heaved heavily. His hands trembled as it balled into a fist. 

"Dylan..." He muttered through his gritted teeth. He should have seen this through from way back. 

The odd behavior Dylan Lu did in the past. Ethan Lu and Edward Lu shouldn't have turn a blind eye on his minor misconduct. Now, those little misbehavior was now causing major trouble. His cousin, Dylan Lu was now coming at him — ready to take Ethan Lu's life away and Lexi's. 

"Grandpa..." just the thought of the things that might happen in the coming days, Ethan Lu was reminded of his grandfather. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he hanged his head low. 

To Ethan Lu, he wasn't the favorite or dotted grandson. Sure, he was proclaimed as the Lu family heir. However, the burden of being the family head was overwhelmingly heavy. 

Dylan Lu having the spotlight away from him was their grandfather's way of protecting him. He was a bright child; unlike Ethan Lu whose parent's were cruel and selfish — Dylan Lu was raised by a loving mother. 

Dennis Lu might have his shortcomings and had several affairs behind his wife, but he never showed how rotten he was in front of his only son. Hence, Edward Lu was satisfied enough that he could keep Dylan Lu's innocence while enjoying the privilege of being a Lu. 

Why couldn't his cousin realize that? What pushed him to have ambitions that would only destroy their family's already strained relationship? 

Ethan Lu could not understand. He had been kind and lenient towards them and yet, they kept on wanting more. Ethan Lu didn't know what to feel about this anymore as there had been too much emotions circling around his heart. 

It was making his head buzz, slightly losing his composure and causing his knees to weaken. This whole fiasco was draining... truly draining. 

Just then, Ethan Lu felt his phone from inside his suit pocket vibrated. He weakly slid his hands inside and picked his phone up without checking the caller. 

"Love?" From the other end of the line, Lexi's voice came after a few second of silence. 

"Hmm?" Humming a tune, Ethan Lu sat on a chair as he pinched the space between his brows. His head was throbbing and he could feel the pain slowly building up every passing second. 

"Are you alright?" Sensing the oddness of her husband's heavy breaths, Lexi knitted her brows. "Are you feeling unwell because of the accident? Where are you?" Worried laced her voice, as she recalled that Ethan Lu had nearly had an accident earlier that day. 

"I, I don't know, love."

"Where are you? I'll pick you up." Determined to see him as soon as possible, Lexi paused from preparing herself to depart from Beauty DR as she waited for his response. 

"Hmmm, police station."

"Okay, I'll be picking you up." Without a second delay, Lexi didn't let him refuse as she instantly ended the call and departed her office. 

She knew that her husband has been on a lot of stress. He worries about the company, her safety and the twins, the yang parent's security, and then his life. 

Therefore, as his energy booster, Lexi would rush to him regardless of what time of the day it was or how busy her schedule was if he needed her. That's the least she could do for him in this situation. 

Meanwhile, Ethan Lu only heard the beeping sound from the phone as the line ended abruptly. "Ahh... I made her worry again." He muttered as he ruffled his hair out of frustration. 

"Alas..." He said, covering his eyes by his palm as he looked down, "I really need her." He whispered before silence fell on the whole monitoring room once again. 

*****

Half an hour later... inside Ethan Lu's vehicle. 

"Master, Nico said he found a lead where Miss Chen's brother was staying. However, he was still unsure if her brother was still there or not." From the driver's seat, Lyrick Jiang reported as soon as Nico Zhuang updated his status. 

Alas, Lyrick Jiang heard nothing but silence from the back passenger seat. Glancing at the rear mirror, Lyrick Jiang noticed that his master had been silent ever since the man's confession. Ethan Lu had kept his eyes shut while he wait for Lexi to arrive. 

Just then, the heard a knock from outside and Lexi peeking inside. As usual, Lyrick Jiang hitched out and he greeted Lexi with a bow. 

"Madam,"

"Where's he?" Taking a step back from the door, Lexi gaze over at Lyrick Jiang's haggard front. 

As soon as she asked about her husband, Ethan Lu departed the car. "I'll ride with her." Without turning to look at Lyrick Jiang, Ethan Lu flatly informed before he dragged Lexi back to her car. 

"Ah, love?" Surprised by the dark mood surrounding around her husband, Lexi tilted her head to the side as he drag him towards her car. When they stopped, Ethan Lu turned to him. 

"I'm just tired and I want to have an alone time with you." Unlike his usual gentleness, Ethan Lu's eyes bore thirst; thirst for peace of mind. 

"Okay..." nodding in understanding, Lexi leaned forward as she left a peck on his lips. "I'll drive." She whispered before she opened the door and hitched inside.