4 Stage 4: The Crackle of Anger

After ending his call with his mother, Lixin flopped back onto the bed, a little dazed. The conversation had been stiff and awkward because of the unfamiliarity between them, but he had to admit it was quite pleasant.

As someone who never knew the love of a parent, it was somewhat strange to hear adoration in his mother's voice as she spoke to him. He guessed this was what he had been missing out on all these years.

The two of them conversed for over an hour and it was really enlightening. After reading the text once more he took Mr. Johnson's advice and questioned her about what happened and why it led to him being in his father's care.

When he viewed the message from the detective in his previous life, he vaguely recalled brushing it off as something he would do later. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Perhaps, if he'd done so earlier, he would have known not to put his faith in his dad.

Shaking his head, Lixin thought about what he had discovered. The entire situation seemed so much like a poorly written soap opera that he found it almost unbelievable. But there was evidence so it had to be real.

According to his mother, his father targeted her after learning that she came from a wealthy background. His father hatched a scheme to seduce her with the sole intent of obtaining her money. Which worked marvelously. However, from the get-go, her family was aware of his motives. They tried to warn her, but she was too infatuated with him to see what he was up to.

By the time she suspected something was afoot, they were already married, and she was heavily pregnant. However, divorce wasn't easy to get because of the prenup his father suggested they sign as a testament of his love for her.

In the prenup, it stated that the only reason they could get divorced was if one of them cheated. If they divorced for any other reason, the party owed the other party 50 million dollars. Because his mother was so in love with his father and never thought she would leave him, she only thought of the clause as a romantic gesture.

However, that clause came back to bite her. It was only after asking her father for help that she was able to divorce him without giving him a cent. But Lixin's father wouldn't let go of his cash cow so easily.

After Lixin was born, the court granted his father visitation rights. But he could only see him on weekends. His mother thought his father had changed for the better at first. However, when Lixin was two years old, his father took him to another country and never brought him back, basically kidnapping him.

His father kept in contact with them using disposable phones, exploiting Lixin's safety to extort money from them. He collected more than half a million dollars before they were able to trace him. Sadly, he managed to evade capture and disappeared with Lixin and the money, never to be seen again.

Lixin's heart ached as he realized how much this revelation explained about his childhood; why his father never showed any true form of care for him.

Especially when he heard his mother's voice quiver with sadness on the other end. She told him she loved him and how desperately she had searched for him all these years.

Tears filled his eyes as he felt an overwhelming mix of emotions - gratitude for being able to reconnect with his mother despite everything, and anger at his father for taking him away from a loving parent without feeling any remorse.

If he didn't think his father was a scummy lowlife before, he sure did now. He just didn't understand why his father took him the second time when he could no longer use him to get money. But as he thought about it, he realized the man did it out of spite.

He was upset that he wouldn't be able to get any more money out of his mother and wanted her to suffer because of that. It was truly diabolical.

Lixin sneered contemptuously as he thought about that miscreant. His father was a filthy, dirty dog, and not worthy of respect. He would pay anything to see the man get the beating he deserved.

'I bet it would be a wonderful sight,' he thought, grinning wickedly as he imagined it. Just then, his phone began to ring in his pocket. His face changed as he checked the caller ID, to one of disgust. 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear.'

Lixin couldn't help but scowl at the phone. The ringing began to grate on his nerves, as it was an unwelcome reminder of the person he was about to speak with.

He felt his body tense with anger just at the thought of talking to the man. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he sat up on the bed before he accepted the call.

Putting the phone to his ear, Lixin opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, his father beat him to it.

"Where are you? I got home and found your mother had been bashed in the head and your sister said you did it. Can you comprehend how much trouble you're in? She could have you arrested for what you did." His father shouted through the receiver.

In his previous life, his father's words frightened him, and he could only quickly explain why he did it. But now he couldn't care less.

"I dare her to do it," Lixin replied nastily. "If she does, I will tell them I did it to get away from that disgusting molesting pedophile."

When his father spoke again, Lixin could clearly hear the feigned indignation in his voice. "That doesn't make sense! Hailey is not like that. She wouldn't do something like that! Now, why don't you tell me where you are so I can bring you back and we can have a civil conversation about it?"

Lixin scoffed in disbelief and shouted, "Do you think I'm stupid? I'm never going BACK there!"

His dad must have realized he would get nowhere with his patronizing attempts to defuse the situation and switched tactics. "Listen, son. If you're acting like this, I'm sure something must have happened. I'm sorry for not believing you. What if we go to the police together right now and report her?"

Lixin almost chuckled at the ploy but decided to play along. "Really? Are you serious?"

"Yes, just tell me where you are and we'll go," his father said, hoping he'd finally fooled him.

"Sure," Lixin replied sarcastically, "I'm at 123 Kiss my ass avenue. Did you really think I was going to fall for that? I know all too well what your actual intentions are - trying to sell me to your wife since you obviously can't satisfy her."

"Boy, how dare you speak to your father that way?" his father spat with venom in his voice, but Lixin was unmoved.

"Fuck you!" he spits out, seething with anger that he could no longer hold back. You are a pathetic excuse for a man, and I don't know why it took me so long to see it. But my eyes are wide open now. You're not a parent, you're a pimp. But I won't let you whore me out. So listen here, you piece of shit. I'm cutting ties with you!"

He heard his father's maniacal cackle pierce the air. "All you had to do was stick your dick in a willing hole and we could have been on easy street! But your fucking ass couldn't even do that one small thing! Just wait until I find you, then you will see how I really pimp you out!"

"Good luck with that," Lixin spat back. "But you shouldn't worry about finding me. What you should be worried about is getting arrested."

"As if anyone would believe your claims," his father jeered.

With a malicious grin, he added, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you the good news. My mother found me."

As soon as Lixin made that announcement, he disconnected the call before his father could respond. He quickly blocked the man's number before lying back down on the bed.

It felt very cathartic for him to finally be able to curse out his father in this manner. There had been a weight lifted from his chest, albeit a minor one. He would need to see those people locked up in order for one of the larger ones to be removed.

Suddenly, he realized that he should have recorded his call with his father. Slapping himself on the forehead, he sighed at his stupidity. That was his one chance to get concrete evidence on that woman.

But it was okay with all the terrible things those people did. He knew deep down that he would get his revenge one day.

~

Author Says:

MomoCatt: How could you forget to record your conversation?!? You could have had him!

Lixin: I know! I'm still beating myself up over it.

MomoCatt: Instead of beating yourself up you should beat up him.

Lixin: As if I don't want to.

MomoCatt: Oh, well… Come have some Lavender tea to calm your rage.

Lixin: No. I want to keep this anger.

MomoCatt: More for me I guess.