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“Is it also right you’ve impregnated her?”
The idea that hadn’t sunk in fully yet, of Scarlett carrying his baby, a miracle baby by all accounts, spread his lips with its intense delight. “That is absolutely right.”
Hashimoto looked at him in such horror, as if he’d just watched him cut off his own arm. “Don’t you realize the magnitude of scandal this will cause?”
Raiden nodded calmly. “It won’t be as bad as you think.”
If he’d married Megumi, then had an illegitimate child with Scarlett, that would have been the stuff of permanent social stigma for the Hashimotos. But breaking off the engagement, even at this late date, for his pregnant gaijin lover... That would only be the stuff of malicious gossip. The most the Hashimotos would suffer would be a period of social ridicule. As for Raiden, he’d leave Japan, never to return. His exit from the scene would soon douse the scandal.
“Raiden-san, I truly expected better from you, far better. I never suspected you’d be so gullible that a woman like that could trick you into such a catastrophic position.”
He pursed his lips. It was time to put him straight and end this. “Ms. Delacroix is a noble, courageous and benevolent woman, Takeo-sama, and I won’t allow even a hint of disrespect toward her. She is the woman I love, the mother of my future child and the one I’m going to marry.”
Hashimoto now looked as if Raiden had hacked off his arm.
Raiden exhaled forcibly. “I truly hoped we’d be family, Takeo-sama. I would have been honored to be your adopted son. But this will ultimately be for the best. I’m sorry I didn’t end this earlier, but circumstances dictated the timing. You beat me to this confrontation, but the result would have been the same no matter who instigated it.”
Hashimoto sagged down to his chair as if Raiden had shot him between the eyes. “You can’t do this, Raiden-san... You can’t. I—I called you here to demand you end your liaison right away, send that woman...” At his warning glance, Hashimoto swallowed. “Send Ms. Delacroix out of Japan.”
“And now you know why I came to see you.”
“But even if you no longer care about entering our family, or about destroying our honor, there are billions at stake. For everyone. And everyone includes Yakuza bosses.”
This brought Raiden to the edge of his seat. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Did you think a merger of this magnitude can happen without them insinuating themselves in it for a sizable piece of the pie? There are a dozen Yakuza branches counting on you becoming the head of our family, once this marriage comes through, and remains solid and producing heirs. But thanks to your lack of discretion, they found out about your liaison with Ms. Delacroix and were worried.”
Before Raiden said everyone could go to hell for all he cared, Hashimoto drove his point home. “They are waiting like vultures for the mergers to occur so they’d have their commissions. They were already considering intervention to put an end to your liaison when they had no doubt you’d still marry Megumi. If they find out you won’t, Ms. Delacroix will become an obstacle in the path of their interests. They wouldn’t think twice about removing her from yours...permanently.”
Nine
Raiden stared down at the city of Tokyo, sizzling with light and nightlife, his uproar ratcheting with every breath.
Unable to bear looking down anymore on this city where he’d once felt an intense sense of belonging, he closed the automatic blinds and crossed the penthouse in the dark.
Not that he needed lights. He’d operated in darkness more than half his life. He’d needed nothing but his skills, his will and his brothers. To succeed, to excel, to survive.
To live, he needed only Scarlett.
Everyone kept telling him he couldn’t have her. His brothers, his uncle, society. All these didn’t matter. Their opinions could be either changed or disregarded.
The Yakuza mattered. Their opinion was unchangeable.
And they’d sent him his uncle with a simple message.
Get rid of Scarlett, or they will.
He’d thought he’d once known fear, as a helpless child in the hands of monsters. He hadn’t experienced its acrid taste since he’d become part of his brotherhood, had long forgotten the sensation. But he’d never known what fear really felt like. Now he knew. Fearing for her safety was unadulterated, sanity-destroying dread.
His uncle had told him he wouldn’t make public Raiden’s intention to cancel the wedding and to marry Scarlett instead. Not until Raiden decided how to handle the Yakuza’s threat. Though he’d been angry and upset that Raiden had reneged on his promises, he was more worried about him.
When Raiden, murderously angry, had told him he could protect himself and his own, his uncle had made valid arguments to the contrary.
The Yakuza needed an ongoing merger to reap the benefits, the kind that came only from stable marriages and legitimate heirs. They’d already bought stock and placed bets depending on the marriage that wouldn’t come to pass. His relationship with Scarlett had already hurt their business, but they probably hadn’t removed her nuisance already since they expected Raiden to do as he was told, and they’d rather not alienate him unnecessarily. But if they thought they were losing him anyway, they’d have nothing at risk. Eliminating Scarlett would serve as a punishment to him, and a cautionary tale to anyone else who didn’t abide by their rules.
He’d sworn to his uncle he would kill them all first.
His uncle had only looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Then he’d told him he’d do everything in his power to mollify them, to buy him time, until Raiden got his act together.
