Venom

《 Eighty - One 》

'Remember, Yifan. I'll keep an eye on you the whole time you'll be speaking. If you feel that you need me, call for me.'

Yifan chanted that sentence back to himself in his head as he sat in front of a crowd of people. Analyzing eyes were stuck on every movement he made. The air was cold in the large hall as he sat in his chair. Five people were sitting on his left side and five on the other. All from different nationalities and ages. Yifan's heart thumped roughly as the violent flash of the cameras hit his eyes. Anxiety rose in his throat, but he gulped it down.

"Good evening, Mr. Zan. Why did you decide to hold a press conference tonight?"

The tiger took a deep breath in. When he began to speak, his deep voice was calm and collected. "Good evening, everyone. Tonight, I have a confession to make."

The cameras flashed faster, and the crowd in front of him began to murmur and gossip. Yifan hid his shaky hands in his lap and willed himself to be strong. The black business suit he wore felt as if it was suffocating him. The fabric felt like it was taking away his ability to breathe. Lorenzo's image popped into his mind and gave him strength.

"What kind of confession? Are you resigning as the CEO of Zan Corporations? What about the shares and..." Yifan zoned out the questions and waited for the reporters to be silent.

"I'm not resigning or handing over my companies. Today, I want to discuss an event that happened to my mother, Zan Yu Yan." His voice was strict, leaving the reporters no choice but to stay silent and listen.

"A few years back in China, my mother passed in a house fire." Yifan began. "Her death wasn't an accident. It was planned."

Gasps ran throughout the hall at that statement. All cameras were pointed at him, and the sharp light above his head picked at the skin on his neck. The tiger cleared his throat and spoke again. "One of the most powerful businesswomen, one of the kindest daughters with a golden heart, and my loving mother, she was murdered."

The reporters began to attack him with questions. "Do you know who did it? Is this why you took over her business?"

"You have been hiding from the public's eye all this time. Are you doing this now for attention?"

"Did you only take over this business for your mother's money?"

"Mr. Zan. How did you know that your mother was killed rather than dying because of a house fire? Do you know who did it?"

"My father and his business partners planned it. They planned to kill my mother, me, and my siblings to take over everything my mother owned legally, but a relative saved us." He wanted to keep Grandma Jia's name as far away from this case as he could.

"Who are these business partners?"

"Jacob Brown and his father, Martin Brown. They were business partners with my father, Zan Jin." The name of his father rolling on his tongue made him want to wash his mouth out with soap.

"My father was a poor excuse of a parent. He abused me and my mother countless times, but we were never able to leave him. My mother thought he could change and be a good father to me and my siblings. He forced her to stay home and took over her business. My father and the Brown family formed a partnership, and they wanted to expand my mother's business illegally. When she declined, all of them, including my father, decided to kill us. We survived, but my mother didn't." The more Yifan spoke, the more weight he felt lifted off his chest.

"What proof do you have? Why should we believe you?" Reporters threw question after question at them, but he stayed silent. Yifan looked at one of his bodyguards and nodded. The man dressed in a dark black suit walked away. Suddenly, the lights on the stage went off. The only bright light on the stage was now pointed toward a large projector behind them. A video started playing on the screen. It showed the footage of Yifan sitting in his office with Jacob standing over him. The older man had a gun in his hand. As the video played, Jacob's voice, which Yifan had recorded secretly on his phone, played along to match it.