Chapter Three: The Zero Auction

Eighteen years ago your mother defeated eleven seats, then lost the final one to my father. She wagered everyone's right to remember her.” Zhou Lin stopped breathing. “Is she alive?” “That answer is the entry fee for your next table.” Gu slipped a black invitation into his pocket and walked away. Outside, Zhou stock fell under regulatory inquiry. Xu Zhi sent a message: the thirty-seven million had cleared, and all forty-seven victims had joined the lawsuit. In the elevator, Zhou Lin realized he could remember no happiness inside the Zhou home. His life there contained only cold corridors, closed doors, and ignored dinners. The tiny pieces of sweetness were gone cleanly.