Sam looked up to take another scan across the café area just as Chan walked out the door.Lilly tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. “Do you like my new hair, Daddy?” Lilly asked, smiling up at him.Sam chuckled. “Of course I do.” He pinched her cheek, and that was when his eyes were drawn to the blue rose. “Where did you get that, Lilly?”“Pretty lady did my hair and gave me the rose. Do you like the blue rose, Daddy?”Sam couldn’t believe it. A blue rose. Sarah had loved blue roses. In fact, she’d planted them at their previous apartment when they’d first gotten married seven years ago. Then when she was gone, he couldn’t bear to live there because the place reminded him so much of her. So he’d moved into the mansion to start anew with Lilly.Nina gave Lilly a smile and said, “Blue roses are a bit odd, aren’t they, Lilly dear? Now red is better. It’s prettier.”“But I like the blue rose,” Lilly protested. “It’s awesome.”“What?” Nina asked.Sam chuckled. “Where did you learn t
“Happy belated birthday,” Alexandra McCartney, known simply as Alex to close friends and relatives, shouted with excitement.Chandra, who was standing at the door, had to blink twice and tell herself she wasn’t really seeing things. Good Lord! Alex was right here in front of her. She couldn’t believe it.“Alex! Oh my God! You’re early!” she shrieked in delight. So excited, she jumped up and down in her spot and then rushed toward her friend, her arms wide open.Alex gripped Chan in a tight hug and said, “I know. But that’s not important. What’s important is you’ve finally turned twenty-five like the rest of us,” she teased and then laughed merrily as they embraced.Chan chuckled as they withdrew from each other’s arms. “Well, yes. But let me tell you. It’s not easy being the baby of the bunch.” She was referring to their clan of friends since childhood: Ruby, Nikkita, Isabella, and Georgina.The merry six had attended the same kindergarten and elementary school. Then, of course, Georg
As per usual, the sisters were loud in the car, their conversations varying from free-range chicken to global warming to hot dude in silver Ferrari to poverty in Third World countries.“I swear if those bastard millionaires and billionaires, like that silver Ferrari dude, only had the heart to help out a little more, those poor, starving children wouldn’t have to suffer through all the shit they have to go through,” Dara said with a passion.“What about you, Alex?” Soriya asked. “You and your husband make donations and all that stuff, right?”Alex, who was sitting in the front beside Chan, the driver, nodded. “Yes.”Both Dara and Soriya, who were in the back seat, leaned forward with big proud smiles on their faces.“Really?” Dara asked, her eyes large. “You’re awesome.”Alex laughed. “I’ll be honest, though. I don’t do much. Jayden and I just donate about a couple million to charity each year.”Soriya nearly choked on her breath. “A couple million?”Alex nodded with a smile.“Alex,”
“Holy shit!” Soriya exclaimed in excitement the moment they stepped into the presidential suite of the Harrington. “You’re staying in this room? Awesome!”Alex laughed. “It is nice, isn’t it? The view is breathtaking. Oh, and I heard they have a five-star restaurant as well as a very flashy bar and club on the ground floor.”“We should totally go there for drinks tonight after dinner,” Dara said, nodding.“Agreed,” Soriya added.Chan and Alex looked at each other and then laughed. The two liked to argue but also liked to agree on a lot of things.Chan’s eyes widened in delight as she looked around. The place was classically decorated with modern furnishings of sofas and armchairs, a large crystal chandelier, and granite and marble floors and wall columns. There was a panoramic view of the city to the west side of the room. It was simply beautiful.“Oh my gosh!” Dara said, throwing herself onto the sofa.Soriya collapsed beside her sister and rested her head on Dara’s shoulder. “I’m in
Chandra had her eyes shut as she lay there in a tub of warm water. In her mind’s eye, she saw emptiness and darkness. Yes, that was all she wanted to see. A void. She didn’t want to think about anything. Not about her past. Not about Dave. Not Lisa. Not her beloved mom, dad, or Grandma Lin. Not Jeremy. And definitely not Lilly’s father.Just a void of darkness.It was nice to just lie here in the bathtub in a five-star hotel, doing nothing and thinking about nothing. To just simply enjoy oneself as one saw fit. Well, it was her belated birthday, after all, and she deserved some wonderful moments once in a while.She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, her mind blank.Soriya called out to her. “Chan, sweetheart? Are you okay in there?” She sounded worried. “You’re awfully quiet, you know.”“Jesus, make some sound, will ya?” Dara said loudly from the other side. “You’re awfully suspicious.”Chan chuckled. “Yes, I’m fine, darlings. Just getting out of the tub now.”Chan thought
Chandra, her sisters, and Alex met with their friends Georgina Price, Ruby William-Chan (soon to be Ruby Hasting), and Isabella Robertson at a Thai restaurant at exactly seven. After their greetings and hugs, they settled down and began their catch-up session at the bar.“I’ve got one for everybody,” Ruby announced, grinning from ear to ear, her eyes twinkling with delight.“What?” Soriya couldn’t help asking with excitement. She loved receiving gifts, and any little thing would make her day.Ruby dug her hands into her bag and took out a pile of pink envelopes. “Tada!” she said, waving them around for everyone to see.“Oh my God, are they what I think they are?” Dara shrieked.Soriya nodded. “Oh, yes. They’re invitations!”Ruby laughed as she handed them out. “One for Alex and, of course, Jayden.”“Your wedding invitation,” Isa shrieked in excitement.“It’s about time,” Georgie said, smiling, taking hers from Ruby’s hand.“And, of course, one for the Chandler sisters,” Ruby said. “Ch
An hour later, once they’d finished with their meals and were now just chatting about men, Soriya brought up the name Jeremy White again. She was very persistent where her sister’s love life was concerned.“What is this?” Nikki cocked her head to one side, giving Chan a look. “You went out on a date and didn’t tell us. You never go out on dates.”“Just one. Just last week,” Chan said in defense. “And there was nothing really to tell.”“But we can totally tell,” Dara said, “that he’s really into you.”“I agree with that one,” Soriya said. “He is so going to ask you out again. I can feel it in my belly.”The girls laughed at her comment.“Your belly, huh?” Isabella asked, cocking her head to one side.Just then, Chan’s phone rang. She glanced at it and frowned because, apart from her sisters and friends who were currently surrounding her, no one had her new number yet.Soriya leaned over to look at the name on the screen and said, “Holy shit! Speak of the devil.”“Oh my God! It’s Jeremy
They managed to get out of the restaurant without Ethan noticing Nikkita, and she sighed in relief. As they were strolling along the streets toward the hotel, they were chatting and laughing at the silly situation Nikkita was in, which of course, she didn’t appreciate.Soriya was, as usual, being her baby self and came to hook her arm around Chan’s. “Chan, can I have one of your scented candles Nikki gave you?”Chan laughed. “No, you may not.”“But why not?” She looked pleadingly at Chan with a puppy dog face. “Please?” She rested her head on her sister’s shoulder.Chan laughed. “All right.”“You’re spoiling her,” Dara said.Soriya poked out her tongue at her sister.“I can’t believe that was your boss, Nikki,” Ruby said. “I would have thought you’d be all over him, being you.”Actually, Nikki thought, Ruby’s right.She had been all over him, what with him being such a hunk and all, and most importantly, an Asian. It was her dream to date and wed an Asian hunk. But then the damn man h
A GOLDEN COIN FOR A NECKLACEA Random Thursday“This brings back memories,” Chan said as they strolled down the street, exploring the Thursday Night Market along Surfer Paradise.Holding Darany in his arms, Sam chuckled then said, “Mm-hmm. The first time I met you.”Chan nodded. Sam leaned toward her and then planted a light, gentle kiss on her lips, which made Chan blush.Chanlina, in Chan’s arms, said, “Daddy kissing Mommy.”Suddenly, Darany chanted excitedly, “Monkey! Monkey show!” He was pointing toward a thick crowd of people on the other side where a monkey was performing.“Isn’t that...” Chan left her sentence unfinished.Sam chuckled. “Yeah. Let’s go watch.”“Yay!” Darany put his little arms up in the air in excitement.Once they were amongst others in the crowd, watching the monkey doing cool Kung Fu moves, Darany tapped at his father’s shoulder. “Daddy. Rany wants down.”“All right, but don’t go running off,” Sam warned.The boy simply gave his father an adorable, toothy gri
Old Mr. Jones was entering a new phase in his life: rock bottom. He had just lost his job, his entire savings swiped from his bank account due to identity theft, and he was in over his head in debts. Today, like yesterday and the day before that, he considered ending it all. Then again, he always hit pause. He had his wife and granddaughter to think about, after all.Sometimes life just seemed to come at you, bringing bad luck after bad luck and disaster after disaster. Not only had his only child and her husband just died from a car accident, leaving their only eight-year-old girl with him and his wife, but the company he had worked for had laid him off, along with fifty others. A week later, his wife had a mild heart attack, freaking him out so much that he himself nearly had a heart attack. Then that same week, he found his bank savings had been drained, and he hadn’t a clue how since he hadn’t been withdrawing any money. A phone call to the bank confirmed that it was a case of ide
One Year LaterWhen Chan fluttered her eyes open, she smiled, and a sense of contentment and happiness coursed through her being. The morning sun was bright, filtering into the bedroom through the window. She lay there in bed for a moment, just enjoying the moment, basking in the peace and quiet as she gazed out the window, enjoying the view of the beach and ocean in the distance. When she finally moved and got out of bed, she went into the en suite and took a good, long shower. Done twenty minutes later and now dressed in a lovely floral sundress, she headed down the stairs.As she approached the living area, happy chatter reached her, and she knew literally everyone was in there. It was a Sunday, after all, and it was well past ten in the morning now.She came to a stop at the entrance of the room, her heart constricting with emotions. Yes, everyone was in here, all right. Fran was holding one of her little darlings, Chanlina, in her arms. The baby girl was cooing as Fran tickled th
By the time they arrived home, it was dark. Once Detective Liam put the car into park, Sam got out and then drew Chan to him. He picked her up in his arms and then carried her toward the house. Of course, everyone was already at the door waiting since Jeremy had phoned Dara to tell her they had found Chan and that she was safe and sound.The moment they spotted Chan, the sisters came rushing forward.“Chan, are you okay?” Soriya asked. She had clearly been crying hard. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were raw.Chan gave her sisters a weak smile. “I’m fine now.”Once they were in the living room, Sam placed her on the couch, and Fran immediately brought over a mug of hot chocolate for her. Chan gladly accepted it, her hands shaking. She began sipping eagerly as everyone gathered around the living room, Keith included, who was now talking to Liam and Jeremy.Though the crowd was keen to ask Chan questions about her ordeal, they knew she needed time to gather herself. Once she finished
Chan swallowed hard, her body tense, her gaze fixed on Dave in front of her. He, too, had his gaze fixed on her face, a dark smile on his lips.He said, “When I discovered your father was quite a wealthy man, despite his and your living conditions back then, he had his will drawn up with me as one of his witnesses, believe it or not.” He laughed. “He was that trusting. He was so gullible. In that will, he was going to give his daughters everything, and I knew I just couldn’t have that. I knew Lisa and Amie would agree, so I pitched a plan to them. Oh, they got freaked out at first, but then the hunger for money was just too overpowering for mother and daughter. In the end, they decided to do what I told them. I taught them how to lace Michael’s food with antifreeze. He got sick and must have caught on as to what was happening, but of course, we persisted. Needless to say, we failed the first few times. That bastard was hard to kill, I must admit. That, or Amie was lousy at concocting
Chan hadn’t a clue how long it had been since she had escaped Dave and Lisa’s clutches, but she knew it had been a while. The sun had moved farther to the west, so she knew it was late in the afternoon. By now, Sam would have notified the police and be on his way to get her, since she had turned on the tracking device a while back.Suddenly, she stopped, feeling exhausted. She had been on the run this whole time, now and again scanning behind and around her to ensure that she was not being followed.God, she had no idea where she was going, whether she was heading deeper into the bush or out toward the road. She hoped it was the latter because if she was heading deeper into the bush, it’d be harder and longer for Sam to find her, and she didn’t want that, not when the sun was going to set soon.She was thirsty, and her body was sweating profusely, but she dared not stop because she knew the moment she did, she’d shorten the distance between her and Dave, and when he found her, it’d be
Sam hadn’t a clue why but ever since that morning, he had been having this sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if his instinct was telling him something bad was about to happen. Hence, he hadn’t been able to concentrate on his work, and he had kept phoning Chan every two hours or so to make sure she was fine. The last time he had contacted her, she had said she was going to pick Lilly up as Mrs. Campbell had to dash to the hospital to take care of her husband.Everything was going to be fine, he told himself. Then again, why the heck wasn’t this bad feeling going away?“You okay, Sam?” Jeremy, who was sitting across from him, asked.Sam nodded. “Yeah,” he said distractedly.Jeremy shook his head. “You’re not fine. You look like you have something on your mind. Chan? The court cases?”Sam was about to tell Jeremy to stop prodding when his cell phone rang. It was his mom.He quickly picked up.“Sam.” Fran’s panicky voice came from the other side of the line, and Sam was imme
Chan knew exactly what type of talking they intended to do. They’d threaten her, like they always do, and she suspected that it had something to do with her father and the will. They must have been informed about Chan and her sisters contesting the will for the second time, now with new evidence and another set of new wills, and of course, them being suspects of the attempted murder of her father.Chan shut her eyes for a moment, doing her best to stay calm. Her mind, however, continued to race, working on how best to deal with this situation.Within five minutes, Lilly would finish school. When no one came to pick her up, one of the teachers would notice and they’d phone home. Fran or Marian would then contact Sam, and he’d suspect something had happened to her. When either Marian or Fran came to get Lilly, they’d likely spot her car parked three blocks down from the school, and of course, Danny in it.Oh, God, she hoped the little pup was all right. It was hot, and she hoped he woul
It had been a week since Chan and her sisters had the meeting with Keith and Liam, and since that day, the two men had advised her and her sister to be vigilant, in case Amie, Lisa, and Dave tried to make contact. Chan knew just what sort of contact the two men were referring to. She had doubt Amie would be able to track her and her sisters down since they had moved, but it was a good idea to be cautious nonetheless. Hence, she had avoided going out alone unless it was necessary and spent most of her time in the house, working on her next book, like she was doing now.“Chan?” Mrs. Campbell’s voice drew her attention away from her work. “Chan?”Chan got up from her seat and then opened the door of her office. She was coming down the stairs when she spotted Mrs. Campbell along the corridor. She noted the woman looked a little flustered.“What is it, Charlotte?” she asked, concerned.“Do you mind picking Lilly up from school this afternoon?” the woman asked. “Ian just called. He’s at the