Sam leaned forward in his seat and clasped his hands together. “Do you happen to know what the names are of the people who sold the house to us, by any chance?”Lisa nodded. “Of course, we know. It’s Chandra Chandler.” She leaned forward. “I don’t know if you’ve met the girl or not, Mr. Harrington, but I assure you, the bitch isn’t a nice girl. She’s not someone to be trusted.”Amie said, “I suppose they must have been desperate, those girls. Did they jump at the chance when your men came around to make the offer?”Sam chuckled. Jump at the chance? Rather, Chan and her sisters were the few who had refused to sell in the first place, since the house had been the only thing their father had left them. Sam said, his voice suddenly dark and hard, “Look, Mrs. Natt and Mrs. Moore, I believe you’re making a big mistake.”“A big mistake?” Lisa asked. “Whatever do you mean, Mr. Harrington?”Amie said, “There is no mistake, Mr. Harrington. And I believe we’re doing the right thing. That house
Chan was more than a little nervous when she drove into the underground parking lot of the Harrington Group building. It was a Wednesday morning, and she and her sisters had arrived, as planned, for the morning tea. This would be her first time meeting most of Sam’s employees, and she hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself. As her sisters had said, she was, after all, the boss’ girlfriend, and she needed to look and act the part, not that she knew how, of course.Once she parked the car, they got out, and a moment later, with containers of baked goods in their hands, they headed up to the elevator. When the door opened on the first floor, Chan saw Mrs. Wakefield rush toward them, a big grin on her face.“I’ve been waiting,” she said. “You should have messaged me when you got here.”Dara said, “Sorry. We forgot.”Soriya whispered to the older woman, “Chan was really nervous before we came, you know.”“Oh, was she?” Mrs. Wakefield raised a brow as she eyed Chan, who still looked nervou
“What’s in the will?” Dara asked. “I mean Dad didn’t really abandon us like in the other one, right?”Jeremy said, “Far from it. In this one, he’s giving you everything.”Chan felt a bit dazed suddenly. Everything? Dad was giving everything to them? But what about the other will?She said, “But this one might not be legit. I mean you said that you found it up in the attic so it must be just a draft?”Keith said, “It’s legit, Chandra. I’ve checked it, which is why I’m here.”Dara asked, “To talk to us about it?”Keith nodded. “It’s important you understand what’s in the will and what action you’ll need to take next.”Chan shifted her gaze to Sam who nodded his head at her.Jeremy said, “Do you want to know what’s in your father’s will? What he’s giving you?”Chan said, “You said it’s everything he owns, right? Then there are just the old house in Auckland, the holiday house we’ve sold to your company, Sam, number six of Bay View Avenue, and a few hundred thousand dollars in savings. Ex
Sam’s smartphone rang, drawing his attention away from Jeremy.“Who is it?” Jeremy asked.Sam picked up the phone and said, “Marian.”“Marian? She doesn’t usually call during work hours unless it’s an emergency.”Sam nodded in agreement. He accepted the call and said, “Marian? What’s the matter?”“Hey, Sam.” Marian’s voice came through from the other side of the line. “Chan’s in bed. She’s pretty sick.”Sam frown. “Chan’s sick?”“Mm-hmm. She threw up twice.”Jeremy asked, “What? Chan is sick? But she looked fine just before.”To Marian, Sam said, “Okay. I’ll be home soon. Thanks.”He was about to end the call when Marian said, “She said my food smells. That is to say the smell of my food makes her throw up.”Sam frowned for a moment.Marian continued. “You might want to get Adam to do a general checkup on her.” She chuckled. “And maybe get a pregnancy test kit on your way home.”That got Sam’s interest. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. “Thanks, Marian. Bye now.”“No problem,” Marian s
The group barged into the living room and invaded the space, which made Chan laugh. Lilly rushed over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. When the little girl moved back, she said, “Soriya said you’re sick. Are you okay?”Chan nodded. “Yes, I’m fine now. And how was school?”Lilly said, “School was fun. We did lots of stuff, and we learned lots of stuff, too.”“That’s good to hear,” Chan said.“Right, kids,” Jeremy said, drawing not only the kids, but Chan and her sisters’ attention to him as well. “Uncle Jeremy is here to entertain. What shall we do?”Timothy put his hands up. “Can we play in the pool?”Jeremy nodded his head. “Sure. What about swimsuits?”“How about I phone Adam to pick them up?” Sam said suddenly from the doorway. “He’s coming anyway.”The moment she saw her father, Lilly rushed over to the man. “Daddy!”Sam chuckled as he bent to his knees, his arms wide. Then he picked the little girl up and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Now, how about something to eat?”“Y
It had been one month since Chan had discovered she was pregnant, and since that day, she had moved into Sam’s room due to his insistence that he needed to take care of her when she was unwell, especially at night. Of course, she still had her own bedroom, a place where she could hang out when she needed it. Since that day, too, Sam had hired two new full-time household staff members: a maid to help Marian with the housework and a nanny to look after Lilly. Chan at first had protested about the nanny. After all, she could look after Lilly just fine, but then the morning sickness came, and she found she couldn’t even get out of bed.This morning, once again, the nausea came, and all she could do was to lie there in bed, groaning sickly.Sam rested on his elbow as he stroked her hair back from her forehead. “Do you need anything?”Chan shook her head. “I’ve just had some medicines, so I’ll be fine.” She gave him a weak smile. “I’m sorry, Sam.”“What for?”“This…” She sighed. “Me getting
It was six that evening when Dara and Soriya arrived, and not long after, Jeremy and Keith. The moment they finished reading their father’s letter, the sisters broke down. Soriya was so upset at the thought that their father had suffered so much before his death and that Amie had probably poisoned him that she just bawled her eyes out. Jeremy had to take her into his arms to comfort her. Mrs. Campbell had to take Lilly away so that the little girl wasn’t affected by the distraught scene. Once both Dara and Soriya had finished shedding their tears, Keith said to the girls, “This is an important piece of evidence. I know it’s hard for you girls right now, but I need to ask you a question. Do you want to pursue this?”Chan nodded. “Yes. There’s no doubt about it.”Dara said, “We want justice. If they really did poison Dad with the intention to kill him, then that’s attempted murder even though Dad did die from a car accident.”Keith nodded. “Although having this,” he raised the letter in
Both Chan and Soriya undid their seat belts and dashed out of the car, sprinting after the little pup.“We got it! We got it!” Soriya shouted as they went past the woman, who looked flustered. “Chan, you go to that side,” the sister directed.“Don’t scare it off,” Chan shouted. “Here, puppy. Here. Come here.”The pup came to a sudden stop the moment it noticed the sisters, and as they advanced toward it, closing in on it, the pup started barking hyperactively again. It sprinted to Chan and then stuck its tongue out, begging for her to pet it.Chan chuckled as she crouched down, her hand ruffling its furry brown head. “You’re so cute,” she said.Soriya went to pet the dog, too, and when it licked her hand, she chuckled. Then she picked it up in her arms, and the two sisters headed back toward its master.As they went around, Chan saw that Dara had switched off the engine of the car and was now out and helping the woman with her luggage. Meanwhile, the taxi driver was maneuvering his ca
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