Sam hadn’t expected his mother to turn up two weeks earlier than scheduled. It was so unlike her to change plans. She was a woman of routine, very much like him, so the fact that she suddenly appeared in front of the house the way Chan had described to him made Sam suspicious. It was customary, too, that whenever she came to visit, she’d expect him to pick her up from the airport, despite the hours-long drive, since she disliked public transport, and a taxi was the worst in her opinion. But this time, she had taken a taxi, and Sam couldn’t believe it.Switching off the engine of the car, he got out and propelled the door shut. Then he headed into the house. Jeremy, of course, wasn’t far behind, his car just driving into the courtyard of the estate.When he was in the living area, Sam spotted his mother out on the balcony, a glass of bubbly in her hand. When she saw him, she chuckled and had her arms wide open.“Sam, darling,” she said.Sam went forward and gave his mother a hug. “Hell
It had been a while since Chan had visited Grandma Su and her family. She had just been so busy since she had moved in with Sam that she hadn’t found any spare moment. She didn’t know if it was just a coincidence or that Grandma Su was psychic, but that Sunday Dara phoned her to tell her Grandma Su was coming around in the afternoon, not to the apartment, but to where she was living now at Sam’s mansion.Chan was just getting some refreshments ready, including a pot of green tea, when she heard a car driving into the courtyard of the house.She rushed to open the door and saw Dara, Soriya, and Grandma Su coming toward her. Soriya was carrying a medium-sized box in her arms.“Grandma Su,” Chan said as she went to greet the old woman.Grandma Su took a good look at her and then smiled. “My, do you look radiant, my dear.” She nodded. “You have two souls within you, and they are bright indeed. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.”Once again, Grandma Su spoke in riddles, and Chan was used to that
Chan had just reached her eleventh week of pregnancy, and today was her first ultrasound appointment. Naturally, she was nervous—so much so that she was shaking.Sam must have noticed her anxiousness because he said, “Everything is going to be fine.” He clasped his hand over hers to calm her down.From the back seat, Fran said, “Sam’s right. Everything is going to be fine.”Chan shifted her gaze to Fran. She couldn’t believe the woman had tagged along.She took a deep breath and then nodded. “You’re right. Everything is going to be fine.”A moment later, they got out of the car and headed into the hospital. In the waiting bay, Chan leaned toward Fran and asked, “Have you and Keith known each other a long time?”Fran said, “A while back. He used to live in New York but he moved back here ten years ago. He was a family lawyer before my husband passed away.”“Chandra Chandler,” an ultrasound technician called out.Chan turned. “Yes.” She stood at the same time Sam did, as well as Fran.T
The little party continued until well past Lilly’s bedtime, and once Mrs. Campbell had her ready for bed, Chan went to read to the little girl.“Chan?”“Hmm?”“Am I really getting two new siblings?”Chan chuckled. “Yes, you are.”The little girl grinned widely. “Then does it sound like Old Grandma said? She said two darlings, right?”Chan nodded. “She did.”Lilly widened her eyes. “Maybe Old Grandma can see the future?”Chan burst out laughing. “No, I don’t think that sort of thing is possible.”“But she got it right, though,” Lilly insisted.Chan stroked back Lilly’s hair and said, “You’re right, but let’s not think about that now. How about you go to sleep. You have school tomorrow.”Lilly nodded. “I love you, Chan.”“I love you, too, sweetie.” Chan leaned down and kissed the little girl on the forehead. “Good night.”“Night,” Lilly said and soon, she was fast asleep.A moment later, Chan left Lilly’s bedroom and returned downstairs as people were beginning to leave.At the door, Ke
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
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
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 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