Chapter 4 The New Job

“Do I have your loyalty? Unconditional loyalty?” Mr. Powell says behind the mahogany table in his magnificent office. Mia couldn’t read his expression. His impassive complexion reminds her of somebody.

”Yes,” Mia knows there is no other answer, although she is still in disbelief and shock after she got the call from Mr. Garcia about this job offer this morning. Mr. Garcia never contacted her before. Since they knew each other, it has always been she that makes the phone call.

“You only report to me. No one, not even my wife, can order you to do things. You will keep all the things you learn to yourself. There will be serious consequences if don’t follow the rules. Understand?”

“I understand.” What has she gotten herself and Calvin into? And most importantly, what will she learn? Mia couldn’t guess.

“You can leave now,” Mr. Powell gestures to the door.

Mia follows Mr. Garcia out. He stood beside Mr. Powell during the conversation. Mia knows Mr. Powell trusts him because every time she saw Mr. Powell she saw Mr. Garcia. Mia wishes she could get some inside information from him.

“You can start the job next week. I will ask Susie to send all the necessary materials to help you get started. Don’t poke around. Do as you are told. And don’t overstep your boundaries. You don’t want to repeat your predecessor’s mistakes.”

“What are my predecessor’s mistakes?” Mia couldn't help asking.

“Stand on the wrong side and meddle in the family affairs.” Mia wants to ask for more details but decides against it. She has one more important and urgent question to ask.

“The consequences Mr. Powell spoke about, what are they?” Mia musters up her courage. She needs to know what will happen to her and Calvin if she breaks any rules.

“There won’t be consequences if you follow Mr. Powell’s rules.” Mr. Garcia seems to have read her mind. All Mia could do is nodding her head and thank him for everything he has done for her.

Mia leaves the Powell property on Park Avenue with a heavy heart with this new job offer. She doesn’t know what she has signed her and Calvin into. But this is an offer she has to take, a fate that she is destined to accept. She doesn’t have any choice. She owes Mr. Powell. She has to pay it back.

Her mind returns to that accident eight years ago. She, mom, Laura, and Calvin were singing and laughing while dad was driving on the highway. The Johnson family was on a trip to San Francisco. Mia was very excited about the city surrounded by sea and famous for the orange Golden Gate Bridge. She had seen a picture of the bridge in misty dusk, half of the tall towers shrouded by a thick fog and the bridge lit up by sparkling lights, a scene of magnificent beauty.

Then she heard his father say loud and curse, “what the fuck is going on with that car?” Before she knew what happened, their car was hit and swerved off the road, plunging down the steep slope.

Mia didn’t know how many hours had passed when she awoke, feeling someone was dragging her from the back seat. That person she later knew to be Mr. Garcia. She wanted to shout for mom and dad. But her throat felt tight and she couldn’t say a single word. Blood was dripping down from her head. She tried to keep her eyes open only to see the car turned over. Mom and Dad were motionless in the front seat. She started to panic and then she lost consciousness again.

When she woke up again, she was in a hospital. Later she was informed by two police officers that her mom and dad were killed in the accident, while her big brother and sister were hospitalized like her. She cried helplessly. She was only seventeen.

She knew someone crashed their car intentionally, but who the person was? When she confronted the police officers, the male officer said they were looking into it but cases like this mostly went cold. She thought she saw guilt flash on the female officer’s face. Her instinct told her the male officer was lying. But she didn’t know how to get to the bottom of the accident.

Both Mia and Laura recovered from the injuries. Theirs were not so serious as Calvin who was in a coma. So Mia and her sister Laura, who was one year younger than her, took turns visiting the police department in this town and asking about the progress of the investigation. They wanted the person who ruined their family punished for what he or she had done.

They had no one to turn to for help. Their big brother was still in a coma with no sign of waking up. They didn’t have grandparents, aunts, or uncles to rely on. Their parents eloped to run away from their separate toxic families and never looked back. Mia grew up without knowing if she had relatives at all. They were on their own. She never felt so lonely and helpless in her life.

Mia and Laura checked in a cheap motel near the hospital using the cash their parents prepared for the trip. Their trips to the police department always ended with nothing. The male officer, Bryan Cooper, always shrugged his shoulders and sent them off impatiently.

One day, after the same usual treatment, Mia cried in the police office corridor. She couldn’t bear the burden anymore. The weight was crushing her, toppling her.

The female officer, Dorthy Smith, caught sight of her. Mia’s crying must have touched something soft in her. She called Mia away and told her the truth.

Their parents’ death was a result of drunk and drive. The perpetrator, Quincy Anderson, was the son of a wealthy local businessman who had a good relationship with the police chief in this town.

Mia was boiled with anger, yet she felt weak. How she, a girl with neither money nor connection, could tackle such a powerful combination of evil forces by herself?

Dorthy saw her trouble and pointed one way for her. She told Mia the man, the powerful man who saved her from the accident, rushed her to the hospital and reported the accident to the police, was still staying in the town. He had the power, money, and connection to make things right if he was willing to.

Mia went to the luxury hotel Dorthy told her. She begged the receptionist for an appointment with Mr. Michael Powell but was rebuffed on the spot. The receptionist told Mia there was nothing she could help because Mr. Powell never took unscheduled appointments. Mia couldn’t be more desperate in her life. Her only hope was slipping between her fingers.

It was then that Mr. Powell and Mr. Garcia appeared in the lobby and recognized her.

Mia will forever remember their conversation in that quiet bar in the hotel. Even though she was only seventeen, she knew the conversation would change her life.

“I’m a businessman, Miss. Johnson. What will I get in return if I help you put the man responsible for your parents’ death behind the bars?” Mr. Powell’s sat in an armchair with ease and authority, his voice as cold as stone.

“I....” Mia fumbled for the right words but came up empty. She had nothing to offer.

“I will be forever indebted to you. I will do anything for you.” That was all Mia could think of and offer. Mia knew how hollow her words sounded.

Mr. Powell measured Mia who stood in front of him with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.

“Loyalty,” then he said.

“What?” Mia blurted, not believing what she had heard.

“Your loyalty when the time comes. You know, Miss. Johnson, for a poor girl like you, loyalty is the only thing you could return the favor.”

At that time, Mia was willing to do anything for any people as long as they could promise justice for her parents.

“When the right time comes, remember what you have promised today.” Mr. Powell stood up and left.

A few days later, local police arrested Quincy Anderson and charged him with DUI murder. Mr. Garcia later paid for Mia’s parents’ funeral and left a deposit for Calvin’s hospital costs and a phone number for her to call in case of an emergency.

Mia felt spent and exhausted when the news and help came. She had avenged her parents’ death, ironically using the influence of one rich man against another. However, another question quickly dawned upon her before she could utter a sigh of relief. What was awaiting her and her siblings? When would Calvin come around? If he wouldn’t, what would happen to her and Laura who were under 18? Would they be separated and shoved into the foster care system?

Out of desperation, Mia called Mrs. Coravos, a widow who made friends with their mother in the poor Brooklyn neighborhood they lived. Much to Mia's relief, Mrs. Coravos agreed to take her and Laura under her wing before they turned 18.

Now there was only one problem left. When would Calvin wake up from the coma?

"Watch out," Mia is jolted from her memory by a man's harsh voice, realizing that she almost runs into him.

Mia hurriedly apologizes and walks away. She needs to go home. Calvin must be waiting for her to cook dinner.