He had to find his wife.
But where was she?
Edison jerked upwards. The force was almost enough to send him sitting all the way up on the oak bed but a weight on his chest held him in place. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness that enclosed the cozy bedroom while his heart continued to pound heavily against his chest and his breathing still rapid and short. Before the land of dreams had entirely withdrawal its grasp from him, his head was already turning frantically from side to side searching. Searching for the one woman he could not live without.
Gillian.
It was only when the faint scent of jasmine swept deliciously into his nostrils that he became aware of the warm body resting on his broad chest, cradled tightly by his left arm. Only then did an uncertain breath slowly eased from his mouth and the muscles in his body begin to relax.
She was right there.
He had not lost her.
It was only a dream.
He could hardly recall the exact details that haunted him but the feelings and emotions that remained were so intense that his heart was still aching of fear and lost. The excitement from the day before had followed him into his sleep much to his distaste.
Yesterday had begun rather typically with the exception of his wife falling ill. He had tucked her into bed after her last rush to the bathroom and made sure to boil some plain congee for her before he left for the nursery. It was not the unpackaged shipment of plants that needed to be sent at the end of day that lured him away from the beach house. He really could not have cared less if the shipment went out late and the buyer demanded compensation. Money after all was just a means to an end. And he had already reached his ultimate goal; a life of contentment that even money could not possibly buy.
His true motive was to search for his wife's missing wedding band, knowing all to well how upset she was of its lost. But much to his dismay even after searching high and low for hours, he was still no closer to finding it. But rather than remaining to pack the plants, he told Leila to call the buyer and inform them that the order would be shipped late. Any loss would be compensated.
It was a small price to pay in order to be home sooner.
His mind was still mentally going through every inch of the nursery, trying to determine where he had missed when his car stopped in front of the beach house, parking right next to his wife's. It was not until he was already on the front porch that his blood suddenly turned cold as though at some unexplainable level, he already knew something was wrong.
The front screen door was closed but not locked. The door behind it was wide open. Without further thought, he raced into the house, calling from room to room for his wife. But only eerie silence greeted him. As though wanting to inform him that the mistress of the home was missing.
His mind tried to formulate a reasonable explanation but none came. Gillian would not have gone out without locking up. Furthermore, her car was still parked outside. The only time, the car was not necessary in their isolated location was when taking a stroll along the beach but that could not be. She was too ill in the morning to even move why would she walk along the chilly waters?
The suffocating panic that struck him was beyond what words could describe.
His heart nearly pounded out of his chest as he came to the horrid realization that she might have been abducted. Perhaps by kidnappers looking for a hefty ransom or a deranged lunatic that happened to stumble into the area. God, why had he left her alone?
Fear.
Panic.
Regret.
Worry.
The various emotions attacked him all at once on the way to his car. All the while his mind worked overtime trying desperately to keep calm enough to think of the best approach to search the area for her whereabouts. If she were held captive, which road would her captors have taken? Would they take her back to the city or would they hide her in the local town? At which point should he notify the authorities of her disappearance? Would his in-laws' know of her whereabouts?
As luck would have it, he made the right choice when he turned into the smaller road leading to town. It was rather deserted. He saw her small figure walking along the side almost immediately. When the car was close enough, he jumped out and ran toward her, pulling her into his strong arms without wasting a second.
It had only been thirty minutes into his search but yet it felt like the longest thirty minutes of his life.
He knew right then and there, he would not be able to live without her.
She was not only the love of his life.
She was his life.
There had been many women in his life. But only one had ever held a place in his heart.
Amanda.
He had once loved her.
He had once cried for her.
The months that followed their initial meeting had given him the first taste of love. But her departure had scarred in his heart the means of distrust. And even she had become nothing more than a distant memory, forever living in the shadow of his beloved wife. After all, they had not been through the pain of wanting to die because the one they loved had. They had not lived in an isolated existence of having no one but each other for comfort and security. They had not been through thick and thin. She had only seen him at his best, whereas his wife had seen him at his worse. That was the fine line between puppy love and true love.
Gillian.
He had once hated her.
He had once wronged her.
But he would be nothing without her.
Since the very beginning, the very day when their paths crossed it was hard to say who had wronged whom. She had run out on him on their wedding day. He had blackmailed her into marrying him afterwards. She had tried to make amends with him. And he had feared too long to trust. It seemed that their destinies had always been mingled together in a cycle of catch.
But one matter was certain: He would not be able to live without her.
His eyes were still lingering on her sleeping face when the sudden ring from his cell phone caught him by surprise, disturbing the serenity that had engulfed the room. Taking the phone from the nightstand, he flipped it open and pressed it to his ear. Within seconds, his eyes grew serious. "We'll be over in an hour."
His eyes swept over to his wife again.
He had made a promise to her.
A promise he intended to keep.
*
The low solid ticking of the large antique grandfather clock in the far corner haunted the spacious living room where three occupants sat with solemn expressions. The long hand just reached twelve when seven loud gongs erupted from the clock.
On the couch opposite his father, along side of his mother, Kenny's eyes traveled between the two, wondering if they were just as worried as he was. Wondering if they were exhausted from not having slept a wink all night. Unconsciously, his broad hand curled into a tight angry fist, the bitter taste of betrayal lingered the same way a chunk of wasabi burnt strongly at the nose and ears of the consumer long after its journey down to the stomach.
Frankie Lam.
He had trusted the older man with many of Chung Enterprises' biggest projects despite a not-so-glamorous past of gambling debts. What he had seen was talent and in so, he gave Frankie another opportunity. Had it not been his generosity, the architect would have undoubtedly been fish bait already. Loan sharks had no mercy.
But his repayment was betrayal.
The afternoon before, the Department of Housing and Urban Development had reported that the main beams of the resort were misplaced and threatened to close down the site if Chung Enterprises did not immediately correct the issue. Already so far into construction, the only solution would be to tear down all the outer walls, remove all the beams and then rebuilt from scratch. The process would set them back close to six months and millions of dollars.
Such a grave error could not be an innocent mistake.
Especially since all the evidence showed that Frankie was on the run.
Immediately after the two officers had left, he tried countless times to reach his architect without success. Only upon speaking with the foreman, did he learn that Frankie had made reckless decisions despite the protest of others and had not even reported to work in the last two weeks. Following the home addressed listed on his employment files had resulted in nothing but a vacant apartment. From the mess left behind, it was obvious that Frankie had left in a rush.
Kenny had been in around long enough to know the underhandedness that went on in the business world, family stabbing family, friends betraying friends. He had seen it all. But what he never imagined was becoming part of the unfortunate statistic.
The buzzing ring of the doorbell brought everyone's attention to the double front doors. Walking as quickly and discreetly as possible, the maid entered through the kitchen and passed the living room to the doors.
Muffled greetings could be heard as his sister strolled into the living room leaning against her husband for support. And for the first time, he saw not the usual hard expression on his brother-in-law's face but a sort of unspoken tenderness that softened his features.
At least his sister was well taken care of.
After the five of them exchanged greetings. His mother took his sister upstairs to rest while his father lead his brother-in-law and him into the den.
"What's our situation?" His brother-in-law asked, taking one of the two seats in front of his father's wide mahogany desk while he took the other.
"The Department of Housing and Urban Development warned that if we don't begin to correct the beams within a month, they will close the site down," his father explained gravely. The creases between his sharp eyes deepened.
Even though, no one had made any open accusations, guilt mercilessly ate at Kenny.
The project had been his responsibility.
But he had allowed personal problems to blind him.
"Our primary concern right now," his father continued, "is funding. Since we were originally ahead of schedule, we should still be able to meet the deadline if we put in more overtime but this will set our budget back. I've gotten a few new investors from China but that still might not be enough capital."
"I still have some investments I can liquidate. If need be, I can ask my uncle for a loan. And perhaps even cosign a loan from the bank, if it really came down to it. As long as we can make it through this phase then Tse International will fund the next phase."
The omission of Chen Corporation was obvious. Without the backing of the larger company, their position was immensely weaker. And they all knew it.
"The key person is Frankie Lam, the architect," his brother-in-law said after a few moments of silence. "We have to find out why he sabotaged us. And if there are plans for more."
Obviously Frankie was only a pawn. But who was the mastermind? And why?
"But we have no idea where he is," he said.
How he would love to get his hands on that man right now.
"Don't worry, we'll have him soon. I made a few calls before heading over."
He shivered from the coldness in the younger man's eyes. But that was not all. There was something else.
Determination.
*
Gillian enjoyed the gentle hand running softly over her forehead while the heavy covers fell securely over her.
"Try to get some rest," her mother said from the side of her bed.
Her heavy eyes swept across the room that had been hers since the early days of infancy and quietly noted the changes in her mind. The peach walls had been a shade of lavender until one summer when her mother decided it was time for a fresh coat of paint for the entire house. Her brother's room, which was originally a dark blue, became a light blue to match her peach. The rest of the house was more or less in the same lightness.
Standing on one side of the room was a beautiful wooden shelf. At one point, it had been filled with countless stuffed animals then as she grew older the furry collection was removed and replaced with a large variety of seashells, mostly collected in her spare time but not all, some were contributions from her brother and lots were souvenirs brought back by her father from business trips.
Several feet away, was a creamy-white desk with a matching hatch. She had gotten it around five, when she had officially started school. The picture frames were proof of the passing years. There were school pictures, family portraits, and miscellaneous pictures during outings with her brother and Cecilia.
And before the desk, there had been a small children's table set in the same place. She recalled it vividly despite the long years. It was also creamy-white, round with four small matching chairs. Back when she was three or four, she was in the habit of pulling whoever happened to be around, be it was her parents, older brother, members of the staff, or Cecilia, on the occasion that she was over, to the small table for a game of 'make-believe.' Like most children her age, she pretended to be various characters, such the hostess of a tea party, a doctor reviewing a patient, or a teacher lecturing a student.
The memories brought a small smile to her lips.
Then on the other side was the door the lead outwards.
Her smile disappeared.
Down the hall in a large den, the three most important men in her life were working to find a situation for the current jeopardy that their company faced.
The morning had been more or less a fast blur. It had been barely six o'clock when she awoke to a light nudge, her tired eyes opened to her husband softly calling to her. He was already wearing a navy sweater and a pair of khakis rather than flannel pajamas he had on the night before.
"Get dressed," he said, "We have to go over to your parents...."
When she asked for a reason, he merely said there was matter needing to be taken care of and that he would explain further in the car.
As best as she could, still in a dream-like state, she went about brushing her teeth and washing her face before putting on a simple black jersey dress that required little effort on her part. Her sleep had hardly been restful. The entire night had been one dream after another, memories from her times with Daniel. From their first meeting in New York to the photo session for their wedding pictures, then from the day she had deliberately brought Edison along to meet him at the harbor to yesterday.
Yesterday.
Why did he have to found out the truth?
Why couldn't sleeping dogs just lie?
The look of destitute and defeat on his handsome face battered her heart with guilt and sorrow; haunting her dreams.
To accept the offer to leave with him would have went against her heart. But in declining, she had broken his.
Why did things have to come to that?
Was all the fault hers?
Had she been too selfish?
Her husband gave her a brief overview of the current situation Chung Enterprises was facing in the car, explaining that her brother had received a visit from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. They had issued a warning. Before her brain could even process the consequences, her husband removed a hand from the steering wheel and rested on top of hers, asking her not to involve herself, just to rest and let him handle everything. Then ended the conversation with two simple words.
"Trust me."
Instinct already told her what he meant.
He was asking her to trust him to fulfill his promise to her.
He was asking her to trust in his abilities.
Her response came in a confident nod and a tight squeeze to his hand.
She trusted him.
Her eyes turned upwards and rested on her mother. The rows of skylights above created a warm glow around the elegant middle age woman, illuminating her delicate features. Despite her age, her mother remained youthful; years only brought more grace to her every gesture.
"Why aren't you sleeping, sweetie?"
"I'm not tired yet. I want to talk for a bit," she said in a whiny voice, earning bell-like laughter from her mother.
"Still the same after all these years. I remember when Kenny and you were young. Kenny would sleep on his own while you would keep me up most of the night with your chatter."
Gillian could not suppress her sheepish smile as she recalled all her little naughty tricks to get out of sleeping. "But you enjoyed chatting with me."
"I did," the older woman smiled. "So what do you want to chat about this time my little Gillie?"
She hesitated for a moment, still savoring the sound her old nickname before her expression became serious. "I'm worried about Kenny. I know he's only with Cecilia because he can't bear to hurt her. The person he loves is Charlene."
Her mother nodded, worry touched her dark brown eyes. "I know. Sometimes it really hurts my heart to see how much he has sacrificed for Chung Enterprises."
Her lips pursed with guilt. "In comparison to Kenny, I have done so little."
"That's not true at all," her mother's hand ran softly down her face, "I know how much it hurt for you to give up Daniel."
"I owe Daniel more than I can ever repay. He had done so much for me but all I..."
"Gillian, don't say that. It wasn't your fault."
"I choose family over him. It was my choice to let him go."
"To let go of someone you love takes a lot of courage," her mother's voice became lower, "Courage that not everyone possesses."
Gillian nodded, not noticing the pain in her mother's eyes.
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