Кевин Кван - China Rich Girlfriend

“Hmm…let me look into that. We’ll put in a call to the resort and get a full list of anything she might have possibly ingested or been exposed to.”

“What do you think it could have been, doctor? We’ve basically eaten the same foods, and as you can see I’m totally fine,” Peik Lin said.

“Everyone’s body reacts differently. But I don’t want to jump to any conclusions until we finish running all the toxicology tests,” the doctor explained.

“What’s your prognosis?” Nick asked worriedly.

The doctor paused, hunching her shoulders. “I’m not going to kid you — things are quite critical at the moment. We may have to put in a TIPS *1to staunch the worsening liver failure. And if she develops encephalopathy, we will have to put her in a medically induced coma in order to give her body more of a fighting chance.”

“Medically induced coma?” Peik Lin said in a hushed tone, promptly bursting into tears. Nick held her in his arms, desperately trying not to lose it himself.

Eddie went up to the doctor. “You do everything you possibly can. Remember, Dr. Malcolm Cheng and Ming Kah-Ching will hold you personally responsible if anything happens to her.”

Dr. Jacobson gave Eddie a slightly annoyed look. “We do the best we can for all our patients, Mr. Cheng, regardless of who they are.”

“Can we please see her?” Peik Lin asked.

“I can only let you in one at a time,” the doctor replied.

“You go, Nick,” Peik Lin said, sinking back down onto the couch.

8:40 p.m.

Nick stood at the foot of Rachel’s bed, watching helplessly as a team of doctors and nurses hovered over her. Two days ago they had been in their suite at the Peninsula, where she had been excitedly packing for her spa weekend with one of her best friends. Don’t you have too much fun in Beijing now! No flirting with any sexy librarians, unless it’s Parker Posey , Rachel had teased, before giving him the sweetest goodbye kiss. Now her complexion had turned yellow and there were cables, cords, and tubes in her neck and abdomen. It was just so unreal. What happened to his beautiful wife? Why wasn’t she getting any better? He couldn’t even begin to imagine losing her. No, no, no, he had to wipe that thought out of his mind. She was so strong, so healthy. She was going to be okay. She had her whole life ahead of her. Their whole life together. Nick left the room and walked toward the waiting room. Passing a handicapped toilet, he let himself in and locked the door. He took a few deep breaths, splashed some water on his face, and looked at himself in the mirror. Then he noticed the mirror itself — a round, backlit mirror that looked like it came from some pricey design showroom. He glanced around and saw that the whole space had recently been redecorated. Tears started streaming down his face uncontrollably. If Rachel pulled through — no —when Rachel pulled through this, he was going to build her the most insanely beautiful bathroom the world had ever seen.

9:22 p.m.

Nick reentered the waiting room and found Peik Lin and Eddie huddled over Styrofoam bowls of wonton noodles. His aunt Alix and cousin Alistair were sitting in the chairs across from them. Alistair got up and gave his cousin a warm hug.

“Oh Nicky! This is so vexing! How is Rachel?” Alix asked anxiously.

“There’s not been much change,” Nick said wearily.

“Well, I know Dr. Jacobson very well. She’s the best, really, so Rachel is in very capable hands.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“And your uncle Malcolm called — the hospital has been updating him, and he’s asked his colleague who is Hong Kong’s top hepatobiliary specialist to come in and give a second opinion.”

“I can’t thank him enough.”

“He only wishes he could be here. Gum ngaam, *2ah, the one time you have a medical emergency in Hong Kong and Malcolm is away! We brought some siew yook and wonton meen . *3Are you hungry?”

“Sure. I think I should eat something.” Nick sat in a daze while his aunt proceeded to arrange assorted takeout containers of food and plastic utensils around him.

“Now, we haven’t called anyone yet, Nicky. I wasn’t sure what you wanted people to know, so I held off on calling your mother. Once she knows, the whole world will know.”

“Thanks, Auntie Alix. I can’t deal with my mum at the moment.”

“Have you spoken to Rachel’s mom?” Peik Lin asked.

Nick sighed. “I’ll call her in a little while. I just don’t see the need to alarm her until we know what’s going on.”

The door opened and in walked Eddie and Alistair’s sister, Cecilia, carrying an elaborate arrangement of white lilies.

“Looks like the gang’s all here,” Nick said, trying to force a smile.

“You know me — I couldn’t miss out on a party,” Cecilia said, giving Nick a peck on the cheek as she set the floral arrangement on the seat next to him.

“My God, look at that! Thanks so much, but you really didn’t need to bring anything.”

“Oh, I didn’t bring this. The receptionist outside told me to bring it in for you.”

“That’s strange. Who could it be from? No one knows we’re here aside from you all,” Nick wondered aloud as he slurped down some noodles.

Peik Lin started undoing the ribbons around the vase, and as the plastic wrappings came undone, a note card fell out. She opened the card and started reading it. “HOLY SHIT!” Peik Lin gasped, shoving the vase away from her reflexively. The vase of flowers landed on the floor with a crash, as water spilled everywhere.

Nick leaped out of his chair. “What happened?”

Peik Lin handed him the card, which read:

Rachel,

You have been poisoned with a potentially lethal dose of Tarquinomid. Your doctors will be able to reverse the side effects once they know this.

If you value your life, you will not mention this incident to anyone.

Never set foot in China again.

This is your last warning.

*1 TIPS is an acronym for transhepatic intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. Try saying that five times fast.

*2 Cantonese for “too fitting.”

*3 Barbecued roast pork and wonton noodles.

9RIDOUT ROAD

SINGAPORE

Astrid turned on her laptop and composed an e-mail:

Dear Charlie,

Sorry to keep bothering you like this, but I need to ask another favor. Wondering if you can help me get to the bottom of something…

What do you know about Promenade Technologies? Based in Mountain View, CA? Have you ever worked with them before? They acquired Michael’s first company — Cloud Nine Solutions. I need to find out more about this company; specifically, who the people are that own it.

Thanks!

xo, Astrid

She sent the e-mail, and one minute later, Charlie popped up on Google Chat.

CW: Hey! Happy to look into this for you.

ALT: Really appreciate your help.

CW: Any special reason why?

ALT: Trying to get some answers for myself. Have you heard of them?

CW: Yes. But doesn’t Michael know everything you’d need to know?

ALT: Apparently not. Do you know if they are fully owned or partially owned by some Asian conglomerate?

CW: What’s going on, Astrid?

Astrid paused for a few minutes, not sure whether she was prepared to get into it with Charlie about everything that had happened with Michael.

ALT: I’m trying to help Michael get to the truth. It’s a bit complicated…don’t want to drag you into it.

CW: I’m already in it. But okay, I won’t press further. But if you really want my help, it would be better if I had the big picture.

She sat on the edge of her bed, thinking, What do I have to hide from Charlie? He’s the only person who will understand .