Chapter 44
A week after the storm,I drove to Providence Place for holiday shopping. Kaylee was invited to join Violet and her mom for shopping at Copley Place in Boston. Sixty percent of the snow had already melted, leaving the city streets flooded. But no one cared because the rare warm weather left everyone in a good mood. Anything but another blizzard.
My mood wasn’t as cheerful though. It was a mixture of fear, worry, and the warning blooming in my heart. Everywhere I went, I was extra cautious. What if Ghost was watching me?
I had tried to make a timeline of his life after he’d murdered my mom. He probably went into hiding and then got a job working at Arrow’s warehouse. But now he was in Providence. How long had he been here? Had he been watching me when I was in California? If he’d wanted to kill me, he could’ve easily done so when I thought he was dead.
Or had he moved on and was now working for someone else? Maybe he was a psycho working for himself.
Stop overanalyzing.
I should stop scaring myself by imagining scenarios that weren’t beneficial to my mental state. I needed to clear my head to attend to Kaylee, my patients, and my boyfriend. He was my safety raft when I was too tired to keep swimming. Not only was he helping me find Aimee, but he was also trying to protect me from Ghost, who was his former employee. Arrow’s stress level must have increased exponentially.
Calvin wasn’t able to meet us until he returned from Hong Kong. Neither of us wanted to have the important conversation over the phone. Arrow and I had made a trip to Boston two days ago. We’d visited several shops in Chinatown, asking people if they’d seen Aimee. I’d showed them a couple of pictures of her, but no one had seen her. We also stopped by the Boston Children’s Museum. Arrow knew someone on the Board of Directors who could assist us with the security recordings, but he wasn’t around that day.
Today, Arrow stopped at the museum before his flight to Texas to check on his bamboo winery, which I planned to visit soon. He’d made an appointment to meet his friend, who had allowed him into the security office to review the surveillance footage. I hadn’t heard from him yet.
This man was doing so much for me, and I didn’t know what to get him for Christmas. What did you give someone who already had everything?
I parked my car in the garage and headed to the shops. The other day, Arrow asked me to accompany him to the wine competition in Monaco. From all the images he’d shown me from past events, this would be the most extravagant banquet I’d ever been to. I needed a dress to match it. But that could come after the Christmas gifts.
People were out and about carrying multiple shopping bags. All the stores had some kind of sale going on. I spotted a booth selling Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, and a bunch of others. I had no idea why Kuromi—the bunny wearing a black jester’s hat and the devil’s tail—was her favorite.
I was never into these characters and lost interest in many things after my severe injuries.
The only things that interested me were the outdoors, fishing, and practicing martial arts. I wanted to defend myself and my dad if anyone ever attacked us. The only girly thing I did was read romance novelsor watch romantic movies.
Seeing all the stuffed animals made me think of Aimee. She would love these Sanrio toys and all the cute stationery. She should be home with her parents preparing for Christmas. How was she coping? Had she gotten thinner? Was she warm enough? My stomach twisted just thinking of all the crazy scenarios running through my mind.
I walked up to the girl wearing a Hello Kitty shirt. “Excuse me. Do you have more Kuromi plushies?”
She held up a finger. “Yup! Let me open up a box for you. My coworker called in sick today, so I’m managing two booths.” She gestured to another booth that sold anime products.
“Great, thanks.”
I purchased a Kuromi plushie Kaylee didn’t have, two T-shirts, a stationery set, and matching pens.
Getting thirsty, I entered the Bubble Tea shop and got a sugar cane drink and a little pastry. The indoor seating was taken up, so I went out to look for a seat along the outside. A woman sat at a table working on her tablet. I took the empty table that gave me a view ofthe Sanrio booth.
Two minutes later, a strange energy entered my space. Having studied kung fu for so long, I could sense energy well. My body stiffened as this erratic energy intruded my space.
“Mind if I sit down?” A woman with a mean face pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat across from me. She had a nose ring, and she was built like a tank.
“Actually, I do mind.”
“Too bad.” Another woman with colorful hair sat down next to me. She surveyed me with glazed eyes. “You pissed offsome people, sweetheart.”
“You have the wrong person.” I didn’t know what she was talking about.
“This you?” She showed me a picture of me and Kaylee standing on the sidewalk a week ago.
Fear and anger collided in me.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“Stay away from Arrow.”
Confusion tugged at me. “Why?”
“You’re making him lose a lot of money,” said Mean Face.
“He’s not himself because of you,” said Rainbow Hair.
Irritation flared. “I’m not his financial advisor or his shrink.”
Who sent these women? Was Arrow losing money because of me?
“Leave him.” Rainbow Hair’s voice grew louder, and the passersby glanced our way.
“We’re not chained together at the hip.” This was ridiculous.
I glared at them and got up to leave.
Mean Face shot out of her seat and yanked at my hair. I dropped the shopping bags and my purse to defend myself. I clasped her arm with one hand, punched her in the face, and kicked her in the leg.
Anger and adrenaline soared in me. Who were these bitches?
Mean Face fell back a few steps, wiped her mouth, and spat out blood on the floor. “The fuck!? She knocked out my tooth!”
Rainbow Hair stepped on Kaylee’s gift bag, igniting a new fury in me.
Until now, I’d never had to use my martial arts skills in a public place. I’d never been attacked like this. But I didn’t have time to contemplate. Both women charged at me, and a battle erupted in the mall.
They were likely high on something, but that wasn’t an excuse for me to be lenient with them. I gave them what they deserved—fists to their faces, punches to their shoulders, and kicks to their legs.
They screamed in pain, but continued to attack me. A crowd surrounded us.
Rainbow Hair threw a fist at me, and I gripped her arm, twisting it. Mean Face limped to the side. The pain on her face made me extremely happy.
My neck stung. Rainbow Hair must’ve scratched me with her long, ugly nails.
“Tie her up!” An old man tossed me a new tie with the tag still on it.
“Everyone, back away!” Two security guards arrived.
I released Rainbow Hair to them. “They’re together.” I pointed to Mean Face. “They attacked me out of the blue, and I want to press charges.”
I didn’t have to say anything. Witnesses began offering their versions of the event. The EMT confirmed they’d been drinking and were on drugs.
After speaking with the police, I replaced some of Kaylee’s gifts and headed home.
What a shitty day.I was so pissed. Who had sent them after me?
“Excuse me,” said the woman who sat next to me. She had a pretty face with wavy brown hair and sharp eyes. “Are you okay?” She gestured to my neck. “You have a scratch.”
I didn’t need to see the EMT for a minor scratch. “I’m more angry than hurt. Thanks for asking.”
“It’s a good thing you know self-defense. I would’ve been bruised all over. My name is Elena Sanchez, and I’m a journalist for the local news station.”
“Vivian Vo. It’s nice to meet you.”
She smiled. “I also run an online newspaper called the Musepaper that empowers women and shares inspiring news. I would love to interview you for a write-up on women defending themselves. Not right now, of course.” She gave me her card. “Whenever you’re ready. People need to hear good news. People need to be inspired these days. There’s too much bad stuff out there.”
I took her card and placed it in my purse. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
“Brace yourself for your fifteen minutes of fame,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“People were recording the incident on their phones. You know how social media can twist things around. It could also go viral.”
Shit.I didn’t want this to affect my dental practice.
“Thanks for the warning.”
As I got into my car,my phone rang with Kaylee’s name flashing across the screen. Several text messages came from my friends’ group chat.
I picked up the call. “Hi, Kaylee.”
“Was that you fighting those women?”
“Did it look like me?”
“I recognized you even though your face wasn’t clear. It was your snake and crane stances. Who the hell were those women?”
“Language.”
“Sorry. But I’m so mad!”
Warmth bloomed in my chest.
“I’m not hurt.”
“Yeah, but you could’ve been.” She huffed. “If I’d been there, I would’ve kicked their asses . . . I mean butts.”
“You don’t know self-defense yet.”
“But I will. Ugh!I’m soooo mad.”
I could imagine her face turning red. It felt nice to have a little sister wanting to defend me.
My anger subsided.“They were on drugs, and the police got them. So it’s all good.” I frowned. “Where’s Violet?”
“Violet went to the bathroom. Her mom got roped into talking to some lady trying to sell lotion. I’m sitting in the massage chair browsing the internet. The fight has over a million views already on Real Rumors!”
Kids these days spent too much time on social media. “Don’t believe everything you see or read online.”
“I know, but this time it’s real. And you were attacked.” Her voice softened.
“I’m fine. Those women will be in a lot of pain.”
I heard Violet say something in the background.
“Gotta go,” said Kaylee. “Chat later. Love you!”
I stared at my friends’ messages. I needed to get home, shower, and gather myself before I could reply to them.