9. Blueprints of a Mastermind
Chapter nine
Blueprints of a Mastermind
Monique
“Okay, Monique.” Leo ran his fingers through his hair, looking beyond sad. “Jing decided to take your mother on outings during the time of her treatments . The helicopter was always on standby to take them here and there. They went to parks, the beach, museums, concerts, and even an amusement park.”
Unable to stop myself, I smiled. “That’s. . .good.”
“My wife cared for your mother deeply. She wanted her last days to be filled with happiness and adventure rather than hospital visits and pain.”
I looked back at the album and began flipping through it again. My fingers barely grazed over the surface of the photos.
To my shock, there was one picture of my mother on a roller coaster, hands thrown in the air and a scream of joy evident on her frail face.
I chuckled and cried at the same time, not even knowing that was possible.
Mom. . .
And there was another one where she was at the beach, building a pitiful sandcastle with Jing.
Their laughter was almost audible through the image.
“Wow.” My bottom lip quivered.
Leo looked in pain as he glanced at the image and pointed at the edge. “And who is that, Monique?”
I leaned over.
There, Lei stood several feet behind our mothers on his phone and in a designer blue suit, completely out of place at the beach.
Leo let out a long breath and turned away from the image. “Sometimes Jing would force him to take them places, she thought Lei worked too much. That beach moment is one of those days where she figured he would relax for a few minutes.”
“But Lei never switched off from Mountain Master mode,” I finished for him, understanding the dynamic. I couldn’t help but laugh through a fresh wave of tears at the surreal image.
Lei was around my mom and had no idea. Jesus Christ.
Leo and I fell into silence as I continued to leaf through the photo album. There were more pictures, each one capturing Mom and Jing in various instances of life and joy.
Finally, when I reached the end of the album.
The photo wasn’t of them. Instead, the final photograph showed a distant view of my sisters and me dressed in black at my mom’s gravesite.
Other people had been walking away—family and friends.
But we were right there, watching the casket go into the hole. . .devastated.
T.T. held my hand.
Chloe looked like she could barely stand.
Jo with huge sunglasses to hide her red teary eyes had her hands in her black suit’s pockets.
We’d already cursed our father out by the time this photo was snapped.
And. . .I remember that moment so well because. . .part of me had wanted to jump right in that grave with Mom. . .so fucking terrified of truly being able to take care of my sisters all by myself.
Unsure if I would ruin their lives.
That memory struck me with a gut-wrenching intensity.
Staring at the photo, I grabbed my chest. The phantom pain of that moment made me gasp.
“She should have told us,” I breathed out, my voice barely more than a whisper. “We could have. . .We could have. . .”
The words died in my throat as grief clenched it tight.
The possibilities of the things we could’ve done began to surface in my mind. Maybe. . . we could’ve shared in her joy or we could’ve been there to hold her hand during those adventures or we could’ve made our own memories with her at the beach and at an amusement park.
But she had chosen to keep us in the dark.
That thought sent a fresh wave of tears streaming down my face because in the end. . .I knew all my earlier thoughts were bullshit .
We would have forced you to do the treatment if not by guilt, then by Jo and I arguing with you. That’s why you didn’t tell us, Mom. You knew we wouldn’t have accepted your choice.
My gaze lingered on the final picture for a moment longer before I shut the album with a soft snap. “Who took that picture?”
“Jing.”
“She was at the funeral. . .”
“From a far. She wasn’t sure if she should approach you or not. Apparently, your mother felt you would not be nice to her due to your father cheating with a Chinese woman.”
“I was a bit. . .racist due to that.”
“You weren’t racist. It was just misguided anger. I understand that more than you know.” He sighed. “A day later, Jing sent money to you all under the guise of our program.”
I parted my lips in shock. “W-we did get a check.”
“She ordered Song’s men to watch you all from a far. She was so sure that your father would help. She prayed every night to God about it.”
I gritted my teeth.
Anger covered Leo’s face. “As you know, he didn’t and it caused my wife a lot of grief. A lot of it.”
Damn. . .all of this was happening around us.
Leo continued, “Jing was depressed, always anxious. Because of that, I went to your father and had a. . .tense conversation with him. I gave him money too. He was supposed to take it to all of you.”
Sadness hit me. “He probably took it to the casino.”
“He did.” Leo nodded. “So I talked to Kenny Dean and told him to make sure his boys kept your father away from their casino.”
Finally, I was starting to see all the puzzle pieces come together. “Snow wouldn’t listen to his father.”
“He would not. So I talked to him myself.”
“But, when I told you about them, you pretended that you didn’t know them.”
“Because by then, my plan was in motion. See. . .Monique what you are not understanding is that. . .” Leo clenched and unclenched his hands. “I believed your fucking father caused so much heartbreak for my lovely wife that. . .”
“She died of a heart attack.”
“That was how sweet and gentle my angel was.”
My hands shook. “So then. . .you were going to kill my father no matter what he did with that bag of money? Whether he brought it back to the casino or not?”
A cruel smile spread across Leo’s face. “Monique, I am the reason why he took the bag of money in the first place.”
“What?”
“When Jing passed, I began to plan my death.” He dove his hands in his pockets and scanned the bedroom. “But I knew that the East would not be well without me. Lei’s head was up Chanel’s ass. If I left, the Killer Crows would take over—either by them puppet mastering Lei or a secret war. In fact. . .I had information from a source that Romeo and Chanel had been coming up with a plan to grab the East after my death. It was a ten-year plan, slow and deliberate, but a plan just the same.”
“Fuck. . .”
“Before I died, Chanel had to go, which also meant Romeo would have to go first. It had to be in that order. To take her first would mean nothing, Romeo was too smart and too swift with action. He would have come for the East and. . .” Leo let out a long sigh. “Killer Crows would have defeated us. I know that deep in my heart. . .Lei could not go against them. His heart is too damn big.”
I blinked. “So. . .you killed Romeo first.”
“Well. . .someone else died before him.”
“Who?”
“A man named Johnny Cupcakes.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I discovered he was making secret moves against the Syndicate—ones that would involve Dima which would drag my son into it.”
“Alright.” I tried to get a grasp of everything. “So. . .you begin to plan out killing Johnny, Romeo, and Chanel. All so the East would be stronger.”
“Yes.”
“But you need a Mountain Mistress because if you’re dead, Chanel and Romeo too, then Lei would just sit in depression—”
“Or kill himself over Chanel’s death.”
I blinked again. “O-kay.”
“That’s where you came into the plan. Lei needed a strong independent woman with a huge heart. Someone who would look at all his power and money and not see an opportunity to get rich, but. . .be nervous about it all. Also. . .he needed a woman who understood what it was to lose someone. You were perfect.”
I shivered. “That’s the part that I’m not getting. When did you decided to throw me in your plan?”
“You’re rushing.”
“Okay.”
“Be patient.”
I tensed. “I will.”
“After your mother’s death, Jing watched you take control. It broke her heart, but she also would talk about you as if. . .you were her daughter.” Leo’s eyes watered. He turned away. “Some dinners she would say. . .Moni went hunting for food today, Leo. We have to help them. She is too pretty to be in those woods on her own—”
“S-she. . .called me Moni ?”
“Yes.”
“My mother called me that.”
“I’m sure she did.” Leo ran his shaking fingers through his hair. “Jing had been planning on coming up with some big scheme to get you all to the East. She thought that your sisters and you would thrive here, but. . .”
“What?”
He began to pace. “I told her no. I didn’t think it would make sense for the East. No visitors. There were rules to this life. We argued. . .a lot about. A lot.”
Then, my father wasn’t the only one who broke her heart.
Leo kept pacing, making me super nervous. “I should have said yes. We should have just. . .moved you all here. Jing would be here. I’m not an idiot you know. I know that. I do. I fucking know that.”
I stayed silent.
“Then. . .Jing died.”
I hugged myself.
“So. . .as I planned for everyone’s death—mine, Chanel’s, Romeo’s—I planned to finally do right by my wife and bring your sisters and you here. At that moment, I still did not think you would be Mountain Mistress yet. . .no. . .” Leo began pacing faster.
I moved my head from side to side following him go back and forth.
Then, he stopped in the center of the room. “Guilt. Blood. Death. Cold bodies. So many.”
My entire body tensed up.
The silence hung thick in the air as he stared off into the distance with an unnerving intensity.
My mind raced with fear and I sat there, paralyzed, unable to move a muscle.
Then, he just began pacing again. “I watched you long enough to know that you were unapproachable. So untrustful. Too busy. Work. Work. Sisters. Sleep. Work.” He raised one finger in the air. “But, your father and bringing problems to your door were the only moments where you would stop everything to deal with it. That. . .I knew. . .was my opportunity to make you move.”
“You saw Snow coming to my house about my father’s gambling debts?”
“I saw it. Song’s men too. We all wanted to kill them then, but it was not time. Chess is a game of strategy. One must be patient.”
I thought about it all and slowly rose from the bed. “So. . .okay.”
He stopped pacing and watched me. “Think out the rest, Monique. You will be in the East now. More of these chess moves will happen around you, and you must think it all through. People will want to put you on their board, but you are now my daughter.”
Against all logic, my heart warmed.
“You will put them on your board.” Leo’s eyes went wild. “Think.”
I considered what had happened that day Snow burst into my apartment. Then, I replayed the memory.
I kept the barrel pointed at Snow. “What did my dad do now?”
“He came into the casino last night. I invited him into a high roller blackjack game.”
I trembled. “Why would you do that? He didn’t have any money.”
“He was drunk,” Snow said. “He offered you guys up.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
Dutch smiled. “He offered you and your sisters up as collateral.”
“He can’t do that.” I shook my head. “He doesn’t own us.”
“Yeah. I found the whole thing comical.” Dutch gazed around the living room. “I never took him seriously, but I let him play anyway.”
It all started coming together.
I looked at Leo. “You were at the high roller game?”
A devilish grin spread across his face. “Good job. Song and I attended.”
“Was it your $75,000 in the bag?”
“Of course it was.”
Jesus Christ.
Now it was my turn to start pacing. “Did my father even offer us up? Or was it you somehow who gave him the idea?”
“I may have hinted at it. Men like your father and Snow. . .they hear a whisper of something and claim it as their idea.” Leo crossed his arms over his chest and watched me like a predatory lion teaching its cub to hunt. “Now think even further. You started at the game. Go to a few moments earlier. . .right before the game.”
“My father showed up drunk.” My bottom lip quivered. “Did you get him drunk?”
“Yong did.”
“Yong. . .the guy that Jo said loves Tupac and drives a Cadillac?”
“Yes, and Yong brought your father along to the game.”
“So, Yong was part of the high roller’s game too?”
Leo nodded.
Horrified, I backed up. “How could you know that my father was going to take the bag?”
“Before they arrived, Yong told him to do it. Said he had contacts and would keep him safe.”
I shook my head. “What the fuck, man?”
“Your father caused this on himself—”
“Not really—”
“When your mother passed, he should have taken care of you all. My wife would still be alive.” Leo looked like he was ready to kill my father again. “Even more, your father should have stepped up and taken care of your mother when she was battling cancer. If he had, your mother would still be alive.”
“W-we don’t know that—”
“She gave up because her heart was also broken—”
“Don’t say that—”
“My wife believed it.”
I had no more tears in me.
Death filled Leo’s eyes. “You father was a leech, sucking the hope and life from everything he touched. A disgusting excuse of a man. He had four beautiful daughters. All smart. All strong and loving. And he fucking left them in that shabby, shitty apartment to struggle.” Leo leaned his head to the side. “Do you know when I realized you should be Mountain Mistress?”
My heart ached in pain. “N-no.”
“All those days I watched you. All those days I went to Glory by myself and just watched, following you from the chicken factory, then to pick up your sisters from school, then to drop them off and not even eat dinner. Fast, you dressed to work at night at that slimy club being pawed on by men, yet gritting your teeth and standing strong, making your tips with aching feet. Hurrying back home to sleep for three hours, maybe four. To only get up and make your sisters breakfast, check on homework, get them ready, take them to school, and go right back to the chicken factory.”
I didn’t even know what to fucking say.
I just stared in shock.
At no point had I ever spotted Leo following me around. I was too tired, too damn busy trying to battle bills.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’d had my sisters searching for a Mountain Mistress.”
“Aunt Suzi and Aunt Min?”
“They went through the East, never finding anyone that they approved of.” Leo’s expression softened. “Then, I had them come to Glory to watch you.”
I widened my eyes.
“They liked you, but they weren’t sure if Lei would take the bait. But I knew he would.” Leo bobbed his head. “Lei is his father’s son, and no matter how obsessed Lei was with Chanel, if there was a woman that I could bring to him that had the same goodness of his mother—strength, love, warmth, and the possibility of true healing—well Lei would want to possess her immediately, even if he didn’t know why he wanted to.”
The aunts were in on this too. . .
“If you came to the East, your father would try to come too.” Leo jabbed his finger in the air. “That man does not get to step his feet here.”
I turned away from him.
“What kind of man cheats on a dying wife? What kind of man leaves his oldest child to pause her life and take care of the rest of his kids? To struggle! To tire! To not even have time to grieve!” Leo raised his voice. “No man at all!!”
I trembled.
Leo went quiet for a minute, then spoke again in a calmer tone, “Everyone I’ve killed this year, deserved it.”
His words, though harsh, resonated with a cold clarity that wiped away the last vestiges of my denial.
I looked back at him, meeting his stern gaze. “You knew that if Snow threatened my sisters, I would go looking for my father in Chinatown. I wouldn’t even hesitate. I would be waiting for him outside his building.”
“Always responsible. Always taking care of things. That was what Jing said about you.” Leo gave me a sad smile. “And you did not disappoint, Monique.”
“The lunch—”
“Was already planned. Our reservation for two booked three months before the time.”
The restaurant was already expecting us.
I sighed. “The wooden cross?”
“Song told Chen to give me a tracker long before I began killing. It was our idea during the planning process. We knew that to get Lei to move around he would need to be able to track me.”
“And. . .you needed a way for Lei to meet me.”
“And he did not disappoint either.”
I swallowed hard and sat back down on the edge of the bed again. “How did you know that we would fall in love?”
“Jing thought you would be perfect for Lei. She knew our son better than. . .me. I had faith in God and my wife. That was it.” A tear spilled from Leo’s eye. He wiped it away. “However. . .what I didn’t account for was Duck.”
My mind whirled with the implications of everything he’d just said.
“I could not kill my nephew, so I had to have faith in God yet again, and I had to have confidence in the fact that Song and I had raised our sons well.” Leo rubbed his chin. “I believe Duck will stand down if he knows for sure that Lei loves you. In fact, by now I am sure Duck has already stepped aside.”
“And. . .”
Leo quirked his brows. “And?”
My bottom lip quivered. “You think your son really loves me?”
A dark chuckle left him. “Monique, the moment he put those handcuffs on your wrist was the moment I knew that he loved you.”
“How did you know about the handcuffs?”
“I have eyes everywhere.”
I picked up the photo album and held it close to me. “Can I keep this?”
“It is now yours and Lei’s. Tell my grandchildren about their grandmothers. Let it be a legendary story about love without judgement.”
My throat tightened with sadness.
Then suddenly, loud footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Next, Song hurried inside taking up some of the room with his huge body. “Lei figured out what’s going on.”
Leo shook his head. “I figured that. After yesterday, Lei will always want to know where Monique is at and make sure she is near.”
I wondered if that meant Leo knew I had taken Lei’s virginity. Or if he was just talking about Lei introducing me to the East.
Song continued, “We locked them in the tunnel but they know we’re here. We will not hold them for long.”
“I wanted more time with my daughter.” Leo sighed. “And the press? Have they arrived yet?”
“They’re waiting in the dining area for the photo op.”
Leo checked his watch. “Then, let’s go. We won’t be able to keep them in the tunnel for too long. Let us hope that the press only gets photos of my having tea with Monique and not a sudden battle between my son and me.”