Chapter 25
Speeding in her car up the wet and winding mountain roads back to Big Bear, Iris tried dialing Lola’s burner phone again.
It rang and rang . . . but no response.
She then tried Wayward’s phone. Once again, no response.
Cursing to herself, she decided to text her niece.
“Lola,” she typed, driving with one hand. “Do not let your mother leave. There is something that Wayward . . .”
But Iris never finished this text, because her car suddenly skidded on a patch of black ice. Her phone flying in the air,
Iris scrambled to grab the wheel and swerve the car away from the cliff’s edge, missing by an inch the thousand-foot drop
into the valleys below.
But she swerved too much.
The last thing Iris Sun-Kwok saw was the bouldered rock face of the San Bernardino Mountains, right before her car slammed
into oblivion.
Crumpled on the floor of the pavilion, Roses held her father’s urn in her hands and wept.
Next to her, Hyacinth was using dry leaves to carefully scoop up what remained of Big Boss Sun’s ashes, returning them to his urn.
Don’t cry, Big Sister, Hyacinth murmured soothingly, though there were tears in her eyes too. Look, already most of him is back inside. It’ll be all right. Please. Seeing her big sister in such pain, Hyacinth’s anger toward her was already gone.
But Roses could only stare into father’s urn, broken and unable to speak, only weep.
“Should we help?” Jamaal whispered to Wayward, though he was not sure if he could. He could barely look at the sad scene.
Wayward shook his head, his heart heavy as well. After Tingting had thrown Big Boss Sun’s ashes at Roses’s feet, the Fang
matriarch had left, with Galahad Fang, Shannon Shoo, and a very remorseful Fenix Sun in tow. Now he, Jamaal, Sunbern, Lola,
Bessie, and Kat stood around the two Sun sisters in a stunned silence.
Wayward motioned back at the Big Bear sanctuary. “Let’s give our aunties some privacy,” he said gently, gesturing to the way
out of the pavilion. Jamaal reached out to take his hand as they led the group together.
As they walked, Bessie was distraught. “Mierda, we should have left when Jamaal said to. I wish I could unsee all of that.”
Nodding her head regretfully, Kat put an arm around her girlfriend. “How ethical was it,” she whispered so only Bessie could
hear, “for us to help bring a little girl into this fucked-up family?”
“Did you even know that Big Boss’s ashes were missing?” Sunbern asked Lola as they reentered the sanctuary through its kitchen
door.
The baby cousin shook her head, grim faced. “Turns out I know nothing.” She winced in pain, though she quickly tried to hide
it.
“What’s going on with you, Lo?” Sunbern demanded, noticing that she was limping slightly. “You’re hurt!”
Wayward turned to inspect their baby cousin, also concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Lola grumbled as she cricked her bruised neck with an awful crack. “Now . . . tell me about this sword.”
Under the shade of the pavilion, Hyacinth finished returning the last thimbleful of ash to Big Boss Sun’s urn, which was not
easy, as it was trembling along with its holder.
Big Sister, she tried again. Big Sister.
Finally, Roses spoke.
I am sorry, Father, Roses cried as she apologized for the first time in her life. I am so sorry, Father. For abandoning you!
Hyacinth stroked Roses’s long black hair. It’s all right, Big Sister. Of course he forgives you.
Roses looked up at the gray sky, rocking back and forth as the searing guilt radiated out of her. I was scared, Little Sister! I had only ever known Big Boss Sun to be brilliant and brutal and strong. So when his mind went,
I was too scared to come see him! What you said last night was right: I did abandon him up here! She broke into heaving sobs. Father, I am so sorry!
We all had different relationships with him, Hyacinth said. You were his protégée, Roses. That’s how you knew him. I was his caretaker, and that’s why I was up here with him at the end.
I was his weapon, Roses replied, her shoulders slumped. All he ever did was sharpen me, until I was so sharp that I cut him too. Did he ever ask about me, Hyacinth, in the end?
Hyacinth shook her head. He did not even know who I was. She wiped a tear from her eye. Those final days with him were heartbreaking.
Thank you, Little Sister, Roses said, clasping Hyacinth by the hands. Thank you for taking care of our father near the end. I never give you credit for that.
Hyacinth smiled, her sweet eyes lighting up at the rarest of recognition. I didn’t do it for you, Big Sister, but thank you.
I destroyed our father’s lineage, Roses sighed. I lost the Sunfang Trust. You say he forgives me—how could he ever forgive me when I have failed so much? This is why I never
apologize, Hyacinth. It’s because I know that the things I do are unforgivable!
Big Sister, Hyacinth said gently, but we have him back. He’s returned to us! She held up the urn in her hands. You are so concerned about Big Boss Sun’s forgiveness, but he is dead. Iris is still living. Perhaps you should be more concerned about hers?
How can ever I face Middle Sister again? Roses hung her head in shame. I put all the blame on her for losing Father’s ashes, sent her on a wild-goose chase for the last seven years, when it was
all my fault. All of it!
Hyacinth stood up, holding the urn. She extended a hand to help Roses up as well. Knowing Middle Sister, what would matter most to her is that our father’s disappearance is finally solved.
Roses Sun nodded, realizing that her little sister was right. I need to go to Iris.
Hyacinth Sun-Bernard nodded. And bring her our father’s ashes.
As Bindi bounded to their car, eager to go back home, Wayward handed Jamaal the last of their bags. Most of the cars were
gone, and it seemed they were among the last to leave.
Jamaal wrapped his arms around Wayward, hugging him tightly. “Are you okay?”
Wayward rested his cheek on Jamaal’s chest. “J, you say that I steamroll my family.”
“Let’s not start.”
“No, no, I’m thinking about what to do next, and how to do it better. What is the opposite of steamrolling?” Wayward pulled
back to look up at his boyfriend.
Jamaal thought for a moment, running his hand through his curly flattop. “The opposite of steamrolling someone? Collaborating with them.” He thought some more. “Or stepping aside entirely.” He opened the passenger door for Wayward. “Now let’s collab on getting home.”
“I’m ready,” Wayward said, turning back to look at the massive Big Bear sanctuary in all its woodworked madness. He doubted
he would ever return. The place seemed truly cursed.
“Way?”
Wayward turned to see Cristiano, also holding his bags, looking tired and uncharacteristically rough.
“Cris, we barely had time to talk this weekend,” Wayward said, walking up to give his best friend a hug. “I’m so sorry about
April. I feel a bit responsible, to be honest.”
Cristiano was blinking rapidly, as though he was not sure what to say. “Way, I just want to say that I love you, and that
I always felt so lucky that we became family.”
“Sure . . .” Wayward replied, confused. “You know I love you too, Cris.”
“If anything changes, I just want you to remember that,” Cristiano said, his eyes misting over.
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Wayward asked.
“Cristiano.” The sound of Lola’s voice made both men jump. They turned to see Lola, her arms crossed over her high-gloss black
leather jacket.
Cristiano paled. “I need to discuss something with Lo,” he said. “I’ll see you back down in LA.”
Wayward watched as his best friend and baby cousin walked away, toward the lake. Shaking his head, he got into the car with
Jamaal and Bindi.
In a gallows walk, Cristiano Baccay followed Lola Sun back to the other side of the sanctuary. Lola led him past the empty pavilion. She stepped onto the old dock, walking to the edge as the snow-covered wood creaked beneath her. Below their feet, the frozen lake looked like a haunted mirror.
At the end of the dock, Lola turned around to face him. Still she was expressionless.
“Lola!” Cristiano cried. “I’m so glad you are alive! But . . . how?”
“I don’t owe you any answers,” Lola replied. “I just have a few things to say to you, and the only response I want from you
is for you to nod your head and say yes.”
Cristiano frantically nodded his head. “Yes, of course, Lola, anything!”
“Starting this moment, you are to leave the Sun Clan and never contact any of us directly, ever again.”
Cristiano hung his head.
“You’re not nodding,” Lola said.
“Lola, please,” Cristiano begged, getting down on his knees. “What about Meadow? Please, that’s my little girl.”
“You raped her mother,” Lola said. “You tried to murder her aunt. You think I’m going to let a man like you around any woman
in my family?”
“You can’t do this! You can’t prove . . .”
Lola held up her burner phone, and when Cristiano saw it, he went silent. She clicked on the voice memo app.
Her recording of Cristiano started playing: “She’s my wife, Lo. Everything between us is consensual.”
Lola clicked it again. “Shall we go back to just nodding and saying yes?”
Closing his eyes, Cristiano nodded. “Yes.”
“When April inevitably files for divorce, you will give her full custody of both your children, with no demands for alimony
or spousal support. You will not ask for a single penny from us.”
“Yes.”
“When Wayward reaches out to you, you will send him a single and final text, ending your friendship and asking that he never
speak to you again. I will confirm this myself, so word it conclusively.”
Cristiano’s lips were trembling, but still he nodded. “Yes.”
“I hope I never see you again, Cristiano. You should be locked up for the things that you’ve done.”
“I know.” Cristiano lifted his head. “Can I ask you why? Why are you letting me go?”
“I said I ‘hope’ I never see you again,” the baby cousin replied. “That doesn’t mean I won’t. If the time comes someday that
I might require you or your assistance, I am going to count on you to remember that only I stand in the way of you and a life
sentence in prison.”
Cristiano gulped. “I will remember, Lo.”
Lola nodded. “In fact, Cris, it is you who should hope that you will never see me again. Now, stand up and get out of here.”
He slowly stood. “Thank you, Lola.”
Cristiano Baccay left without another word.
Lola let out a deep sigh, turning back to the lake. She stared out at the snowcapped peaks around her, waiting.
Soon enough, she heard him approaching, just as he said he would, his footsteps crunching against the powder on the wood planks.
He was clapping, slowly.
“Bravo, cousin.”
Adjusting her leather jacket, Lola Sun waited until Galahad Fang was standing by her side. He was still wearing his robes
of black; they were two dark phantoms contrasting the blinding white scenery all around. Over the frozen lake, the two fixers
of their respective clans met eyes.
“I remember you now, cousin,” Lola said. “We played chess when we were kids, the few times that my parents actually took us
to Fang Clan gatherings. You beat me every time. I never knew your Western name. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”
“Sorry for many reasons, I reckon,” Galahad responded. “I do not blame you. I was a late bloomer, but the moment the Fang
Clan saw my potential, they spent every last penny they had on me so that I might deceive you and your Sun Clan.”
Lola gritted her teeth. “High risk, astronomical reward. I have to congratulate you, Galahad.”
Galahad nodded thanks. “I hope there are no hard feelings, Lola. Your mother and I decided early on that it would be too much
of a liability to include you in our plans. That said, I’m very impressed by you. Now that we Fangs have defeated the Suns,
I think it’s time you join your mother’s clan. With the Sunfang Trust now at our disposal, we could use someone like you to
perpetuate our new good fortune.”
Lola didn’t have to think twice. Glaring at him, she resolutely shook her head.
“That’s a shame,” Galahad chuckled. “I could’ve taught you a thing or two. Then I’ll impart you with a friendly critique.”
He smiled at her. “I would have killed Cristiano Baccay.”
“Like you killed that old fortune teller, Chu?” Lola asked.
“Yes. Like Cristiano, Master Chu was a liability.”
“You also almost killed Sunbern,” Lola said quietly. “By giving Roses that sword.” Discreetly, she stuck her hand into her
right pocket.
“That was just a lark,” Galahad said blithely. “I had no idea what would happen with the sword after I handed it to Roses,
but that was the point. You see, my ultimate weapon against your family was chaos. And that’s why you lost against me, Lola.
True, you are cold and methodical, but your family is invariably hotheaded and messy. You don’t understand the most basic
stratagem of Chinese warfare: You fight poison with poison.”
“Good advice,” Lola admitted.
He grinned. “Killing is not in your nature anyway, dear cousin Lola.” With that, he nodded goodbye to her and turned to leave.
“You’re wrong about one thing, Galahad.”
Galahad paused at this, peering back to study Lola. “And what’s that?”
“I might be methodical, but I’m not cold,” Lola replied. “Not when it comes to my family. Especially Sunbern.”
Lola pulled something out of her pocket and held it up for him to see as it unraveled.
Galahad at first frowned, but then laughed upon seeing what it was. “Rope? How quaint.”
Lola shook her head, her megawatt smile now lighting up her face.
“It isn’t rope. It’s a leash.”
That was when Galahad heard a menacing growl from behind him. He turned around.
With raised snowy fur camouflaged by his surroundings, Houyi prowled toward the stranger in robes, his sharp teeth glistening
in the sunlight, his blue eyes bright and piercing once again with his prey in sight. As the old pit bull gnashed his fangs,
Galahad gasped and stumbled, falling onto his bottom.
“Lola!” he cried as he scrambled backward on the creaking dock. “What are you doing?”
“I’m applying your excellent lesson right away,” Lola replied. “Your chaos nearly killed Sunbern. And it just so happens that
after stalking you for eight months, I’d noticed that Houyi gets very chaotic around you. So let’s see what my chaos can do.”
Houyi let out a deafening bark that echoed across the frozen lake.
“Please!” Galahad gasped. “He could kill me!”
“This is just a lark,” Lola said blithely. “Just like your sword, I have no idea what will happen after I walk away. But maybe
someday, dear cousin Galahad, we can compare notes again and you can tell me what’s actually better: your chaos, or my methods.”
With that, the baby cousin spun around and walked off the frozen dock without a final glance behind her.
And as Galahad Fang screamed, Houyi Sun leaped upon him, finally fulfilling the dog’s blood oath unto himself.