Chapter 26
“Fenix, the Sunfang Trust is yours and yours only,” Wayward said. “You are the sole male child of George Sun, and you are
the next descendant of Big Boss Sun’s paternal bloodline. No one is here to argue that.”
“I’d like to argue it,” Roses grumbled, but when Wayward shot her a stern look, she quieted.
Around the bloodwood table of the Sunfang Global Building’s executive boardroom, what was left of the Sun Clan had gathered
the Wednesday after the baby shower, as requested by Wayward. Sitting on his side of the sprawling windowed space was Roses
Sun, Bessie Machado, Lola Sun, and Sunbern, though Sunbern was technically slumped on a counter in the corner of the room.
Across from them and backlit by the bright day outside were Tingting Fang, Shannon Shoo, and Fenix Sun.
“I’m glad to hear it, thank you, Weiwei,” Fenix replied. He was holding Shannon’s hand. She gave it a squeeze and the lovers
looked at each other. Her big brown eyes were flashing with triumph and prosperity. On the other side of Fenix, Tingting was
still looking intently at Wayward.
Both his eye and his ego still bruised, Sunbern pouted to himself. Not only had Fenix stolen Shannon from him, but Sunbern was no longer sure whether he was the best-looking man in the family, a very destabilizing notion indeed.
Shannon stood up, smoothing down her denim pencil skirt. “Well, that settles it. Don’t know why we had to come in when this
could’ve just been an email, but . . .”
“Actually,” Bessie interrupted, “the matter isn’t entirely settled.”
Fenix frowned as Shannon slowly sat back down. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“If you thought you were going to come in today and walk out with the Sunfang Trust,” Wayward replied, “I’m afraid that would
be impossible.”
“Why not?” Tingting demanded. “The Sunfang Global president might be the default executor of the trust, but as Big Boss Sun’s
heir, Fenix is the benefactor. The Sunfang Trust is his, full stop and without condition.” Getting angrier with each word,
she stood up and stuck a bony finger in Wayward’s face across the conference table. “Don’t think you can fool me, Wayward
Sun. I’ve put up with your family’s dirty tricks for longer than you’ve been alive!”
“Auntie Tingting,” Wayward said calmly, “I understand the frustrating history between your Fang Clan and our Sun Clan when
it comes to Sunfang Global. Because of that, I invited a non-family member to explain our situation.”
Tingting sat back down when there was a soft knock on the boardroom door. Everyone turned, enraptured, to watch Mr. Tung enter.
He nodded respectfully at Roses, who was just as startled as everyone else to see him, and then took the empty seat next to
Wayward.
“What the heck is going on?” Lola demanded. But already she was staring at Wayward in awe.
Mr. Tung cleared his throat. “When we were young men, Big Boss Sun hired me to work for him at Sun & Fang Constructions. Following that, I have been the caretaker of Sunfang Global finances since its formation. So when Wayward was promoted to president, on his first day, I declared in this very room that Sunfang Promessa would never get a single cent of corporate financing. It is a billion-dollar project that I deemed too risky and idealistic. However, Wayward here surprised me when he managed to secure funding a few months later.”
At this, Tingting laughed. “What sort of fearmongering is this? Fenix already confirmed through our lawyers that since Hyacinth’s
release of the Sunfang Trust, it has been intact and untouched. What does Wayward’s pipe dream project have to do with us?”
“That is true: During his short tenure as the executor, Wayward could never touch the Sunfang Trust,” Mr. Tung agreed. “And
he didn’t.”
Sunbern cut in impatiently. “What the fuck did you do then, Shortcake? Just say it already!”
Wayward looked next to him at Bessie, then at her bump carrying his daughter. He stood up.
“All of the funding for Promessa, I borrowed it . . . against the Sunfang Trust.”
A hush fell over the room as each of its inhabitants processed this sentence differently. Roses took a sharp intake of breath,
while Lola began to chuckle to herself. Fenix put his head in his hands as his mother began to sputter, unable to form words
in her mounting rage. Shannon had the most interesting reaction. Her flawless fair skin broke out in bruising hives, sweat
beading on her forehead as this revelation rattled her to her core.
But it was Sunbern who was utterly confused. “I don’t get it,” he said sheepishly.
Bessie responded. “What it means is that the Sunfang Trust is effectively frozen as collateral, until Promessa becomes profitable
and the lenders can all be repaid.”
“With considerable interest, I might add,” Mr. Tung said, hiding a bemused smile.
“Weiwei,” Roses gasped. “How did you manage that?”
Wayward nodded at her. “I was taught by the best.”
Tinging slammed her palms against the table so hard that the entire room shook. “You had no legal right to do that, Wayward! Every court in the world will side with Fenix against you!”
“I agree it was legally murky,” Wayward replied. “But as far as the world knew, I was about to father the billionaire heir
of the Sunfang Trust, which afforded me creditability. And while many banks rejected me, there were also many other banks
that shared my vision of a Sunfang Global initiative focused on sustainability and green technology. Forty-seven banks to
be exact, from Europe to Asia to Africa to the Americas.”
“You hacked my father’s legacy into forty-seven pieces!?” Tingting shrieked, her eyes ablaze.
“Ah, okay, I understand it now,” Sunbern said, nodding.
Fenix finally took his face out of his hands. “And even if I sued you, Wayward . . .”
“Yes, Fenix. The gray areas of this scenario would tie us together in legal battles for years and years, with forty-seven
international lenders in the mix only further delaying the process. That is why I started this meeting by saying there’s no
way you are walking out with the Sunfang Trust today, cousin.”
Lola watched her brother’s face fall. Like their poor father, Fenix was a fly.
As Wayward was talking, Tingting had gotten up to walk past Fenix and was now standing behind Shannon, who was still trembling
all over.
Shannon stood up and turned around to cower before Tingting. Without warning, Tingting slapped Shannon across the face with
all her might, stunning the entire room.
“Mama!” Fenix shoved himself between his mother and girlfriend, shielding Shannon from the Fang matriarch. “Don’t!”
Shannon was wailing. “I’m sorry, Auntie Tingting! I’m sorry!”
“Idiot girl!” Tingting screamed. “If you hadn’t meddled, if you hadn’t inserted yourself into the situation, Hyacinth would
still control the Sunfang Trust and none of this could have happened!”
Shannon buried her head into Fenix’s shoulder as he comforted her. “I swear I was just trying to help!” she cried. “When I overheard Iris talking to Hyacinth at MiNT . . .”
Wayward perked up at this. His mother?
“Shut up!” Tingting snarled. “Not another word!” She grabbed her things, flinging her purse over her shoulder. “We’re leaving!”
The others watched as Tingting stormed toward the exit, with Fenix half-carrying a sniffling Shannon in tow. But as Fenix
passed Wayward, Wayward placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Fenix,” Wayward said softly. “Cousin. Let’s talk, you and me?”
Fenix met his eyes and gave him the most imperceptible of nods.
Tingting was holding the door open, but with her other hand she shoved Wayward away from her son. “My father died penniless
because of your family, Wayward Sun!” She bared her teeth at him like a wounded tiger. “And I will spend the rest of my life
making sure you meet the same fate!”
Fang Tingting. Roses Sun had risen now, her head held high. Touch my nephew again and I will crush you like an ant. Now, kindly get the fuck out of my building.
For a moment, the matriarchs stared each other down, and everyone braced for bloodshed.
Then Tingting Fang stormed out of the boardroom.
Jittery from adrenaline, Wayward walked into his corner office to grab his briefcase, ready to leave Sunfang Global for the
day. Lola and Sunbern were waiting for him, leaning against his desk.
“You know, Shortcake,” Sunbern said, “I used to think Auntie Roses chose you to become president because you’re a suck up.”
He grinned. “But whatever the hell you just did in there, I see it was because of that.”
Wayward smiled too. “Both can be true.” He looked at Lola. “How are you doing, Lo?”
Lola shrugged. “I was really angry up in Big Bear.” Then her eyes went dark. “But I figured out how to deal with that anger.”
“A bit ominous,” Wayward replied, arching his brow. “Have you spoken to your mom yet about all this?”
Lola shook her head. “She’ll probably cut me a fruit plate at some point to apologize. You know how it is.”
“I wanted to unite the family,” Wayward mused. “And for better or worse, we are now stuck together.”
“So what do we do about Feli—I mean, Fenix?” Sunbern asked.
“He’s your brother,” Wayward said to Lola. “What do you want to do?”
“We know how our parents would have dealt with it,” Lola said.
“They’d destroy him.” Sunbern nodded.
Wayward sighed and paced to his window, taking in the view of Los Angeles. “And then our clan will be embroiled in yet another
decades-long saga of vengeance and retribution.”
“It’s what we Suns do best,” Lola said, adjusting her leather jacket.
“How can we say that when our elders have never tried anything else?” Wayward asked. “None of us knew the truth about Fenix.
Isn’t that our failing as his own family? Auntie Tingting, Shannon Shoo, and Galahad Fang—they simply took advantage of the
fact that we were so ignorant of our own flesh and blood. And that’s on us, isn’t it?”
Lola looked down. Sunbern stood up and walked to his younger cousin, holding out his hand. “You tell us. April’s gone now.
Forget about seniority—you clearly call the shots for our generation, Wayward Sun.”
Wayward clasped hands with Sunbern and looked to Lola, who nodded agreement at him.
Looking back out the window, Wayward thought about their eldest cousin. “Wherever April is, I hope she’s happy.”
Just a couple miles away in Beverly Hills, April Sun was beaming as she drove.
Through their mediator, Cristiano had immediately given her full custody of Meadow and their unborn son—and while April still
intended to keep him in their children’s lives, it was an enormous relief to know that she and he would not have a protracted
divorce. He even waived all claims to alimony, and she in turn did not ask for child support. It was truly a clean break.
Later that afternoon, April was going to pick up Meadow from Teddy. And from there, she, Meadow, the baby, and Chinoiserie
would head into their future together.
“Make a left here.” In the passenger seat next to her, Chinoiserie pointed, her other hand on April’s knee.
At a stop sign, April leaned in to kiss Chinoiserie. “Where are you leading us?”
Chinoiserie smiled at her softly. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
As they rode through pretty streets lined with palm trees, April let out a long sigh.
“What are you thinking, honey?” Chinoiserie asked.
“I’m thinking about how trapped I was, before you came back into my life. How my life was dictated by crazy things like dead
patriarchs and hungry ghosts, until you appeared out of nowhere to save me.”
Chinoiserie wrapped her hand around April’s but did not respond.
April continued, “I spoke briefly to Lola this morning. She told me that Galahad Chu wasn’t even a real fortune teller!
It was all a scam!” She shook her head, frustrated.
“None of it was real. So much of my life was based on these lies. Until you, Serie.” She met Chinoiserie’s eyes.
“Your love for me, your belief in me, is the realest thing I’ve ever experienced. And I’m so grateful for you.”
Chinoiserie’s eyes were shining. “I say it all the time, because I mean it. I’ll always be there for you, April Sun.” There
was a sudden hint of sadness in her voice, but she then pointed past them. “You can park right there.”
April got out of the car and faced the elegant building that had once been a mansion. “What is this place?” she asked.
“Go inside,” Chinoiserie said with a smile. “I’ll be right behind you.”
April let out an amused chuckle, cradling her burgeoning belly. “By the way . . . ditto.”
Chinoiserie cocked her head in question.
April glowed at her. “I’ll always be here for you too, Serie.”
As April walked into the office building, she could sense Chinoiserie’s presence right behind her. As she approached the receptionist
at the front desk, she could still smell Chinoiserie’s signature perfume of vanilla and sandalwood wafting around them.
“Name, please?” the receptionist asked with a smile.
“Chinoiserie Fan and April Sun,” April replied, enjoying the sound of their names together.
The receptionist’s eyes widened immediately. “Just a moment, Ms. Sun, I will fetch Mrs. Meyers for you right away. Please
have a seat.”
“Okay, Serie,” April said, turning back around. “What’s this all about anyway?”
But Chinoiserie was not behind her. April looked around, confused. The lobby was completely empty. Perhaps Chinoiserie had
gone to the restroom? She found her way to a chair and sat down, but almost immediately, a middle-aged woman wearing a fitted
black pantsuit appeared, hand outreached to greet her.
“Ms. Sun, my name is Lori Meyers,” she said with a warm smile. “I represent Chinoiserie Fan’s estate.”
April frowned as she shook the lawyer’s hand. “Her estate?”
Lori’s smile faltered a bit as she sat down on the chair next to April. “Of course, my apologies. I wasn’t sure how much you
knew about Ms. Fan’s situation. Her circumstances were kept very private due to her wishes. I just assumed since you came
here today that you must have found out somehow.”
April’s mouth was open but no sound came out. She looked around them, utterly bewildered. Was this some sort of sick joke?
Where the hell was Chinoiserie?
Lori rested her hand gently on April’s shoulder. “We were actually going to reach out to you next week, because we had finally
gotten everything in order. During her prolonged illness, she and I spoke about you often—you clearly meant so much to her.”
“But . . . I just came with . . . She was just . . .” April heard herself babbling. She stood up with great effort, for the
baby in her stomach had become as heavy as a wrecking ball.
She was struck by the dawning of a staggering truth.
Lori’s emerald-green eyes were full of compassion.
“Ms. Sun, I am so sorry for your loss. Chinoiserie Fan passed away nine months ago.”