TENDER BETRAYAL (Mystery Romance): The TENDER Series ~ Book 3

by H. Y. Hanna

  Toran frowned. “He’d been working for your father for years. Why hadn’t he tried this earlier?”

  “It had never occurred to him before,” said Leah. “I told you: he wasn’t a bad man. He had been a simple, hard-working man, never considering anything even vaguely criminal before. Then he got involved with some bad gambling rings and started gambling heavily, without his wife’s knowledge. He basically lost all their savings. Especially the money that they had put aside for their son’s college fund. And his boy had just got accepted to the New York Conservatory of Music. It was a huge honour, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He couldn’t bear turning around and telling his wife and son that he couldn’t afford to pay the fees because he had lost all the money gambling.”

  Toran looked away. Leah paused and glanced at him uncertainly, then continued.

  “Not only that, but in trying to win back the money he had lost, Ah Song started getting into more debt. It’s the usual gambling addict’s vicious circle—you know, trying again and again, convinced each time that their luck would change and instead digging themselves deeper into the hole. Soon, Ah Song had not only lost his savings, but was heavily in debt as well, with the gangs demanding the money they were owed. He was desperate. Then he walked in on my father raving like a madman that night and he saw his chance. He knew my father was wealthy and he thought this was the perfect set-up for blackmail. He could hurt your parents and then—”

  “But he didn’t just hurt them, he killed them,” snapped Toran.

  Leah sighed. “Yes. Although he said he never intended to—and I believed him. He hadn’t expected that heavy rain so when the car swerved off the road, it was moving at a much higher speed than he had planned. In fact, he almost didn’t make it out of the car himself—he jumped out just before the crash—and he was convinced it was because he was clutching the Ru-Yi that he landed on a patch of grass and rolled to safety.”

  “Lucky for him,” said Toran caustically.

  Leah hesitated, then went on. “When he went back to my father that night with the news, my father was absolutely horrified. He had no memory of his drunken binge and it was easy for Ah Song to convince my father that he had given the order and was the one responsible for your parents’ deaths. My father was wracked with guilt and readily paid Ah Song the large sum of money that he asked for. It was cleverly disguised as a payment for an antique, which was why I didn’t pick it up when I went through my father’s accounts. With that money, Ah Song paid off his debts and had more than enough to send his son off to college. He then continued to blackmail my father for the next year, and with that extra money he saved up enough to leave my father’s employ and start his own taxi company. He thought it was all forgotten and he had got away with it—until I returned to Singapore that first time and started going through my father’s things and asking questions. Ah Song panicked. He flew out to London himself and came to see me on the pretext of being on holiday there—and was relieved that my father hadn’t mentioned anything to me. But then when I moved back to Singapore for good and we reopened the case, he got worried again. He was desperate to stop me investigating—that was why he sent his thug after me in London, trying to scare me and stop me asking questions. He didn’t want to hurt me, really—he just felt forced into a corner in the end.”

  “I can’t believe you’re standing there defending him,” said Toran. “Even forgetting the fact that he tried to kill you last night and giving him the benefit of doubt for my parents’ accident, he did blackmail and extort money from your father. You can’t say he wasn’t in his right mind for that.”

  “Well…” Leah twisted her hands uncomfortably. “The thing is, my father was involved in white-collar crime too. It’s not as if the money he had was clean. At least Ah Song put it towards building up an honest business.”

  “That’s an absurd argument and you know it!” said Toran angrily. “It’s the principle. There is no excuse for what he did—”

  “Toran, the man is dead—” implored Leah.

  “So what?” said Toran. “He should still be denounced so that everyone can know what kind of man he was.”

  “That’s just it,” said Leah. “When the police were questioning me, I suddenly thought of his wife, who never knew all these years that her husband had done these terrible things. I thought of his son, coming home from the U.S. next week and already having to deal with his father’s death…” She swallowed. “Toran, please try to understand. I've lost my own father and I’ll never get the chance to change the memories I have of him, but I don’t want Ah Song’s son to suffer in the same way. At least I can help another child preserve the good memories of his father. If I say nothing, Ah Song will just be remembered as a loving husband and father and I won’t destroy their memories of him. If I let the world know, it will just cause a huge scandal which will achieve nothing, but hurt them.”

  “Achieve nothing? What about my parents?” said Toran through clenched teeth. “Don’t they have a right to justice? Don’t they deserve to have the person responsible punished?”

  “But he has been punished,” said Leah, reaching out and touching Toran’s arm. He stiffened. “Ah Song is dead. They can’t put him in jail now or do anything else to harm him—all they can do is besmirch his memory and smear the sordid story all over the Singapore media. Is that really what you want? Is that the vengeance that would satisfy you?”

  Toran made a violent movement, but didn’t reply. A muscle ticked in his jaw and he looked away, his mouth a hard line.

  “You could have at least discussed this with me before you decided,” he said tightly. “Didn’t I deserve a say in this decision? They are my parents after all.”

  “I know—I’m sorry,” said Leah miserably. “I did want to talk to you about it, but I didn’t get a chance before they separated us for questioning. When they started asking me about what happened and why Ah Song was there with me, I was put on the spot and had to make a split-second decision. And I just couldn’t say it.”

  “I could still decide to tell the police the truth.”

  “You could,” said Leah softly. “But I’m hoping that you won’t.”

  Toran shot her a look, his green eyes blazing. Leah reached out to him again, but he shook her off roughly. Then he turned and walked away.

  CHAPTER 35

  The Gynaecology Ward was humming with activity as Leah made her way towards Julia’s private room. The door was slightly ajar and she knocked softly before she entered.

  “Julia?”

  “Come in!”

  Leah was pleased to see her friend sitting up, propped against the pillows, a magazine on her lap. Julia’s cheeks had a healthy flush now and her eyes were clear of pain—a big difference to the last time Leah had seen her. She had only managed to stay with Julia briefly last night after they had been brought to the hospital—then her friend had been whisked away for treatment, while Leah herself had been taken aside to be examined for injuries.

  She had planned to go back to stay with Julia for the rest of the night, but had somehow fallen asleep exhausted in her own hospital bed—and when she had woken up this morning, she had found Julia still asleep and decided not to disturb her. Before she left for the police station, though, Leah had checked with the gynaecologist on-call and was relieved to hear that her friend had not suffered a miscarriage yet—although she was still “under observation”.

  Now she went forwards anxiously. “So…? Have they said…?”

  “They think the baby is going to be okay.” Julia beamed. “They’ve done an ultrasound and they can see a foetal heartbeat. Apparently, when there’s a threatened miscarriage, if you can see a foetal heartbeat, then there’s a ninety percent chance that the baby will be fine.”

  “Thank God for that,” said Leah with feeling. “I couldn’t have lived with myself if anything had happened to your baby because of me.”

  “Well, I couldn’t have lived with myself if anything had happened to you,” sai
d Julia softly.

  Leah felt tears start to her eyes and she reached over, pulling her friend into a hug.

  “Hey… what’s the matter?” said Julia.

  “Sorry.” Leah sniffed, letting her go. “I’m just feeling a bit emotional, I guess… I… I had a bit of a rough talk with Toran just now, outside the police station.” She told Julia about her decision to exonerate Ah Song from all blame.

  Her friend stared at her in disbelief. “Well… I have to say, I can see why Toran would be pissed off. I’d be pretty hurt and angry if it was me and my parents.”

  Leah looked down. “I know. I never meant to hurt him… I just… Oh God, Julia. I think I’ve really messed up this time,” she said, her voice trembling. “The look he gave me before he walked away…” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I made that choice because I thought I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hurt Ah Song’s wife and son… I didn’t stop to think that it could mean I had to live without Toran.”

  “Leah, I’m sure—”

  They were interrupted by an Asian man entering the room, bearing an enormous bouquet of flowers and a couple of takeaway boxes. It was Arnold, Julia’s husband. He smiled a greeting at Leah, then hurried over to Julia’s side.

  “Arnold went to get me some almond pudding,” Julia explained with a grin. “I got a sudden craving for them.”

  “I got you some sesame rice balls too. I know they’re one of your favourites,” said Arnold eagerly, showing Julia the takeaway boxes.

  Leah watched as Arnold fussed over his wife, rearranging her pillows, setting up her tray, watching her adoringly as she sampled the snacks he had brought. Julia accepted all the attention with a slight blush which was very sweet to see. Leah’s heart ached slightly. It was wonderful to see her friend so content with her husband at last—but it only drove home to Leah how much she could have lost because of her decision. Had it been worth it?

  She stood up, clearing her throat. “I should go now…”

  “They’re going to discharge me soon and we’re planning to go out for lunch. Want to join us?” Julia asked.

  Leah glanced at Arnold, then shook her head and smiled at her friend. “No, I think you two should enjoy a bit of time together. But thanks for asking.”

  As she turned to go, Julia caught her hand. “Leah… don’t worry… I’m sure Toran will come round…”

  Leah sighed and nodded, although she didn’t share Julia’s confidence. She also didn’t feel comfortable staying in the apartment any longer. She left Toran a note, then packed up her belongings and moved back to her father’s villa. A part of her had been hoping that perhaps, when Toran saw her note, he would come after her. But as the days passed and she didn’t hear from him, Leah began to lose hope that he would ever forgive her.

  The days slid into weeks and still Toran made no move to contact her. Leah tried not to think about it and focused instead on establishing a new life for herself. Although her father had left her enough money to live on comfortably for a long while and there was no immediate need to look for work, Leah threw herself into a job hunt and quickly found a position as a Marketing Director for one of the top multinational companies in Singapore. The routine of going to work each day gave her a comforting structure to follow, and the long hours and demands of adapting to a new workplace kept her tired enough that she fell exhausted into bed each night. It was only on the weekends that the heartache and loneliness threatened to overwhelm her, but Julia helped by constantly coming up with new activities to do and events to attend, to keep her busy.

  Still, nothing really filled the aching void inside her, the longing for Toran that felt almost like a physical pain sometimes. Leah couldn’t stop herself hoping for news of him and even for a chance meeting. It seemed crazy that in as small a place as Singapore, their paths wouldn’t cross. She did occasionally hear about him though. She knew that he was now investigating the high profile case of a corrupt politician; that he had recently been honoured with a prestigious journalism award; and once, as she was flipping through a glossy magazine, she caught her breath as she saw a picture of Toran at a charity event, looking breathtakingly handsome in elegant black tie, with Angela Chan, his ex-fiancée, on his arm.

  Were they back together? Leah wondered. She tried to push the wrench of jealous pain aside. Angela was a lovely girl—Leah liked her a lot—and maybe Toran would be happier with her.

  She was still trying to convince herself of this one evening when the front doorbell rang at the villa. Leah got up from the couch where she had been listlessly watching an American crime drama on TV and went to answer the door. She swung it open and stared in surprise at the beautiful Asian girl standing on the threshold.

  “Hi,” Angela said with a shy smile. “I hope I haven’t called at a bad time.”

  “N-no…” Leah murmured, still looking at her in surprise.

  Angela hesitated. “Can I come in?”

  “Oh, sure… yes… please, come in…” Leah stood back and let the other girl into the villa. She led the way into the living room at the back and invited the girl to sit down.

  “Um… would you like something to drink?” she asked, conscious of a strange sense of déjà vu. The first time she had met Angela, it was she who had arrived on a doorstep and the other girl who had invited her in and offered her a drink.

  “No, I’m fine, thank you.” Angela perched uncomfortably at the edge of the couch. She was wearing a fine linen dress in a soft pastel shade that brought out the warmth of her skin, and her long, glossy black hair had been pulled back into a sleek ponytail. She had put on weight and looked a lot better than the last time Leah had seen her, when they had escaped together from Sanctum Bona Dea, a cult on a small island off the coast of Singapore, which had nearly claimed their lives.

  Angela pleated her skirt nervously under her fingers for a moment, then said, “I hope you won’t think I’m being presumptuous, Leah, but… well, you saved my life and I’d like to give something back if I can.” She paused, then added, “Toran came to see me last night.”

  Leah felt that stab of jealousy again. Something must have shown in her face because Angela raised a hand.

  “Oh no, we’re just friends. Toran just wanted to talk, I think… and he needed someone to listen.” She looked up and met Leah’s eyes. “He was rambling about all sorts of things and skirting around the topic, but I knew that what he really wanted to talk about was you.”

  Leah felt a small flicker of hope spring to life inside her.

  “I’m not sure what happened between you two,” said Angela. “But I think you need to speak to him.”

  “I can’t,” said Leah. “He… he’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want to see me, doesn’t want to hear from me.”

  Angela sighed. “Pride and anger can make people do silly things. If nothing else, being in that awful cult taught me that. I can see things more clearly now, understand how our weaknesses can make us our own worst enemies.” She leaned forwards. “Toran might not admit it, but he’s hurting, Leah, and he misses you. If he won’t come to you… then you need to go to him.”

  “Maybe… maybe it’s better for him if I don’t,” whispered Leah.

  Angela shook her head impatiently. “You don’t really believe that! You and Toran… Do you know the Chinese believe in the Red String of Fate? They say that when you are born, there is a red string tied to your little finger and the other end is tied to the little finger of the person you’re destined to be with. No matter how far apart you are, no matter where you are in the world, the Red String will connect the two of you to each other. And as you grow up, the string gets shorter and shorter, pulling the two of you together, until the day you meet. I guess it’s what you Westerners call ‘soul mates’.” She smiled sadly. “I loved Toran… and a part of me will always love him. There are not many men like him and I know most women can sense that when they are with him. But I also know that the Red String of Fate doesn’t connect us. It connect
s him to you. You belong together.”

  Leah stared at Angela, her heart beating fast. “I don’t know how to reach him…”

  “Maybe… you should go back to the beginning?” suggested Angela. “You and Toran met in school, didn’t you? It must have been something special… for you and him to be here now, after all these years.”

  “It was…” said Leah softly, her memory tugging at her heartstrings.

  Angela stood up. “Then you’ll need to find your way back to that,” she said, reaching out and squeezing Leah’s hand. “That will lead you back to him.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Sixteen years ago…

  They were already in the second term when there was news that a new boy was joining the Sixth Grade. This in itself wasn’t that unusual at the Marina Bay International School. Known as the ultimate haven for rich local kids and wealthy “expat brats”, the exclusive school was well used to students leaving and arriving according to their parents’ whims, work arrangements, or travel plans. But the difference this time was that this new student’s acceptance was based not on his father’s Louis Vuitton wallet or his mother’s social connections—but on a scholarship for academic brilliance. And in a school where grades and academic rankings were equivalent to titles and bank accounts, everyone sat up and took notice.

  Kids might be spoilt at Marina Bay International, but they were also fiercely competitive and it was one place where good grades were not sneered at. The word “nerd” didn’t exist. Not when your grades were published weekly and put up in a rankings table in the school reception for all to see—and there was a tacit implication that it represented your status, your family’s status. In fact, sharp-eyed parents came to check the rankings table regularly, comparing and noting, and harshly reprimanding their kids for falling behind the offspring of a business rival. It was a point of pride to be first in the class and it was a battle that was fought grimly every day in the classrooms and examination halls.