The police were shocked but not really surprised. The big, opulent house was owned by a very rich man known throughout the city. There was bound to be attempts on his and his family's lives and property simply because of that. s.h.i.+t happens. This time around, the s.h.i.+t apparently fell all over a wealthy guy for once.

The three of them were immediately taken to the hospital. Matt suffered the most from the violent encounter with half of his face nearly mangled; a sc.r.a.p of skin was cut next to the bone and blood was bathing his face like a ghastly mask. He needed plastic surgery and the best surgeon in M City was called to fix him up. An Ma put him in the best room and hired round the clock nurses to watch over him.

An Ning, who bore the brunt of the vicious attempt, suffered a cut on her hand from the broken piece of gla.s.s. Aside from that, she seemed fine. Even the bruises on her neck started to fade after a day. Her five-month old pregnancy was also fine, the baby having suffered no ill effects during and after the attack.

By tacit agreement, father and daughter went to Matt's room to have their talk. They found Matt awake, his head covered with bandages. He turned his head from watching TV on the overhead monitor when the door opened and seemed not too surprised to see them. He gave a warm greeting, still looking chirpy despite looking like a mummy.

"How are you feeling?" An Ning asked.

"Like death warmed over. You look disgustingly cheerful though," Matt answered. "Baby alright?"

"The baby is fine," An Ning smiled. "Heart beat strong, he's eating well. Everything is fine."

They fell silent, each one unwilling to ask the question the three of them have been wanting to ask all along.

"In the end," Matt said, after a while, "what happened to her?"

"Her body decomposed and caught fire."

"Was it because of that pebble, that thing that rolled off the broken chain around her neck?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. Dad," An Ning turned to her father, "have you ever seen that necklace before?"

"She always wore it around her neck. I think it was some kind of a rune. She said it was very old and was given to her by her mother. Some sort of a family heirloom, I believe." An Ma said.

"Seemed important," Matt pointed out. "She almost went ballistic when An Ning got hold of it."

"Was she a witch?" An Ning asked, finally voicing the idea that all of them had been thinking.

"A witch in this day and age?" An Ma scoffed.

"How do you explain the decomposing corpse and the catching fire thing then?" Matt pointed out reasonably.

An Ma was silent but added after a while: "We're all moving to an apartment I own when we get out of here."

"Whatever for?" Matt said, surprised.

"Maya. We have no idea where she is and what she's planning to do. I can't take the chance of her attacking An Ning again."

"You think she'll come after me?" An Ning asked.

"Yu Yan did. Maya did. And I need to hire security to look after you while I'm gone."

"You're going to Saravia?" Matt asked.

An Ma nodded.

"If you're willing to wait for me for a week, I can go with you," Matt offered.

"No, you need to take care of yourself. I'll be fine."

"I'll ask Richard to go with you," An Ning said.

"No," An Ma shook his head. "I'll be fine on my own."

An Ning looked at him with a determined glint in her eyes.

"We don't know what we're dealing here with, dad" she said. "A woman who pretended to be my mother for 20 years? The question is actually not how but why? Why did she do it? What's the motive? Why you? Why me? Why my real mother?"

"That's why I need to go back to Saravia. I want answers, An Ning. I want to know why this happened. Yu Yan and I were together for just a short time but I knew her. She wouldn't have allowed this to happen to me, to you. She would have tried to put a stop to it if she could."

"I'm not stopping you from going there. But not alone. Richard is going with you."

"An Ning...."

"I already lost a parent. I can't bear to lose you, too. And what about your grandchild? He or she will be coming out into the world pretty soon and I want you to be here to meet him or her. Please, dad?"

An Ma sighed.

"I doubt Richard will agree. When is he coming back anyway?"

"The day after tomorrow. He didn't want to go but his brother Alex insisted. They needed to sign the contract with their j.a.panese partners before the tariffs took effect."

"Do we really need to pull him in into this affair?" An Ma asked, frowning.

"I don't want to but I have no choice. Matthew here is out of commission so there's really no one I trust except Richard."

"You trust him," An Ma quirked an eyebrow, "even when he did that thing with Maya?"

"He's not my boyfriend or husband. But I think he's my friend." An Ning said, sounding sincere even to her own ears.

"You young people and your vague definition of relations.h.i.+ps," An Ma said, shaking his head. "You two already made a baby together, you know. What else is there to define?"

"How I really feel about him," An Ning quietly said.

An Ma looked as if he really didn't understand but he nodded then looked at Matt.

"Do you need anything picked up from your apartment? Don't worry about clothes since we can take care of that easy. Your private files or doc.u.ments maybe? You may need to stay in my place for several months."

"I'm staying with you and An Ning?" Matt was shocked.

"You really want to stay alone in your apartment while Maya is let loose in the city?"

"I doubt she'll bother about me," Matt said wryly. "I'm not in her league."

"I want you to stay with An Ning because there's only a handful of people she trusts and you're one of them."

Matt blushed like a teenage boy and refused to meet An Ning's amused eyes.

*******

Richard arrived a day earlier than expected and was surprised to hear An Ma's voice when he called An Ning's phone. An Ma told him An Ning was asleep and that she was in the hospital. He also told him what had happened in a few succinct words, which greatly alarmed Richard.

Richard went to his waiting car and told the driver where to go, immediately jumping from the vehicle when it stopped in front of the hospital entrance. He raced towards An Ning's room and flung the door open. An Ning looked up from eating ice cream and smiled when she saw him.

"You're back early," she greeted.

"Your father told me a tale just now that nearly froze my blood. He was kidding around, right?"

"Nope. All of it true. 100%."

In long, quick strides, Richard reached her side and cupped her face in his hands, his eyes roving around her face as if looking for proof that she was really okay and not hurting as he feared.

"You don't have any scars and you're disgustingly cheery. So, what happened?" he finally said, satisfied.

An Ning narrated the events, from the attempt on her life leading up to the death of the woman who called herself An Yu Yan.

"So, who was the woman and why did she pose as your mother?"

"Precisely my question," An Ning said, licking the spoon. "No clue whatsoever. Did dad tell you about what he plans to do?"

"You can't stop me from going with him," Richard declared adamantly. "This is too good to miss up."

"I'm glad you think so. You told Dad?"

"He already knows. We'll sort out what needs to be done and probably leave in a week. I also have to contact a few people to keep you safe and secure while we're gone."

"Okay."

Richard sat beside her then pulled her gently in his arms. An Ning allowed herself to lean against him, sighing. They held each other silently, feeling each other's warmth, the throbbing of their hearts. Richard snuggled against An Ning's neck, breathing in her warm and familiar smell.

"An Ning," he softly murmured, "nothing happened between Maya and me. It's you I like no one else."

An Ning didn't say anything. She seemed to have stopped breathing as well.

Richard pulled away and met her cool gaze.

"Do you believe me?"

"Does it matter?"

"You don't believe me," he said flatly.

An Ning turned away. As if maddened by her rejection, Richard pulled her back, smothering the surprise gasp from her lips with his as their entwined bodies fell on the narrow bed. An Ning tried to turn her head but Richard stopped the movement by capturing her tongue and possessing himself of her mouth as if he wanted to drown himself in her.

An Ning whimpered and tried to push him away. Richard's kiss suddenly gentled as his mouth sucked and nibbled, twisting around her tongue as their saliva mingled in gathering heat. An Ning gasped when Richard pushed the flimsy gown down her chest. She tried to cover herself but Richard captured her hands and pulled them above her head, his lips beginning their sensuous a.s.sault on her bare, satiny skin.

"You feel like heaven in my arms," he muttered against her naked breast, his lips alternately sucking and biting on the nipple. "I want you, An Ning. I want you now."

An Ning felt her body start to waken. She moaned as he tore the gown off her body and settled himself between her parted thighs.

"The baby..." she said groaning as her body moved sinuously against his.

"The doctor said it's alright," Richard muttered, his mouth again a.s.saulted her soft mouth until she moaned in pleasure. "I'll be careful."

He reached between their bodies and allowed his burgeoning desire to break free from his tight jeans. When he entered her, An Ning gasped and clutched at his shoulders like she was drowning.

"You are so tight," Richard almost snarled in his pleasure. "Move with me, baby. Move with me."

An Ning could only move and feel. He was inside her and all around her, thrusting and possessing her as if he wanted to devour her.

"Richard," she gasped, twisting her body until the pleasure intensified.

"Call me Han," the man above her commanded. "Call me Han, baby. Please, baby, call me Han."

"Han," she moaned, twisting and grinding her hips against his. "Han...Han."

"Ning Ning...Ning Ning...I love you."

The impa.s.sioned words floated in the air. An Ning screamed against Richard's chest, her body turning rigid until she fell back on the bed in a dead faint. Richard followed her into ecstasy, collapsing and gasping for breath beside her.

After he regained his senses back, Richard cradled An Ning in his arms and pulled the covers over them both. He bent down and kissed her gently on her reddened mouth. He tightened his arms around her and just like that he closed his eyes and fell asleep.