Page 86 of Cruel Devotion

I caught the occasional sympathetic look, but many more were tinged with morbid curiosity or barely concealed glee.

I had always been a topic of discussion in the East, but this would be uncharted territory.

Chen's voice went barely above a whisper. “This isn't just gossip, Lei. This is a live show for them and we're the main act.”

I exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of every gaze on that mountain. “She needed to be shown her place.”

“But at what cost?” Chen pressed. “Look at them. They're whispering, speculating. This will have repercussions.”

I barely registered his warning as my attention instead, was completely drawn to Monique. I could see the distress on her face, the confusion in her eyes. This was not how I had wanted our evening to go. She'd been thrown into the depths of my family's complex dynamics, and I could only imagine the turmoil she felt.

I reached my hand under the table and squeezed hers. “Are you okay?”

Monique nodded. “It's just. . .a lot to take in.”

Chen's phone vibrated. He picked it up and let out a long sigh.

I frowned. “What?”

“Hearts and Harmony Outreach is under St. Benedict's Hope Foundation.” Chen put his phone up. “Another coincidence.”

The line of my jaw twitched.

Monique turned to me. “And the Four Aces own St. Benedict's Hope Foundation?”

“My mother started it. Once she died, my father. . .he typically spent almost every day separating donations and anything else they required.”

Monique stared down at her food as if no longer hungry. “When my mom passed, they helped pay for the funeral. I remember thinking Jo had filled out some form for them to do it.”

Chen eyed her. “Did she?”

Monique shook her head. “Three months later, we happened to be talking about how much I appreciated the help and that was when we realized that Jo never did an application. Meanwhile she thought I did. Therefore. . .we assumed Mom must have done it. . .”

Chen's fingers shook as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Then. . .every now and then, when times really got bad. . .boxes of food or clothes would be delivered.” Monique widened her eyes. “By men in blue shirts and jeans.”

Goddamn it, Father.

Monique continued, “We still struggled at times, but it was those moments where all hope was lost. . .when the boxes would come. . .”

Duck spoke for the first time in a while, “Uncle Leo was probably making sure you could toughen out stressful situations and only helped when absolutely necessary.”

But how long was my Father watching Monique?

Chapter fourteen

The Enigmatic Puppet Master

Monique

“This situation is far scarier than I believed.” Chen pushed his bowl of soup to the side. “While I thought Uncle Leo was always two steps ahead of us, he’s really been two to three years ahead of us.”

Duck lifted a slice of pork with his chopsticks. “The enigmatic puppet master strikes again.”

Chen frowned at him. “I hate when you call him that.”

Duck shrugged. “Is it not the truth?”

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