Page 91 of Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)

They lower their guns after making sure there’s no one else in the room, then one of them says into his walkie-talkie, “We need a medic here.” When he looks at Millie, his face is sad. “Jesus. What have they done to you?”

There are a million thoughts buzzing through Millie’s mind, but when she opens her mouth, only one word comes out. “Channary.”

“Is that your name?” the cop says.

Millie shakes her head. “My sister is in there.” She points at the wall.

“They’ve got her.”

And sure enough, Millie hears her wails clearly now that her door has been opened too. Millie tries to walk, but her legs give out, and the cop catches her before she falls again.

“Whoa, take it easy. Come on, let’s get her out of here.”

Outside of the room, the warehouse is in chaos, with what seems like a dozen police officers marching around.

“Penxi!” Channary cries. She runs toward Millie and throws her arms around her. Millie sobs, and hand in hand, they stumble down the hallway.

On the first floor, Millie finally sees the sight she’s been dreaming of for over ten years. Father and Mother are being marched out with their hands cuffed behind their backs, their expressions mutinous.

Mother catches sight of her and snarls, “You little bitch. You did this. You’re gonna be sorry.”

“That’s enough,” the police officer holding Mother growls. It’s Selena. She meets Millie’s eye and gives her a little nod, and Millie returns it, then hangs back and watches as Father and Mother are led outside.

“What’s going to happen to Father and Mother?” Channary says.

“Oh, they’re gonna go away for a long time,” the cop holding Millie says.

Millie’s throat closes up with tears. If only Thomas could see this. And Yara. And Robert. Yara would say something snarky, like, “Who’s the bitch now, bitch?” She smiles inwardly.I didn’t do this, she thinks.Thomas, you did it.

Outside, Millie takes in great big gulps of the cold fresh air. Someone wraps a foil blanket around her and leads her to a waiting ambulance. Someone else says something about severe dehydration, and Millie nods, letting them lower her onto a stretcher. There is a sharp pain at the back of her hand, and when she looks down, she sees that someone has stuck a needle in it and is in the process of hooking her up to an IV drip. Channary is still holding her other hand, and Millie squeezes it to let her know it’s okay.

There are more shouts, and Millie stiffens, but then Selena’s voice says, “Let her through.”

And moments later, Millie hears a familiar voice snapping, “Aiya! You hear my daughter-in-law! Let me through! My niece is in there, I am family.”

“What’s happening?” Channary says.

Millie smiles. Already, thanks to the IV drip, she’s feeling a little less close to death’s door. “Something good.”

•••

Penxi wakes up in the hospital room and isn’t surprised to see Vera sitting next to her bed. She’s been in here for three days now, and Vera hasn’t left her side at all. It’s been really nice having Vera there, though Penxi has been guilty of faking naps sometimes just to get Vera to stop talking.

“Penxi, ah, you know your eyes don’t close all the way when you sleep?” Vera says by way of greeting.

Penxi yawns, rubbing her eyes. “Yeah?”

“You should close them all the way, otherwise you give future husband or wife big scare.”

Penxi can’t help but laugh. “Okay, Vera, I’ll keep that in mind.Gonna be a while before I find a partner though. I think I need to just not date for a while.”

Vera nods. Then her face softens. “Selena give me your letter.”

“Oh?” Penxi’s cheeks warm as she thinks back to what she had written down. Argh, she’d written down literally everything, every dirty secret. When she wrote it, she didn’t think she would ever see Vera again. And now here she is, having to face her after all that stuff she wrote about scamming people.

Vera reaches out and places her hand on top of Penxi’s. “Penxi, ah, you are such brave girl. You been through so much.”

Penxi swallows thickly. “I’m a scammer.”

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