Page 1 of Until We Burn
PART 1: ON THE EDGE
CHAPTER 1
DIANA HUANG
Every timethe sun comes up, my breath grows a little tighter.
For me, a new day marks the start of another responsibility and another expectation weighing down my shoulders.
Today is no exception.
“Are you wearing that red dress I had Helen put on your bed? The one that makes your skin look whiter? I thought it would be perfect for the first day of class.”
Mama’s shrill voice pierces through the speaker. From her end, I can hear sirens blaring from Taipei City’s garbage trucks.
I sigh. “Yes, mama,I made sure to wear that dress.”
“Did you iron down the collar? You looked embarrassing the last time you didn’t. You don’t want to look embarrassing again, do you?”
I look up at my chauffeur, Hans. We both roll our eyes.
“Of course not, mama.”
“Remember to straighten your hair for the dinner party on Friday, too.”
“I will.”
“Important news leaders will be there, you know?”
“I know.”
I irritably scroll through the morning newspaper on my phonewhile mama prattles away on speaker. I wish I had brought one of my romance novels instead. Reading about people tearing off their clothes and tempting scandal would’ve kept me sane enough to handle this phone call.
Mama and bàba have been away for almost two weeks because they’re visiting Uncle Frederik in Taiwan. Even when mama is a thousand miles away from Vancouver, she still manages to keep a sharp eye on all her children.
“These details may seem silly to you, Diana. However, details decide your character.A lady with disheveled hair and an unkempt dress inspires no confidence whatsoever.”
I smile. “Not even if she has nice shoes?”
“Diana,”Mama snaps, “You might be one of the heirs to the Huang Media Group, but your siblings also have claim to it. They can take it from right under you.”
That’s when I tap the screen and land on a feature story about us.
My body tenses.
My smile falls.
Competition stirs in the Huang household as the heirs of the HMG vie for position of CEO starting in the fall of 2024
The feature photo says it all. My siblings and I sit on high-backed chairs: Sophia and I on one side, Gregory and Jonathan on the other. Standing tall behind us is my stern-faced father and my beaming mother. Their shadows loom over the Huang family sculpture glinting on a table. Our names are engraved on the blades of four bronze knives that pierce an obsidian block at an angle. The hilts spear out like sun rays, angling towards the heart of the sculpture where a much larger knife shines. One day, the smooth blade will bear the name of the next CEO of the Huang Media Group, the global mass media company my family founded in 1952.
“The HMG does not simply keep you all fed,” Mama reminds me. “The HMG is a message made long ago by your ancestors who worked hard to prove their place in an industry that fought to keep them out.”
A swell of pride and determination tempers the pressure building up inside. “I won’t forget that, mama.”
“You need to keep the HMG in mind even when you’re sitting in a lecture about…”
“The history of strange art.”
