The Mafiosa's Thorn

Opportunity

Jia wipes the sweat off her face with a water bottle to cool down. That tennis game lasted for more than an hour. Yet, something bothered her. She felt eyes were on her the entire time. Her grandmother's eyes. Her body shudders from thinking about her.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Her teal smart phone goes off. The message inside widens her eyes in horror.

{Can we talk?  It's about Jian}
-Grandma Dai Lau

Her mind races about her twin sibling. Is he okay? Did he get hurt-

Part of her thinks it's all a ruse for something else. Yet, her twin could need her. Maybe it's a health reason. If he needs an organ-

She exhales. {Sure. Where would you like to meet?}

An address for a traditional five-star Chinese restaurant pops up as a response. She sighs since it's a restaurant that is owned by her. She wants to get it done and over with.

{On my way}.......

She walks inside the restaurant and spots her at a middle table. The leader of the Triad smiles while getting up.

"Sunnu (granddaughter), it's good-"

She cuts the air with a hand to silence her. "Is Jian okay?"

Her smile turns into a frown. "He's okay, but he almost died today."

Her feet shuffle from the news. "W-What happened?"

Xianmao motions her to sit down. She slowly sits down towards the edge to leave quickly. The elder of the Triad relays what almost happened minus the part where she threw Jian under the bus.

"Y-You all were at the mercy of that man?"

"Fortunately, Orchidea called him off."

"Where is he? I need to-"

"He turned off his phone after what happened. He's probably off with Fu. Today made us realize something. Life is too short in this line of work. I know Jian wants to be the leader once my time has come-"

Jia almost slams her hands on the table. "You know, yet you keep being hard on him! Even when his high school team won a 2nd place soccer trophy, you told him it's his fault he didn't try hard enough. Why have you been so tough on him?"

Xianmao lets out a long sigh. "Because he needs someone to push him for greatness...and he failed me today."

Jia's brown eyes glare while getting up. "I can't believe-"

"I want to offer you the leadership position since Jian is unfit."

Her hands clench into fists before she starts turning away.

"Don't you want to protect him?!"

Jia's feet stop in their place. The thought of him being unsafe hurts her heart. He had always been there for her including keeping her secret. She slowly turns to face her. "What should I do?"

Xianmao brings out a manilla envelope and takes out paperwork with the Triad's symbol on it. "Just sign your name and bank account. All of my wealth will belong to you if something happens to me. Security will be given right away," she points to a tall man with a tattoo of three intersecting triangles on his hand.

He nods at Jia, confirming that he will protect her with his life on the line.

She taps her index finger on the dotted line with a pen. Jia takes the pen and reads the Mandarin contract carefully. A clause catches her attention: "In the event of immediate death, all funds will transfer automatically to Jia's spouse or a senior officer."