The Cantonesia Caper [Bauhinia Legacy Series, Book 4.0]

11 | Vigilantes

"No buts. Why don't you look at the things your Ah Ba left for you."

The young woman walked over to the desk. The first item was a golden bauhinia, petals folded upwards as if stretching its arms toward the sun—another remembrance of Hong Kong. Typical Ah Ba, Amelia smiled ruefully.

The next statue was the golden dragon—one of Ah Ba's most coveted possessions. He'd treated it with the utmost care and had always felt that it represented his authority and totalitarian power over the Bauhinias. After all, dragons symbolized wealth and ruling power in ancient China—Ah Ba always respected tradition and culture.

Amelia scoffed at the dragon and threw it in the trash.

Aunt Yan laughed. "It's funny to see you so flippantly discard your father's most coveted object in this room. He's dedicated his entire inheritance to you since you're his sole heiress."

"He was always adamant about following in his ancestor's footsteps. That's the only reason he'd given me everything he owned," Amelia sighed. "The thing is, I don't want to carry his legacy. I never wanted to control everyone with an iron fist—that's only what I'd received. Ah Ba never talked about his past. I don't know if he was told to manage the Bauhinias in the brutal way he did or if he came up with the idea of tyranny on his own, but all I know is that it wasn't beneficial for me or anyone in our family. I want to break the cycle and know how to do it now."

Amelia closed her eyes briefly, though it seemed to last forever. She'd been aiming to get out of the Bauhinias all her life. That was because she didn't want Ah Ba to constantly hegemonize her and monitor her every move. Amelia didn't want to leave the rest of her family behind without a proper heir, though. The Bauhinias had to survive in some way or another.

And that way would be her from now on.

***

"There you are." Elise heaved a sigh of relief. "What was taking you both so long?"

"We'll explain once we get to the Bauhinias' headquarters," Amelia answered hurriedly. "I'm rebuilding my family, my organization, from the ground up, so you'd better help me."

Elise looked frantically at Aunt Yan for answers, unsure how to respond. However, the lady simply gestured to the Global Commerce Building. "Come along now," she whispered. "Cantonesia's starting to wake up—we don't want to risk too many people seeing you."

The three women traveled to the eighty-eighth floor of the building, where the entrance to the Bauhinias' headquarters was. Amelia pushed open the golden doors, commenting, "We need to get that painted a less conspicuous shade."

The young woman traipsed to Ah Ba's old desk and sat in the office chair. "Now that you know where the Bauhinias rest, you must sign the confidentiality pact. If you want to stay on the streets of Cantonesia and possibly travel elsewhere, I advise you to stick with us—you'll get yourself into bigger trouble if you fly solo. Understood?" Amelia looked at Elise intently.

"What choice do I have?" Elise answered. "I'll sign the pact."

"My, how the tables have turned," Amelia muttered.

"I heard that." Elise rolled her eyes.

"Moving on—" Amelia swiftly changed the subject and procured a sheet of paper and a quill. She'd seen her Ah Ba do this countless times. Elise scanned the document, furrowing her brows occasionally and nodding as she read.

After a few agonizing moments, Elise picked up the quill and signed on the dotted line at the bottom of the paper. "There, now I'm a part of the Bauhinias for life."

"Just making sure you read the fine print—there will be severe consequences if you break the pact," Amelia warned menacingly, and Elise nodded confidently.

"So, I take it that you're staying with the Bauhinias." Elise looked around the office, seeing a few of Amelia's trinkets sitting on the bare, wooden shelves.

"I don't have much choice," Amelia responded vaguely, "but I have plans."

"Do tell," Elise raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Aunt Yan gave the young woman a knowing smile.

"The Bauhinias will continue doing what we've done best. We will steal, lie, and commit other acts of crime—but these crimes will all have a good outcome in the end," Amelia started to explain.

"So...essentially, you're turning the Bauhinias into vigilantes instead of criminals?" Elise clarified.

"That's the gist of it. There's still a lot to work out, though. I won't be running the Bauhinias solo—I need advice and ideas from members of the organization. That's why you and Aunt Yan will be helping me make decisions and develop ideas," Amelia answered. "I've also taken Darling's words into account. No matter how she treated us, some of what she told us made sense. It won't help that she most likely will not be incarcerated for what she did to us, but we can try to take down as much corruption as we can with the Bauhinias and take extra measures with our equipment to keep the innocent out of harm's way while doing work."

"Sounds like a good plan." Elise applauded lightly. "I'm presuming our first mission is to finish what we started—returning all my father's stolen artifacts to the rightful museums."

"Easier said than done," Amelia scoffed. "First, we must break into the police headquarters again to retrieve the artifacts...."

Word Count: 1513

(A/N: Amelia and Elise's story isn't over yet! We still have the epilogue XD. By the way, thanks for so many reads, comments and votes! It makes my day to see them and know that my work is appreciated. Y'all are amazing :D)