Hiyah, there are so many stories I can tell you about the war years, but Su Yi wouldn’t want me to. But you know, she saved the lives of so many people, and most of them didn’t even realize she was the one responsible. She wanted it that way. After the war was over, we heard that the general was executed for war crimes during the war tribunals in Manila. One day, your mother called me up and said, “You’ll never guess what just arrived in a long box. That purple art deco rug that the general took back to Japan. I suppose his wife never approved of it.”

Felicity snapped out of her reverie and said decisively, “Mr. Bing, this rug isn’t for sale. But there are some items that we could offer with the house.”

“All right then. Oliver, could you make an assessment of how much everything is worth? I’ll take whatever chuan jia biao these nice ladies will let me have,” Jack said, turning to the Young sisters with a little smile.

“Of course,” Oliver said.

“Ladies, I approve of this house, and I think my family will be very happy using it whenever we visit Singapore. Thank you for showing us around this morning, and please, this is a standing offer, so take your time to decide. I know this must not be an easy decision for all of you,” Jack said. He then strolled out the front doors, flicked his cigar onto the gravel driveway, and got into the back of the first black Audi SUV. Kitty climbed in after him, the bodyguards got into their SUVs, and the convoy of cars zoomed off.

—

“Well that was excruciating,” Victoria said as they sank into the sofas in the drawing room.

“Oliver, where on earth did you ever dig up these people?” Felicity asked contemptuously.

“Believe it or not, they’re far from the worst. Jack has become quite an astute art collector—they have one of the top private museums in Shanghai—and Kitty’s taste has actually matured. Plus, she’s willing to learn. Don’t worry, they won’t do anything to the house without my approval.”

Victoria looked up in surprise to see Nick and Rachel entering the drawing room. “I didn’t realize you two were home! Why didn’t you come out and meet these people? Rachel, we could have used another Chinese translator!”

Nick plopped down on one of the art deco club chairs. “Oh I’ve met them before—I met Jack in Shanghai a couple of years ago and had hoped never to meet him again, and his wife we all met when she came for Colin’s wedding.”

“Wait a minute…that woman was at Colin Khoo’s wedding?” Felicity looked taken aback.

“Auntie Felicity, she was at your house. She used to be Alistair’s girlfriend,” Nick said irritatedly.

“Good grief, that was her? The one with the big brown cow nipples? Pussy Ping or whatever her name was?” Alix blurted out.

“Her name is Kitty Pong,” Rachel said.

“Dear me, I didn’t recognize her at all. She has a completely new face! No wonder Alistair suddenly flew back to Hong Kong first thing this morning! But I thought she was married to that ghastly boy, Carol Tai’s good-for-nothing son? The one that butchered his face with plastic surgery too?” Alix said.

“That was ages ago, Auntie Alix. Kitty’s traded up.”

“She most certainly has. I actually quite liked her pretty floral dress today. Why, she didn’t look very vulgar at all,” Victoria noted.

“It’s impossible to look vulgar in Dries Van Noten,” Oliver declared.

“So you really want to sell the house to them?” Nick asked gruffly.

“Nicky, you tell me how we can say no to ten billion dollars? That’s three times more than our top offer. It would be pure stupidity to refuse this kind of money!” Felicity reasoned.

Oliver nodded. “It would be looking a gift horse in the mouth.”

Nick glanced over at Oliver in annoyance. “That’s easy for you to say. You didn’t grow up in this house. For some of us, it’s not just about the money.”

Oliver sighed. “Look, Nicky, I know you’re upset with me, but I really didn’t mean for any of this to hurt you. I loved your grandmother and I love this house more than you can possibly imagine. I thought you wanted to preserve Tyersall Park, and when I heard that the Bings were on the lookout for a new place in Singapore, I just put two and two together. These people love the house, and they’re committed to maintaining its architectural integrity. And they actually have the kind of money it takes to restore the house and keep the estate in tip-top condition for generations to come.”

Rachel spoke up. “Do those generations include Colette Bing?”

Oliver’s face flushed red, while Felicity asked, “Who’s Colette Bing?”

“Colette Bing is Jack’s daughter. Two years ago, her personal assistant, Roxanne, tried to poison Rachel, on Colette’s behalf,” Nick answered sharply.

“WHAAAT?” Felicity and Victoria shrieked in horror.

“Oh my goodness, I had completely forgotten that this was that family.” Alix moaned, putting her hands to her face.

“Rachel, that was such an unfortunate incident, but you should know that Jack and Kitty have absolutely nothing to do with Colette anymore,” Oliver said.

Nick’s face flashed with anger. “It wasn’t an unfortunate incident. My wife almost died! Just how much do you stand to make on this deal, Oliver? Aside from your commission on the sale, which will be in the millions, how much will you and that auction house of yours be making selling new stuff to these eager Bings?”

Oliver got up from the divan and smiled apologetically. “You know, I think I will leave you all now. I can see that I’ve frayed a few nerves. The offer’s on the table, and I look forward to hearing your response.”

As soon as Oliver had left the room, Victoria spoke up. “You know, I’ve been thinking…there is something to all this that’s just been so serendipitous, so impossible to believe, this has to be a sign. Nicky, this incredible offer from the Bings, I think part of it is because they are atoning for what happened to Rachel. I think this is all Mummy’s work. She is looking out for us from heaven.”

Nick rolled his eyes in frustration.

“It is hard to believe that anyone would pay this much over the market value for Tyersall Park—” Alix began.

“Mummy had it planned all along. She knew we wouldn’t be getting any money from the Shang Trust, and so she wanted us all to get the most money possible out of Tyersall Park. That’s why she split it up like she did, and now she’s working a miracle for us.” Victoria’s voice brimmed with conviction.

Nick suddenly stood up and looked at his aunties. “Look, you can tell yourself any story you want if it helps you to sleep at night. Personally, I can’t stand the idea of this house going to the family that almost killed my wife! I don’t think we can trust them to keep their word about preserving the house—I can tell that Kitty’s just waiting to get her claws into redesigning it from top to bottom. But if I can match Jack’s offer, will you sell it to me?”

Rachel looked at him in surprise, while Alix answered, “Nicky, don’t be silly. It would be absurd for you to buy this house at that price! We couldn’t let you do that!”