The Interior (Red Princess 2)

Hulan took this as her cue. Drawing on her last reserves, she edged back out of sight, then crawled along the floor. This meant putting weight on her hand. The pain was excruciating, and with every yard she gained she thought she would pass out again.

“Dad, you know I’m not going to do that. I can’t. Things went too far.”

These words chilled Hulan. Either that or she shook from pain and the cold sweat that had broken out over her body. She reached a little group of women, whispered instructions, and moved on. David too had begun to move, making his way slowly and quietly to a position behind Amy, who stood with her gun aimed at Henry’s back.

“Tell me why, son. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do now? Tell us why.”

Doug didn’t respond. Instead he looked around the room apparently searching for something.

“Doug!” Henry shouted. “I’m talking to you!”

Doug looked back at his father. “What is it, Dad?”

“I need to know why.”

“But there’s so many reasons, and”—he grinned—“so little time.”

“Tell me we have time for this at least. Accord me that courtesy.”

Across the room, Madame Leung kept moving, also stopping occasionally to whisper to girls and women. Did she have the same idea as Hulan? Or was the party secretary just trying to make her way to the door? If she was and Doug or Amy caught her, she’d be dead in a second.

Doug sighed. “Okay, but if you’re stalling for time, it won’t do any good. As everyone has said before, this place is in the middle of nowhere. What has to happen now can’t be stopped.”

Henry agreed with an abrupt nod.

“I was never interested in the company, Dad. You knew that. Everyone knew that. You thought I wasn’t good enough. Everyone else thought I wasn’t talented enough. I’ve heard it my whole life at those toy conventions—your dad’s a hard act to follow, or you’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill. Then you got sick and you sent me here to get this place built. I met Governor Sun and, of course, his assistant, Amy. She was the one who first told me how profits could be made without any outlay of capital.”

“Skimming off the salaries,” Henry said.

“I know it doesn’t seem like much,” Doug said. “But look, three hundred thousand a year tax-free ain’t bad.”

“That’s chump change.”

“It’s not when you start adding in other factories. Once I got here, I saw we could expand easily—just as Mattel and Boeing have.”

“Those are legitimate businesses.”

“It doesn’t matter how you get there. What matters is the profit. Do the math, Dad. Four new factories, each with a three hundred thousand skim—”

“But it still wasn’t enough.”

Hulan reached her old workstation. She brought a finger to her lips to keep Siang and Peanut from making a sound, but their eyes widened in disbelief and surprise as they recognized her. Then she leaned in and whispered. It was her last act before she lost consciousness again. From his position across the room, David saw Hulan sink to the floor and the two Chinese girls try to wake her.

“Exactly!” Doug said. “The turning point came with Sam & His Friends. You’re home, supposed to be resting, and you come up with this great idea. T

hat’s what makes you a genius. That’s why you’re in the Toy Hall of Fame. But you didn’t see the potential.”

“I saw it. That’s why I wanted to sell now. We’d get the best price while I was still alive.”

“No, you don’t see what I see. The dolls are nothing. The money’s in the technology. If you’d spent any time with Miles and Randall, you’d have seen that’s what they wanted.”

“Was Miles your partner?”

Doug humphed. “He’s a lawyer, Dad. Give me some credit.”

“But he knew what you were doing out here.”

“Sure. But he had his eye on a bigger prize. Seal the deal, leave his firm, and go over to Tartan. They were talking stock options, the works. You would have known that if you’d paid any attention.” Doug shook his head. “But you didn’t pay attention, which is why we’re here. All you had to do was spot trouble, i.e., our company was paying Sun Gan bribes, and you would have nixed the whole thing, because you’d do anything to protect that guy. Am I right?” When Henry didn’t respond, Doug screamed, “Am I right?”