The Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy

Carlton stood stock-still for a moment, not looking at either of them. Then he yelled, “Fuck you! Fuck all of you!” before heading back toward the garage.

Colette threw up her hands in resignation and started to walk back to the SUV. Unexpectedly, Carlton sank down onto the curb, clasping his head as if it were about to explode. Rachel turned and looked at him for a moment. All of a sudden, he seemed like a lost little boy. She sat down on the curb next to him and put her hand on his back. “Carlton, I’m sorry for causing your family so much pain. I had no idea about any of this. All I ever wanted was to get to know you, and to get to know your father and mother better. I won’t go back to China if it’s been that hurtful to you. I promise you I’ll go straight home to New York. But please, please don’t get in that car. I don’t want to see you get hurt again. You’re my brother, goddamit, you’re the only brother I’ve got.”

Carlton’s eyes brimmed with tears, and bowing his head, he said in a muffled voice, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me. I didn’t mean to say those things.”

“I know, I know,” Rachel said softly as she patted his back.

Seeing that things had calmed down, Colette approached the two of them gingerly. “Carlton, I called off Richie’s proposal. Will you please call off this stupid race?”

Carlton nodded wearily, and the women glanced at each other in relief.

* * *

*1 Mandarin for “prick.”

*2 Shanghainese for “bastard with shrunken testicles.”

*3 The Veyron, also proclaimed “the fastest street-legal production car in the world,” set a top speed of 267.856 mph. Park one in your garage today for $2.7 million.

PART THREE

Behind every fortune lies a great crime.

—HONORÉ DE BALZAC

1

SHEK O

HONG KONG

“Oh good, you’re early,” Corinna said, as Kitty was shown outside to the table by the butler.

“My God! The view! I don’t even feel like I’m in Hong Kong anymore,” Kitty exclaimed as she stared at the sparkling azure waters of the South China Sea from the dramatic cliffside terrace of the Ko-Tung villa at Shek O, a peninsula on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island.

“Yes, that’s what everyone always says.” Corinna nodded, glad to see that Kitty was duly impressed. She had arranged the lunch here today specifically because she knew she needed to do something special to make up for the whole Stratosphere Church debacle.

“This is the most beautiful house I’ve ever been to in all of Hong Kong! Does your mother live here?” Kitty asked, taking her appointed seat beneath the arch at the outdoor dining table.

“No. No one lives here full-time. This was originally my grandfather’s weekend retreat, and when he died he very cleverly left it to the Ko-Tung Corporation so that his children couldn’t fight over it. It’s shared among the whole family—we use it like our own private club, and the company also uses it for very special functions.”

“So this is where your mother hosted the ball for the Duchess of Oxbridge a few months ago?”

“Not just the duchess. My mother threw a dinner party here for Princess Margaret when she came with Lord Snowdon in 1966, and Princess Alexandra has visited too.”

“Where are those princesses from?”

Corinna had to refrain from rolling her eyes. “Princess Margaret is the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, and Princess Alexandra of Kent is a cousin of the queen.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize there were so many princesses in England. I just thought there was Princess Diana and Princess Kate.”

“Actually, her name is Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and she is not officially a princess of the blood royal. As consort to Prince Will…oh never mind,” Corinna said dismissively. “Now, Ada and Fiona will be here in a few minutes. Remember to be extra gracious to Fiona, because she was the one who convinced Ada to come today.”

“Why is Fiona Tung-Cheng being so nice to me?” Kitty asked.

“Well, for one thing, unlike some of the members of Stratosphere, Fiona is a true Christian who believes in the power of redemption, and she’s also my cousin, so I could twist her arm into helping me. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Ada’s been dying to see this house for years.”

“I don’t blame her. I thought only Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay had a few big mansions—I didn’t know big houses on the water still existed in Hong Kong.”