The Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy

“Yes, I felt sad about the whole situation, that things would ever get to a point where Roxanne would feel the need—”

Colette suddenly slammed her fist onto the table. “How dare you feel sad for me! Who do you think you are?”

Rachel jerked back in alarm. “Um, I didn’t mean it as an insult, Colette, I just meant—”

“I took pity on you, Rachel Chu! I thought, here is this poor, pathetic orphan girl from America. I paid for your meals, I invited you to my house, you flew on my plane, I paid for the whole damn Paris trip. I gave you special access to the most exclusive places in the world and introduced you to all my important friends, and you can’t even do one small favor for me?”

My God, she’s losing it. Rachel tried to remain calm. “Colette, I think you are being unreasonable here. I am grateful for all the generosity you have shown Nick and me, but I just don’t think it’s my place to tell Carlton to do anything, especially if it concerns his relationship with you.”

“You’ve never really been my friend, have you? I see you clearly now, in your cheap American clothes and your cheap little jewelry!” Colette spat contemptuously.

Rachel stared at her in shock. Was this really happening? She could see that all the other well-manicured women in the dining room were gawking at them now. The two security guards rushed up behind Rachel’s chair. “Is everything okay, miss?”

“You brought security? Who do you think you are? Oh this is funny, are you trying to imitate me now? Well, I have double the security detail that you do! Roxanne was right about you all along—you’ve been envious of me from day one, and you’ve been plotting to get Carlton away from me and away from his family. This works out perfectly for you, doesn’t it? You want their money all to yourself. Well you can have their pathetic one-point-five billion dollars for all I care—that’s nothing compared to what my family has. You’re never in your life going to come close to touching me! All the money in the world is never going to buy you my style or my taste because you’ll always be common. You’re nothing but a common little bastard!”

Rachel sat completely still for a moment, feeling her face get white hot. Deciding that she wasn’t going to endure one more second of Colette’s deranged abuse, she pushed her chair back and got up from the table. “You know, this is beyond absurd. For a while there I actually felt bad for you, even though I was violently ill for a week because of your actions. But now I have nothing but pity for you. You’re right, I will never be like you—thanks so much for the compliment! You’re nothing more than a spoiled, entitled little shit. And unlike you, I’m proud of my roots—I’m not talking about my birth father, I’m talking about the honest, hardworking mother who raised me, and the amazing family that supported her. We didn’t make some crazy fortune overnight, and we won’t ever need to hire some fancy butler to teach us manners. You don’t live in the real world, you never have, so I’m not even going to try arguing with you—it’s way below my pay grade to bother. You sit in your perfect little eco-luxury bubble, while your father’s companies are the biggest polluters in China. You may have all the money in the world, but you are the most morally impoverished child I’ve ever met! Grow up, Colette, and get a life!”

With that, Rachel walked out of the hotel and onto the Bund, followed closely by the two bodyguards. “Shall we call the car, miss?” one of them asked.

“You know, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get some fresh air. I think I’ll be fine from here—I’ll see you guys back at the house.”

Rachel began walking down the famous curved boulevard, looking up at the gleaming art deco buildings and the red Chinese flags fluttering above them. As she passed a happy bride and groom getting their picture taken outside the Peace Hotel, her phone began to ring. It was Carlton.

“Rachel! Are you okay?” he said, sounding anxious and euphoric at the same time.

“Of course. Why?”

“That fight you just had with Colette—”

“How did you know about that?” Rachel gasped.

“Someone videoed the whole thing on their phone from the mezzanine right above your table. It’s gone viral on WeChat! ‘Spoiled Bitch Epic Takedown,’ that’s what they’ve named it. Blimey—nine million views already!”

17

NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE WORLD

LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

MAR VISTA CHILD KIDNAPPED

IN PRIVATE JET

Breaking News—Van Nuys Airport was the scene of a high-speed chase last night at around 9:50 when LAPD officers pursued a private jet containing a two-and-a-half-year-old kidnapping victim as it sped down runway 16R. At least four squad cars were involved in pursuing the jet but failed to prevent it from taking off and leaving U.S. airspace.

Minutes before, the child’s father, Bernard Tai, had made a frantic 911 call reporting that his daughter, Gisele, had been kidnapped from their home at 11950 Victoria Avenue in Mar Vista. Gisele’s babysitter allowed an unidentified woman into the home while Tai was out, and the woman departed with the child. By the time the police had tracked down Gisele at Van Nuys Airport, she was already aboard the private aircraft.

Tai, who is a Singapore citizen but resides in Los Angeles, gave his occupation as unemployed and told LAPD that he was Gisele’s full-time caregiver. Tai was unreachable for further comment. LAPD would not release any more information about the jet pending further investigation.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

CHILD HEIRESS KIDNAPPED BY HER MOTHER

Los Angeles—In a startling new development in the mysterious “private jet kidnapping” of a Mar Vista child two days ago, the Los Angeles Times has learned that the kidnapping victim, Gisele Tai, was taken by her mother, former Hong Kong soap opera actress Kitty Pong. Gisele is the sole heiress and only daughter of Bernard Tai, the president and non-executive vice chairman of TTL Holdings, which is headquartered in Hong Kong.

Tai, who told LAPD that he was “unemployed,” is said to be worth over $4 billion and maintains lavish residences around the world. He is also the owner of the 388-foot megayacht Kitty’s Galore. However, for the past two years Tai and his family have quietly resided in a 2,807-square-foot house in the upper-middle-class neighborhood of Mar Vista. “I always suspected Bernard had money, but I never knew he had that kind of money. I knew he moved to Mar Vista because he wanted to raise his daughter in the most conscious way possible. He’s a terrific father. I never once met the wife,” said Linda C. Scout, who took a Nia class with Tai.

Two nights ago, Tai’s personal chef, Milla Lignel, who resides at the house and was babysitting that evening, allowed the child’s mother, Kitty Pong, into the home. Pong, who is currently estranged from her husband and lives in Hong Kong, removed her daughter from the house. “Madame asked me to make her an omelet, and it only took me cinq minutes, but by the time the omelet was ready, madame and Gisele had disappeared,” said a tearful Lignel.