August 15 | Day

The gentle tinkling of a piano filled the country club. Flowers scented the air, filling every available surface except for the one with the five-tiered cake. Twenty-five candles circled the top. Happy birthday to me. I hugged a wall, wondering when the party would be over.

Why hadn't I begged my mother to cancel this three-ring circus? Oh, yeah. Because I hadn't yet been caught on camera breaking laws when she planned it. Inner panic sterilized my usual ability to reproduce bland smiles and tepid conversation. My palms were sweaty, and I wiped them on my pants.

"Oop! Don't do that. You look nice in your cocktail attire. I'm so used to seeing you in street-wear," said my sister. I snorted a laugh. Smiling, Jenny gazed up at me as she straightened my tie and added quietly, "You know, I think it's great that, despite your social anxiety, you let Mamo put on this soiree for you."

"Yeah, great." I deadpanned. She pulled a face. "What? You know I hate being in the spotlight. And I don't have social anxiety. I have...secrets. You look amazing, by the way."

"Thank you!" Jenny always managed to look like the stockbroker's wife that she was. "Anyway, relax, baby bro. You'll be back to your fast cars and flashing lights in no time." She winked as she headed off to our table.

"What does that mean?" I called after her. Had she seen the news? "Hey, Jenny, what did you mean by that?" She kept walking, and I shut up before anyone else heard me. I briskly took my seat with the rest of my siblings, knowing that none of them carried the monstrous stress I carried, the fear of being found out.

Our mother Susan Liang circulated the room with a ready smile and a different compliment for each guest, while our father, Justin, stood aloof near the front of the hall. The party attendees were mostly their colleagues and other country club members, acquaintances they wanted to network with. My parents owned a growing furniture store empire and were always on the lookout for business opportunities, which meant lots of hobknobbing at places like this.

The country club. Old money feel. Pretentious silk wallpaper. Chevron patterned floors. The interior decor was dated but stylish like the guests that claimed membership, and what was lacking in comfort was accommodated by exclusivity. If any of the snobs found out how I spent my spare time, they would run our family out with pitchforks.

Mamo came to our table, beaming with pride. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm thrilled your schedules allowed you to join us celebrating." She barely spared me a glance. (No matter what I did, it was never enough.) I tugged at my collar and wished I could disappear. "I know the three of you have been busy with work," she said pointedly.

My brother Austin started bragging about his used car company, and Ted waited his turn to talk about his role at his real estate job. Mamo grinned as if her face might break. Meanwhile, I had enough drugs hidden in one of the family warehouses to pack me off for a nice extended stay at Club Fed. How did I get myself into this shit? Me and my brilliant business ideas.

"Don, how has school been treating you?" Jenny cut in. Austin glared at her for interrupting him.

Mamo answered for me, "Did I tell you Don is at the top of his class this semester?"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Jenny exclaimed.

I flashed a tight-lipped smile.

Oh, the webs we weave. I was not at the top of my class, nor was I even in graduate school anymore. However, as far as everyone knew, I was excelling at university, getting my doctorate in a STEM-related field, and I had a pretty Chinese girlfriend. My family believed these things about me without any evidence to support it.

As a result, this entire party could be the catalyst for my house of cards to come crashing down if anyone had seen Channel 2 last night. Fuck my life.

"Would you excuse me?" I murmured.

"But we were just about to cut the cake," Mamo said in surprise.

I threw down my napkin and stood. "Be right back," I promised.

Maybe David had been right. Maybe I could live a life in the fast lane, but I wasn't cut out for a life of true crime. I stepped into the ornate "facilities" and splashed water on my face. The engines perpetually revving in my imagination revved louder. I wanted to outrun that one impulsive decision to work with Brody Hartfeld. Yet, some deals were trickier to backtrack than others.

My brash behavior hadn't been without cause, either. Susan and Justin Liang revered financial success. My siblings had already shown off their entrepreneurial chops. All I needed to do was make enough money to dead any question of where it came from and any question of whether or not I was a Liang.

Indeed, there were rumors that I was an illegitimate child–the product of an affair–which I tried to ignore at all costs. I didn't look like my siblings. My mother did her best to pretend it wasn't true, but my father was openly cold towards me because of it. As a result, my family had never felt like family to me. David and the rest of the street racing gang were more like brothers than my own flesh and blood. Still, no one wanted to address the elephant in the room.

Feeling ostracized made me a daredevil, always trying to prove myself. I was glad my crew looked up to me, and it felt good to be admired and respected. However, I regretted that my real family, the Liangs, would never know me. They only saw the person they wanted to see.

I stepped into the corridor for fresh air, but there was my father. I tried to avoid him. Unfortunately, he saw me at the same time I saw him, and he stomped toward me. That old feeling of panic arose.

"Father," I greeted him woodenly.

"What did you do?" he growled under his breath.

Oh, shit. Someone had told him I was on the news. Or someone had found the drugs. Either scenario was trouble. I pulled back and scanned his face to gauge exactly how pissed off he was with me. His ears glowed red. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.

"Dad, I can explain," I managed.

My feeble defense was rendered moot before I could even formulate it when I noticed the Overlay City officials standing some distance behind him. This wasn't about the drugs; it was much worse. The men were attempting to blend in and appear casual, but their matching suits and spiral earpieces gave them away. Surrounded by upper-middle-class yuppies, they couldn't have looked more conspicuous.

With muscular arms crossed, they blocked the elegant entryway framed by tall columns. Their stern expressions sent ice water trickling through my veins. It was clear that they didn't intend for me to escape. I could see the bulges of their guns beneath their jackets, and I knew they would use them if necessary. My brother Ted was trying to persuade them not to make a scene. How the hell was this supposed to be kept low-key?

My father angrily whispered, "I'm going to find your mother. Don't you move from this spot. I mean it! Don't you dare think about running!" He then stormed off.

I took a deep breath and tried to steady my racing heart, but I definitely planned on running. While Ted diverted the officials' attention, I slipped past the piano player tickling the ivories in the main room and dashed out the doors to the golf course. If I could make it to my car, I could dragon shift and zip to the warehouse, remove the drugs, and go on the lam until I could come up with a better plan.

But, as soon as I stepped outside, I bumped into the most beautiful woman on the premises. My jaw went slack at the sight of her. Heels, nylons, pencil skirt, silk top. Tortoise shell glasses tying together the librarian aesthetic. Hello, gorgeous.

She was classically attractive, with long hair cascading to her mid-back. She had an oval face with a prominent forehead and a dimpled chin. Her nose was small and pert, and her lips were rose-colored. But what drew the most attention were her big, expressive eyes, which turned up at the outer corners. Her irises were the greening brown of summer hay in perfect complement to her dusky complexion.

I had never seen her at the country club; I would have remembered her. I longed to stop and chat, but I had the law after me and my parents likely on their side.

"My apologies. I was giving some goons the slip," I said with a laugh.

"Oh, were you?" She laughed along as she slapped a handcuff around my wrist. I stared at her in horror. "Nice try." She smiled.

She finished cuffing me against the red-brick country club wall. My eyes smarted as I glared at the surrounding landscape. Ponds and water features, ornamental trees in full bloom. In the middle of it all, a parking lot with some of the city's most expensive luxury vehicles. I never wanted to steal a car more than at that moment.

My mother emerged, wringing her hands, and my father followed. Likely my siblings had been left to salvage the party. Father paced back and forth, scowling at me every five seconds as the two officials in suits spoke to him and Mamo. The woman in the pencil skirt spoke with me privately.

"I'm Dr. Dex Rodriguez, a special agent with the Overlay Affairs Surveillance & Intelligence Services," she introduced herself.

"Secret services? Wow." I whistled, gazing off.

"Don Liang." Dr. Rodriguez paused to get my attention. "Are you aware that on yesterday, August fourteenth, at approximately three p.m., you violated the Existence in Proximity Act?"

"Are you sure about that?" I asked in jest.

Her hazel eyes narrowed to slits. "You were witnessed by half the Channel 2 News viewing area."

I swallowed a laugh of regret and eyed the ground. "It's Legend, by the way. Friends call me Legend." I glanced up at her sexy smirk.

"I'm not your friend, Mr. Liang," she took pleasure in telling me. "I'm here to let you know that you're facing serious prison time on our side and the humans'. Now, the way I see it, you have three options.

"Option number one: You can try to make a run for it and temporarily save the government the cost of your room and board until they find you, which they will, of course. If they don't, we will," she said smugly. "Option number two: You can hop in that van with those gentlemen over there and be taken to Overlay City jail. Make it easy on us, and maybe we'll take it easy on you. Or option number three..."

"You can make this disappear?" I goofed.

Dr. Rodriguez nodded, flooring me. "I can make this disappear," she said. "I'm here to offer you a job."

"What kind of job?" I asked.

"I need you to be my driver on a top-secret mission. It's dangerous work, so you won't be able to see your family or friends again until it's over. You also can't tell anyone where you are or what you're doing. Are you in?"

I contemplatively adjusted my wool tie as I caught Dr. Rodriguez staring at the glimpse of ink hidden by my Oxford. I suppressed a grin that threatened to form. So, she found me attractive. That could work in my favor. She also seemed to pay particular attention to my hands, with their almond-shaped nails, long and clean. Her gaze scanned my suit coat and crisp khaki pants, pressed to a crease. I got the distinct impression that I wasn't what she had expected.

"How much does it pay?" I asked.

She chuckled drily. "Your freedom."

"Freedom?" I clucked, shaking my head. It usually took a lot more than that to retain my services.

"What's it gonna be? You don't have forever to decide. This is a one time offer, going once...going twice..."

I couldn't turn her down, could I? I damn sure wasn't taking the prison sentence. Glowering at the thought of unpaid labor, I lounged against the building with a leg bent, displaying a nonchalance that I didn't really feel. Mamo started to make a fuss. "This is outrageous! How can you accuse him of something like this? We want our lawyers."

"No, Susan. He goes!" my father interjected.

"Justin!" she wailed in shock. "You can't send him away from his own birthday party!"

The head of the family waved his hands. "I'm sick of the sneaking around and hiding the truth from you. I did it because I didn't want to hurt you, but there are things you don't know about what that boy has been up to."

I stiffened, forgetting about flirting with the agent. What did Justin Liang know and when had he found out?

"Like what?" my mom asked defiantly. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Don is a member of a gang, Susan!"

Damn it. I slouched and lowered my head. My mother would never look at me the same way again. The shame of being caught wiped the nonchalant look off my face, and my father wasn't finished breaking her heart with the truth about me.

"He dropped out of grad school a semester ago," my father confessed. "Austin found out and told me. Now we discover this about a stolen car and a highspeed chase. God only knows what other crimes he's committed."

"I can't believe that. Justin, please." My mother pleaded with her eyes, but my father was resolute.

"No son of mine would do such things. I wash my hands of him," he said.

I was stunned. Mamo burst into tears. She stopped trying to fight for me. People were staring at us through the country club windows. Was that it? What a day of revelations. Justin Liang's livid outburst seemed to confirm my worst fears. His words cut me deeper than any sword, but I refused to let my emotions show. My mother had learned the truth about me, and it seemed that I had finally learned the truth about her. I was not a Liang. And even if I was, I was no longer welcome in the family.

"I'm going with you," I said tersely to Dr. Rodriguez.