“You know this issue Ma’s been dealing with at work,” said Ket Hau. “The dodgy client she reported for money laundering?”
“Yes.”
“The firm’s let her go.”
Cans of grass jelly drink rattled as Ket Siong put his bags on the ground. “They fired her for whistleblowing?”
“They told her if she withdrew her report about the company, she could keep her job,” said Ket Hau.
He didn’t need to say how Ma had responded. Ket Siong had been raised by her, too.
He knew why his brother had called him, despite the late hour. He was braced for bad news, so it didn’t surprise him when Ket Hau said:
“There’s more. Ma doesn’t want me to tell you this part. But I think you need to know.”
It’s fine,Ket Siong prepared himself to say, even as his hopes of finishing his degree crumbled into dust. No more Royal Academy, no more performing career in one of the greatest cities in the world.
Who was he to complain? To have got as far as he had was an unimaginable privilege. Part of him had always feared Fate wouldn’t let him get away with chasing so selfish an ambition.
Ket Hau said, “Before the firm told her they were firing her, Ma got a call. Private ID, caller didn’t give his name. He threatened Ma. Said if she tried to go public with her allegations, she’d face consequences. The caller mentioned Pa, talked about you and me. He knew a lot about us.” Ket Hau paused. “Ma hasn’t said it in so many words, but she thinks Goh Kheng Tat is behind it.”
The name sounded familiar. “Goh Kheng Tat?”
“He’s the guy who owns the dodgy company,” said Ket Hau. “Only Ma would take on a guy like that. There have been whispers about Chahaya Group forever—not only whispers, there was that big lawsuit a few years back. But nobody’s been able to make anything stick. Goh Kheng Tat is too entrenched. If he goes down, a lot of people will be in trouble.”
It was cold, but Ket Siong had stopped noticing it. He stared at the street in front of him, unseeing.
It would be a big win for Chahaya,Renee had said, talking about why her father wanted her to marry Andrew. Meaning the company her father had founded.
Her father. Goh Kheng Tat.
“The client is Chahaya?” Ket Siong said, in the impossible hope that he had somehow misheard.
“A Malaysian subsidiary,” said Ket Hau. “They’re firing Ma to placate Goh Kheng Tat. He told them, ‘Either you get rid of her, or you lose my business.’”
“He’s that important?” Ket Siong had known Renee’s family was wealthy, but he’d never really thought about what that meant. That they were powerful, that it would be a bad idea to cross them.
Ket Hau sighed. “The problem is, it’s not just Goh Kheng Tat. It’s whoever he’s doing this for. Chahaya is doing well, there’s no reason they need to dabble in this kind of shady business. Ma thinks he’s doing it as a favour for one of his connections. He’s got friends high up in government, people you don’t want to piss off. That’s why the firm’s sacrificing Ma. She’s the scapegoat.”
Ket Siong felt a seizing in his chest, a precursor to the greater pain he could see bearing down on him. “She’s only trying to do the right thing.”
“It’s broken her heart,” said Ket Hau. “But the thing she’s most upset about…” His voice trailed off. He was struggling to say this next bit.
“It may not be as bad as she thinks,” he said finally. “You’vegot your bursary, and I’ve got some savings. Not much, but it should help. The Royal Academy has a hardship fund, I saw on their website. We could look into that. And there are loans we could apply for.”
“We are not applying for loans,” said Ket Siong. Money had been tight after his father’s death, and Ma hadn’t quite paid off the debt they’d accumulated then when his grandmother’s health had started declining. When Ah Poh had passed, after a long illness, she’d left more bills to be settled. Ma had insisted on going private for her care, no expense spared.
“Siong…”
“I’ll come back and finish my degree in Malaysia,” said Ket Siong. “I’ve only got a year left. Then I can get a job.”
Ket Hau must have rung to prepare him for this, so he would have got over the worst of his distress by the time Ma spoke to him. But now Ket Siong had accepted the inevitable, it was Ket Hau who seemed determined to resist.
“We can’t give up so easily,” he said. “You’ve worked so hard. I was looking at jobs just now. If I could get a government affairs role at a corporate, that would be a big jump in pay. That’s basically what I do anyway, lobbying.” He laughed.
“No,” said Ket Siong firmly. “I’ll come back. It’s fine.” He meant it.
Ten minutes ago, having to leave London without finishing his degree would have been the most devastating thing he could imagine, short of something happening to his mother and brother. Now, it barely registered.
