Chapter 5 - THE PURSUERS
Linh stared at the two children in absolute horror. Mai was alive? Mai had been holding a photograph of her... warning her children to flee from Linh?
"No... no, that's impossible," Linh stammered, reaching out a trembling hand. "There has to be a mistake! I'm her sister! I've been searching for her for—"
"Linh!" a harsh, familiar voice called out from the edge of the market crowd.
Linh snapped her head around.
Walking briskly through the rain was Detective Han, an old family friend who had spent years on Mai’s cold case—or so Linh had always believed. Standing beside him were two tall men in heavy dark slickers, their hands resting inside their jacket pockets in a way that suggested concealed weapons.
Han’s eyes locked onto the two children. "Step away from them, Linh! They're dangerous! They're linked to an illegal smuggling ring!"
The boy took one look at Detective Han and the two men, and his eyes widened in horror.
"They're the ones!" the boy screamed, pulling the little girl back. "The man in the grey coat's photo was with him!"
Before Han or his men could reach them, the boy grabbed a display basket of hot chili peppers from the nearby stall and hurled it straight into the faces of the approaching men. Spices and hot oil blinded the lead guard, creating instant chaos as shoppers screamed and scattered.
"Run!" the boy yelled.
Without thinking, Linh didn't chase the children to capture them—she lunged sideways, throwing her body into Detective Han, knocking him off balance into a stack of wooden crates.
"Linh! What are you doing?!" Han roared, struggling to get up from the muddy floor.
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"Taking back my family," Linh hissed.
She turned and sprinted down the dark, rain-soaked alley after the two fleeing children, diving headfirst into a web of lies six six years in the making.
