Just in Time

Sarah couldn't shake the unsettling feeling of being watched. She keeps glancing over her shoulder, convinced that the hulking men she'd noticed lingering on the church are now following her

She tried to remain composed, focusing on her prayers and trying not to mind their lingering gazes. Her thoughts kept drifting to her bandaged palm, a reminder of the previous day's accident, but she tried to push the pain aside and concentrate on the service.

"Am I in a serious trouble?" she asks herself. She looks at her palm with bandage. It still hurts but not so much as compared with yesterday.

Glancing sideways, she noticed that the men were still staring at her, observing her every move. Their intense gaze made her uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but wonder why they were so fixated on her.

As the church service progresses, the woman and the little girl beside Sarah moved to the front row, leaving her alone with the mysterious man in the dark suit and tinted glasses.

Her heart raced as she noticed a ring on his left ring finger that bore a striking resemblance to her Mama Daisy's precious heirloom.

The ring had been her treasured possession, and she had always feared that her wicked aunt would try to take it away from her.

In her mind, she estimates the man's age as in his 50s, looking through the visibility of nerves on his hand and the texture of his skin. It is seeming like he looks familiar, but she couldn't remember where she exactly saw him. 

Her heart sinks as she realized that the man might be connected to her family in some way. Could he be linked to her Mama Daisy or even her wicked aunt? She had always been cautious about revealing the existence of the ring, fearing that others might covet its value and significance.

As the time for holy communion approaches, the man didn't follow her to the front of the church.

However, the men who had been eyeing her has now disappeared into the crowd. Sarah couldn't help but feel relieved, yet her mind was still racing with questions.

After taking the holy communion, she returned to her seat, but the man in the dark suit was nowhere to be seen. The service was coming to an end, and she decided to leave before the crowd started to disperse.

Walking briskly, she tried to blend in with the elite villagers who had their cars waiting for them. She was one of the few who preferred walking, and it seemed like the best way to avoid attracting attention.

"I have to walk where the people are, she told herself." But since it is a village of rich people, they all have their cars, and only those who are jogging at the moment and the servants doing their errands are walking.

The men who are after her earlier are slowly walking towards her.  Her heart raced with fear, and she knew she had to find a safe place to go. Panic got into through her, thoughts of fear erratically running in her mind, she hardly noticed the car which stopped in front.

"Oh my God!" She sees the car's label, it's a Ferrari SF90 Stradale, a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

Only few people could afford that car. She knows about it because her classmates in international school are very rich, and they bring with them magazines about cars which sometimes she borrows.

She was stunned when it opened through its retractable hardtop roof. She was in awe, that she almost forgot the danger that awaits her.

"Hop in, madam."

Turning towards the source of the sound, Sarah's breath hitched. Sitting on the car is a woman glowing in confidence and effortless grace. She wears a sharp, tailored pantsuit that seemed to shimmer in the morning sun, and her legs, clad in sheer black stockings, are crossed elegantly at the ankles.

The woman's smile is warm, a slow curve of her lips that crinkled the corners of her eyes. It is an invitation, and Sarah, despite the tremor of apprehension in her chest, feels a surge of unexpected exhilaration. For a fleeting moment, she hesitated, looking at her so prim and calm, she got in.

The car sped off smoothly, and Sarah marveled at the luxurious interior. She couldn't help but exclaims, "This is a Ferrari SF90 Stradale! I've only seen it in magazines before."

The woman smiles, "Yes, it's a special car. By the way, my name is Catherine."

"I'm Sarah Liu," Sarah introduces herself, "Thanks for helping me."

She smiles back at her, with her perfect pearly white teeth lined like a print-add model.

As the car glides through the streets and sped off smoothly that she couldn't even feel the road. It's as if, she is sitting on a floating bubble.

"So, this is how Ferrari SF90 Stradale runs." She thought it smooth on the road and hears no sound at all.

Adjacent to the gorgeous woman, is the man who sat beside her at the church. "It seems that you are evading someone Ms. Liu"

"Sarah, Sir. You can call me Sarah."

"So, Sarah, do you know the men following you?" he asks gently

"No, Sir. Not any of them. I... I was afraid of how they stare and follow me."

"Madam, calm your mind." The woman placed her palms in between her hands. "Oh, I'm sorry, I almost squeezed your hand. Does it hurt? It looks bad."

"I had an accident yesterday. My friend Martin, helped me to have it sewn by the doctor."

"I'm Vincent Feng. You look weary, my child." The man's voice turns cold and serious looking at her injured hand.

"Sir, I work as a maid in my uncle's house," she explains, her voice weary. "I stayed up late last night for my cousin's debutante ball, which is happening this evening. Please turn left at the second gate, Sir. It's number 62."

The car glides to a smooth stop in front of the imposing Liu Mansion. Vincent Feng, observing the girl's old, plain clothes and the rough callouses on her hands, couldn't help but feels a flow of anger. How could anyone treat such a hardworking young woman so poorly?

"Here is my calling card. We'll see each other again, soon." The man seems cold this time. She took it and put it in her purse without looking at it.

Sarah bows her head, thinking she has angered the old man. "I apologize, Sir. I must have made you upset for talking too much."

Catherine replies, "Like you dear Sarah, our chairman here is tired, too."

"Thank you very much for your kindness!" She bows her head again, 

The car didn't leave until she entered the premise of the mansion.

With the force of her intuition, Sarah's gaze shifted on the upper level of the mansion, looking at the glass window, and she saw her aunt gazing down but suddenly she disappeared. Her inner self is telling her, something strange.

Something is not right she thought. She has to find out. "Does her aunt have something to do with the men who were after her?"

Still in front of the Lui mansion...

Inside the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, the driver tells his boss, "Master, the car is still behind us."

"Catherine, you know what to do." The old man still in cold demeanor.

"Yes, master." Then she calls someone over the phone.

"You may now proceed. Make it excruciate but end as clean as you can." She turns the phone off.

The chauffer inquires, "Master, shall we go now?"

"No, let us visit a friend. I need to speak to him and his son."

From the tainted glass window, the man looks out, still taken with how pitiful the girl looks.

His mind drifted years ago...

A girl with long chesnut-brown hair wearing a pink floral hat and a summer dress flying a kite and laughing, with a bright smile on her face that lights up her chinky eyes.

And him on the other hand is flying the kite, pulling the strings, while running through the grassy valleys.

"Uncle Vincent, after me!" calls the lovely girl in a sweet voice as she waves to her, she has run further than him.

He smiles, and waves back while his other hand is pulling the string of the kite. Then the girl gradually disappears from his sight.

"Master Feng... Master Feng..."

He saw a more mature girl in hazy vision. It was Catherine, knocking his front tinted window. He gathered himself and took a pill from his pocket. He is dreaming again.

He gazes on his wristwatch. 12:30PM. Just in time with his schedule lunch with his long-lost friend and his son.

"Master, ready to leave?" asks Mark, his chauffer.

"Yes, we shall go now." he commands as a reply in a low voice.

Mark pressed the blue button in front of him and the retractable hardtop roof opened. The people outside the celebrity restaurant were all eyes to the man who just came out.

They thought that brand of car is only seen in magazines, website adds and tv screens. It costs almost a 30 million dollars! They are rich, but not as dead rich as the owner of the one of the most luxurious cars in the world.