“Of course, of course,” Carlton said, his brow furrowed in shock. “Do they know what kind of toxin was used?”

“It’s called Tarquinomid. It’s a very hard-to-get pharmaceutical that’s normally used to treat people with multiple sclerosis, manufactured only in Israel. They say it’s sometimes used by Mossad agents for assassinations.”

Carlton’s face suddenly went pale.

BAO RESIDENCE, SHANGHAI

THAT SAME EVENING

Bao Gaoliang and his wife were standing under the portico of their elegant garden mansion in the French Concession, waving goodbye to departing guests, when Carlton’s car came racing up the circular driveway.

“My goodness, the emperor has decided to grace us with his presence! To what do we owe this honor?” Shaoyen said sarcastically as Carlton walked up the stone steps toward them.

“I need to see you both in the library. Now!” he said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t speak to your mother in that tone!” Gaoliang chastised.

“What, you guys kissed and made up?” Carlton said, as he stormed into the house.

“We had a dinner for the Mongolian ambassador. Unlike you, your father and I still know how to be civil around each other when the occasion warrants it,” Shaoyen said, sinking into the tufted leather sofa and taking off her Zanotti heels with a sigh of relief.

Carlton shook his head in disgust. “I don’t know how you can sit there in that ball gown of yours, pretending that nothing’s wrong when you know very well what you’ve done!”

“What are you talking about?” Gaoliang asked wearily.

Carlton gave his mother a withering look. “Do you want to tell him, or should I?”

“I have no idea what you’re referring to,” Shaoyen said icily.

Carlton turned to his father, his eyes black with anger. “While you’ve been sitting in this house hosting a dinner party with your wife, your daughter—your flesh and blood—has been lying in a hospital in Hong Kong—”

“Rachel’s in the hospital?” Gaoliang interrupted.

“You haven’t heard? They had to airlift her from Hangzhou to Hong Kong.”

“What happened?” Gaoliang stared at Carlton in alarm.

“She was poisoned by someone. She was in the ICU for three days and almost died.”

Gaoliang’s jaw dropped. “Who would poison her?”

“I dunno…why don’t you ask Mother?”

Shaoyen bolted upright on the sofa. “Ni zai jiang shen me pi hua?* Did you stop taking your medication, Carlton? Is this some hallucination of yours?”

“I know you were just trying to send her a warning, but you almost killed her! I don’t understand you, Mother. How could you do something like that?” Carlton said, his eyes brimming with tears.

Shaoyen turned to her husband in astonishment. “Can you believe this? Our son is accusing me of being a murderer. How on earth do you think I had any part in this, Carlton?”

“I know precisely how you did it. Not you, of course, but one of your lackeys. Rachel was poisoned with Tarquinomid—which we so conveniently just started manufacturing for Opal Pharmaceuticals of Tel Aviv!”