30. Contingency

Mali’s dining room table is usually unoccupied on a Wednesday, but tonight, there are five people sitting around it. The SD cards Kai managed to smuggle out of OmniVenutres after Chalam forced him to return the hidden books are in a neat little stack, and every so often Pepper picks one out and inserts it into her laptop, or Rome does the same. Mali watches over Rome’s shoulder as he scans through each file. Kai doesn’t sit quite that close to Pepper, but he can still see the screen.
The hell am I even looking at? Kai feels the familiar knot of frustration building up inside his chest, afraid to ask the question out loud. Everyone else seems to be studying what’s on the screen, but Kai is just starting, hoping no one will sense his confusion.
He feels useless enough as it is.
The image on the screen looks like an upside down dome, with various vertical lines stuck through it. Numbers appear at various places alone each of those lines, but not for any reason Kai can figure out.
Pepper has been watching him. “These are Chalam’s personal financial accounts. Those numbers on the bottom are years, and the ones on the side are his earnings. The curve is profits and losses. But this one is much more interesting.”
She clicks the mouse and the image on the screen changes. Now Kai is looking at a complex web of arrows and boxes. Arrows branch out from the central box, with amounts written above them.
”That box in the center is Chalam’s Personal Fund, and the arrows are his financial maneuvers.” Pepper traces her finger across the screen as she explains what Kai is looking at. “Each arrow represents money flows, and each of these other boxes are the different accounts and companies he uses.”
“Accounts and shell companies not on public accounts.” Mali adds. “He’ll need to know where the money is going whether it's legal or not.”
“In other words,” Rome clarifies when Kai still looks confused. “My uncle’s private slush fund.”
“Will this help prove fraud?” Kai can’t quite keep the growing excitement out of his voice.
Pepper shrugs. “If there’s a pattern that could establish a concrete paper trail, then yes. But I’d need something to compare it to.”
“Jet has what Mali and I were able to find. We can get the information from what he has.” Rome offers.
“It would help if you had something specific.” Pepper points out. “Something that can prove there’s a deficit between Chalam and OmniVenture’s public and private accounts. Last quarter’s financial statements, for example.”
“Right.” Kai nods. “I can get them for you tomorrow.”
“Kai—”
“No,” Kai cuts off Mali’s protest. “If Chalam sees you or Rome where you aren’t supposed to be he’ll—I know exactly where he keeps those records, so I’ll get them.”
I have to do this. He moves away from the table before anyone can protest or try to make him change his mind. He hadn’t gone into details about his conversation with Chalam when he’d returned to Rome’s office, and Rome and Mali hadn’t pressed him, but he still couldn’t get the images of Mali and Rome in the elevator and Nail at the control panel out of his head. They’re not like my parents. They’re not going to die if I can do something about it.
Kai pulls out his phone for the umpteenth time. Jet still hasn’t answered any of his texts. Damn it, Jet, where the hell are you? Kai thinks for a minute, then types out:
KAI: We can prove fraud. Call me back.
If that doesn’t get Jet’s attention, Kai doesn’t know what will.
Kai sighs, sliding his phone back into his pocket. Across the table, Rome, Pepper and Mali shoot him identical curious looks.
”You ok?” Rome asks the question all three of them are thinking.
Kai shakes his head. “Jet isn’t answering his phone.”
“Well, you did ignore him for the past three days.” Pepper points out, glancing up from her laptop.
“I didn’t ‘ignore’ him!” Kai protests. “I was…processing.”
And it’s true—partly. What do you tell someone when you’ve found information that could shatter everything else they’ve known? Kai initially decided to avoid it while he figured out what to say. No, not ‘avoid’. Process. Think about it and decide when and where and how to tell Jet who his adoptive father is. Say the name, Kai. Make it real.
Chalam is Jet’s legal father.
Mali gives him an understanding smile. “I don’t want to have a potentially awkward conversation with him either.”
Kai doesn’t think ‘potentially awkward’ even begins to cover it. “I still don’t understand why Chalam would do something like that.”
“Well—” Rome doesn’t get to finish his sentence before Kai rounds on him.
“If you say ‘power’, I’ll punch you.”
“Even if it was a power move?” It’s Pepper who asks the question. “To prevent Jet from testifying against him.”
Kai’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”
“It’s called parent-child privilege.” Rome explains. “There’s a law in the US that says a child can’t be forced to testify against a parent in court.”
Pepper cocks her head. “And how do you know that?”
“I studied criminal justice at uni.” Rome’s smile is grim. “And law in the UK. One of the first things my uncle and I disagreed on, with good reason, apparently.”
“Thailand doesn’t have a law like that.” Mali protests.
Rome nods. “But judges in this country have the right to prevent a child from testifying against a parent if it’s in the child’s best interest.”
“That sounds like a quote from a textbook.” Pepper points out.
“It’s also the truth.” Rome points out. “I wouldn’t be surprised if my uncle has a judge in his back pocket as a contingency.”
“And if he does, then Chalam could use his influence to prevent Jet from testifying against him.” Kai finally understands. “The only thing he has to do is show the judge Jet’s birth certificate.”
Pepper blows out a frustrated breath. “That still doesn’t explain why Chalam would adopt your brother in the first place.”
“I think I know why.” Mali turns Rome’s laptop around so they can see the screen. “This was on one of the SD cards.”
The four of them stare at the image on the screen. It’s a single sheet of paper, but the numbering on the bottom indicates that it’s one of a series of pages:
Surveillance report on Chalam Tian Samongkonchai. This report details the surveillance conducted on Chalam Tian Samongkonchai, CEO of OmniVentures Ltd., from XXXXXXXX to XXXXXXXX.
Pepper sucks in a breath. “Look at who conducted the surveillance.”
The ink next to “prepared by” is a little blurred, as though the image was captured just after printing. But the surname is still legible, and Mali and Kai freeze when they read it:
Saetangmasawat.
“What—”
“—the hell?”
Mali and Kai speak at the same time. Rome and Pepper are speechless. Automatically, Mali clicks through the rest of the images while the other three look over her shoulder. Several grainy photos appear on the computer screen, complete with timestamp, each image a piece to the puzzle.
Pepper stares at Kai. “Were your parents…undercover agents?”
Kai shrugs. His mouth has lost the ability to form words.
This is not a spy novel. This is real life. But things like this happen in real life, right? Sometimes? Kai’s mind races as more and more of the puzzle pieces start to drop into place. If Chalam knew our parents were undercover agents, then the car accident was no accident,and what I saw that night…
Screaming breaks, and the screeching of skidding tires.
Spurting blood and broken glass.
That face in the shattered side view mirror.
Kai remembers that face.
Kai knows that face.
That surveillance report is starting to make things click into place, and the memory of the face that Kai saw comes into sharp focus.
It was Chalam’s face.
Chalam had killed Kai’s parents to halt their investigation, and then adopted Jet as a contingency.
Because Kai’s parents had known just how corrupt Chalam actually was.
Rome reaches over Mali’s shoulder, extracting the SD card from the laptop. “We need to show this to the right authorities.”
Before Kai can ask who the right authorities are, his phone buzzes. Kai stares at the caller ID, then raises the phone to his ear with a shaking hand. “Jet?”
“Yeah.” His brother’s voice sounds calmer than it should, if he understood the urgency of Kai’s texts. “What did you find?”
Kai takes a breath. “We can prove Chalam committed fraud.”
“Yeah?” This time Jet sounds more interested. “How?”
“In Chalam’s personal archive.” Kai confirms. “Accounts and balance sheets that are different from the ones OmniVentures makes public. Pepper’s looking over them and thinks she can figure out the…um…”
“Deficit.” Pepper supplies.
“Deficit between those accounts.” Kai mouths a silent ‘thank you’ to Pepper and can’t quite keep the pride out of his voice as he continues. “So we can definitely prove fraud.”
"Is Pepper with you now?” There’s a teasing note in Jet’s voice.
“Yes.” Kai is just as aware as everyone else in the room of the color creeping up his face. “Shut up.”
“Did I say anything?” Jet is enjoying himself.
“You were thinking really loud.” Kai retorts. “Is Luca the reason you never answered my texts?”
Rome and Mali stare in confusion, but Pepper’s eyebrows shoot up toward her hairline and she mouths Luca? Kai flaps his hand at the three of them, mouthing back: Later.
Instead of denying it, Jet laughs. “I’m sorry I was so distracted.”
“That’s ok.” Kai is surprised to realize that he means it. He’s actually grateful for this little bit of levity. “Luca’s a great distraction.”
“That’s what he’s been telling me.” Jet’s words are casual, but there’s something underneath them that peaks Kai’s interest.
He hesitates, tempted to just end the call. Kai glances up to see Rome and Mali are giving him encouraging nods. “Hey, Jet.”
“What?” Jet pauses long enough for Kai to reply before asking another question. “Did you find something else?”
Yes.
Chalam is your legal father.
You’re a contingency.
I think he adopted you so that you couldn’t be forced to testify against him.
Because he thought you were the only one who saw his face the day of the accident.
The temptation to say all of this out loud has awakened the gnawing ache in Kai’s gut again. He glances at Pepper, who shrugs, then at Mali and Rome, who still give him identical expressions of trust. Clearly, the choice is his. Jet needs to know, but whether he’s told over the phone or in person is up to Kai.
And he’s not ready yet.
“Thanks.” Kai turns his back to the others so he doesn’t see their faces, putting as much sincerity as possible into his voice, hoping the words sound like what he was going to say all along. “Thank you for trusting me. I promise I’ll find everything we need.”
“You’re welcome.” Jet sounds genuinely touched. “I know you will.”
“Jet?” Kai’s throat closes up. He doesn’t need to know about his birth certificate yet. He just needs to know more about the car accident. “Jet—”
“Yeah?” Jet’s voice makes it clear that he’s caught Kai’s hesitation. “Kai, are you ok?”
Again, Kai hesitates. “I’m good. It’s nothing. Nevermind.”


"31. Power" 

Read from beginning: "1. Ignored"