The quiet lasted less than half an hour before a knock sounded on the door.
"Is anyone home?"
It was the first time Cecilia had heard this voice. It was strong and resonant. 'Not another Shaw, is it?'
She peeked through a crack in the main door and recognized him—it was the old man who had greeted her from the private room upstairs at the Sugongfu Hotel a few nights ago.
'One of the Shaws?'
'He doesn't really look like them, though.'
She opened the door again. "And you are...?"
"Cecilia, it's Grandpa." Old Mr. Shaw studied her from up close. 'She's so lovely,' he thought, 'so well-behaved and likable.' His eyes began to water. "You've been wronged. Your face is so red—did your aunt hit you?"
The look of innocent confusion on Cecilia's face instantly turned icy.
Standing at the top of the stairs were Ruth Shaw and Ronan Shaw, along with a kind-faced, middle-aged woman who smiled at her. "Cecilia, I'm your aunt, Ronan's mother. Aren't you going to invite us in for a bit?"
