Joel raced towards the front door and began pounding on it fast and furiously, "Power!  Power!  Open up!  It's urgent!"

The door opened and the maid who opened it took one look at Joel's frazzled condition and quickly turned towards the stairs hollering, "Master Power!  Come down quick!"

Less than a minute later Power appeared at the top of the stairs, his expression grim as he saw the paleness on Joel's face, "What happened?" he cried out and nearly tumbled down the stairs in his haste to get to Joel.

Joel grasped Power's arms and forcing himself to stay calm cried, "It's Derek… Derek… he…"

Seeing the devastation on Joel's face gave Power an inkling of what to come.  "What happened to Derek?" he asked uneasily.

Joel lowered his head as his tears crept down his face, "He's… dead.  Derek is dead!"

"What?" Power gasped, unable to believe what he had just heard.  It can't be!  With a smile wavering on his face, Power stared hard at Joel and said with a brittle laugh, "I'm going to tell Derek about this little joke of yours.  It's not funny at all."

Joel suddenly crumbled to the floor, his hands wrapping around Power's knees, "I'm not lying," he wept, "I wish it was a joke but I saw it happen.  I saw Derek get shot."

Shocked by Joel's admission, Power pulled Joel back up and asked anxiously, "You saw it happen?  Who did it t hen?" he demanded.

Joel took a shaky breath before explaining in a faint voice, "A note was left on the windshield of my car as to Charmaine's whereabouts.  Derek and I went to the address and Derek insisted on going into the warehouse first.  He ordered the rest of us to stay behind.  One second I was looking at Derek's back and the next a loud gunshot blasted and then Derek fell forward.  We quickly slipped out of the warehouse before anyone saw us.  But I managed to catch a glimpse of a man in the room.  That man was Michael Miu.  I recognized his face from the newspaper."

Power looked away from Joel as he wondered where he had heard the name from.  It rang a bell but he couldn't seem to place where he heard it from.  Looking helplessly at Joel, he asked, "Is he one of Derek's enemies?"

Joel instantly shook his head and cried out angrily, "Michael Miu is behind your father's death."

Stunned by the news, Power repeated, "Michael Miu.  Michael Miu.  Why does that name sound so familiar?  And why would he kill my father?"

"His brother is Damian Miu," Joel replied quietly.

Power turned away as he tried to probe further into his memory on why that name also sounded so familiar.  He suddenly went pale as he remembered the name.  "This is bad," he uttered, "Very bad."

"He has Charmaine!  We have to save her before he kills her too," Joel blurted out and looked helplessly at Power for instructions on what to do next.

Power stood up slowly, his hands clenched into fists by his side.  Giving Joel a firm determined look that he had never seen before, Power barked, "Call Dominic Lam.  I need all the help I can get to save Charmaine and take Michael Miu down."

Standing at the top of the stairs, Mary heard the entire conversation.  Pressing her hand against to prevent herself from crying out she staggered back to her bedroom.  Derek was dead… first her husband and now her son.  Charmaine may be next.  She closed her eyes tightly as she wondered what she had ever done to deserve losing the people she loved most.  Derek… she murmured then fainted.

---------------------------------------------------

Charmaine eyes slowly opened.  She must have fallen asleep for now it was dark out.  The only available light in the room was the illumination of the moon through the window.  She stirred and felt Raymond's arms tighten around her.  Looking up she was surprise to find him looking down at her with an expression that made her stomach flutter and her breath catch.

"You're awake," he stated simply and very slowly and reluctantly, released his hold on her.

"Have I slept long?" Charmaine asked, suddenly feeling shy and awkward by their sudden closeness.  She moved to the opposite end of the bed, leaning her back against the wall.

Raymond shook his head, "Only about an hour or so."

Charmaine's eyes wandered the darkened room and to her dismay, the moon's light slanted across the floor and seem to center on the area where Derek's blood was still visible.  Shivering with revulsion, Charmaine quickly looked away, her tears building once again at the thought of never seeing him again.

Raymond had seen her eyes fall on that spot and he knew it would be some time before she can come to grip with everything.  He wished he could help her overcome it but knew she had to do it on her own.  What he can and will do is be by her side and support her in any way she wanted.  "Are you cold?" he asked softly, feeling a breeze swirl around the room.

"I'm fine," Charmaine responded politely and turned her gaze towards the window.  "How long is he going to keep us here?" she wondered out loud.

"I don't know," Raymond said, "He's insane!  Who knows what he's up to next?"

"I can't stay here any longer," Charmaine wept suddenly and desperately.  Recalling Michael's words from this morning, she turned her gaze back to Raymond and sobbed, "He's going to make us… make us…" she couldn't finish as she broke down in tears.

Raymond knew instantly what she was referring to and stiffened with cold resentment as he too remembered the lack of choice Michael had given him.  Knowing this isn't what she wanted to hear, Raymond repeated his prior words, only this time it was said tenderly and quietly, "I meant what I said before.  I rather have you hate me then for someone else to touch you.  I'll kill anyone who tries!"  The latter was said in a low growl that surprised Charmaine.

Charmaine lifted her eyes to him and asked warily, "Why are you being so protective of me?  First you tell me you want to take care of me and now this.  What are you trying to get from me this time?"

Raymond was taken aback by her mistrust of him and also the way she perceived him.  Saddened and flustered that he had somehow inadvertently caused it, he said, "If I've have known what I know now I wouldn't have treated you the way I did.  That night, I…"

"I already told you I don't want to talk about that night!" Charmaine bit out sharply, her gaze turning angrily away.  "Why do you insist on bringing it up?"

"It's because of that night I realized I've been so wrong about you and it's also because of that night I realized how I actually feel about you."  Raymond had managed to shock Charmaine into silence for all she did was stare at him with a blank expression.  Taking her hand into his, Raymond said softly, "Charmaine, I love you."

Unable to look away from his gaze, Charmaine swallowed loudly as his words repeated continuously in her head.  She should pull her hand away and give him the cold shoulder.  Tell him she didn't care one way or another how he felt because she would never return that feeling.  But instead a strange fuzziness built within her and if she was honest with herself, she can't deny the odd flutter of her heart nor the adrenaline that coursed through her blood at his confession.

Taking her silence as a cue and with his hand holding tightly to hers he pulled her towards him and stopped when she was only an inch away.  "Tell me you feel something for me too," he whispered.

Powerless to the sensual way he was looking at her or perhaps it was the toll of all the unhappy events weighing down on her, Charmaine did something she never thought she would do, especially with Raymond Lam.  She tilted her head up and kissed him.  She kissed him with all the passion she can summon up and felt him pull back slightly in shock.  But the shock disappeared quickly for she felt his arms slide around her waist as Raymond pulled her even tighter to him.  She knew this was right and it felt right.  She wanted to kiss him.  She wanted to be held by him.  She wanted him.  Ever since that night, she tried to erase him from her mind but she found she couldn't no matter how hard she tried.  Somehow Raymond Lam had managed to weasel into her heart despite all her efforts to hate and despise him.

Raymond was lost by the kiss and yet something nagged at him to pull back.  This wasn't in her character and he knew she was kissing him not because she had any feelings for him but rather for other reasons.  Reasons that he knew he wouldn't like.  Pushing her gently away, he looked at her and saw the surprise register on her face.  "Why did you kiss me?" he asked hoarsely.

Holding his gaze, Charmaine responded quietly, "You wanted to know whether I have any feelings for you.  Does this answer your question?"

Dazed by her answer and completely and totally confused at the same time, he asked cautiously, "Does that mean you do or you don't?"

"It means," Charmaine drawled out softly, "Regardless of everything that you accused me of being and the way you treated me, somehow, unbelievable even to myself, I've fallen for you too."

"Charmaine," Raymond murmured her name tenderly as a loving smile formed on his lips.

Charmaine didn't give him the chance to say another word for she captured his lips in another torrid kiss.