FamilyTies1

China is hiding in the house and listening to her family's conversation. She has state-of-the-art satellite equipment and the house has hidden passageways. Her family is shocked to find out she is not dead. Johnny explains that the paramilitary group was hired to disappear China, but she escaped. Arnold's father is suspected to be involved. It is revealed that China faked her death and there is a hidden code that needs to be protected. No, she was not dead, China thought, but sometimes she wished she was. When they found out that she was hiding in the house for the past month without revealing herself, her family would kill her. She was only half-kidding. She knew the pain that she had caused them. And now she was listening to their conversations in the hidden room in her bedroom upstairs on the top floor. Nobody bothered to come into this room anymore. They had repaired the door, locked it, and left everything as it was after she disappeared. The equipment up in the attic was old. At least it was when they left the house in 1989. Apparently, Benegas upgraded it and was using it, but her state-of-the-art satellite equipment in her room was powered with solar panels discreetly located on the roof of the house, hidden from view, and it was still working perfectly. The house was full of hidden passageways and secret rooms. There were multiple ways of getting out of the house to buy food and go to the bathroom and all the other necessities of life. She had to be careful, but that was nothing new. The only reason she used Jeremy's tunnel when they had come for her was because it had been the closest option. She was on her way to the bathroom when she had heard the ruckus downstairs and Jeremy's room was right there. It was an old tunnel that dated back to the colonial times, and it was the only one she didn't know about until Jeremy showed her how to get into it. No wonder she couldn't find the treasure on her own. China's not dead? Jane asked in shock, seated on a chair down in the living room two floors below. China turned her attention back to the discussion. Not even this guy, Johnny, found her listening devices. They were state-of-the-art and undetectable except by only the most sophisticated equipment. Chapter 1 China's not dead? Jane asked in shock. No, Johnny said, at least she didn't die in that burnt-out car like they said. Then where is she? Jeremy demanded. And how do you know she isn't dead? demanded Arnold. You'd better be right about this, Jane said seriously, or I'm going to kill you myself. That last part was said a bit too loudly just when there was a moment of silence. Jane was defiant. I mean it, she repeated. Everyone smiled at her passion. Give me a chance to explain, Johnny said. You can kill me later, he smiled, looking at Jane. Do you remember the paramilitary group that broke into the house pretending they were with the police? Heads nodded. They were looking for China, Arnold said. But she was hiding in a tunnel, Jeremy said, which I showed her. He was proud of his part in the drama. Yes, that was good thinking, Johnny said. Remember that I told you that they were part of a rival security company that was willing to disappear people for a price? We remember, Annie said, not good people. We didn't know about that, Juan Carlos said. He grabbed Lucan's hand. This was getting serious. I did some digging, Johnny said. Let's say I have a friend on the inside. I found out who hired them. It was Moises. My dad, Arnold said. He thought for a moment. That makes sense, actually. He was after China, finally caught up with her somehow, and then killed her in that car bomb. Or not, Johnny said. It wasn't her body in the burnt-out car. I went to identify her, Arnold said, but I only recognized one of her shoes and part of the dress she had on the day she disappeared. Easy enough to plant on another corpse, Johnny said. That's truly horrible, Annie said. Who was that poor lady? I have no idea, Johnny said. My company works closely with the forensic lab in Asuncion, and we got the report before anyone else. We told them to keep it quiet. I promised to let you know, but as far as the general public goes, we want to keep it quiet for as long as possible. Why in the world should we keep it quiet, Lucan asked. Don't we need to contact that poor old lady's family and let them know what happened? We will, Johnny said. They haven't identified her yet, which gives us a few days to figure things out. But why hide the fact that China didn't die in the car accident, Miguel Arnold asked. Because China went to a lot of trouble to make people think that she was dead, Johnny said. I think we should respect her wishes until we can find out what she's up to. I thought that Moises killed her, Annie said. Apparently not, Johnny said. There's no way to pull that off without both of them being in on it. That seems strange that one would die and not the other. Yes, it does, Johnny said. China will have to tell us what that was all about. Where is she, Jeremy asked. I would like to see her with my own eyes. I assume that she will make herself known when she is good and ready, Johnny said. And Moises, too. Moises is dead, Jeremy said. It's not about thinking he's dead. He's the grandfather I never knew. Supposed to be dead years ago. Alive again for a moment. Kills China, kills himself, she comes back to life, he stays dead. It's all rather confusing. It's about the money, Jane said again. She looked at Miguel Arnold. We need to trust Alicia at some point, she said. She has heard too much already, and we need to get everyone up to speed. Miguel Arnold looked at her for a long moment, and then quickly at Alicia, who kept her head down and her eyes lowered. Finally he relented. Fine, he said, but if you betray us, Alicia, I'll... He couldn't finish the sentence, but everyone knew what he meant. China was uncomfortable listening to the conversation in the living room two floors below her. She was causing her family a lot of confusion and pain. But it was for their own good. She had to believe that. Moises didn't believe that, she reminded herself. He thought that they should both die, for real. To make sure that every possibility of anyone getting the codes died with them. But there was a possibility still. That's what China didn't want to tell him. In the end he agreed, but insisted that his death would make it more believable. It wasn't really about China anyways. He sold everyone on the idea that he kept the codes in his own head. Photographic memory and all that. They believed him. But China knew that there was one other place it was written down. She needed to make sure no one found it. That Miguel Ajo would be safe, and the rest of her family too. To die now was no guarantee. She had to make sure.