Mark of the destiny

"Boss," showing his crooked smile, Maddie bowed as well. "We were cleaning the machinery, boss. He is from the kitchen department, so I was teaching him the correct method to avoid any damages. Am I right, four eyes?"     

Four eyes!? Yeah, he addressed Suyin as that.     

"Y-yes b-boss." Suyin stuttered, feigning nervousness, but for some reason she felt weird under Xu Tong's gaze.     

"Tell the truth. I saw you put something in your pocket. Either tell yourself, or I'll ask them to strip you and check." Xu Tong flicked his finger at Maddie and then at his shoes.     

The bodyguards cracked their knuckles, taking a position at either side of Suyin. However, she kept her gaze glued to Maddie as he kneeled on the wet floor to clean the invisible dust off of Xu Tong's shoes.     

other than the God, no one heard Suyin mutter curse under her breath.     

Long Ju and the intern Ang Lee rushed to Suyin's side, nervous. They didn't expect to come across such a situation.     

"Boss, he was just—AHH!" as Maddie tried to defend Suyin, he received a kick in his gut and fell down.     

"Maddie!" Suyin tried to rush, but the two bodyguards didn't allow her. Gritting her teeth, she took out a pin from her pocket and showed it to Xu Tong. "I was cleaning the corners. That's where the maximum dirt accumulates."     

"Yes, sir," Long Ju added, "We are from the kitchen staff, and knows very well how to clean unreachable places. "Supervisor said no dirt should be visible to the naked eyes. That's why we are paying extra efforts."     

Surprisingly, Xu Tong didn't dwell further and walked away with the supervisor after whispering something to one of his bodyguards. The bodyguard nod and left soon after.     

Though he showed nothing on his face, Suyin had a terrible feeling rising in her gut. Xu Tong's gaze was as if he had seen through her ploy.     

******     

At night, the premises were suspiciously quiet. Suyin shoved the pieces of evidence in a backpack and hand it over to her intern, Ang Lee, who was all prepared to call the day off. "Something's wrong. Xu Tong must have found something suspicious about us."     

"But things went well…." Long Ju joined.     

"Then why did they search our bags?" her words caught them by surprise. "I have a certain way of packing clothes. Just now when I checked, though it looked the same on the surface, it's different."     

They understood, and grabbed the bag tight, "Let's go then."     

"No. You both leave and wait for me at the back gate. I'll meet you there in a few minutes." Instructing, she turned to the kitchen counter to sieve liquid in a bottle using a funnel. "Maddie is running high on fever, I don't have any medicine on me, but this drink made with kitchen ingredients will help him."     

"Mam, this is risky,"     

"He's right, we'll come back later for Maddie. Let��s go now."     

"No," Suyin shoved the bottle into her pants pocket, and two sandwiches in the other. "I've to check on him and give this medicine before something happens. I've already informed Daiyu, someone will pick us from the T-point. Be in touch."     

Before they could object or say something, she put on her cap and rushed outside. All they saw was her departing back.     

*****     

On the east side of the premises, a building stood, Suyin had seen the kids coming in and out of there. Assuming it to be the place where they live, she snuck into it successfully. The eerie silence was frightening, she knew she was risking her life, but if something happened to Maddie behind her back, she would never be able to live peacefully….     

She looked around, there were rooms used by the staff and some were even used to store raw materials. She believed in her ears and the basic judgment…..     

Outside a room- on a broken chair hung clothes and undergarments that don't belong to an adult.     

She pushed the door a little and peered inside, heaving in relief; it was a dormitory for kids.     

Her sudden presence frightened the kids, and many stood on guard. "Shh…. I'm Maddie's friend. How is he?" without waiting for them to answer she moved to his bed where another boy helped him with cold press. He was feverish. Shivering.     

Had deep red marks on his face!?     

"What is this?" Suyin pulled down the rag they have used to cover him. A gasp escaping her mouth. Someone had beaten him. Badly beaten.     

"Supervisor did it. They cut our day's pay, saying no production was done. Maddie went to talk to him."     

Don't know who answered, Suyin's attention was only on Maddie as she propped his head up to give medicine. The bitter medicine brought him out from his half-unconscious state. "Cough…. Four eyes? Did you bring the food you promised? Everyone is hungry."     

The two sandwiches in her pocket and the presence of over eighteen kids in the room silenced her. She had no words to reply. Worse of all- there expecting eyes were unbearable to look into.     

"O-Only two s-sandwiches…." The two mushy sandwiches were good to discard, but the kids licked their lips and accepted it, sharing it amongst them by diving into nineteen bite-size pieces.     

One bite for Suyin as well!     

Suyin took a deep breath to control her emotional self, still visibly struggling with how to say this. "I-I promise to bring help for you all. Just one more day. Please….." she shoved the bottle of medicine into the hands of a kid, "Give him this every hour. One spoon. The tall trees near the building with thin long leaves are good for healing wounds. Wash them, make a paste, and apply it to him. Got it? Promise, I'll come back for you."     

Just as she turned, a kid grabbed her trouser and offered her a share of the sandwich. "You forgot it."     

Someone may think it's dirty, unhygienic, beyond her standards…. They were poor kids, living in a shady place, carrying diseases. But all she saw was their pure hearts. Rich hearts.     

She opened her mouth and accepted the bite.     

"Maddie, I'll come back. I promise."     

******     

Just a little more, and she will reach the gates…     

Just fifty meters!     

Hopefully, nothing goes wrong!     

Hopefully, it's just a premonition that's buzzing her!     

Sadly, no!     

Things don't go as planned!     

"Do you think you can run away?" Suyin paused in her steps, her eyes scanned the surroundings and found herself surrounded by a dozen men.