The water vapor from the Suzhou River wrapped around the dead leaves of the French plane tree and hit the gilded Paramount signboard heavily. Lin Zhixia clutched the faded velvet handbag tightly, the pearl buttons hurting her palms. The phonograph was playing "Tuberose" on the dance floor, and suddenly there was the sound of breaking porcelain behind the scarlet curtain, followed by a woman's suppressed scream.
She walked past the drunk comprador of a foreign company and pushed open the carved wooden door of the VIP room on the second floor. Among the blue and white porcelain pieces on the floor, a woman wearing a dark green cheongsam huddled on the Persian carpet, with her pearl hairpin tilted to one side. When the violent man turned around, Lin Zhixia saw clearly the half of the jade cigarette holder exposed in his suit pocket - it was the heirloom in his father's study that was engraved with "Lin Ji Bank".
