Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

“Come on, Dad, you’re making a mountain out of a mole—”
“SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND DON’T INTERRUPT ME WHEN I’M TALKING!” Harry banged his fist on
the table, startling both Astrid and her mother. Neither of them could recall the last time
he had raised his voice like this.
“You have completely exposed yourself! And you have exposed and compromised your
family! For more than two hundred years our business interests have never been
scrutinized, but now they will be. Don’t you see how this affects you? I don’t think you
truly realize how much damage has been done, not just to us but to your mother’s side.
The Shangs were mentioned. Tyersall Park was mentioned. And all at the most
inopportune time possible, when your grandmother is so ill. Tell me how you plan to face
Uncle Alfred when he arrives this afternoon?”
Astrid was momentarily dumbfounded. She hadn’t thought about the repercussions of
this gossip site, but she finally said, “I will face Uncle Alfred myself if that’s what you
want me to do. I’ll explain everything that happened.”
“Well, you can thank your lucky stars you won’t have to. This column and this whole
ridiculous website have been taken down.”
Astrid looked at her father, momentarily surprised. “This article is really gone?”
“Erased from the face of this planet! Although enough damage has been done—there’s
no telling how many people must have read this rubbish before it was taken down.”
“Well, hopefully the exposure will be minimal. Thanks, Dad—thank you for doing this,”
Astrid muttered in relief.
“Oh I had nothing to do with this—thank your husband.”
“Michael had it taken down?”
“Yes. He bought the company that owns this infernal website and put an end to all of
the nonsense. It’s probably the first useful thing Michael has ever done to protect you.
Which is far more than I can say for Charlie Wu!”
Astrid sat back in her chair, feeling her face flush with anger. This was all Michael’s
doing. He must have alerted her parents to this gossip column in the first place, and of
course he was only too happy to alert them that he’d saved the day. Hell, he was probably
Leonardo Lai’s “Singapore insider,” relishing his chance to sabotage Charlie, to sabotage
her.
* Cathleen Kah Leong, the wife of Harry and Felicity Leong’s eldest son, Henry, takes great pride in her thrift. A partner
at Singapore’s most esteemed law firm, she takes the public bus to work every day. A granddaughter of the late
banking tycoon Kah Chin Kee, she uses a plastic bag from the local neighborhood gourmet grocers to transport her
legal briefs when she could well afford to buy Goyard. (Not a nice Goyard leather tote bag—I mean Goyard, the
company.)