I CHEN’S POV - CHINATOWN APARTNT
i was preparing dinner.....stir-fried vegetables and stead fish, Aria’s favorites.....when the doorbell rang. She wiped her hands on her apron and went to answer it, expecting perhaps a neighbor or a delivery for the wrong apartnt.
Instead, she found a young man in a uniform holding the most stunning bouquet of flowers she’d ever seen.
White lilies. Dozens of them. Arranged with baby’s breath and elegant greenery in a crystal vase that probably cost more than i’s monthly rent.
"Delivery for i Chen," the young man said with a professional smile.
"I....there must be so mistake," i stamred. "I didn’t order any flowers."
"No mistake, ma’am. Says right here: i Chen, this address." He held out a tablet for her to sign. "Soone sent them to you. Lucky lady....these are expensive."
i signed with shaking hands, more out of confusion than anything else, and accepted the heavy vase. The flowers were beautiful....absolutely stunning....but sothing about them made her deeply uneasy.
"Wait," she called as the delivery man started to walk away. "Who sent them? Is there a card?"
"No card, ma’am. Just says ’anonymous sender’ on the order form. Happens sotis with surprise gifts." He shrugged and headed for the elevator.
i closed the door and carried the flowers to her small dining table, her heart pounding inexplicably. Anonymous flowers. Expensive flowers. White lilies.
Her favorite flowers.
How would anyone know that?
She pulled out her phone and called Aria, who answered on the second ring.
"Mama? Is everything okay?"
"I’m fine, baby. I just....did you send flowers?"
"Flowers?" Aria sounded confused. "No, why would I send you flowers? Is it your birthday?" She laughed. "Wait, no, your birthday isn’t for three months. What’s going on?"
"Soone sent a bouquet. A very expensive one. White lilies. But there’s no card, and the delivery person said it was from an anonymous sender."
There was a pause. "That’s... odd. Maybe it’s from one of your friends? Or soone at the garnt factory?"
"No one at the factory knows where I live. And my friends don’t have money for flowers like these, Aria. These are the kind of flowers rich people send."
Another pause, longer this ti. "Maybe it’s Damien? Being thoughtful?"
i considered this. Damien had certainly been generous with her....paying for her dical treatnts, ensuring she had everything she needed. But sending anonymous flowers to her apartnt seed out of character. If Damien sent flowers, he would want credit for the gesture.
"I don’t think so," i said slowly. "This feels... different."
"Different how?"
i couldn’t quite articulate it. Just a feeling in her gut, an uneasiness that she couldn’t shake. "I don’t know. Maybe I’m being paranoid. They’re just flowers."
"If you’re worried, you could call building security. See if they have footage of who arranged the delivery."
"You’re right. I’m probably overreacting." i forced herself to laugh. "Beautiful flowers arrive at my door, and instead of enjoying them, I’m treating it like a cri. Maybe I’ve been watching too many suspense dramas."
"Mama, if sothing feels off to you, trust that instinct. You want to co over? I can leave the hospital...."
"No, no. You’re working. I’m fine, really. Just surprised." i looked at the flowers again, trying to shake the feeling of dread they inspired. "I should let you get back to your patients."
"Okay, but call if anything else weird happens. Promise?"
"I promise, baby. Love you."
"Love you too, Mama."
After ending the call, i stood looking at the flowers for a long mont. They were beautiful. Objectively, undeniably beautiful. The kind of flowers she would have loved receiving under any other circumstances.
But sothing about them felt wrong.
She almost threw them away. Almost took the whole vase and set it in the hallway for soone else to enjoy.
But that felt wasteful. Paranoid. They were just flowers.
So she left them on the table and returned to cooking dinner, trying to ignore the way they seed to dominate the small apartnt with their presence.
******
THREE DAYS LATER
The doorbell rang again at almost the sa ti.....6:30 PM, just as i was starting dinner preparations.
This ti, a different delivery person stood there with another bouquet. Red roses this ti, equally stunning, equally expensive-looking, arranged in another crystal vase.
"i Chen?" the woman asked.
"Yes, but I didn’t...."
"Delivery for you, ma’am. Just need a signature."
i signed numbly and accepted the flowers. Again, no card. Again, listed as from an anonymous sender.
This ti, she called building security imdiately.
"Hello, Ms. Chen," the security guard answered. "How can I help you?"
"I’ve been receiving flower deliveries. Two now. Both anonymous. I was wondering if you had any security footage that might show who’s ordering them?"
"Let check our records." She heard typing in the background. "The deliveries ca from two different florists....Premier Blooms on the first one, and Elegant Arrangents on the second. Both high-end shops. Both were ordered online and paid for with a credit card, but the na on the order is listed as ’Anonymous Gift Service.’"
"So there’s no way to trace who sent them?"
"Not easily. These anonymous gift services are specifically designed to protect the sender’s identity. They act as a middleman between the sender and the florist." The guard paused. "Is this a problem, Ms. Chen? Should we be concerned about your safety?"
i hesitated. What could she say? That expensive flowers made her nervous? That she had a bad feeling she couldn’t explain?
"No, I suppose not. Thank you for checking."
After ending the call, i stared at the two bouquets now occupying her dining table. White lilies and red roses. Her two favorite flowers.
Soone knew that. Soone knew what flowers she loved and was sending them to her apartnt without any explanation.
This ti, she called Aria again.
"Mama? What’s wrong?" Aria must have heard sothing in her voice.
"I got more flowers. Red roses this ti. Also anonymous."
"What? Mama, that’s not normal. Soone doesn’t send two expensive bouquets anonymously without a reason." Aria’s voice was tight with concern. "I’m coming over. I’ll leave now...."
"Aria, you’re at work....."
"I don’t care. This is creeping out, and I know it’s creeping you out too. I’ll be there in thirty minutes."
True to her word, Aria arrived twenty-eight minutes later, letting herself in with her key. Damien was with her....he must have insisted on coming once he heard what was happening.
Both of them stared at the two bouquets dominating i’s small dining table.
"These are..." Aria moved closer, examining the flowers. "These are really expensive, Mama. This isn’t soone just being nice. This is soone making a statent."
"What kind of statent?" i asked, though part of her was afraid she already knew the answer.
Damien was examining the vases with a critical eye. "These are Baccarat crystal. About eight hundred dollars each. The flower arrangents themselves are probably another three to four hundred. Soone spent over two thousand dollars to send you these flowers."
"But who?" Aria demanded. "Who would do this?"
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