Just when James thinks everything is over, Dan is back.
This story follows My cannot make it brother in law (LL)
Life was good.
Those three words pretty much summed up the seven months that followed Dan’s departure. My wife’s belly had grown into a beautiful round bump, and with it came the glow that everyone talked about. Lisa was radiant, more beautiful than ever.
And as her body changed, as her breasts swelled fuller and her hips widened, I found myself more attracted to her than when we first started dating. But attraction was one thing. Sex was another. Lisa’s gynaecologist had advised against intercourse during the last trimester due to some spotting she experienced, and my wife, ever the cautious one, extended the no-sex window to practically the entire second half of her pregnancy.
Which was perfectly fine by me.
Because every Tuesday and Thursday, and the occasional Saturday morning when Lisa was at her prenatal yoga class, I would find myself at Suzy’s studio apartment.
For a small unit, Suzy had done it up beautifully. Soft lighting, white linen curtains that filtered the afternoon sun, and a queen-sized bed that took up most of the room. The pictures on the wall were all of us, Suzy and me at East Coast Park, Suzy and me having dinner at a quiet restaurant in Tanjong Pagar, Suzy and me on a day trip to Batam when I told Lisa I had a company team-building event.
Looking at those pictures, you would have thought we were a couple. And in many ways, we were. The only difference was that I went home to my wife at the end of the day. It was a complicated arrangement, but Suzy never complained. She understood the rules from the very beginning.
Suzy: You know what I want for my birthday?
James: Mmmh?
I mumbled, my face buried in her neck while my hands explored her body under the sheets. Suzy was wearing nothing but a white oversized shirt, the same one she always wore after our sessions together. Her legs were intertwined with mine and I could feel the warmth of her skin against my thighs.
Suzy: I want to go away for a weekend…
James: Where?
Suzy: Anywhere… Just the two of us…
James: I’ll figure something out…
I kissed her on the lips and she smiled. Her divorce had been finalised two months ago, and with it came a sense of freedom that I could see in everything she did. She dressed differently, smiled more, and the spark in her eyes was back.
The Suzy who was married to Dan was a woman weighed down by disappointment and shame. This Suzy, the one lying next to me with her hair fanned across the pillow, was the woman she was always meant to be.
We made love again before I left. In the shower, while Suzy washed my back, she asked about Lisa.
Suzy: Is Sis doing okay? She’s been a bit moody lately…
James: It’s the hormones… She’s fine. Doctor says everything looks good.
Suzy: I bought some stuff for the baby… I’ll bring it over this weekend.
James: She’ll like that.
Suzy : My period is coming this 2 days, i can feel it.
James: orh…i’ll use my hand next week…
Suzy : tsk…
When i got back home, Lisa was watching television, her feet propped up on a cushion and a bowl of cut fruits on her lap.
Lisa: Why so long…
James: Long queue…
I said as i put the acai bowls she wanted in the fridge.
She didn’t question it.
Living in Tengah was different from the landed property in Holland. The space was smaller, but the privacy was greater. There were no more awkward dinners with Dan, no more pretending I didn’t notice the things he was doing. Keng and Wen had settled into their new place in Hougang, and they seemed happier there. The Hougang property was a corner terrace with a small garden, and Wen had taken up gardening with a passion that surprised everyone. Keng, on the other hand, spent his mornings at the nearby coffeeshop, reconnecting with old friends.
The routine was simple and comfortable. Lisa and I would visit Keng and Wen every weekend for dinner. Suzy would join whenever she could.
The topic of Dan came up less and less, until it hardly came up at all. It was as if the family had collectively agreed to erase him from their lives. Even Keng, who once held his cards close to his chest, had openly told Suzy that the divorce was the best decision she ever made.
Keng: Should have listened to me from the start…
He would say, and Suzy would just nod quietly.
As for the money, the 250 thousand was still sitting in my private account. Together with the money I made from Lek’s drug deal, my cut from Dan’s rental arrangement, and the various sums I had siphoned throughout the entire saga, I had accumulated a decent sum. It was not life changing money, but it was enough to give me options.
Dan’s first message in almost four months came on a Wednesday evening. I was at the dining table, eating the chicken rice Lisa had packed from the hawker centre downstairs, when my phone buzzed.
Dan: Bro… You there?
I stared at the screen for a good ten seconds. Lisa was in the bedroom, resting. I wiped my hands on a napkin before replying.
James: What is it.
Dan: How’s everyone?
James: What do you want, Dan.
Dan: Can’t I just check in?
I didn’t reply. I knew Dan. He never ‘just checked in’. There was always an angle, always a reason. I continued eating, and sure enough, the real message came five minutes later.
Dan: Bro, I need some help…
James: What kind of help.
Dan: Money. Just a bit… Things are a bit tight over here…
James: How much?
Dan: 3k? Just to tide me over…
I took another mouthful of rice and chewed slowly, thinking. Three thousand was nothing to me, and I knew that keeping Dan dependent was better than cutting him off entirely. A man with nothing to lose was a dangerous man. A man who still needed you for money was manageable. 3k SGD converted to RM, that will last him for a while if he’s prudent.
James: I’ll send it tonight.
Dan: Thanks bro… Really appreciate it…
James: Don’t contact Suzy.
Dan: I know… I know…
I transferred the money that evening and thought nothing more of it. The following week, Dan asked for another two thousand.
I sent it without question.
Then another fifteen hundred the week after. Each time, the messages were polite, grateful, and accompanied by promises that he was getting back on his feet, that things were looking up, that he had found some work in Malacca and just needed a little more time.
I was not stupid. I knew he was probably burning through money on rent, food, and whatever vices he had picked up across the border. But three thousand here, two thousand there, it was the cost of keeping Dan in Malaysia, and that was worth every cent.
Don’t forget, i have a buffer built up for this in the secret account. Every once in a while i will put up an act, that things are tight on my end also, i can’t be sending money like a bottomless pit. I’ll lose my temper a bit, cut him off for a week then tell him i can spare a little.
Then the cycle will repeat after a while.
I was happy with the routine as long as he stays away.
One Sunday afternoon, when Dan called instead of texting. Lisa was at her parents’ place, and I was sprawled on the sofa scrolling tik tok. I picked up the phone.
James: What now.
Dan: Bro… Did you see the news?
James: What news?
Dan: Lek… He kena caught.
My blood turned to ice. I sat up immediately.
James: What do you mean caught?
Dan: CNB. Heroin. It’s on CNA. That fucker…haha.
I fumbled for the remote and switched to Channel NewsAsia. There was nothing on at that moment, so I opened the CNA app on my phone and searched. And there it was. A Malaysian national arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint for attempting to smuggle 1.2 kg of heroin into Singapore. Malaysian male, late thirties, arrested during a routine inspection of a Malaysia-registered vehicle. Lek’s face looked a little distorted as he was pressed against the bonnet of his car.
Dan: That’s him right? Confirm that’s him…i recognise his face anywhere, he lost weight though.
James: I… I don’t know.
Dan: Bro, how can you not know him? that stupid face! Die also will remember.
I felt the room spin. Not because of Lek. Lek could rot in prison for all I cared. What made my stomach drop was the investigation that would follow.
CNB didn’t just catch someone with 1.2 kg of heroin and call it a day. They would dig. They would trace the supply chain. They would go through Lek’s phone, his messages, his contacts. And somewhere in that digital trail, there might be breadcrumbs leading back to me.
James: Dan… Did Lek have your number?
Dan: The old SIM card… The one I used for the business…
James: The one I swapped out?
Dan: Yah… But I got a new number after that…
James: What about the chat app? The messages with ‘000’?
Dan: I deleted everything before I left.
I wanted to believe him, but Dan’s definition of ‘everything’ and mine were very different things.
James: What about your messages with Lek?
Dan: Different phone. I got rid of it, it’s all clean.
Dan: Bro, you okay?
James: I’m fine. Just… Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t talk to anyone about this. Don’t even search for it on your phone.
Dan: Relax, bro… I’m in Melaka.
James: I don’t care if you’re on the fucking moon. Just…don’t do anything…
I hung up and spent the next hour going through every news article I could find. The details were sparse, but the charges were clear – importation of a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act. For 1.2 kg of heroin, the mandatory sentence was death.
Over the following weeks, more details emerged. Lek was charged and remanded. The trial was swift by Singapore standards.
lawyer attempted to argue that Lek was merely a courier, but the quantity made it impossible to escape the mandatory death penalty. There was no mention of any accomplices, no mention of a warehouse in any industrial estate, and no mention of vape supplies or perfume workshops.
CNB’s investigation appeared to be focused solely on the heroin trafficking network that Lek had been part of a network that, from the news reports, seemed to be much bigger than whatever small-time operation Dan had been involved in.
I should have felt relieved. And part of me did. But there was a cold, hard knot in my stomach that refused to go away. Because somewhere in a prison cell, Lek was waiting to die. And the last time I saw him, I had shaken his hand and told him he would never see or hear from me again. I kept my promise.
The question was whether Lek would keep his silence.
Three months after Lek’s arrest, the court handed down the sentence. Death by hanging. The news barely made a ripple. It was a single paragraph on page eight of the Straits Times. But to me, it was the sound of a chapter closing, a heavy, iron door that sealed away the most dangerous chapter of my life.
I didn’t tell Suzy about Lek. There was no need to. As far as she was concerned, the matter had been resolved months ago.
What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.
Unfortunately, it was Dan who brought the topic up again. He called me while I was at work, and there was something different in his voice. The usual nervousness was gone.
In its place was something I hadn’t heard from Dan in a very long time.
Confidence.
Dan: You saw the news, right?
James: About Lek?
Dan: He’s done. hahah game over…hanging leh.
James: I know.
Dan: So that means it’s over, right? Everything is settled. Lek can’t come after me anymore. He can’t come after anyone.
I didn’t like where this was going.
James: What’s your point, Dan?
Dan: I’ve been thinking… Maybe it’s time for me to come back.
My grip tightened around my phone.
James: Come back where.
Dan: Home la. Singapore.
James: Dan, you can’t just come back. The family has moved on. Suzy has moved on. The divorce is finalised.
Dan: I know the divorce is done…
James: Then what is there to come back to?
Dan: My life la, James. I still have my IC, my passport. I didn’t commit any crime. What Lek did was his business. The vape stuff… It’s a fine at the most, and even that, who is going to report it now? The warehouse is gone, the goods are gone, Lek is gone. There’s nothing left. hahaha…clean slate for me…
I hated to admit it, but Dan was right. On paper, he was clean. The vape operation was a regulatory offence at worst, and with Lek sentenced and the physical evidence destroyed, there was nothing tying Dan to anything more serious. The perfume workshop was a legitimate business that simply didn’t work out. His departure from Singapore could easily be framed as a man running away from a bad marriage, not from the law.
James: Even if you come back, where are you going to stay? The house is sold…
Dan: I know. Suzy told me
James: Suzy? You’ve been talking to Suzy?
Dan: She replied to one of my messages last month. Just to tell me about Pa selling the house. That’s all.
My jaw tightened. Suzy had not told me about this.
James: What did she say exactly?
Dan: Just that the house is sold, everyone has moved, and that I should not contact Pa and Ma. That’s it. She blocked me after that.
Dan: James… I know I fucked up. I know I messed up everything. But Lek is gone now. The danger is gone. I just want to come back and start over. Maybe get a job, rent a room somewhere… I’m not asking to come back to the family or anything…
James: Then why are you telling me all this?
Dan: Wah lan eh bro…Because you’re the only one who will still talk to me.
The line went quiet.
I could hear the faint hum of traffic on Dan’s end.
Dan : anyway…i’ve got some stuff to settle here…i’ll plan it out and see how…i also got to get back to work and return you the money i borrowed all these while…
James: Dan…
Dan :ok i got to go…speak soon.
I hung up and stared at my computer screen for a long time. Dan coming back was the one scenario I had not planned for. In every version of my carefully constructed future, Dan was a permanent exile. He was supposed to fade away, slowly draining his savings in Malacca until he became nothing more than a name the family mentioned in passing. He was never supposed to come back.
But now, with Lek gone and the threat neutralised, what reason did Dan have to stay away?
I needed to talk to Suzy.
…
That evening, after dinner, I told Lisa I was going for a jog. Instead, I walked to Suzy’s studio apartment. She opened the door in a tank top and shorts, her hair still damp from a shower. The scent of her shampoo hit me before I even stepped inside.
James: Why didn’t you tell me Dan messaged you?
Suzy froze, her hand still on the door handle.
Suzy: How did you…
James: He told me. He called me today.
Suzy: I… I didn’t think it was important. He asked where the family moved to. I just told him the house was sold and told him not to contact Pa and Ma. Then I blocked him.
James: Did you tell him where anyone is staying?
Suzy: No! Of course not.
James: Did you tell him about us?
Suzy: James… Are you crazy?
She looked hurt, and I immediately regretted my tone. I pulled her close and apologised.
James: I’m sorry. I’m just… He says he wants to come back. To Singapore.
The colour drained from Suzy’s face.
Suzy: Come back? Why?
James: Lek is gone. Sentenced to death. Dan thinks the coast is clear.
Suzy: But… He can’t just come back… Can he?
James: Legally, there’s nothing stopping him. He’s a Singaporean citizen. He didn’t break any laws, at least nothing that can be proven now.
Suzy sat down on the edge of the bed and pressed her palms against her temples. I could see the anxiety building in her body, the tightening of her shoulders, the way her breathing quickened.
Suzy: What if he finds out about us?
James: He won’t.
Suzy: What if he goes to Pa?
James: That’s what I’m worried about. Not Pa finding out about us, but Dan trying to worm his way back into the family. You know what he’s like. He’ll show up with some sob story about turning over a new leaf, and your father’s too kind to turn him away.
Suzy: Pa was the one who wanted him gone!
James: Pa wanted the drugs and the danger gone. Dan without all that baggage is just a pathetic guy who made bad decisions. And your father has a soft spot for people who admit their mistakes.
Suzy looked up at me, and for the first time in months, I saw fear in her eyes.
James: Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.
I kissed her on the forehead and left. On the walk back to the flat, I ran through my options. I could cut Dan off financially and hope he couldn’t afford a bus ticket across the causeway. But that was a temporary measure at best.
I could warn him that CNB might still be investigating, but Dan had already done his own risk assessment and concluded he was safe.
I could tell Keng that Dan had been in contact, framing it as a warning, but that risked Keng wanting to engage with Dan directly.
Or I could do nothing and wait. Wait for Dan to make his move, then react. That had always been my strength, reacting to situations and turning them to my advantage.
But this time, I didn’t have the same arsenal.
No Lek to use as a boogeyman.
No drugs to plant.
No warehouse to orchestrate dramas in.
All I had was Suzy, Lisa, and the life I built on a foundation of lies.
…
Three weeks passed without a word from Dan. I had almost convinced myself that his talk of coming back was just talk.
Idle words from a man sitting in a rented room in Malacca with nothing better to do. Dan had always been more mouth than action, and I assumed this was no different.
Then came the Saturday that changed everything.
Lisa was eight months pregnant. She had just come back from Suzy’s place where they had been sorting through baby clothes that Wen had bought. I was assembling the baby cot in the nursery, swearing at the IKEA instructions, when the doorbell rang.
Lisa: I’ll get it…must be the grab food…
James: Careful…
I hate it when Lisa rushes about with her swollen tummy.
I heard the front door open. Then everything was quiet.
The kind of quiet that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
It was the absence of a greeting, the absence of any normal reaction. I put down the Allen key and walked to the living room.
My wife was standing at the doorway, one hand on her belly, the other gripping the door handle so tightly her knuckles had turned white. And standing in front of her, wearing a faded polo shirt and carrying a backpack, was Dan.
He looked thinner. His hair was longer, unkempt, and streaked with early grey that wasn’t there seven months ago.
His skin had darkened from the Malaysian sun, and there were lines around his eyes that made him look older than his age.
Dan: Hi, Lisa…
My wife turned to me, and the expression on her face was one I had never seen before. It was not anger or fear. It was something worse. It was the look of someone who thought a nightmare was over, only to find it standing at her doorstep.
I walked towards the door, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Dan saw me and attempted a smile.
Dan: Hey bro… I’m back…found your address from the old group chat where you shared your BTO application…
Coming soon