Rebirth of a Rose

101. Who is Ziyi?

Blondie looked at Ziyi who didn't make any excuses. She kept silent listening to what the other had to say.

Blondie pressed something on her phone and placed it on the table. "Your background was that of a simple nurse, with a single father. The man's wife left him after she gave birth to his daughter, Ziyi. The man was all alone after that.

Until, you contacted him at the age of fourteen, and produced a sad tale about how your mom died at an early age. She died in a fire accident when you were around three or four.

You were raised at a foster house, by a woman named Shia Zin Shong for ten years. And who was Shia Zin Shong? None other than Aiko Tanata. That's why we could not find out about her. Because we were looking for the right person but with the wrong name.

Let's stop your story here for now and concentrate on Aiko Tanata. Let me rewind time for a few years. After Aiko left China, thinking she was leaving for good, she had a relationship with an American-Chinese man. He robed her all of the money she had taken from her husband. This man left her after he found out she was pregnant with his child. He did not want to take responsibility for his actions.

Aiko panicked, she was still married to a man in China, and he was a scary person. Imagine finding out his wife was having an affair with another man, while he was in jail.

So, she did what she could do best. She used her talent and what she had learnt in the intelligence agency she worked for. She stole someone's social security number, a dead American-Chinese woman, who had no one. For many westerners, all Asians look the same unless they study the faces very carefully. Using that to her advantage, she changed her hairstyle, had a new name and a green card. She later gave birth to her child, a baby girl.

But it wasn't easy raising a kid, and specifically when one was living under a false identity. It's risky to get good jobs. One needed proper documentation for it. To raise you, she did tiny scams, stealing money here and there.

Her daughter was around three or four years old, they lived in a cheap place, like many others who were struggling financially. They had neighbours, another single mother and a daughter named Ziyi, the same age as her daughter.

Since there were similarities in both the families and their life was full of problems, Aiko became close to Ziyi's mom.

Sometimes, Aiko would leave her child with Ziyi's mom and vice versa. Just like any other day, Aiko left you with the other family. She had to pull an extra shift somewhere.

Due to poor facility in the apartment complex, a fire broke out. The firefighters rescued the two daughters but failed to do that to the young woman who gave first preference to rescue the kids.

One of the girls died in the hospital. You made it, and that was a blessing. Ziyi's mother worked at a factory and had a worker's insurance. Your mother knew it, and so she said that her daughter was dead. The one breathing in the ICU was Ziyi.

Since everything was burnt down, there was no way to identify the dead. You were too small to know anything. Authorities being lazy, did a sloppy job to do a DNA test. After all, a test would cost money and nobody wanted to spend that, especially when the world was facing a recession.

You got the insurance money and a new name. Though it wasn't much, the eight thousand dollars back then were enough. Aiko then went to the authorities and decided to Foster you, since her daughter was dead. In doing so, she also received payment from the government.

She raised you just like her, taught you to lie and to steal. When she found out, Ziyi's biological father was looking for her, she was very excited. He had a good job and a stable payment. Also, she had another problem knocking on her door. Her husband was out of jail and looking for her.