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Shades of Redemption

By Stephanie Guerrero

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Chapter One

Shanghai, China,
September 1895

Red tongues of fire consumed the ivory silk around her ankles as rough hands circled her wrists, pulled her away from her wedding and brought her to a palatial home where many servants bowed low. Ana Feodorovna bolted upright from her nap and gasped for breath.
Father God!
White silk hung elegantly from the hanger of her armoire and pooled on the tiled floor. In just a few hours, she would marry the man of her dreams, Nathan Dover. Everything was ready. She had only to dress and fix her hair. A bouquet of soft pink lotus blossoms and lilies wrapped in lace lay waiting on her dressing table. Still trembling an hour later, she stepped into her father’s study.
“Papa, I had another dream. What could it mean?”
He opened his arms, and she stepped into the comfort of his embrace. “There was fire at the wedding and rough hands pulled me away. I couldn’t find you or Nathan. I was terrified, but then those same rough hands brought me to a beautiful palace. Servants bowed to me, and I was safe, but still you and Nathan were nowhere to be found.”
Her father squeezed her tight before setting her a few steps away from him. “God seems to speak to you in dreams, Anastasia. Listen to Him. If disaster strikes remember … He told you first. He knows your fear and your future. His ways are not always our ways, but He will accomplish His plans and no one can stop that. When you feel alone, remember, He gave you hope. He will bring you through. He will never desert you, little one. Run to Him, never away from Him.
“Now, enough doldrums… my little girl is a bride today! You look lovely my dear. Your mother would be so proud of you. Come, take my arm. It’s time.”
Nathan stood with the priest in the gardens of her backyard. Music played, guests were waiting, and her heart swelled with joy at the sight of her beloved. This day, Lord willing, he would be hers, and she would belong to him. The music stopped as she stepped by his side and faced the priest. Nathan grinned as he said his vows.
The priest turned to her. Her heart pounded. They were getting married. The priest spoke.
“Do you, Anastasia Feo…”
Screams of fire rose from the back of the crowd as servants rushed from the house. As the crowd turned as one to identify the source, masked warriors stole toward her. The world slowed before her eyes. Nathan rushed toward her only to be subdued by fierce assailants. Rough hands grasped her. She screamed as the priest was knocked to the ground. Her father’s eyes widened. He screamed her name, gripped his chest and crumbled to the ground. The world went black.

Anastasia awakened to pain. Instead of waking in her beloved’s arms, she appeared to be in the private room of an opulent gaming house. Sounds of an auction drifted through the crack under the door. Her nightmare was coming true. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on the second half of the dream.
God, are you still really here?
A single silent tear formed. She blinked it away as someone entered the room and pulled her to her feet. Frantic voices swirled through the air as she was shoved into the center of a room full of men. A greedy-eyed business man motioned for her to turn. She lifted her chin. Gaudy laughter echoed through the room. Why was she here? Her keeper yanked on a collar that had been placed around her neck, and pulled her toward the man she had defied. Slowly, she was led around the circle.
Suddenly the sound of her beloved’s voice boomed across the room. “No… you can’t do this to her. She is an innocent!”
“Nathan!” she screamed and immediately she was yanked to her knees. Panic lined his face as he too was forced into the circle as the bidding continued.
“Nathan, what are we doing here?” she muttered under her breath. “What is happening?”
“I did a few jobs for the mob to get extra money for our honeymoon. Last week, a powerful diplomat came to me with an offer of unimaginable proportions if I did him a favor. The mob stole an imperial artifact, an ancient seal. It was my job to get it back.
“I thought I had it covered. I escaped with the jade green seal, leaving a piece of black jade in its place. Shao-Huang must have betrayed me,” he sputtered angrily.
“I don’t understand. Why am I here? What is happening?” Anastasia trembled.
A short well-muscled gentleman stepped forward and brushed the hair back from her face. Nathan kicked him. The crowd laughed as the man scurried back to his place.
“You are being auctioned on the black market to the highest bidder to pay for what I stole,” Nathan struggled against his bonds. “I told them they have the wrong man, but I will pay great money for your release.” The bidding continued.
“What will they do with me? Nathan, give it back, please. I’m frightened.”
A tall man flanked by guards stood and offered an exorbitant price. Nathan paled. “Not to him…” he screamed. “You can’t sell her to him! I will find your item, pay any price,” he begged. “Ana, I thought… forgive me… not the brothels.”
He was pulled from her grasp. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t answer his pleas for forgiveness. The crowd grew quiet. Even she could tell the dynamic in the room was shifting. Crime bosses, drug lords, even the brothel owner stepped aside as a man in his forties approached the center of the room.
He snapped his fingers. Immediately, she was brought before him. Nathan’s captors froze at the man’s look.
“My dear child, what trouble do you find yourself in tonight? I know your father. I know this unworthy rogue you would take as husband. You are related to the czarina of Russia, are you not?” he asked in her native Russian tongue.
“You are being sold tonight because your future husband owes a debt, but it is a waste of such beauty and blood to have you sold to these jackals. I once offered your father a great price for your hand, but you were already spoken for.
Tonight, I give a choice. I will pay his debt, and he will be free to go this night if you agree to be mine. If not, I will leave you to your lover’s quarrel and your highest bidder.”
Anastasia cocked her head and studied the new man before her. Five foot ten, his face might have been handsome but for the scar that puckered the left side of his face. His slightly bent nose added to his interesting face, but it was his eyes that made him a striking man. Arrogance, scheming, and intelligence stared back at her amused.
“Do you find me acceptable… more pleasing than the half-blood cur who betrayed you, perhaps?”
Ana straightened, “Give my fiancé twenty-four hours to find this item and return it. If he does not succeed, I will agree to your terms.”
The man chuckled. “You are setting terms? What would I possibly stand to gain from this bargain? I already hold all the cards.”
A slow smile dawned on Anastasia’s face. “Not all the cards, my lord. Anyone can purchase a slave, but gratitude cannot be forced.” She glanced toward the door where her tall, handsome fiancé stood. He would come through for her.
“A willing bride? The idea pleases me. I am Shao-Huang, an honorable Tao-Tai here in Shanghai. It will serve me well in my diplomatic advancement to have the Czarina’s cousin in my household.”
He motioned in Nathan’s direction.
“Mr. Dover, you were hired to do a job for me and failed. Now your woman fights for your honor, but we both know her loyalty is misplaced. You may have your twenty-four hours to retrieve the Emperor’s jade seal and return it for the price of your lady. I heard a piece of black jade was left in its place, an interesting trade. Black jade is said to suck the life out of all around it. Perhaps you are familiar with this Black Jade, a man who makes his name by double-crossing his patrons. Decide where your treasure lies… in great wealth or great love, but I know your kind. You will not be able to resist the temptation treasure offers.”
Shao-Huang whispered to his bodyguard before ordering Nathan’s release. Ana reached for him, was so close she could breathe the citrusy scent he still wore from their wedding, but the bodyguard stepped between them and forced her sweetheart toward the door. Hope took flight when his intense gaze met hers.
“I will come for you, Ana. Nothing can keep me away.”

Twenty-four hours later:

Ana studied the elaborate dining table lit with candles and set with ivory and gold porcelain china. A dozen guests milled about in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Panic rose in her throat, and her heart began to race as she studied the guests. The twenty-four hours was up, and her Nathan was not among them. Weary and still dressed in her wedding gown, her knees buckled, but Shao-Huang held her fast.
“Do not disgrace me, Ana. You promised me a willing bride, remember?”
She shook her head furiously. “And you promised he would be here. You promised to deliver me to Nathan tonight!”
Shao-Huang chuckled maddeningly. “I said if he showed up, Ana. Do you see him here tonight? The man has betrayed you just as he betrayed me. Come, let us at least enjoy the evening. This party has been planned for weeks, I have guests who are waiting for me to make our announcement.”
He scanned her form, and she shuddered. “By the way, I never said… you look lovely in your wedding gown, my lotus.” He grabbed her arm and forced her to face him. “No tears. Do not shame me tonight, or I may make good on my promise to send you to the brothels, understand?”
What more was there to do but nod and pray.
Father God, do you see me?
The vision she’d had hours before her wedding flashed into her memory. Nathan and her father were gone. She was in an elaborate home in a position of power. God knew. God saw. She would trust him.
She stepped into the room at Shao-Huang’s side and prayed for strength.
Oh Nathan, my love. Where are you? I don’t understand…
A loud knock on the door grabbed Shao Huang’s attention, still gripping her upper arm, he marched toward the door dragging her along with him. Opening the door, the household manager stepped back to allow an Imperial messenger with two Imperial Guards to step into the entryway. In one fluid motion, Shao shoved her toward the manager and bowed low.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” Shao Huang deferred. “You honor this house. Please enter and be seated.” He snapped his fingers. “See that tea is delivered to us.”
The Imperial Messenger held up his hand and handed over a sealed document. “First… Magistrate Shao. We have orders. You have been given the honor to serve the Imperial Majesty as an ambassador/advisor to Japan. The situation is becoming tenuous and your services are needed at once. You have one hour to set affairs in order and then we are to escort you aboard ship. It sails tonight.”
Turning to the manager, the man added. “Now… we will take that tea while your master attends to business.
Ana watched with uncertainty as Shao bowed to the men and read the edit.
“Chang,” he ordered his manager. “See to it that these men are comfortable and assign some of the staff to see to them, then meet me in my study.”
“Ana, come with me.”
Her heart was pounding, and panic rose at one more shift. The loss of her home, her father, her husband, her freedom, almost sold to the brothels, rescued by a ruthless man and now…?
God, please… redeem my life from the pit. I’m so scared.
Shao opened a special door to the loveliest walled garden she’d ever seen. She sucked in a deep breath of the smell of herbs and earth and turned wide-eyes on the man who’d bought her.
Shao brushed the back of his hand slowly along her cheek. “I am a man who sees what he wants and takes it, Ana. I’d take you if I could, but it is a dangerous mission, and I am allowed only to bring my personal manservant and two guards. Manager Chang will see to your safety and needs while I am gone, but make no mistake… you are mine, and when I return, we will finish what we started. Until then…” He bowed and kissed her hand. “I will escort you to a room adjoining my own. There is a new gown awaiting you. The bridal gown serves no purpose tonight.”
She trembled at his touch, but felt relief at the reprieve. Thank you, God, for redeeming my life. The party was being dismissed as they reentered the house. Shao escorted her up a private set of stairs to the suite he’d promised and then was gone.


Nathan stumbled from the dank, broken down shack where he had hidden Shao’s treasure.
What was I thinking, stealing part of the man’s shipment? He’d only hoped to set aside a nest egg for his Ana, but no amount of treasure was worth her life. Scrambling to his feet, he zigzagged through the dodgy side of Shanghai’s Chinese District avoiding the British Sikh patrols who had been canvasing the area. For some reason, Shao-Huang didn’t want him to make it in time. Emerging onto the Bund, he ran the last miles to Shao-Huang’s mansion arriving just as the clock struck the hour declaring his time to be up.
Pounding on the mansion door, he doubled over, hands on his knees, gasping for air as he waited. The house was brightly lit with the sounds of a grand party for the Chinese New Year. He pounded again. An old manservant cracked the door.
“You brought the master’s item?” he sneered.
Nathan shoved the item through the door and strained to see past the old man. “Here, now where is my Ana?”
The old man handed the precious package to a lesser servant and cackled cruelly, “You’re Ana has already been delivered to the jackals at the brothels, but the master will appreciate your returning his item. See to it that you never darken the door of this house again!”
Fist made contact with bone as Nathan struck the arrogant servant on the jaw. The manservant spun and called for guards to restrain and throw him to the street.
“No…” he flung his body into the doorway and grabbed the smaller man by the collar. Lifting him off the ground even as guards shoved to reach him, he shook the older man.
“Where is she, old turtle! He demanded. “At least tell me where they’ve taken her! I demand to see your master!”
As the guards grabbed him and jerked him back, the manservant fell from his grasp. Rubbing his face, the man smirked. “She is lost to you, and Magistrate Shao is now Ambassador Shao. He left for Japan only an hour ago.” Turning to the guards, he nodded, “Throw him out! And make sure to remember his face. He is never to darken the doors of this estate again. On second thought, grab him and throw him into the lower depth of magistrate’s goal.”
Panicked, Nathan bolted across the street and down a back alley. The tallest guard pursued until he ducked into the missionary school compound. At the gates of the Christian property his pursuer halted abruptly and refused to follow. Nathan waited until the man turned on his heel and left. Hands on his knees, he sucked in each breath.
What do I do? He panicked. There were more brothels and opium dens in Shanghai than he could begin to search. Ana’s father! He’ll know what to do!
Peeking cautiously out the gates, he started to step out into the night when a soft voice behind him spoke.
“What are you running from, son? May I help?” The Christian missionary seemed sincere, but Nathan shrugged off his help. Religion was for women and fools.
He straightened and met the man’s kind eyes. “You already have. Shao-Huang’s minion is too superstitious to enter here. I appreciate the offer, Sir, but I’d rather go it on my own.”
The older man’s light eyes twinkled with a knowing look that got under Nathan’s skin. “I can see that. If you ever decide that your way isn’t working out, come back. I know The Way that works every time.”
Annoyed, Nathan shrugged off the man’s advice. That’s the annoying thing about Christians, he kicked a can laying in the center of the dirt road. They think they have the answers to everything.
Tossing a coin to a rickshaw driver, he gave the address to the Fedorov estate. The soothing cadence of the journey calmed his heartbeat until he rounded the corner to his bride’s home. Chaos still reined. Smoke spiraled and ashes fell like rain through the burned-out hole in the east wall.
Jonas, the master’s manservant shouted weary orders to the lesser servants until he spotted Nathan.
“Master Nathan!” his tenor voice echoed sheer relief. “Thank the Creator that you are here.”
“Believe me, He had little to do with it,” Nathan muttered under his breath. “Where is your master, Jonas. I bring terrible news. We need to rally at once!” Nathan shoved the man aside and moved into the front entry.
Jonas grabbed Nathan’s tattered wedding shirt and spun him around. “You don’t know? Master Fedorov died the moment he hit the ground. His heart gave out.” He strained to see into the waiting rickshaw and then cast panicked eyes back to Nathan’s. “Where is Lady Anastasia?”
Nathan shook his head. “Gone. Shao-Huang had her sent to the brothels! They threw me out and sent his personal guard to throw me in his dungeon of a jail. The man wouldn’t even tell me where to start looking!”
He slipped to the brick steps and buried his head in his hands. “I had hoped to use Fedorov’s influence to make Shao-Huang talk. What do we do, Jonas?”
The big man slipped down beside him and rubbed his hand over his face in an effort to mask his tears. Reaching into his lapel pocket of his dress uniform, he passed over a smoky document.
“I was able to retrieve these papers before the master’s study was destroyed. On the event of the master’s death, the Fedorov estate was to pass to lady Ana or her husband. The master had his will drawn up just last week.”
Nathan shook his head. “Ana is gone, and we never finished the ceremony, Jonas. It does us little good.”
The older man placed a strong hand on his shoulder. Somehow, it was comforting. He’d had little to no male influence in his life. It felt good to lean on someone else for a change.
Jonas spoke. “The ceremony was unfinished, but the two of you elected to sign the documents with the priest and magistrate before the wedding since Magistrate Lao could not stay for the ceremony. He handed me one copy and took the other copy. If Lady Ana returns to us, we are blessed, but as her legal husband, you are now the master of this house.”
Jonas sighed as he scanned the damaged mansion. “At least, what’s left of it. You do not have the Fedorov name, but the master has many friends who hate Shao-Huang… some friends are reputable and some have a darker influence. He was a good friend to all. They will help you look for Ana.”
Jonas cast him a sharp appraising glance. “You know, Master Dover. The Russian presence is just beginning to take hold in Shanghai. Master Fedorov owns a tavern called the Blue Monkey. It serves as an informal meeting place for Russian leadership. You’ll need the keys and codes. I’ll get them.”
As he rose from the steps, Nathan caught his arm. “Why would you do this for me, Jonas?”
The man shrugged. “Master Fedorov saw potential in you, and Ana chose you among many suitors. You are all the family I have left now. Wait here. We will do this together.”

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