Seek Ye First (book 5 of Genesis 64)

Chapter 13 - Lily

Qincheng Prison, Beijing, China - the next day (after chapter 12, still 2010)

After a long flight of eight hours, their jet touches down at the busy Beijing Capital International Airport in north-east China. A government limousine picks them up and whisks them off toward the prison. It's a long 40 minute drive in massive traffic jams through the Changping district before they reach their destination in the town of Xiaotangshan.

When the limousine pulls up in front of the prison gates, they are met by the warden, Mr. Wu, his personal assistant, Flora Deng, and four heavily armed guards. Mr. Wu is armed with his camera, iPhone, autograph book, and a fruit basket for Mr. Loggins. He shakes hands vigorously with Kenny Loggins telling him, "I have been a huge fan of yours since 1985!" Warden Wu and Mrs. Deng then usher the three Americans to the prison's auditorium where the Changping orchestra is warming up. There's a small crowd of people in the music hall - all family, friends, and associates of the warden. A beaming Warden Wu takes his seat in the middle front of the auditorium.

As Kenny and his Chinese orchestra finish warming up and begin the concert for Mr. Wu, Jonah and Chris are ushered to the visitor's center by Mrs. Deng. She leads them to a very brightly lit but stark room. The room is separated into two sections by a thick Plexiglas wall. Every ten feet is a simple window for the prisoners to communicate with their relatives. There's one lone door to get to the prisoner's area that's guarded on each side by a heavily armed guard. As the prison assistant dismisses the two guards, Jonah sees Lily standing alone in the far corner of the prisoner's waiting area. Her eyes are already red and puffy from crying, but her face holds more of a mad look than sad look.

Jonah tells Chris, "Stay here until I give you a signal. It looks like I've got a lot of "smoothing over" to do first." Chris quietly nods, her hands beginning to shake a bit.

Jonah crosses the dingy, concrete-lined waiting area and approaches Lily confidently, but cautiously and carefully, like a zookeeper would approach a caged beast. She has her head down now not wanting to look at him. When he's about three feet away, she finally raises her head, looking at him with big brown and reddened eyes.

"How could you? How could you bring her here?" she begins.

"I-I...," Jonah stammers.

"Didn't you read my letter? What part of 'don't find me' didn't you understand?" Lily asks.

"Well I had to find you. She found me and...," Jonah explains.

"Malachi said this would happen. He said you'd find me. Even here in communist China," she says.

"Why did you do it? Why did you turn yourself in?" Jonah asks.

"I had to. The communists can send their agents anywhere – even America. You know that," she replies.

"Yes, that's...," Jonah starts to agree.

"They would've found me, arrested me and taken me back to China. Then what would've happened to my daughter? No one would've adopted her then," Lily says.

"So how did you know complete strangers, the Cappelletti's would...," Jonah begins.

"I looked into her eyes...," Lily explains.

"Wait! You met Ginny Cappelletti??" Jonah exclaims.

"Yes," Lily says. "Malachi took me to see her before I'd agree to the adoption."

"I see, so he engineered everything...Interesting...," Jonah replies.

"I looked into her eyes and I knew that she would raise my baby right," Lily continues. After an awkward pause, Lily asks, "And did she?"