Investigation

81 1 0
                                    

Barbie's POV

"What.....the....heck??!"

I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I registered was the sunlight shining through the curtains.

I yawned as I snuggled with my muscly pillow....trying to go back to sleep.
Wait....what? Since when are pillows muscly?

I half opened my eyes and saw that I was in the arms of Ken...who was sleeping, too.

"Please tell me you two didn't do...that....here last night."

I looked up to see Cassandra standing with her arms crossed.
I glared at her and yawned.

I was about to respond but another voice cut me off.
"No! Now let us sleep!" Ken grumbled before he pulled me closer cuddling with me.

Cassandra sighed and walked out of the room.

"Don't you think we should get up, too?" I asked and then yawned.
Truthfully, I wanted to sleep more but there was the whole fashion contest thing and all that drama happening.

"No, I don't. Now go back to sleep, my love. It's too soon to wake up," Ken replied before he kissed my forehead.
Well he's right.

With that I snuggled up to his chest and then drifted off to sleep.

Time Skip
Five hours later

"So what do we know about Jemma Stern and her designer?" I asked.
Teresa managed to hack into the system and see the list of all participants.

She didn't respond. She was busy typing away on her laptop and her eyes were glued to the screen.

"Ah ha!" Teresa snapped her fingers as she stood up from her chair and smirked victoriously and gestured at her laptop.

Nikki stared at the laptop screen for a moment and frowned.
"Kayla Black....who in the world is that?" she asked. I'd never heard her name before either.

Stella quickly grabbed her tablet and started searching her name as quickly as possible.

"Barbie....wasn't your aunt in the fashion industry?" Patricia asked as she smirked. I nodded, pretty confused with the sudden change of subject.

But then my eyes went wide in surprise as I got what she meant by that.
"I can ask my aunt for help," I stated, "She probably knows something about this Kayla Black."

I grabbed my phone and I was about to dial my aunt's phone number.
"Wait!" Stella called, causing me to halt. I glanced at her, waiting for any news, "There's no record of this designer. It's as if she doesn't really exist."

That's...strange. What exactly is going on?
"Maybe she's new to the fashion industry?" I shrugged casually. But deep down I knew it had to be something else.
However others looked unsure.

"Whatever the case is, you should call your aunt," Cassandra told me, "I'll try and see if there's any federal records of this mysterious woman."

I nodded and walked towards the balcony and closed the door. I sighed as a breeze caressed my hair.

I dialed the number and waited for my aunt to answer.
"My dear, Barbara. How have you been? Have you recovered from your injuries caused by that accident?"
I chuckled at the questions.

"I'm all fine, Aunt Millicent," I reassured her, "Me and my friends are in Paris. Nikki entered this fashion contest but there's someone who keeps on trying to sabotage us. We need your help for something."
I stopped as I waited for her response.

"Yes, I'm aware. I watched the show from TV...and I am quite impressed by all of you girls. If there's anything I can help you with, just ask."

I smiled and started pacing in the balcony and then sighed.
"Have you ever heard of anyone named, Kayla Black?" I asked, hoping she'd know anything that could help us.

A couple minutes passed as I waited for a reply.
"No...I don't think there's anyone with that name in fashion industry at all. I work closely with aspiring and new designers as well as well-known and famous designers."

I sighed.
Now that was a bust.
However I realized something important.
"You said there's no one with that name...at all?" I asked.

"Yes, I think there's something fishy going on. Maybe this Kayla Black isn't who she claims to be."

I thought for a moment, pondering about what I just heard.
"Thanks, Aunt Millicent. We'll visit you once this whole madness is over."
With that I hung up and headed inside.

"Guys, there's no designer with that name at all," I stated, causing everyone.... except Cassandra....stare at me in shock and confusion.

"Yeah...seems like it," Cassandra replied, "According to federal records, Kayla Black had passed away at 19th of July 1998, at the age of 87."

At that my eyes went wide in surprise.
This could only mean one thing.
"I don't know about you guys," Patricia sighed and stood up from the chair, "This is fraud. Someone is trying to steal the prize."

I nodded, confirming her suspicions.
But then I frowned at one little thought.
If Kayla Black isn't a real person at all, how in the world are we going to know more about what's going on?

I groaned, annoyed. It seemed like that we were facing a deadened.

Cassandra sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.
"But....," she spoke up, "I may have a way....to identify this person."

I narrowed my eyes, knowing that she was thinking of something absolutely crazy....and totally troublesome.

Cassandra rolled her eyes upon seeing the look I was giving her.

"I know someone from the CIA who can do more digging. It's quite foolproof," Cassandra continued.
However I could feel that there was a “but” there.

"But...There is one little problem," she stated as she grinned sheepishly.
My eyes went wide in shock as I got what she meant.

No! No! No!

"My mother. If she finds out what we're doing.... we're all going to be dead."

Patricia stared at her blankly. Renee looked a bit nervous. Teresa just closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

Sarah shrugged casually as if it was no big deal. And Stella just face-palmed.

"You gotta be kidding me, Cass!" I exclaimed as I sighed and sat down on the chair.

Nikki and Daisy looked confused, not really getting why we were reacting this way.

"Your mother?" Nikki questioned, stepping closer cautiously, "As in...Renee's aunt? Auntie Zoe? She doesn't look like that scary. I'm sure you guys will be fine. What's the worst she can do?"

Ken chuckled and rolled his eyes and then shook his head.
"Don't....ask. You really don't wanna know."




A/N: Yada! I hope you guys liked it.

Barbie: In City of Love Where stories live. Discover now