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a year ago
"Don't worry, Lucy. She'll be fine with me."
"Do take care of her, Amanda," my aunt reminded Amanda, my parents' lawyer who was paying her annual visit to me on my birthday. "I planned something for her in the evening, but it's okay. I'll get more chances to celebrate with her. You won't," Lucy said, faking a smile. She has never liked Amanda.
"I'll be fine, Lucy," I smiled at her, hastily grabbing a sling and stashing my phone and some cash in it. To be honest, I can't wait to escape, even though it's only for a few hours.
"Take care, Scarlet," I turned around to see Adrian leaning against the main doorframe. I hesitated in walking beside him as we left the house.
"Y-yes," I mumbled in response as I followed Amanda. Amanda is - was - my parents' lawyer when they were alive, so after they died, she assisted Lucy and me in handling their finances, especially my trust fund.
"Come on," Amanda said with a little smile as I sighed upon leaving the house. I jumped inside her black convertible, and soon we were speeding towards the nearest coffee shop.
I knew Amanda wouldn't do this until it was something really, really important. For years, I had seen her as someone who didn't bother with the niceties, who didn't care about emotions or feelings and kept her head down until the job was done. Lucy and I had been immaterial to her. What mattered was her working to protect me and ensure my parents' money remained protected until I turned eighteen. So, when she arrived from New York unannounced, persistent to 'take me out', Lucy and I were both suspicious of her intentions.
"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" I asked her.
"Oh yes!" She said. "I had to inform you that we'll be increasing the donations your fund makes to the child rights charities. You can regulate this money once you turn eighteen, but I need you to go through the documents before we confirm the donations," she added, keeping it straight to the point.
My face scrunched up in confusion. "But you've told me about the donations already. Didn't we talk about it last -"
"This is what you'll tell Lucy if she asks you. We had this conversation on the phone without Lucy, so I hope you haven't told her yet," I could sense a small smirk playing on her lips as my confusion only increased.
"Uh, no, I haven't had the time to mention it to her," I confirmed, not recalling any instance of us discussing the donations.
"I want to talk to you about something you'll never discuss with anyone. Not even your best friend, Scarlet. We will have this conversation, and as soon as you're back, you'll forget about it until the necessity arises."
"I don't think I have reliable friends, but okay," I snorted. I didn't have any friends at all; being reliable was a big stretch.
"I don't care. It is essential that no one ever knows about this. And if you find no use for this conversation before you turn eighteen, you have to promise me to forget about it," she said, any evidence of a smirk long gone. Her pitch-black eyes commanded me sternly to obey, and I nodded in response.
"Okay," I muttered as we arrived at a local coffee shop. She parked the car while I ordered a standard coffee for each of us. She and I both knew this wasn't about a coffee date anymore and when she joined me in the booth with a big black binder filled to the brim with pages, I gulped at what was to come.
"What are we really talking about then?" I asked as soon as she and I were settled in.
"Your parents had told me to...inform you about certain things in case they were not around, and I think it's the right time to let you know," she said, her eyes finding mine as she opened the binder.
"Can I ask you something? Did they know? Did they prepare you in case they weren't going to be around? Because that's what this is looking like," Amanda had never been one to discuss things further than required, but none of this made sense until I understood that my parents had spent a while planning everything. From the trust to this upcoming information, everything is already set in place.
"All in time, Scarlet. But for now, for your sake, I need you to be okay with just enough information, okay?" She provided me with information in bits and pieces. My parents didn't exist online because Amanda told me their business didn't allow them to. What was their 'business'? I wasn't made privy to that information just yet.
"What's new then?" I asked, easing into the seat.
"I am going to explain to you..."For a moment, I witnessed her at a loss of words. Her eyes zoned into me, especially my arm. I hesitated before pulling my sleeves down, which had ridden up. A small bruise remained from last week when Rihanna had pushed me into the school hall's walls. I don't know what I wanted to achieve by hiding these stray bruises, she could see me physically weaken year by year. She had always known something was up, even if Lucy didn't.
"Have you ever thought about running away?" she asked her voice a soft whisper now. When her eyes held mine, shifting between my arm and my face, hurt bubbled inside me. I felt...weak. I felt defeated, and more than anything, I felt ashamed.
"I want to," I confirmed to her as my voice began to choke. She could be trusted, she had known my father for years before he had been killed.
"Okay, then. You must listen to me very carefully. I know something is going on in that house and in school that you're not ready to tell Lucy yet," I was shocked at her revelation, and as I began to protest, she gestured for me to shut up before continuing.
"I can't help you, Scarlet. Firstly, if we expose Adrian, you'll still live with Lucy, and school will continue to be hell. Secondly, your aunt has enough money to get Adrian back. And trust me, she will," I nodded at her, fully understanding whatever she had said because by thinking everything through myself, I had realised that no matter how much Lucy might have cared for me, Adrian was her number one priority and complaining about him would only lead nowhere after a point.
I know there is no escape from this. It won't ever happen.
"But don't worry, your parents had thought and discussed a particular plan with me should you be caught up in such a situation. I am sure your father won't have expected any problem from his sister's side..." she trailed as my eyes widened. Had he actually thought about it all?
Amanda and I both knew that Lucy taking my guardianship was debatable. It was a narrow chance, so I was so glad she did. My father had not been close with his sister, they had lived apart, and I couldn't even recall meeting her more than once with my parents. I know he wouldn't have expected her, a single mother with a busy business, to take his daughter, but Lucy did.
"What's the plan?" I asked her, suddenly interested, leaving behind any emotions that had clouded my eyes before.
"On paper, it's simple, but should the need arise, you have to be absolutely sure before you take this step, Scarlet. I am serious. I have the address to your godparents' home and a phone number. But you listen to me carefully, this is the last resort."
"My godparents?" I asked, bewildered. I had never heard of them ever before.
"Yes, they're alive. But your father wanted you to be given to them if worst to worst came. They were our only option after your aunt and even foster care."
"Okay. So you want me to run to them?"
"Should the need arise before you're eighteen. If everything goes well and you can get out of that house, never contact them. Trust me, you're not to do this until you desperately have to," her tone was borderline threatening and all I could do was nod in response.
"Tell me," I nodded, resolving to remember her words.
"Firstly, I need you to write a letter stating that you're running to your grandmother's house to find something your parents had left you, I will handle it after that but you will not reach her place. You'll never reach New York..."
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present
"Goodbye," I turned around after having crushed my phone in small pieces. The sim had been disabled in Summerville itself.
The only contact was out now. I had no social media account, no email address, and now with a phone laying crushed to pieces, no contact. I had already called Amanda before switching my phone off. When the police would contact her, she would say I said that I was going to New York to my late grandmother's house. Lucy knew my birthday made me emotional enough to leave like this, and the fact that she had forgotten it would only make my sweet, little aunt more guilty.
Remembering the steps, I took out the actual number plate of my car and replaced it like I had seen in the videos.
I picked up the small bag Amanda had gifted me on my birthday. Everything I needed was in there. A wig, some makeup, a new identity card, a new name and most importantly, new clothes. The ID would prove that I was Scarlet Taylor. I had merely used my mother's maiden name.
I knew exactly where I was going next, and that place was Miami, the opposite direction of New York.
I had three hours to kill before I would reach Miami. It would almost be six in the morning by the time I would reach. Amanda's friend was meeting me on the airport's outskirts with a ticket to Seattle and then Port Angeles.
I stuffed my new phone in my bag and began driving as the sky lost its dark colour.
About an hour or so later, I found it safe to stop at a gas station to fill the tank and change my look by that time. I locked my car and went to the bathroom, just to wince at my pathetic condition. There was no way they would allow me inside the airport like this and no way would I ever get on a flight like this. I took out my spare clothes, adjusted the dark-haired wig and applied a little make-up to cover any trace of bruises on my exposed skin.
I sighed at the sight of the dried wound on my hand and, as a precaution, used a pad to seal it inside the shoulder of my tee. If the wound re-opened, I would not be bleeding out while driving.
There was a slight possibility that they might catch me, but if Amanda and I thought everything out nicely, nothing would follow me after I reached Seattle.
The only thing I could hope for now was that my godparents had answers to my countless questions about my parents.
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Honestly, it hurt a little to leave my new car with Amanda's friend, who looked more like an intimidating bodyguard and scared me. But Amanda promised me that I would have it back within a week of reaching Port Angeles, painted in black, not silver and a few more changes.
I got on the plane, without any problems, as Scarlet Taylor and slept soon, not giving myself even a spare minute to think about what had just happened. I didn't want to. I wanted to close my eyes and forget about it. What was done was done. I cannot turn back now.
Hours later, I was standing in front of Port Angeles airport with an address in my hand. I had contacted Amanda from her parent's house in Seattle, where I had stopped for an hour before catching the small plane to Port Angeles.
It was almost twilight when I found myself in the back of a cab driving through a street dotted with houses that put Lucy's place to shame. In the middle of nowhere were humongous mansions with manicured gardens and exquisite driveways. They screamed old money with lush cars and sculptures scattered around each property.
It wasn't until I reached the address I had been holding onto for a year that I gasped at the sight of the mini castle. An aged nameplate that hadn't been updated in ages read a part of my name, shocking me even further.
"Jonathan and Winter" the board read. More than surprise, the feeling of confusion rushed into me as I thanked and paid the driver, finding it tough throughout the process to avert my eyes away from the name.
After he left, I stood in front of the metal gates, my wig and spectacles long gone back into my bag as I let my hair open. I looked around for a guard or a bell. The whole property couldn't be left unguarded, I thought, just before a man in his late forties, in a black suit came walking from the concrete driveway, adorned by tiny white lights on either side. I looked up and noticed three cameras staring my way.
Am I at the right place? Was Amanda right about this?
For a minute, I thought it was wrong to trust Amanda and that I was really just screwed. Fear began to fill me as the man neared me as every second passed, and finally went behind the gate to open it.
The metal doors roared and then automatically opened themselves as the man asked me who I was.
I debated at first about the name I was about to give him, but something about the board had compelled me to utter my real name.
He looked shocked for a second but soon shrugged it off and greeted me with a smile which didn't suit a man like him. He looked.. pleased. "I am Steven, ma'am. Mrs Jonathan is expecting you." He said in a rather cheerful tone.
"Oh. Okay," I nodded and began to walk behind him.
The house was beautiful, and it was impossible to imagine that someone could actually afford to live in a place this mesmerizing. Everything my eyes captured seemed to be a work of art, from manicured gardens to carefully placed flowers. Even though it was almost nighttime, I could smell the roses, orange blossoms, daisies, lilac and freesia. My nose lingered on a distinct smell of lavender that greeted me. It drew me to itself as the man continued to walk, and I studied the garden.
My eyes went ahead to the actual house. With old-fashioned archways, unlike any other house on the street, which were more modern, the house was adorned with tiny lights and large windows. Steven held the door open for me as we reached the foyer, and while I hesitated and clutched the bag I had not allowed him to hold for me tighter, I wondered if this was it.
Nothing made sense right now, but I wanted to know that this could be a better place than Lucy's house. But what was the surety? None. I had played a gamble with the limited knowledge that Amanda had given up, and the play from my end was now over. I had no say in what was to come.
"It's good to have you back, Miss Winters." Steven smiled, closing the gigantic door behind him as I heard the sound of heels hitting the floor.
"S-Scarlet. Baby, is that.. really you?"
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