They left for San Fransisco right after breakfast, after Candice had used Bianca's credit card to buy two tickets back to Sacramento, then another two to LA. Eric found it incredulous that Bianca still hadn't blocked her card, but Candice assured him that she had likely just forgotten. Besides, they had barely used enough money relative to her card limit.
Candice had come to hate the bus journey. The seat was cramped, someone on the bus always smelled and the suspension of the vehicle sucked. She could count the number of times she had been on a public bus with one hand. Candice vowed that once she got her inheritance back, she was never setting foot on one again.
"Do you want to go to the firm first or the bank?" Eric asked. They were due to arrive just before the closing hours of both, but Candice knew that their lawyer worked late hours.
"The bank," she answered. It shouldn't be a secret that both of her parents had passed, and she would pretend to just discover that her mom had an account there. It shouldn't be hard to get some information, but she was unsure how the inheritance law worked.
"Don't you have like, a trust fund or something?" Eric asked, pummeling his neck cushion into shape. Candice froze. Of course she did! She had completely forgotten about that.
"I won't be able to access it until I reach 21," Candice said, remembering the common problems all her friends had. Bianca had just turned 21 last month, which was why she had her own apartment now. "And since it still doesn't belong to me, it must be frozen, too."
"I guess that didn't get us anywhere, then," Eric mused. Candice sighed and reached for her phone, only to remembered that she was left with the crappy unregistered cell. She didn't even have her music to listen to.
The entire ride was a torture. Candice thought every van that drove past was out to get them, but Eric managed to fall asleep, hemming her in the window seat. By the time they arrived at San Francisco, Candice's mood was so foul that she was ready to scream and beat someone up.
Eric was in charge of finding the location, seeing as he had a data plan and Candice didn't. It was just before after four when the reached the bank. Candice quickly made sure she was presentable before heading straight to the priority section. She could hear Eric's footsteps stopped and start again. Was he thinking that she'd go and queue for her turn at the counter? Not a chance.
Candice strolled towards the receptionist, who gave her a professional but strained smile. "My name is Candice White. My parents had recently passed but I believe that my mother, Linda White, had an account here. Can I speak to your manager please?"
The receptionist's smile turned into an alarmed expression as Candice spoke. She nodded at her and reached for the phone next to her.
"Hi, I have a Miss White here who wants to speak about her deceased mother's account. Yes, White." Candice and Eric watched as the woman spoke into the phone. She turned back at them with another tired smile. "He'll be with you shortly. Please take a seat over there. What would you like to drink?"
"Coffee would be great," Candice said and Eric asked for water. Their morning coffee felt like a million years ago and she was severely short on her caffeine intake.
A cup of steaming joe was soon put in her hand. It wasn't as good as artisan coffee, but it would do. The receptionist handed Eric two bottles of water, pointing a finger at Candice indicating that one was for her.
It wasn't long after that the manager stepped out. He looked around Candice's father's age with a huge belly and round glasses. The receptionist gestured towards them and he bounded over.
"Miss White, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry to hear about your loss," he greeted her and offered his hand. Candice shook it and gave him a tight-lipped smile, knowing that was enough to convey her disinterest in pleasantries.
"This way," the man said and led them towards the back of the office. Candice took a seat opposite him and suck in a deep breath. She had to be intimidating enough to throttle the information out of him.
"What can you tell me about my mother's account here?" Candice started and cut straight to the chase. Her mother wouldn't open up any old account, so whatever she had saved here must amount to something.
"Miss White, I understand your situation but as you know, we are not at liberty o discuss our client's assets," the manager said. He was twisting his hands in front of him, and Candice wondered if it was really true.
"I'm the sole surviving heir of my parents. I'm simply taking inventory of my parent's assets. I don't have plans to move them, but of course, that depends on the circumstances..." Candice trailed off. There was nothing more these banks love than money. And the best way to threaten them was to take the money away.
"Well, Mrs White is a valued customer. That's all that I can tell you, Miss White," the manager answered. These were all information that her mother could have easily told her, but Candice knew that this was as much as she could get. But she was always one to push the boundaries.
"Is there anything more you can tell us?" Candice asked innocently. The manager's face adopted a difficult expression. He wrung his hands harder but said nothing still. He was an old fox, and he certainly wasn't going to crack easily beyond the basic information.
But he was also reluctant to get on her bad side.
"I understand. We can sort that out later once I get the paperwork from my lawyer. On a slightly different note, me and my—my finance would like to manage our asset in a more centralized way, and I thought your bank could be a great choice," Candice said, earning a shocked look from Eric but a delighted one from the manager. "Maybe you can tell us a bit about the plan that my mother uses so we can consider it, too."
The manager's face lit up and he started reciting a sales pitch about their bank's services. Candice wanted to yawn, and she tried her best to stifle it. She stole a glance at Eric, who was leaning forward and listening attentively. Well, at least one of them were.
"...most secured safety deposit box facilities all over America. We have safety deposit box services all over the country. We charge a yearly subscription depending on the size of the box." Candice caught the tail end of his speech. A safety deposit box. Could that be the reason her mom had opened an account here?
"Thanks for your time, we still need to run a few more wedding errands, but we will take this into serious consideration." Candice rose up and looped her arm through Eric's. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Eric gave a tentative smile and felt his arm stiffened. An unexpected bonus of their charade.
"I will see you soon," the manager walked them out of the bank and waved them off. Candice pulled Eric down the street and waited until they turned the corner before releasing his arm.
"Now we know my mom has a safety deposit box and account there. Let's get to the lawyer," Candice said, putting her hands on her hips. Eric had a pained expression on his face as he pulled up the map on his phone and Candice wondered whether he was a little mad at her. Surely not?
"Hey, you know that was just a ruse to get the bank manager to talk, right?" Candice said and stepped closer to Eric as they walked the one block distance. Eric had his eyes alternating between his phone and the pavement in front of them, and that made Candice nervous.
"Yeah," Eric finally replied and gave her a smile. Candice relaxed, but her nervous came flooding back when they stepped into the lift on their way up to the law firm. She had been here countless times before, accompanying her parents, and it felt weird to be here with someone else.
"Welcome to Simon, Brown, and Wallace, how may we help you?" the receptionist said and smiled at her. Candice recognized her, but the girl didn't recognize her.
"I'm here to see Mr Simon. Please tell him that Candice White is here," Candice said. The receptionist's eyes widened as Candice's identity sank in, and she wasted no time to call on their internal phone. The entire event was so similar to what happened at the bank that Candice almost felt like she was having Deja vu.
"Miss White, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Mr Simon's voice boomed out as the man himself waddled into view. He had always come out to greet them, so at least that hadn't changed. Candice exchanged air kisses with him, much to the amusement of Eric, before they followed him into his office.
"You should be on your way to the house," Mr Simon said quite bluntly. Candice nodded. She didn't think the lawyer would understand her current predicament, and frankly, he could be in on this, too. So she kept silent.
"I just want to discuss the will before I do. There have been some complications," Candice explained. Mr Simon's glance flickered over to Eric and she could sense that he had made some kind of conjuncture judgment from his presence.
"Very well. We could have done this at White Falls too, you know. You parents' will state that if they were both to pass under unnatural circumstances, their assets and accounts would be immediately frozen until a DNA test with your signature to act on your behalf, Miss Candice White, is presented. Now the clause is a funny one because, without your presence, which isn't required, it can go to anyone who meets the aforementioned criteria," Mr Simon explained.
Candice's brain was going into overdrive. Why would her parents make such a will? If they can take was a disastrous vulnerability that people were no doubt trying to take advantage of.
Could her father had a kid that she didn't know of? But that didn't make sense. He had always made it clear that everything was for her, his little princess.
"Are you saying that I need to get a paternity test done? Those things can take months!" Candice exclaimed. She hadn't remembered the DNA part for sure. Mr Simon remained passive, placing his hands neatly on the table.
"That would be a requirement. We have a team of experts ready to run the tests, as long as your biological material and or you yourself reach White Falls," he answered calmly. Candice wanted to scream.
"Did someone tempered with my parent's will? There's no way they would add that clause in," Candice asked. Her entire body was heaving from the content of the will, and she simply couldn't understand how it could be true.
"I was present when the will was written. So yes, I'm sure that it isn't tampered with," Mr Simon said calmly. "Our associates are waiting for you at White Falls. Once the one month has passed, we will be entrusting the duty to your butler and visit once a week. So I suggest you hurry over," Mr Simon replied with a smile. It was clear that he was done speaking to them but Candice was no closer to getting the answer she needed than when she entered.
"Did my parents said anything about why they add that in?" Candice asked, pleading with her voice. Mr Smion pursed his lips and shook his head.
"It isn't my part to question the client's decision." There was no mistake in the note of finality in Mr Simon's voice. He stood up and gestured for them to exit the office with his hands. Candice felt the sudden urge to cry. Did the identity of her attackers really matter? They were all just opportunists anyway. She needed to go back and get her inheritance. There was no question that it was the single most important thing.
"Thank you for your time," Eric said when it was clear that Candice wasn't going to. He wrapped an arm around her and steered her out of the office and into the elevator. Her heart was sinking along with the elevator. They had been successful in evading her pursuers, but there was no doubt that they would be waiting at White Falls.
Eric continued to direct her after they exited the building and Candice let him. She needed time to calm down and nothing was helping, really. She wanted to tell Eric that she had called Nelson, but she was too scared that it would piss him off.
When she looked up again, Eric had led her through the doors of a restaurant and the scent of pizza and pasta sent a wave of hunger through her. Yes, that was exactly what she needed!
Candice had been to San Francisco a fair amount of time, but she had never stepped foot inside this wonderful smelling restaurant before. She was spying on the food on everyone's table with interest when she heard Eric's surprised voice called, "Eva?"
She turned towards the direction he was calling at and saw a slim blonde girl rose to attention. She was beautiful, with a heart-shaped face and sparkling blue eyes. She lit up at the sight of Eric and waved. Candice felt a pang of jealousy at the evident delight they had at seeing each other.
"Brother, you didn't tell me you're in town!" the girl cried. Oh, right. Eric did mention he had a sister called Eva. Candice's mentality immediately shifted and she looked at Eva with interest. The brother and sister didn't look alike at all, though it was clear that they got along well as they embraced each other.
The three girls that were with Eva smiled and nodded at Eric, and Candice didn't miss the flirtatious glim in their eyes. Her instinct kicked in and she sidled up next to Eric, who jolted in surprise as though he had forgotten she was there.
"This is Candice. We go to college together," he introduced lamely. Candice flashed the girls a big smile. They didn't miss the meaning behind her gesture and were now glaring at her. Eva, at least, looked excited to see her.
"Have you finally got a girlfriend?" she all but shouted. The expression on Eric's face was a mix of mortification and something she couldn't quite put her finger on as the attention of the entire restaurant turned towards him.
"It's nice to meet you," Candice said to diffuse the awkwardness. Eva beamed at her and reached out to hold her hand.
"Nice to meet you too! I wish Eric had told me that you were visiting—" Eva started, but Eric quickly cut her off.
"We are just stopping by on our way back to LA. We were visiting Candice's parents," he explained. Candice stopped herself from looking at him in surprise. He was better at lying than she thought.
"Let's at least have lunch together?" Eva asked hopefully but Eric politely refused. He steered Candice away from the four girls and they were led to a table on the other side of the restaurant.
"That was unexpected," Candice prompted, wanting to hear something from Eric after the encounter. He was studying the menu with a vigour that usually wouldn't be associated with such an event.
"Yeah... my family is from San Francisco," he explained just as a waitress came to their table and greeted him by name. She was eyeing Candice with curiosity, but at least she lacked the animosity of Eva's friends.
"Hey Eric, back in town already?" she asked. Eric smiled at gave her the same reason he gave Eva and her friends. One thing that he didn't think through was the assumption that came with him meeting her parents. Candice watched in satisfaction as the waitress's glance turned from speculative to certain.
"Let me get you your drinks and some fries, on the house," she said, giving Candice a wink. Eric's face turned red, maybe he had finally clued into what he had implied.
"You come here often?" Candice teased. Eric muttered something under his breath that she couldn't make out and she laughed.
"Yeah, it's a family favourite. I can see that this might not have been the best place to come," he said with a sigh. Their waitress had already come back with their drinks and the promised fries. The aroma alone made Candice's stomach grumbled and she slapped Eric's hand when he reached for it to pull it closer to him.
"Hands off!" she warned and the waitress, who was still setting down their coasters, laughed.
"This one is a keeper." She winked at Eric, who blushed. Candice took the opportunity to pull the fries towards her, ignoring the indignant shout from Eric.
"I thought you sorority girls don't eat carbs," he complained. Candice moaned in ecstasy as the cheese on the fries all but melted in her mouth. This was too good.
"It's extenuating circumstances, they'll understand," Candice replied. It was great to take a moment away from all the worrying, but of course, as soon as she thought that, it all came rushing back.
She needed to go back to White Falls. It didn't matter who was after her so much as the fact that she was doing what they wanted. She just needed a disguise.
As Candice's thoughts swirled, her eyes were caught by Eva's wave as she exited the restaurant with her friends. Candice waved back, her mood lightened by the encounter.
But what she didn't see was the look between Eric and Eva when she had turned around.
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Hello my beautiful - sorry for the posting gap. I got REALLY STUCK and had to do a massive replot, but I'm back and more excited than ever to get Little White Lies done. I hope you are still reading this because man am I excited about writing a mystery novel.
I don't really have a plan to make it a series, though it could potentially be. Even though a week had passed - I'm going to make updating this once a week my goal (probably on Wednesday - although it's thursday for me already)
As always - comment and vote for support!