Candice squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold onto sleep for a moment longer. But an intense headache was coming on and her body felt strangely rigid and fatigue. As her consciousness returned, she started to remember the events that led up to her current state and she jolted awake.
The first thing that she noticed was that she was in a strangely nice room. The lighting was dimmed, moody, and the furniture was classy and functional. She flexed her hands and lifted her legs; she wasn't bound. In fact, Candice was sitting in a nice armchair that felt like clouds. The thought of Eric sent her into another panic, but the boy was in an identical chair next to hers.
"Ah, you are awake," a strange voice sounded and Candice tensed. She could hear his footsteps as he walked towards her, and she tensed for whatever that was about to happen. What she didn't expect was to see a suited young man with blond hair and blue eyes.
"Who are you?" Candice asked stiffly. Appearance can be deceiving, she reminded herself. He looked oddly familiar, but Candice couldn't remember where she'd seen him before. The man chuckled and handed her a glass of water. Candice suddenly realized how thirsty she was and she accepted the drink.
Meanwhile, Eric finally came to. He all but leaped to his feet and glanced around wildly.
"Eric! It's okay," Candice called. Eric looked at her and then at the stranger. His expression was blank, which made Candice uneasy. He had been easy to read before, but now it felt like there was a barrier between them.
Eric opened his mouth, presumably to ask the same question as Candice, but the stranger interrupted. "I'm glad you are here safely," he said to Candice, ignoring Eric. Candice felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. It didn't feel hostile, but there was a predatory sense that put her on edge.
"You still haven't answered my question," Candice said. There really could only be one possible reason why he had 'rescued' her. He wanted the inheritance, too. Since he didn't answer, again, she asked another, "What do you want?"
The guy smiled at her question and Candice shivered. He looked borderline crazy for a second.
"I want what I deserve," he answered cryptically. Candice wondered if it was his way of getting her to offer money, but the crazy face he made just before made her think twice. Plus, she was at his mercy.
"What do you deserve?" Eric asked. His question was innocent enough, but the stranger tightened his grip on the table he was leaning against until it was white. Candice shrunk into her armchair, wanting to put as much distance between herself and this stranger. He was starting to look more and more like a crazy person.
The stranger took a deep breath and walked behind the desk in front of Candice and Eric. The blinds were drawn over the window behind him, but the lack of light told Candice that it was still night time. She scanned the desk, hoping for some kind of identification to go on, but the only thing she found was a White Jewelry logo.
White Jewelry.
She knew who he was!
"You are my father's assistant!" Candice exclaimed, finally placing his face among her memories. What was his name? Dan? "David!"
David smiled, but it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Candice felt like a bucket of cold water was poured on her, her initial excitement gone. She thought her father had arranged David to keep an eye out for her. But now, it was clearly not true.
"I'm surprised you remember me," David confess and sat down on the tall office chair behind the table. "You never have much care for the family business."
Indignation welled up inside Candice. Eric had made a similar statement, but neither of them had any idea how much she cared about her family. Just because she didn't like business didn't mean that she didn't pay attention.
"How did you find us?" Candice asked. She would just have to keep asking questions until he decided to answer.
"I had a private eye follow you," David replied. A private eye? Was he stalking her?
"Why?" Eric asked, seemingly as puzzled as Candice. If he were to find them so quickly, whoever that was following her would have been doing it since she was in UCLA. Which meant it didn't just start after her parents' death.
"I want to see what she's made of," David answered. "I want to see if the girl who has everything that's supposed to be mine deserves it."
"What do you mean?" Candice asked, her temper flaring up. "What I have is mine. How is it supposed to be yours?"
"I'm the true heir of the White Family. All of these is supposed to go to me," David said, his expression twisting in anger. Candice blinked, her mind exploding with the possibilities. Could he be her brother? They certainly shared similar features, but her father was dedicated to her mother. Surely he wouldn't have a bastard...
"Do you have proof?" Eric challenged. David gave him a glare, opening his drawer. Candice tensed but reminded herself that if David wanted her dead, she'd be.
David pulled out a photograph and tossed it at Candice. She fumbled to catch it, flipping it over to see the familiar White Family home. It showed a couple, her grandparents, outside the White Family home. In front of them were three boys, her father was unmistakable. The other two bare a striking resemblance to the family, one looked older and the other is younger. But Candice wasn't aware that they had any relatives...
"We don't have any extended family," she started, but he quickly interrupted her.
"I'm your first cousin. Your father's older brother's son," he added. At least he wasn't her half-brother, Candice mused. But that still didn't explain how she didn't know of her two uncles and this supposed cousin?
"My father doesn't have any brothers," she replied in reflex, though the photo in her hand would say otherwise. Her pretended-cousin handed a photo to her and she trailed off.
"Someone, possibly your father, killed the other two so Richard White could inherit the White Family fortune," David said, dropping a bomb. Candice shivered at the mere thought. Her father had been the kindest, most gentle of men. He would never do that.
"My father will never kill anyone. There has to be some kind of mistake," Candice protested, her eyes glued to the photo. Eric had remained silent throughout their exchange, but he had moved next to Candice to inspect the photo, too.
Candice knew about Photoshop, but nothing about this photo looked doctored. There was a time stamp, the photograph itself looked aged with a sepia look and roughened edges. She had never met her grandparents, learning that they had passed away even before her birth. But was that even true? Was everything she knew a lie? Or was this an elaborate plan that would get her to hand over her inheritance.
"I don't know all the details, but it's no coincident that Robert and Ronald Whites were wiped out from all media while Richard inherited everything," David said matter-of-factly. "I thought it was Richard. But his murder and will can't be coincident. Someone is playing the White Family to get all our money, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it. I don't want to hurt you. You are my cousin, my only living relative. I want you to know the truth, and we can make this company great again, together."
Candice pursed her lips, then David's words registered in her mind. "What do you mean, great again?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. How much did she really know about the company? Not much. But surely...
"The company is in financial shambles," David answered, a pained look on his face. "We have been hanging on a thread for decades. It's only a matter of time before the investors and the public find out."
Candice felt like all the strength were sapped out of her body. Her parents had acted like everything was alright, but it clearly wasn't. There was a big chance that David was really her cousin, but Candice was sure that it was a misunderstanding about her father killing his.
"So what do you want me to do?" Candice asked. David drummed his fingers on the table. She studied him, noting that he seemed to be in his late twenties, well groomed and educated. If her father were to kill him, wouldn't he kill David and his mother, too?
As soon as that thought occurred to Candice, she was horrified with herself. How could she even think that? There seemed to be so much she didn't know. So much lies that her parents had told her. What could she do?
"We need to find out who does and get rid of them. Then we can find out who really kill my father, and possibly your father and his brother, too," David said. For a moment, it really did feel like he was here to help. But Candice reminded herself that she couldn't trust anyone. Even if her father did have brothers, who were to say that David was really her cousin?
Things had gotten out of hand fast, and now it felt like her whole life had been a lie.
"You must be tired. Why don't I show you and your bo—friend to your rooms?" David said, getting up gracefully. Candice looked towards Eric, who had witnessed her entire life turned upside down and felt a surge of comfort.
The exited the room and found themselves in a spacious living room. The blind was drawn over the window, but Candice had a feeling that they were still deep in the countryside. David directed them to a corridor to the side.
"Pick whichever room you like. I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast," David said, leaving rather abruptly. Candice was surprised that he had left them on their own but shrugged. She might not trust him, but he did seem convinced about his story, which meant he didn't mean her harm.
There were four doors along the corridor. Candice opened all of them and saw four identical rooms with varying colors. "Pick which one you want," Eric said, standing some distance behind her. There was an unspoken note hanging between them, as though neither was sure what would happen next.
Should she invite him to share a room?
At that moment, Eric turned slightly away and the spell was broken. A sense of disappointment well up inside her, but Candice shook her head. This was a bad time to start a relationship, it would complicate so many things.
"I'll take this room. See you tomorrow?" Eric said tentatively, as though he knew, too, that a moment was missed. Candice smiled and nodded, heading to the closest door.
What Candice didn't see was Eric's sigh when her door clicked shut or the way he looked at her room with longing. After a minute or so, he sighed again and went into his room.
Neither of them noticed the security camera at the end of the corridor, with a blinking red light indicating that it's live.
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The plot thickens... Or so it is trying to! I'm getting a bit of a writer's blog but hopefully that won't stop me from my regular updates! It's sooo much harder writing a mystery/suspend novel, I've got to be careful of what I reveal and what I don't!
Let me know your thoughts!