Rina sat beside Marco as he navigated the traffic, trying not to feel nervous about what was going on. Her mind swirled with all the discoveries she’d made in the last twenty-four hours, wondering how to move on from that point. Everything she had grown up to believe was shaking at the very root and now, she was left with whispers and ghosts, not even certain which of them existed and which didn’t.
Marco turned left and shot her a look. “You don’t seem fine. Do you want to pause for a minute and take it all in?” He glanced at his watch and then back at her. “We can spare a couple of minutes.”
Rina swallowed. “I want to get this done as quickly as possible so I can return to my life.”
“Return to your life?” Marco struck Rina as someone who the Jones family would employ as their lawyer, with his grey hair, impeccable suit, and glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. She recognized all the brands he was putting on, but it made sense that he was earning a lot of money from managing their estate.
Their estate. Rina couldn’t believe it. She was the only child of the formerly richest family in the country. She was a Jones. Her life was becoming a soap opera, from one drama to the other.
“Yeah,” she answered, shrugging. “As much as this is something to spend time on, I have grown up knowing the Powers as my family, and I don’t want anything to change that, despite their admission. They adopted and took care of me like their own, and I was never made to feel that I was a stranger. They are the parents I know and I want it to remain that way.”
Marco nodded and took another turn. They were on a deserted road, but just as Rina was about to point that out, he muttered, “So you are not going to change your name? I know you have affluence and power right now, but do you know how implosive it would be if you attached Jones to your name, coming out with the story of how you were adopted and all of that? It would make you a hot sauce to brands, the actress with the great comeback, the strength of a lion, and the affluence of nations. That will open doors to you.”
“I don’t need any of that, Marco.” Rina was certain about her decision. She knew how much a name could corrupt. She had seen it many times, with Kayla especially, and even though there was a slim chance of her becoming that way, changing her name was just unnecessary since she was going to be a Graham soon. “I just…I just want to know what my parents were like up close. I want to know the family I would have grown up with if they weren’t murdered, and more importantly, I think I want to open up their murder case. There should be more evidence now that it has been discovered that their daughter is alive, and was taken away from town, left on the doorstep of a young couple trying to conceive. It is all the more reason I can’t take up their name. What if the person that killed them returns for me?”
“You are just reeling over everything that has happened in the last hour with you,” Marco muttered. “But you are going to be fine. Trust me. The Jones are a nice people and never stopped looking for you. You will fit right in. About reopening the case, you are their only child so it is natural that I do what you want as their lawyer and by extension, yours. But at the same time, if you want my advice, I think you should let it go. We have been over this a million times, and it is hurtful for the rest of the family. I don’t think they would want to go through it all over again.”
They got to the front of a building with iron gates, imposing and reaching up to the skies. Marco pressed a buzzer and the gates sprung open, ushering them through a stoned driveway until they reached the front of an archaic-style building, with stone walls and bronze statues all around. “Let me help you with your seatbelt,” Marco murmured, leaning over to Rina. But suddenly, a white fabric covered her nose, with an intense smell that kicked her out of consciousness immediately, not giving her a chance to fight.
The next time Rina opened her eyes, she felt a migraine take over and winced from the pain. She groaned as she tried to move her legs, but realized they were restrained, with the wire eating into her flesh. It strained her already aching ankles, sending her reeling over the edge.
“Finally,” she heard a familiar voice call. It sounded close but her eyes weren’t fully open so it was hard telling who it was. Rina heard footsteps walking towards her, and suddenly, cold water hit her flesh. She gasped from the impact, raising her eyes to meet Kayla laughing like a maniac.
“That was so good,” she murmured, her shoulders bobbing and her teeth flashing in the dimly lit warehouse. “Hi, Rina. Or should I say, bye Rina? I really do not want to have to spend too much time here with you.”
“Kayla,” Rina groaned.
“Yeah. It’s me. This is going to be the last face you see before you go join your foolish parents in the world beyond.”
“What?”
“Don’t tell me you believed Marco’s story. He killed your parents and took over their estate, silly. You are so gullible, Rina. But that doesn’t surprise me since I managed to fool you for over ten years. I would say you should learn to do better, but then again, you won’t see a day after today so I guess there’s no need for that.”
“What do you hope to achieve from my death, Kayla?” Rina murmured, fear gripping her strongly. But the last thing she would do was to let Kayla see that she was scared.
“Zayn, of course,” Kayla replied like Rina should have figured that out a long time ago. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s going to be heartbroken with you gone, of course. But I will be there for him, grieving and healing. Zayn is going to forget all about you in a few months and he will be mine. But don’t worry, we will build a foundation in your name and even have yearly memorial services.”
“You are a bitch, Kayla!” Rina screamed. “Let me go!”
“That’s not helping, baby girl.”
Kayla planted herself in front of Rina and leaned into her, a gun in her hand. “This should be quick. It’s going straight into your head.”