Kayla’s eyes popped the second she spotted the gray Cadillac waiting for them outside the building.

“Hurry up honey, we don't want the paparazzi seeing us” grandma strutted to the car, her shoulders high up as she put on her glasses while Alexandria walked behind her. Kayla, on the other hand, struggled to keep up with their pace.

“Yes grandma” Kayla mumbled.

Alexandria took the driver's seat and the latter got into the vehicle with the most graceful body movement Kayla had ever seen. Kayla imitated the gesture to the best of her capacity hoping to God that she had gotten it right as she closed the door. The soft black seats greeted her inside, the car was cold enough to be a deep freezer. She went on to fasten her seatbelt and heard Alexandria laugh a bit.

“Still don't trust my driving skills I see” she teased just before starting the engine. Their eyes locked as she looked at Kayla through the mirror above her head. Her mouth immediately went dry.

Thinking quickly, Kayla laughed as well, slowly letting go of the belt.

“Well you can't blame the girl” grandma said defensively.

“I only crashed the limo one time,” Alexandria whined.

“Wait, you did what?!”

Kayla quietly clicked the seatbelt on.

“I'm definitely not sure I can escape death twice.”

She could feel grandma roll her eyes very close to her as she remained silent. At least before she murmured “I don't know what my son sees in you” loud enough for only Kayla to hear.

“How rich do you have to be to crash a limo and sleep at night?”

Kayla glanced at Alexandria.

“So you're not a direct relative. Daughter in-law maybe.”

Kayla wished she had her phone with her, a quick search on the Internet would have been enough to know exactly who these people were, more importantly how many zeros there were in their name.

Kayla’s fingers tingled with anticipation once they left the premises.

Kayla. A

That was her name, at least that was what her former caregiver said it was.

“This is it” She mumbled, she was about to embark on the craziest adventure she could ever imagine.

Her life had taken a drastic turn from the moment she got there and something about the uncertainty excited her. Not too long ago she was just Kayla, a twenty two year old nobody and now she's supposed to be the granddaughter of a millionaire.

Christina Wellington.

She'd have to get used to answering that name. She hoped to the heavens that she wouldn't slip up.

The thought of that made her heart palpitate at the horror of this going terribly wrong.

She suddenly felt Grandma's hand rest on her back “Are you okay my dear? You look pale”

She simply nodded in response.

Alexandria was surprisingly a great driver. She was very fluid with her skills as we switched lanes with no stress. Kayla took this opportunity to look closely at her while Alexandria's focus was on something else. The road.

Her skin looked soft and was the shade of sunset.

“How can someone have such pale skin in this heat?”

Her slender manicured hands played around with the wheels as the vehicle made a curve into the city. The street lights illuminated the street they were in just before a trickle of rain began to beat down on the window.

The car rolled into what looked like an estate and soon as they got in Alexandria went full speed. The engine roared with adrenaline and Kayla grabbed a hold of the seats suddenly seeing the grave mistake she made for being too comfortable.

It was obvious Alexandria had been wanting to do that since she got in the car. Not even those crazy New York taxi drivers drove this fast. What was the essence of driving this fast if they were already in the estate?

They went forward in full blast passing miles and miles of land. A huge house suddenly came into view at full speed and Kayla's jaw dropped. Right there in the distance stood a tall mansion, the biggest she had ever seen.

She felt grandma’s eyes suddenly fall on her and she immediately fixed her face.

The vehicle halted in front of the mansion and a small smiling woman waited for them outside. Something about her smile however seemed like it was practiced making it look too strained. It was getting painful to look at by the second.

“Welcome ma’am ” she waved at them slightly bowing. Her gray hair was a little more prominent now and she should be around the age of sixty..

Alexandria killed the engine and came out of the car so did grandma with a sudden look of contempt, her nose suddenly high as if they didn't nearly die from this crazy woman's driving.

The moment Kayla came out of the car she felt an unsettling chill that rested on her shoulders.

“Don't just stand there, take my purse” grandma shot and the maid ran to pick Grandma's bag.

“Well that was mean”

“I might as well have you fired at this rate” she muttered, her ever so caring demeanor suddenly slipping away “let's go darling” she stretched out her hand towards the surprised Kayla and she took it slowly, taking a glance at the old lady. Her smile was cracked but her eyes held something else. Fear.

She looked away and allowed grandma to take her into the mansion while the old maid scurried behind them, her face down the whole time. A chandelier shimmered over their heads spreading its warm light downwards. The gorgeous living room was in full display.

“Damn, this is six times the size of my room.”

“Where is everybody?” grandma suddenly asked out loud.

“Mr Roy went out–” the maid tried to explain.

“Shut up” Grandma shot.

Kayla flinched a bit but thankfully only the maid caught it but even with that, she only gave her a quick questionable glance.

Soon someone descended from the stairs. A young man, tall with skin similar to grandma’s who Zara assumed to be around her age.

“That's your cousin” Alexandria whispered in her ear and she subconsciously adjusted her posture.

Kayla and the young man caught sight of each other's gaze and a sudden contrited expression engulfed his handsome face sending a jolt of surprise through her as her brows dipped in confusion.

“Isn't he happy to see me…I mean his cousin? She was practically missing.”

“Your cousin is finally back” grandma cheered “come and embrace her” however her jubilation was met with a feigned smile.

“Welcome home” he responded awkwardly, barely looking at his alleged cousin.

“Am I missing something?”

Grandma clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

“Where is your father?”

“Right here” came a voice from behind us that instantly froze Kayla's blood.

“That voice…”

Her head suddenly began to spin and she gripped Alexandria’s arm for support.

“I'm I hallucinating?”

“Chriatina, what's wrong?” She asked but Zara could barely hear her with the alarm ringing in her ear.

“No. No it can't be.”

Flashes of the fire and the smell of the building hit her like a brick.

Then the smell of cinnamon hit me and she knew. It was him. It was undeniable. His husky voice was glued to her memory. She felt like throwing up but her stomach was empty. She was too afraid to turn. Too afraid to believe she was right.

“Don't stand there, get her water” grandma screamed and soon enough a glass of water was brought to Kayla's lips with shaky hands.

The scent grew stronger with each step he took and somehow his footsteps were the only thing Kayla heard till he was right in front of her.

His eyes held shock as they almost bulged out of their sockets and his bottom lip parted. It was only after grandma practically pushed him to the side so she and the maid could carry Kayla to the couch that their gaze broke.

“Alexandria, call the doctor,” grandma instructed. Her voice was laced with urgency.

Kayla buried her head in between my hands. She knew she had entered the lion's den and there was no escape, she had just dug her grave.

Kayla felt his eyes piercing her head till he finally spoke.

“Everybody calm down!” He spoke with authority. “Give her some space mother, let the girl breathe”

“Okay” said with a shaky voice as she let go of her.

He came over to where she was and he lowered himself squatting to reach her eye view. Their eyes locked and she steadied my breathing. She couldn't let him sense her fear. He examined her face for a while before taking a drag from the vape in his hand. It was shaped like a pen and the part that looked like the caricature version of the end beeped with light as he did so.

Then he blew the smoke “what did you say was wrong with her?”

“She almost collapsed-”

“No she didn't” her apparent cousin countered, gaining himself an angry look but he didn't seem to care.

There was a cold silence until Alexandria spoke “ We got a call that she was in the hospital” she started “isn't that amazing? She's safe. The doctors gave her some medications because of her injuries but she has a bit of amnesia”

The man in front of me suddenly raised his brows at the sound of the word “amnesia” and he began to relax.

“She doesn't remember anything?” He stood up, shifting his gaze to Amaka. He was quite tall but not nearly as tall as the man that saved her.

“She can't even remember who we are, can you bet that?”

He threw a glance at Kayla and she suppressed the urge to scream.

“She seems fine now,” he said “you” he pointed at one of the maids “take her to her room”

She felt soft hands hold my arm as it pulled her up to her feet and she followed the woman who looked like she was in her mid thirties upstairs. She was silent but there was a sense of stiffness and urgency in her body language. She only seemed to relax a little bit when they reached what Kayla believed was her room.

She opened the door walking into the room as she headed straight for the window, her mind in a complete haze.

She needs to get out of here as quickly as possible.

She looked out the window trying to create a plan.

She had two options.

Jump out the window and probably break everything or die or wait for my demise.

Either way was death

She ran my hair through my hair. “How did I not see this coming?”

“Miss” came a distant voice making her jump and something told Kayla she jumped as well. She turned and found her looking at Kayla with concern. The kind that people gave someone who was losing their mind. “Are you…alright?” she asked, tilting her body sideways.

“Alright? How could I be?”

Kayla wanted to cry and scream as she sank in the bed as she racked my brain for a solution.

“Think Kayla, think” she muttered

That's when it hit her. In between the chaos a thought came to mind.

“They all thought I lost my memory. Even he bought the story. Wouldn't that mean that I was no longer a threat?”

It was only then that she began to relax, her shoulders loosened as she sat up straight.

“All I had to do was play the part and act according to how he wanted me to. Oblivious.”

“I stay out of his way and he stays out of mine. I hope.”