"Richard..." a woman's voice said hesitantly. Despite her quiet whisper, it sounded like an echo in the dark empty hall of the baby ward.

"We have to do this for our baby girl," a man responded. He rested a hand on the woman, but his eyes were locked on a tiny bundle near the window. As if sensing his thoughts, the bundle wiggled and the woman looked towards it, too.

"I know, I just-I just can't bear the thought of it." The woman hiccuped.

"We have made every safeguard we can. Now, all we can do is hope that we can fix everything," the man, Richard, said. But there was no conviction in his voice, as though he himself didn't quite believe it either.

"Yes," the woman said with hope. The two of them continued to stare at the little bundle as they huddled against each other, their shadows cast long by the dim lights.

                                                                                  *Twenty years later*

"Have we met before?"

A man's voice pulled Candice from her daze and she almost spilled the drink in her hand on herself. Stifling a curse, she took a deep breath and turned around with every intention of unleashing hell on the person who almost indirectly caused her white silk top's destruction.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the young man said with a smile. Candice's anger dissolved at the sight of the handsome stranger. They certainly had never met before. She'd have remembered.

"It's okay. And no, I don't think we've met before," she said, amping up the charm. The girls in her sorority would die if they see how hot he was. And she was the one he chose to talk to.

The man smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling in the dark and Candice almost swooned. "I'm Eric, by the way," he said, leaning toward her with an easy confidence.

"Candice," she replied and tilted her head up. The angle made her cheekbones looked more prominent. Their eyes locked onto each other and she saw a strange emotion flashed across his eyes. What was that? It looked like—

"So, what do you study?" His question interrupted her thoughts. And as he smiled that cute smile again, all was forgotten. In fact, Candice was concentrating so hard at battling her eyelashes at him that she didn't realize that her phone was buzzing.

"Business." Candice giggled. She had changed her Major twice within the last year, actually, but Eric didn't need to know that. "What about you?"

Eric chuckled and ran a hand through his curly brown locks and Candice's eyes were glued to the movement. It had been a while since she found someone this attractive. Maybe she could try to sneak him back to the dorms. But only if he didn't turn out to be a pervert like Ryan. Argh.

Her phone buzzed again but she still hadn't noticed.

"So tell me your life story, Candice," Eric said and popped an elbow on the drinks table behind him. Candice squinted at him, trying to figure out if it was a trick question. It was true that most people here didn't know much about the jewelry business. But her family did get featured on paparazzi magazine from time to time. She had had people tried to befriend her before hoping to mooch off her.

"Well..." she started, keeping a close eye on Eric to see his reaction. "I'm an only daughter and I grew up in White Falls."

Eric scrunched his nose up at the mention of White Falls and Candice relaxed. White Falls near the California-Oregon border and the star-dazed LA people won't know where it was.

Before Eric could respond, however, there was a loud hoot from upstairs. Turning towards the source of the noise, Candice cringed at a very drunk boy hovering on the railing above her with his equally drunk friends egging him to jump.

"Let's move!" Eric shouted, stretching a hand to Candice to help her. He pulled her away just in time as the boy came crashing down, but Candice couldn't avoid the shower of beer that spilled from the cup he was holding.

"Oh my gosh!" several concerned and semi-sobered party-goers shouted. Candice stepped aside as they rushed to the boy, who was moaning loudly. But she didn't care about the stupid boy. She grimaced as she surveyed her ruined top. It was silk and the yellow stain was already showing on the white fabric.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked.

"Yeah," she answered absent-mindedly, trying to blot out as much as she could with the paper towels that someone kept handing her. She looked up to see if she could spot any of her sorority sisters, but the only face she knew was Eric's.

Meanwhile, the party was getting rowdier as people argued whether to call an ambulance or not and someone had killed the music.

"Let me walk you home," Eric suggested and Candice nodded. She wasn't in the right state of mind to argue as she focused all her attention on her top. She just bought it last week!

By the time they reached the door, Candice realized that most people had already left. Her sorority sisters didn't even try to find her! Some friends they were.

The campus grounds were dark as they made their way across. Eric had shoved his hands in his pocket and kept a small distance between them. And Candice didn't like it.

"Thanks for walking me back," Candice said after a short pause. It was the best conversation opener she could come up with. Eric shrugged again, which made her smile. Somehow, shrugging looked cute on him.

"So what's your Major?" Candice asked, they hadn't gone onto talking about him yet and she was curious. Usually boys won't shut up about themselves. Eric was kicking a loose stone on the pavement, watching it bounced and kicking it again once he had reached it.

"Pre Law, actually," he replied. Candice studied him; he looked more like the artistic type. Eric caught her eyes and chuckled.

"Is it because you want to defend the defenseless?" she teased. Eric shook his head and kicked the pebble again. It wasn't a long walk back to her sorority house, and Candice found herself wishing it would last longer.

"No, I want to understand the system so I know how to go around it," he said with a wink. Candice must have looked shocked because Eric laughed.

"I'm sorry! I'm just surprised," Candice cried. It wasn't a bad kind of surprise because in truth it added an air of mystery to Eric. And who didn't like a bad boy?

"Well, I'm sorry if I disappoint you." Eric laughed. They were coming up to the street where the sorority was located when they heard rustling behind them.

"Watch out!" Eric shouted and Candice turned around to see what he was looking at. She blinked, then again, as the two men charged straight towards them. Fortunately for her, Eric reacted quickly and pulled her to the side before she was tackled.

"We don't want any trouble, you can have our wallet," Eric shouted. But the attackers paid him no attention as they charged towards them a second time. Candice squealed and let Eric pulled her aside again. Her eyes darted around to find her sorority house but the lights were off.

Eric pulled her towards a parked car as the two masked men advanced. Candice took a few deep breaths and reached into her small purse for something, anything, that could be useful. But all she could find was her phone, lipstick, and house keys. House keys!

Candice pulled it out and chucked it at one of the men, aiming for his eyes. To her surprise, it hit the target squared on and the man screamed in pain. Eric didn't waste the opportunity to pull her into a run.

Candice took another deep breath and tried to think. They didn't seem to want money when Eric offered their wallet, so what could it be? Her parents had always warned her about kidnapping, but since she was in college, she didn't want to have bodyguards. It made her look stupid. But normal kidnappers wouldn't have a bat. Would they?

The sound of footsteps echoed behind her and Candice had never felt so scared in her life. Her parents had always assured her that they'd find her if she was kidnapped, but what if—what if they did horrible things to her? The pressure from Eric's hand was the only thing keeping her grounded and she was glad he was there.

"They are still behind us, we need to get a car," Eric said matter-of-factly. He was calm for someone who was being pursued by masked attackers with no clear agenda. She should tell him that it was probably her they were after, but she would be alone if she did.

"How?" she asked instead. Call her selfish, but Candice White had no death wish. Eric was her best chance to get out of this situation.

Whatever she expected, it certainly wasn't Eric smashing the window of a nearby car and unlocking it.

"Sssh!" Eric pushed Candice into the seat and ran to the driver's side. She didn't even realize she was screaming but her hands were shaking. Her heart settled down a little when she couldn't see the masked men chasing after them, but the relief was short-lived when a black van appeared.

Turning towards the driver's side, she watched in part-fascination and part-horror as Eric attempted to hotwire the car. How did he even know how to do that?

"Let's just say I ran with the wrong crowd when I was younger," Eric replied. Candice didn't even notice she had spoken out loud. "You are still saying it," Eric added with a chuckle. Sparks flew, Candice yelped, and the car roared to life.

With a shout of victory, Eric released the handbrake and they shot into the street, moments before the black van could reach them. Eric stepped on the gas and they zoomed down the road. Candice hadn't noticed what kind of car they stole, but it was a fast one.

"Where are we going?" Candice asked. Eric remained focused on the road, his knuckles turning white with the death grip he was holding onto the steering wheel. It occurred to Candice that she should call the police. And this finally gave her a chance to check her phone.

51 missed called

5 new voice mail

18 messages

That was certainly more than her usual flood of drunk texts and calls.

Candice clicked to check her messages first and her heart sank when she saw that most of them had come from Nelson, their butler. He wouldn't message her ten times unless it was an emergency. He barely ever texted.

With shaking hands, she quickly dialed to hear her voice mail, not trusting herself to read the messages. The first one was indeed her friend Olivia drunk calling, but the second was Nelson.

"I have bad news, Miss Candice. Your parents passed last night. They just identified their body and they are being transported back to the States. Please come home, the lawyers want to speak to you."

Suddenly, Candice couldn't breathe. The world seemed to be spinning around her as she tried to comprehend. Her parents were gone. Like really gone, not to Bora Bora on a holiday but gone forever. There was no one to rescue her. No one to pay her ransom if she was kidnapped...

Lawyers. Her inheritance.

She had to go back!

"Can you drive me to White Falls?" Candice blurted. They were on their way to the downtown area but she wasn't sure where Eric wanted to go. Eric looked at her in surprise.

"What?" he asked. Candice shook her head; she could drive herself, as long as she can get out of the current situation. That was just her brain malfunctioning.

"Never mind. Where are we going?" Candice asked, pulling her phone closer to her chest. All thoughts of calling the police flew out the window as she tried to come up with her next steps. She could get a bus. She wouldn't need an ID for that and she had enough cash on her to get home. Just about.

"Away from them. And what were you saying? You want to get home?" Eric asked, turning to look at Candice. Whatever he saw made him pause. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm—I'm just in shock. I just got a call that my parents had died," Candice blurted again. She didn't mean to but somehow it just came out. To Eric's credit, the car only swirled across the lane for a split second before he got it under control.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry to hear about this," Eric stammered. He lifted one hand to run through his hair, and somehow that made Candice felt better. "Is that why you asked me to drive you home?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to," Candice said quickly. She seemed to keep a loose tongue when it came to this boy. She kind of like the fact that he didn't know her as the Candice White. But rather as Candice.

But cute boy < inheritance.

"We can't do it in this car anyway. It's safer to ditch it downtown and we'll get a bus back," Eric said with surprising decisiveness. Candice shuffled a smile. Maybe this night was taking a turn for the better.

If she would have listened to Nelson's next few voicemails, she could have avoided what was about to happen next.

Since it was close to midnight, the downtown area was still busy but the traffic was bearable. They were just chatting about random things when Candice saw the ominous black van speeding towards them.

"Watch out!" she shouted and Eric's eyes went wide. Acting out of instinct, Candice pushed hard on Eric's right leg and pull the steering wheel to the right har, pulling them up the right lane in front of an Audi.

But it still wasn't fast enough. The black van hit the trunk of their car which slammed into the Audi. Candice almost flew out the windscreen, luckily Eric caught her by her arm. But the car hadn't hit them directly and as her coughing subsided, it didn't look like they were hurt.

"What the—" Eric started, then his eyes went wide as he unbuckled himself and pushed Candice out the side door. "We need to go!"

Following his orders, Candice look back to see the masked men had gotten off, too. The driver whose car was caught in the accident was already out and swearing profusely. But at that point, all Candice cared about was getting away from those men.

"We can't be far from the bus stop. Let's run!" Eric shouted above the noise, pulling Candice by her right arms. "Aren't those the same guy that was chasing us? What the heck?"

Those were the very question Candice wanted to ask. No kidnappers had come after her for the last twenty years, why was it starting now? Assuming they were here to kidnap her, of course. But it seemed too big of a coincident that her parents had just died. Father had always said that people would do anything to get money. He had also assured Candice that he had done everything in his power to keep the fortune safe for his little princess. If she could get back home, she would have the money to get people to protect her.

"Did you fight with someone lately?" Eric asked. He seemed awfully sure that it wasn't him they were after, not that Candice thought it was him, either. While she had done some not-so-nice thing, Candice didn't think she did anything so horrible that someone would want to hire thugs to chase her. And hit her with a car.

"No!" she replied and screamed when the sound of gunshots echoed behind them. And so ended the stream of swearing, too. Surely they hadn't...

"We need to run faster!" Eric shouted, pulling her along. He sure didn't run like a pre-law. Everything that had happened in the last half an hour felt like something out of a crime movie. But why was she in the middle of it?

People around them turned to stare, but no one offered any help. Yet. Candice tried to pump her legs faster but it just wasn't going to work. She was too tired from sprinting.

Anger rose up her like she never felt before. Who were these people? Why were they chasing after her? They were now in a more crowded part of town, surely they wouldn't try anything? Surely, she could call them out?

"What do you want?" she shouted, gaining the attention of the people around them. Eric, who was still trying to tug her forward, stopped, too.

The two mask men came to a halt a few meters in front of them. Their mask might not be as conspicuous in the night, but it still stuck out. They seemed nervous, uncertain, and Candice held on to that.

"Stop chasing us!" she screamed, earning more attention. The two men turned to look at each other and a silent understanding passed.

"This girl owes us money," one of them pointed at her. Candice threw her arm up in exasperation. She owed nobody anything. Eric had taken a step in front of Candice.

"No, she doesn't. You guys ambushed us!" Eric shouted. Candice could see who the people were leaning towards, and so could the masked men.

"Listen," one of them whispered, taking huge steps towards them. Eric immediately intercepted before the attacker reached Candice. They ended up standing so close that their faces were almost pressed against each others. "We don't want no trouble. Sign this paper, give us some hair, and we'll go."

Candice's mind was whirling. What family fortune? Just then, her phone flashed and she shrunk behind Eric. It took her a few tries to get her phone to accept the call.

"That's ridiculous, she's not giving you anything." Candice heard Eric said but it sounded a world away as she listened to her parent's lawyer on the other end. As he continued to drone on, she learned exactly why those thugs wanted the signature and hair. What she couldn't understand was how they would have known.

"Candice White, tell us where your family fortune is or you will be hunted," said the taller of the two masked men. The other stepped closer, too, ignoring the shouts around them.

Candice's mind was reeling. How would they know?

"Yo man, leave this couple alone. We've called the cops," a man said from the crowd gathered around them and a chorus of agreement followed. It was followed by the sound of police sirens and the two men backed off. But their lingering glances as well as the phone call told Candice that this wasn't over.

"Are you okay? You look really pale," Eric said. Candice was pulled back to the present as his hands settled on her shoulders. She nodded, going through her options. There was no way in hell she'd let strangers hijacked her inheritance. And she needed to get to the bottom of this weird clause in her parent's will.

"I need to get home. Can you help me?" Candice looked up and asked the one question that set off the entire chain of events that would change her life. Well, actually, her life had changed a whole lot more before that, but that's not important. For now.