A year later

Eric headed across the airport towards the rental car counter, knowing the way like the back of his hands now. Coming here almost once a month would do that to you. Eva had already run off to talk to the private investigator she hired, who no doubt had some more dead ends for them to chase.

David had arrived the day before. He didn't always join them since he still needed to make sure White Jewelries was up and running. He had managed to talk Eva out of doing a reveal. Once everything was sorted, they can go on with the live reveal. Eric and his parents had poured over the numbers and had to agree that now wasn't a good time to throw another shock to the Whites. It was hard enough to explain why Candice White had gone missing.

At least no one had expected Candice to take the helm since she still had two years before she was scheduled to graduate. Oh, only one now. Just as they were following her ig stories footsteps, all of it disappeared and she became inactive. All the photos she posted were from around Mexico, making it difficult to pinpoint where she was exactly at any given time.

It was Eric's idea to hire a private investigator and one that he sorely regretted. He greeted the car rental guy in broken Spanish, who already had the keys and forms ready for him. "Welcome back!" he beamed, "how long?"

"A week this time," he answered. It was Christmas again. His parents couldn't understand why he was still running around with Eva. To them, it all wrapped up when Eva became the official heiress of White Jewelry. A year ago, Eric would have disagreed. Now here for the twelfth time, he wanted nothing more than to get it all over and done with.

Eva's high heels click echoed across the linoleum floor. She was dressed to the part of a socialite, her heels clicking on the floor making loud echoes.

She lifted her sunglasses and raised her eyebrow at her adoptive brother. "Well, are we ready to go or what?" she asked pointedly. Eric waved goodbye to the sales clerk who he had become kind-of-friends with, despite the language difficulties, and the two of them walked off to where the rental car was parked.

"Any news?" Eric asked, wondering what the private investigator had cooked up this time. Senor Gerardo was recommended by one of David's friend so David wasn't sure if there was something lost in translation. Perhaps they had meant to tell them not to use him?

Eva flung her handbag into the backseat as Eric loaded their suitcase in the boot. "He said she was spotted in Merida again. This time he got photos. She might be working here now, apparently. Let's just go to his office to have a look."

Candice White, working in Mexico. Eric almost laughed at the idea; she should be in New York or Paris if she wasn't in LA. Somewhere glamorous and chic.

Senor Gerardo's office was in downtown Cancun, sandwiched between a laundry shop and bakery. Eric sent David a quick text, who said he was running late but they could start without him and just keep him posted.

The private investigator was waiting for them in his office, behind him is something that looked like it could be a murder board. Pictures of Candice were splatted all over with maps, pins, and red strings crisscrossing all over. It looked like every other heist or cop movie ever made but somehow creepier.

"Hola," Senor Gerardo greeted them with a wave, gesturing for them to sit down. His desk was littered with documents and he cleared some space with a big sweep of his hands. He pulled a manila envelope out from the pile and poured the content out. It was a series of photographs, showing Candice on the streets of a city. She looked well.

Eva snatched up one of the photos, her eyes wide. "That's this season's Valentino. How could she afford that?"

Senor Gerardo made an agreement sound in the back of his throat. Eric studied the green dress; it didn't look special but Candice did look very good in it. Gerardo dug a few photos out that showed Candice walking in arm with a blonde woman in and out of restaurants.

"I tracked her down when she was in Cancun last weekend, then followed her back to Merida. One of my associates is tailing her there now and she seems to be working there," Senor Gerardo said. "Common here to hire Americans."

They never told Senor Gerardo why they were looking for Candice and he never asked why. Perks of a private investigator, Eric guessed. After a few more minutes of briefing, it was settled that they'd drive over to Merida tomorrow morning to meet with Gerardo's associates to find Candice. Finally.

"Any idea what her job is?" Eva asked. Gerardo pointed to three of the photos, which show a hotel, a restaurant, and a cafe. "All the same company. Probably some kind of employee for the big big boss."

Eva frowned over the names of the places but nothing stood out about them. "Do you know how she got the job? Or how long she's been working there?"

Gerardo shrugged. "You ask me to find girl. Not find out about girl."

That almost made Eric laugh. Obviously Eva didn't see the funny side, so Eric quickly steered her out before she had a chance to explode. Perhaps he should consider a career in managing talents in LA if his law degree ended up going up in smokes because of his frequent leave of absence.

"I've texted David to meet us tomorrow morning for the drive," Eric attempted to distract Eva. "Why don't we get some taco? We can go to Gracia's."

——Candice had really started to like Mexico. She also liked the job that she had, doing marketing and public relations for all of the White Senior's businesses. Which was quite a lot. She spent the first few months completing the accelerated course Viviene and Howard had put her on, which combined with the credits from her years of flip-flopping around UCLA had got her an undergrad of sorts.

They also matched her salary to her old allowance, meaning she did get her life back. If you don't count that she had no friends left; she had basically abandoned all her old friends and social media. She didn't even bother starting a new one since she was pretty sure her phone was still monitored. But not the worse price to pay for what she got. She'd just have to prove that they could trust her.

She checked her Tiffany watch, a gift from Viviene for her graduation. She was meeting Meredith for a late lunch at Gracia's, which had become their hang out spot since Meredith could always get them the best table.

Sure enough, when she got to the restaurant, Meredith was already seated at their usual table and waving at her. She was probably the only friend Candice had in Mexico unless you count the tentative friendship she had built with Carlos, who would crack a joke or two with her now. Progress.

"I've ordered us two Margarita," Meredith said and Candice beamed. She was supposed to be in Merida but hopped over just for the day since it's hard to get Meredith and her schedule to overlap. It wasn't like she couldn't do most of her job on her phone anyway.

"How have you been?" Candice asked, sagging into the chair in a posture that Lynette would have killed her for. The mere thought sent her spine straightening; guess a socialite's training had not gone wasted.

Meredith swept her hair back with an effortless move and even Candice was dazed by her blonde tresses and good looks. "I'm good. I just got back from two weeks in LA last weekend."Candice perked up; Meredith did mention that she was headed to her old stomping ground and she even gave her a list of recommendations. "Did you go to some of the places on the list I gave you?"

"Of course! I love that brunch place, the one by Santa Monica Beach—"

"The Erth Cafe!" Candice exclaimed; She missed LA sometimes. Mexico was great but it wasn't home. Not really. Meredith nodded enthusiastically and the two of them raved about their brunch menu for a while when a familiar voice reached her ears.

"Hi, can I get a table for two?"

It felt as though her heart stopped. It couldn't be but she was sure. It was Eric's voice. What was she doing here? Table for two? For a second, the thought of Eric being on vacation with his girlfriend sent her into a panic spiral. She hadn't thought about him for a while - okay, only for a few days. Meredith said something but Candice couldn't hear, she was too busy craning her neck for a look at the doorway.

A glimpse of curly brown hair confirmed that she wasn't hallucinating. "I want that table by the courtyard," another voice she knew said along with the appearance of a blonde head. Eva.

"Candice? Are you okay?" Meredith touched her arm gently and asked. Candice jolted back so violently that she almost toppled their drinks. A quick glance over the shoulder told her that the Goodmans hadn't noticed her. What were her options? She didn't want to face them. It was likely that they won't notice her; one of Gracia's selling points was its fairy-like decor which involves a lot of potted plants and trees hung with fairy light.

"Yes, I was just remembering that I have a meeting tonight that I completely forgot about." The lie rolled so smoothly off Candice's lips that she didn't even fully process it in her mind. So she did wanted to get out of here. "I'm so sorry. Let's have another catch up later this week?"

Meredith looked at her worriedly but didn't push her. Candice pulled out a couple of hundred pesos but Meredith waved her hand. "My treat, but you better pay next time," she joked.

Candice took a deep breath and headed for the bathroom first. She needed to calm down and let logic takes over. If Eric was here with Eva, then this definitely wasn't a vacation, and them being here wasn't random. She had kept tabs on White Jewelry and it was not like Eva's MO to not announce that she was the rightful heir. The papers should be legal by now and the board of directors should have been made aware. But why didn't she held that press release she was so looking forward to?

This had kept Candice up at night more often than not. Their appearance in Mexico must be tied to something. Were they also looking into Richard and Lynette's past? If so, why?

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