In the end, Eva still didn't believe that Candice had nothing to do with the missing money."I'm going to call Gerardo and ask him to look into Candice more carefully. Actually, we might need the US PI again since her bank would still be stateside," Eva announced with one hand on her hips. "It has to be her."

Eric buried his face in his hands. There was no talking sense into his sister. It appeared that she would rather spend the remainder of her money chasing a dead-end than admit that there might not be any money to begin with at all.

He looked towards David with a silent plea of help."I think maybe it's time to call it quits. Even if there's money—" David started, pausing when Eva threw him a murderous look and changed course. "Whatever money that's been drained is long gone. You gave this a year and nothing came up. Candice simply doesn't have the resources to siphon the money or hide the trail."

Although she still looked unconvinced, Eva looked less determined than before. "Why don't you take the month off the case and focus on getting to know the company?" Eric suggested and waited for David to back him up.

"Listen to your brother. Let's take the rest of the week here to recharge and we'll get back to Whites Falls and regroup," David said and patted Eva on the shoulder. David had offered to pay for their hotel this time and they were back at the resort from their first trip. Eva had to face the fact that funds were too low for the extravagant way she wanted to travel and they had stayed at smaller but still lovely places after that.

Eva pouted but obliged and left to book a spa session. Eric turned to David with a smile, "thanks for setting us up here and for talking some sense into Eva."

"It's alright. I'm here for my family," David said and plopped down next to Eric on the sofa. "Besides, you're right. Investigating Candice is a waste of time."

"Let's forget about all these for a second. How have you been?" Eric asked. They had gotten closer during the trip to Mexico last year but then both got too busy with work and college (and Eva) to really catch up.

David shrugged. "Work, work, gym, home, repeat," he answered with a laugh. "Not exactly interesting. You dodged a bullet since all we do is restructuring and triple checking numbers."

Eva had wanted to get Eric into the company as well. But it was the one thing that Eric had put his foot down on. He wanted to be a lawyer for as long as he could remember and he wasn't going to drop his degree and jump into the corporate world. Especially since he knew nothing about running a company.

"Rather you then me, buddy," Eric teased, reaching over to the mini-fridge to grab two beers just as his phone rung. David cast him a curious look as Eric answered the phone, "hello?""I don't know where the money went, but I know who might," Candice said quickly. Her voice was small and muffled like she was whispering and he could hear loud background music. "Come to Kuuk tonight at 9pm."

The line went dead before Eric could respond. He had hoped that Candice would call, but not like this. A look at his watch told him that it was 7pm. David nudged him on the shoulder, looking a little worried. "What is it? Are you okay?"

Eric pinched the bridge of his nose before looking back at his phone. It showed that the call duration was six seconds. Was Candice in trouble? "We better find Eva. I'll explain on the way.

———

"Should we get bodyguards for the night? What if something happens?" Eva whispered as their taxi exited the roundabout and pulled into Kuuk. She didn't hesitate to say yes to the trip, however, she had also been doubtful about their personal safety and Candice's motive. David turned around from the passenger seat.

"Kuuk is a fine dining restaurant, we'll be fine," he said. Eric peered out of the car window and took in the one-storey manor the restaurant was housed in. This definitely screamed class and money. The parking lot was already half-full and a couple was making their way up the stairs to the restaurant. Looked pretty normal to him.

Eva mumbled something under her breath but got out of the taxi regardless. Eric reached forward to pay the driver but David beat him to it. Eric wanted to pay him back but Eva had already run up the steps so the two of them scrambled to follow.

"We're looking for Candice White," Eva said a little too loudly to the hostess as Eric and David caught up. The hostess went to the reception stand to check on the computer when Candice herself appeared from one of the side rooms. Eric sucked in a breath as he took her in; she looked magnificent in an off-shoulder dress that somehow changed colors from dark blue to green with a metallic sheen.

Candice said something to the hostess in Spanish and continued walking towards them, her heels clicking sharply on the tiled floor. "Hi, thank you for coming," she said as though they were here for a meeting. "Follow me."

The three of them followed Candice into a room to the side. Inside, there were already two people seated and they both looked up in surprise. "Candice?" the woman called. They looked to be in their fifties or sixties, American, too, from the sound of it. Were they the ones Candice meant?

"Viviene, Richard, meet your granddaughter, Eva White," Candice said with a smile as the entire room fell into a shocked silence.Were they being punked?

Eric studied the White's family history with Eva before the big plan. Eva's grandparents were dead even before she was born. At least, they should be. He had seen a photo of them but that was over a year ago and he couldn't remember what they look like."Candice, what is the meaning of this?" the man asked. He stood up and despite not being the tallest person in the room, he had a commanding presence that was hard to ignore. If he was an actor, Candice had hired good ones.

Candice looked between the two groups with her hands clasped in front of her. "I'm tired of all the secrecy, the questions, and the lies. Eva here thinks that I've taken all the money from the family and wants an answer. I can't give her that because I've nothing. But she won't leave me alone so I want to connect you two."

She sounded so matter-of-fact. Eric felt like he shouldn't be here at all since this was the White's family matters. He looked at Eva out of the corner of his eyes, who was squinting at the older couple as though it would help her figure out whether they were legit or not.

"I thought you invited us to dinner to celebrate your year in Mexico," the woman spoke, addressing Candice. "Is this any way to treat your grandparents?"

Candice went to a tote bag and pulled out a clear file from it, then handed it to Eva. "Here is a photo in case you don't believe me," she said with a saccharine smile. Eva snatched the file from her and studied it. Thoroughly confused by the turn of events, Eric watched Candice, wondering if she had finally snapped.

"Are you really my grandparents?" Eva's voice broke as she glanced over the file to the couple. Her hand was quivering and Eric steadied her by grabbing her elbow, breaking out of his stupor. He glanced at the photo, which showed a family of five standing in front of the unmistakable White mansion. Even though he looked much younger, the boy in the middle was definitely Richard White. And the couple behind the three boys were the ones in front of them.

Viviene and Howard exchanged a look but didn't say anything. Eva looked at the two, breaking out of Eric's hold and walked slowly towards them. "If you've been alive this whole time, where were you when mom and dad sent me away? Why didn't you stop them from being killed? And where have you been the whole year—"

Eva's voice became louder and louder until she was cut off by Howard. "This is no way to behave," he reprimanded. He then looked towards Candice, once again treating Eric, Eva, and David like they didn't exist. "Would you care to explain yourself, young lady?"

"You always say family first," Candice replied, hugging herself with her arms. "But there are so much you didn't tell us, so many lies. You keep saying that you'll look into your sons' death but it's been over twenty years and you got nothing. Don't you think it's time to tell us everything?"

Howard's face turned red and for a second, it looked as though he wanted to slap Candice. Then Viviene put an arm on Howard's and stepped in. "Perhaps Candice is right. This is as good a moment as any."

She paused, sliding into the nearest chair with a hand on her heart, her eyes downcast as though she was seeing into the past. "Let's start at the beginning. We never meant to fake our death. But one night, we were almost run over by a car after we paid a visit to the PI we had investigating the death of our sons. He told us that there was a possible link to a gang in Mexico but we couldn't figure out why. So we decided to fake our death and hide our assets to dig into it further in the dark."

We had meant to tell Richard and Lynette. But it appeared that they were the ones behind it all."

"No way," Eva interrupted, her knuckles turning white as she squeezed her hands into fists. "They explained everything in the letter they left me. You are the ones who pissed off some gangs!"Howard laughed. The kind of booming laugh that vibrated across the room and echoed through your body. Eric could almost felt his teeth clattered together.

"Lies!" he shouted, slamming a hand on the table. A figure appeared in the doorway briefly but then hastily retreated when he got a look at their faces. "They owed money to the gangs in Mexico after a fail business deal and negotiation. He cared more about money than family and he is no child of mine."

"We moved down to Mexico to hide and to find the ones who killed our sons," Viviene continued. "Richard might have forgotten our family motto, but we hadn't. David!" she called.

Eric watched, jaw slack, as David walked over, hands tucked casually in his dress pants' pocket. He kissed Viviene on the cheek and shook Howard's hand. What just happened?

"Grandma, grandpa," David greeted. Eric stole a glance at Candice, who seemed equally as shocked.

"Our PI in America found poor David and we sent him to school, much like what we did for you, Candice," Howard said and pursed his lips. "We were going to tell you everything tonight. To celebrate you joining the family. Instead, you play this silly little stunt. Are you happy now?"

Candice gave them a forced smile. "Not quite. What about Eva? You took in your son's bastard but not your legitimate granddaughter? Are girls just expandable?"

"No," a new voice called out and a stranger walked in. She had flowing platinum blonde hair and clad in a flora tea dress. "That's because she's not their granddaughter, I am."

------------------

Who is surprised? This was the part of the plot that I added after I figured just Eva and Candice being swapped isn't enough - I mean, why let someone else raise your own grandchildren when you can save her from strangers and your ungrateful children?