Have you ever seen a kid at a candy shop? If you have then you probably know what I'm talking about.

Ryan's excitement knew no bounds as we flew over the Washington state, making our way to Los Angeles, California. He was basically jumping in his seat. Man-child!

He told me he was excited because this was his first time on a private jet. He was excited because he was finally going home after a long time. But mostly he was excited for me to meet his parents.

I'm not gonna deny the fact that I was super excited to meet his parents too. But most of my energy right now was focused on the information Rick had provided me this morning. I sighed and sunk back in the comfortable plane seat and opened the file Rick had faxed me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name - Nora Smith

Age - 62 years

Occupation - Lawyer

Marital Status - Married

State of residence - California

Address - 256 E Colden Ave, Los Angeles

Ms. Nora Smith is a renowned lawyer in the district of Los Angeles. She's a family lawyer and has a notorious reputation for winning any case she has undertaken so far.

She had been a trusted attorney to Mr. Samuel Johnson and his wife for 12 years before their untimely death in 2004. She had been responsible for handling the will matters of Mr. Johnson and had also been actively involved in other such business-related matters on Mr. Johnson's behalf even after his demise.

She had been really close to the Johnsons throughout their term. She was one of the most trusted employees of Mr. Johnson.

She retired at the age of 57 and has been living with her children ever since. She was last seen entering her building with her husband at 9 in the evening yesterday and hasn't left since.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rick's personal findings were attached with some other papers showing old interactions and transactions between Nora and my Dad. Now I knew where I had seen this name before. I had seen it on some of Dad's old files that were scattered in the library.

Looking over at the numbers in the papers attached, the figures didn't add up properly. It appeared as if my Dad had owed Nora some money before they died. Who am I kidding? It wasn't some money, it was a whopping 2 million dollars.

Why did my parents owe her so much money?

Why couldn't they return it? As far as I know, Mom and Dad weren't lacking in any kind of monetary support whatsoever, then what could this mean?

My fingers skimmed over the account details and suddenly landed on a rather interesting piece of information.

This specific transaction was dated 11th of February, 2002 and it was the biggest amount out of all the others. Mike had said the fire took place on the 13th, and this transaction took place just two days before it.

What had my parents asked Nora to do, for which she charged 900 grands?

Why did this happen just two days before the fire which had apparently been a setup?

Why did they even set up mine and the real Stella's deaths?

Was Aunt Stella in on this too?

Was Mike right, could she be alive too? Like me?

I sighed defeatedly. There were just too many questions clouding my brain and Nora was the only person who could answer them. I just hope we find her where Rick had said she would be. I just hope the address wasn't a fake one and the place actually existed.

Two hours later our plane touched down on the Californian soil and my nerves skyrocketed. My hands were shaking with nervousness but I clenched them into fists to hide it. Crossing my shoulders, I took in a deep breath and slipped back into my facade.

My face blanked out of all emotions as I gained my confidence back. Now, I was the Millionaire singer Tiana Sandford about to make the deal of her lifetime. God knows this was the only way to make myself strong enough to get through this.

I can do this.

Ryan stood next to me as I watched all the others leave the plane excitedly. All the others except me, Evan, Michael, and Ryan were going to Ryan's parent's place. We would be going straight to Nora's address.

" Miss. Johnson, your cars are waiting right outside the airport exit." One of my security guards informed me. I had asked Rick to send half of his team with us. All of my friends' security was my responsibility and I wasn't willing to take any chances with this Katherine Woods. She was a crazy woman.

I nodded my head swiftly at the guard and gestured for everyone to follow me. Ryan slipped his hand into mine and I held onto it tightly. Four cars were waiting for our arrival outside. Two of them were supposed to take Noah, Sophia, Jenny, Jack, Mia, and Aiden to Ryan's place while we would take the other two to find Nora.

Everyone got inside their respective cars. Ryan and I got inside one too and Ryan immediately pulled me into his side. I laid my head silently on his shoulder. " I don't know what to expect Ry. What if Nora is not the answer? What if this is deeper than we think?" I whispered.

Ryan sighed and leaned his head over mine, " We've come this far, Sunflower. I'm sure we're not gonna lose now. Have faith in yourself, Eve. I know I trust your instincts completely. " I smiled slightly. " I love you, Eve, I know you can do this." He whispered. " I love you too, Ryan. "

The cars then suddenly came to a halt and I quickly looked outside the window to see that we were now parked in front of a familiar rich-looking building. I turned my eyes to Ryan for one last time before nodding my head and hopping out of the car.

I looked up at the apartment building with a small smirk on my face. Rick had somehow conveniently missed mentioning the fact that this Nora lady lived in the same building I had a penthouse in. Slick Rick.

" What's that knowing smile for, babe?" Ryan asked, slipping his arm around my waist. I smiled at him, " Nothing, Rick just forgot to mention that this lady lives in the same building I own a penthouse in. " Ryan shook his head lightly, " He had to play you like that, didn't he? All this time you were worried if the address was even real or not," he chuckled and I nodded still grinning. My nerves had calmed down a bit now. Good job, Rick.

We all made our way inside the building to the reception. " Hello, how may I help you all? Oh my Goodness, Miss Sandford, is that you?" The receptionist's eyes widened and her jaw almost touched the floor when I simply nodded to her words. Ryan frowned at me. " You need to either be a resident of this place or have a visiting pass to see anyone here. The staff only knows me as Tiana Sandford here, so play along. " I whispered as slowly as I could so the receptionist wouldn't hear. Ryan nodded swiftly and plastered a smile on his face. Evan and Michael followed suit.

" Oh my, Miss Sandford, it's been a while. We were all wondering where you have been? " she continued smiling politely at me. " Yes, I took a long Vacation. It was refreshing. " I smiled politely. She bought my excuse easily. " That's great Ma'am, would you like me to help you with something today? " She asked smiling sweetly.

" Yes actually. I'm here to meet someone today. Would you mind helping me with it? She lives in this building. " I asked. She nodded swiftly, " Of course, Ma'am. Who is it that you're looking for?" " Smith. Nora Smith. " I rushed out. " Just a second ma'am. "

I tapped my foot on the floor impatiently as she looked up Nora's name. " Miss. Sandford, it appears that Ms. Smith isn't expecting you today. " She stuttered. Oh, thank God she does live here. I sighed with relief and heard the other three do the same.

" Yes, this is an impromptu meeting. Ms. Nora Smith is an old-time lawyer of mine and we usually keep these interactions to my office but this is important, so if you could please lead me and my companions to her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind me. " I said in a professional voice. It was almost too easy for me seeing that I had been managing all these things for quite some time now.

The girl behind the desk nodded understanding and stood up from her seat. " I'll lead you to Ms. Nora's floor, please follow me, Ma'am. Also, I'm afraid your security will need to wait downstairs. We cannot allow them inside with their weapons. " I nodded, " Of course. However, two of my unarmed bodyguards will be following us. You can have them checked for any weapons if you like, but they need to be with me. I hope you understand the strict safety rules of my management?" She nodded immediately and without any further questions let the two bodyguards follow us.

" You're so natural at this. " Ryan whispered slowly once we were all inside the elevator. I smiled proudly and winked at him. The elevator dinged to a stop on the seventh floor and we slowly walked out. " This is Ms. Smith's door, ma'am. I'll be around if you need anything else. " She smiled and politely excused herself back to the elevator.

With my heart drumming inside my chest, I gulped and slowly raised my hand to knock at the wooden door in front of me. Evan, Michael, and Ryan shifted closer to me and stared at the door in anticipation.

The knob of the door twisted and I sucked in a breath. My heartbeat spiked as the door cracked open and an old yet strikingly beautiful woman appeared in the doorway.

" Yes, how may I help you?"

Holy cow, here we go.....

*********

• Author's note •

Oops.... another cliffhanger....I'm sorry ;) What do you think Nora might know that is important to Evelyn's adventure? Lemme know what you think in the comment section and also don't forget to drop a vote if you liked it.

Much love

M :)