Margaret’s jaw dropped. “S…Sister?”
The second one gave her the flower bouquet with a smile. “Thank you for making it back home”
She was confused by all these displays of affection, as she wasn’t used to them.
The last one came in, Looking all kept up and neat, in a white lab coat, professional but sinister.
He presented Margaret with flower bouquet before demanding with clenched jaws “Tell me their names”
“Whose names?”
“The ones who put you in that cell,” His tone was clinical. “I want to know the kind of accidents they’re prone to. Do they have heart conditions or weak bones that might snap under pressure?”
Margaret’s blood ran cold His eyes were fire— he wasn’t joking.
“Ken” the first brother’s warning was sharp “This is not your hospital”
Kenneth growled, “They threw her in prison, Enzo. They made my cousin endure all the dirty tortures of the prison and…”
“Guys!” The middle one yelled, “We can argue at home, please.” He looked more like the eldest, even though he wasn’t as tall or as lanky as Kenneth.
He faced Margaret again. “I’m Enzo”
Margaret gulped hard, unsure of what to say, but nodded her head. “Nice to meet you, Enzo”
Then Thomas came between them. “Marg. These are your cousins, Enzo, Jason and Kenneth. Feel free around them, we’re all responsible for not finding you earlier”
Margaret’s lips curved into a smile, feeling elated.
Jason patted her shoulder. “Now that you’re here, no one will ever raise a finger at you. I promise you that”
She smiled again as each promised her safety, adding to both her joy and her doubt.
'I can’t believe Natasha has a very good family like this’ She thought and remembered how Odette only talked about her relationship with Natasha and how Natasha stole her husband, but never where she was from.
The Royce Family are indeed popular, but never in her life would she have imagined that they were the same Royce family her mother was from.
She was moved to tears seeing these people before her.
Fenrir reached out and hugged her with one arm. “We tried to find you, after we heard Aunt Natasha's story. But we failed”
She sulked against his shoulder for a while, then the door was kicked open again. They all looked towards the door and CEO Brian Royce was there, accompanied by his wife.
Margaret was stunned once again.
Everyone knew Brian Royce— a billionaire.
“Look how lean you are,” he whined, pulling her into a hug. “I never imagined Natasha left us with a gift like this”
His voice shook, almost crying, but Margaret stopped him. “No. Natasha is gone. We should let her rest”
For the first time in her life, Margaret cried sincerely about Natasha’s death.
After the crying session, Margaret learned that Brian is Natasha’s elder brother, who controls all the Royce family's fortune.
Margaret was happy for all these and thought that was all not until Thomas stood up and cleared his throat, “Natasha was my only daughter which means half of my property which Brian controls now, belongs to her”
Margaret doesn’t see anything coming; she only listens as Thomas drops the banger. “So, now that we found her successfully, Margaret will now rule half of what belongs to me”
“What?” she squealed in shock. “That is too much, I don’t think I can….”
“No is never an option, Marg,” Fenrir smiled. “Whatever that belongs to Aunt Natasha belongs to you, and we will protect you no matter what”
Margaret beamed in a pleasing smile, but was shocked and bewildered.
Brian Royce gave her a file. “Check it”
Margaret looked at him strangely but still opened the folder. Then she saw the property transfer papers from Brian Royce’s name to hers, not as Margaret Clinton, but as Margaret Tasha.
“Margaret Tasha?” She frowned. “My name is Margaret Clinton”
Thomas took the papers and looked at them with a longing expression. “My Natasha is very good at everything she does and is always happy. She chose Tasha as her business name before giving it up I never thought…”
“So, you’re asking me to take on Natasha’s name and finish what she started?” A trace of hurt appeared on her face. “I refuse to live in another person’s shadow”
She got up, sad that she had to live in Natasha’s shadow yet again. The reason she didn’t want her family was that they kept making her stand in for someone else.
Margaret doesn’t want this kind of setting.
She had to leave, but Fenrir, who was standing close to the door, held her back.
She looked down, “Leave my hand and let me go”
“Will you let her die in vain?” His voice was slow and deliberate. “I heard you were in the car when the accident too. Don’t ever wonder why you’re alive, and she’s not?”
Margaret snatched her hand from him. “You don’t use that hook on me!”
“Then what about us!?” Kenneth growled. “How else can we protect you?”
“Making me live a life that was never mine is not how to protect me, Kenneth”
After saying that, the people in the room fell silent; she turned and meant to leave yet again but stopped at the door.
‘Will I leave like this?’ she wondered, her mind racing with panic. ‘Will I go back to being Bella and Bianca’s body double?’
These people are not actually asking her to live as someone else, just a name change.
“You know how many bikers owe me favors across the country?” Jason’s voice was casual, almost lazy. “One call, and I’ve got eyes in every road, every alley, every hiding spot that Clintons might use.” He pulled out his phone, showing her a map with dozens of red dots. “These are my routes and your other family, can never escape my radar”
Margaret bit her lips in perplexity, but turned to Brian “If I sign those papers, that means I will not be a Royce or a Clinton, but Tasha….?”
“It’s not a must, dear,” Thomas implored. “I just thought I could.…”
She took the papers from Thomas and snatched a pen from Brian’s chest pocket.
The name wasn’t a Royce, Clinton or ‘convict’
“I will be your responsibility from now on, brothers?” Then she signed the papers. “I will live my life and that of Natasha but, I want to complete my education”
Brian’s face lit up in glee. “That is not a problem, dear.” He picked up his phone and tapped the screen. It rang for a while before he spoke, “Yes, New York Business College?”
Silence.
Then he continued. “Make a reservation for the new heiress of the Royce family. She will be joining this school year”
Margaret’s heart was racing. ‘But I need this’ she thought, ‘I must take a leap of revenge and pay back all they did to me’
“Oh her name?” Brian paused for a while. “Margaret Tasha”
Margaret looked at him, the name still felt foreign. “And if a word of her enrollment leaks to anyone… I’ll pull every cent of Royce funding from your school. Understood?”
He hung up and smiled warmly at Margaret. “Welcome home dear”
