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AVERY'S POV

"Avery"

"Avery"

"Avery, wake up"

"Wake up"

"WAKE UP AVERY MARTIN!"

I shot out of my seat and looked at my aunt.

"That's rude, auntie"

"You're an heavy sleeper. We've arrived anyway"

When she said that, I instantly forgot about my annoyance and rushed to the window.

"God, it's so beautiful. I've always wanted to visit Italy" I gasped at the scenery.

"I know, it's amazing. Come on. Take your bags, we have a long day ahead of us. You know, meeting our family and everything."

"I'm so nervous" I told her while rolling my suitcase to the exit of the airport.

"Okay, honey, we should rent a hotel room to put your things. We don't exactly know how your father will react so it's better to be safe."

"I totally agree Cora. I don't know him, but anyone who would meet someone with a suitcase who says that they're your kid would freak out." I agreed.

*time skip*

"Wow. That's your house?" She's nods "How rich are y'all exactly?"

"We're an important Italian business that makes a lot of money. This house doesn't even represents a percent of how rich we are." She shrugged like it was no big deal.

"That actually makes sense, I guess. What would I know about business."

"I know it makes sense, because I said it. Now come"

She opens the door of the car and gets out. A man instantly comes out of the house, aka mansion, and kiss her, like full on making out session. I guess he's her husband.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too"

"I love you. What did you do in the USA?"

"I was about to tell you. You can get out of the car."

"I'm not in the-"

"Shut up. I'm not talking to you."

I take a deep breath. Here I go. I slowly get out of the car.

"Is that? Josephine?" He asked, shocked. "She doesn't look a day older. Damn she even looks younger than I remembered. Wait. Did she get some contacts because I remember her eyes being brown, not blue."

"Richard, she's not Josephine."

"No? Is she a clone or something, because she looks exactly like her"

"RICHARD! SHUT UP!"

She looked at me, as is asking me something, so I decided to introduce myself.

"Hi. I'm Avery Martin, 16. My mom is Josephine Martin and that's pretty much it."

"What? You're Josie's daughter?"

"Yes, I am"

He turned to Cora.

"That's what you've been doing in the USA? That's why you left fast yesterday?"

"Yes"

He turned himself to me again.

"Do you live with your dad? Ever met him?"

"No"

He looked at Cora again.

"She's got his eyes. He doesn't know about her, does he?"

She shook her head

"No, but he's about to find out."

"And where's Josephine?" He asked me.

"My mom went to the store down the street yesterday and never came back. She told me years ago that if I didn't had contact with her in 12 hours, without notice, I needed to open a letter." Cora handed him the letter that I asked her to keep "So I did, and inside I found Cora's number. So, I'm just here for you to please help me find my mom. That's all I'm asking. After, I'll go back in America and you'll never have to see me again."

He finished reading the letter and looked at me, than at Cora, and me again.

"You guys need to talk to Ricardo"

"Let's go Avery"

We enter the majestic mansion. Everything is so clean in here. Damn.

"Auntie? Who is that?"

I turn around to see who talked. It was three guys. They kinda looked like me. Are they my brothers?

"You'll know later. She needs to talk to your dad."

"Why does she need to talk to dad? Who is she?"

"We definitely can't trust her"

"We can. Wait till she talks to your dad. Is he in his study?"

"Yes, auntie"

"See you soon"

They keep looking at me suspiciously. I guess when you're in part of a big business you really don't trust anyone.

"Come on, Avery"

"I'm nervous auntie"

"Don't worry. Everybody's gonna love you." She stopped in front of a door. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be"

She knocked on the door

"Come in"

We entered the room. I look around a bit. It's a nice study. A man that looks in his early fourties is sitting at the desk. He looked up and dropped his pen.

"Ricardo, that's Avery. She's Josephine's daughter."

"Jos- Josephine's daughter?" He looked at me "How old are you?"

"16, almost 17"

He looked at Cora

"What is she doing here? Is she mine?Where's Josephine?"

She looked at me

"I'm Avery Martin. I live with my mom, Josephine Martin. Well, lived. Two days ago, we were supposed to have a girls night. Before the back to school, which is next week. Mom wanted to get us ice cream, so she went to the shop around the corner, but she never came back"

"And how did you find Cora?"

"Years ago, mom gave me a letter and told me to only open it if she passed twelve hours without contacting me, without notice. So, the next morning I opened the letter and here we are." I told him while giving him the letter. "So, I'm only asking for one thing-"

"Oh of course. Should have known." He yelled "you only want money, a shiny sport car? Or perhaps to new Gucci collection or are you a Louis Vuitton kind of girl? I knew you were a gold digger."

Cora gasped

"Like I was saying before being RUDELY interrupted, the ONLY thing I'm asking for is for you to help me find my mom. After that, you won't have to see me EVER again"

"I want a DNA test done. Cora, can you call the family doctor?"

"Sure" She said, leaving the room.

And here I am. Alone with him.

I look everywhere, but at him. This is very awkward. No one says a word, but I can feel him burning holes into my skull.

Finally, an old, but friendly looking man knocks on the door, and enters.

"Ok, so I'll need hair and blood samples from you two."

He finished taking the samples

"The results will be back in 5 hours"

"Thank you" I say

I finally look at my supposed-to-be father.

"You can leave. Come back in 5 hours"

"Alright see ya there"

I quickly exit the study. I see Cora, waiting in the hallway.

"Cora, would you happen to know where the nearest gym in town would be?"

"Yes, Avery. I'll get our driver to get you there"

"Thank you"

RICARDO'S POV

"Mike, can you come to my office?"

"Sure, M. Desantos" I hung up.

I hear a knock on my door. Must be him.

"Come in"

He enters my office. Mike's a good man. One of the few I would trust with my life. He's been my main chauffeur for over twenty years.

"What do you need me for, sir?"

I really don't know if I can trust the girl. I still don't know if she's mine and everything seems so perfect. Too perfect.

"Well, this girl showed up today and she says that she's my daughter. We took a DNA test and we're waiting for the results. It will take a few hours. Cora will ask you to drive her around. Do it. Get to know her. Tell me if something seems fishy about her. Tell me how she acts. Tell me everything. When you drop her off, send the address to Stephan. The boys will be there to watch her, see if she's meeting anyone, you know?"

"No problem, boss. I'll tell you what kind of person she is."

I sigh in relief.

"I appreciate that. Thank you"

He leaves my office. I guess it will give me time to read her file. Never too cautious with the family business.

I open her file. There's no doubt that she's Josephine's daughter. She looks exactly like her. My eyes fly over the papers until some informations picks my interest.

She's fluent in English, French, Mandarin, Italian and so many other languages. She's black belt in many martial arts and model student. She was captain of the cheer squad, soccer team and class president for freshman and sophomore year. She switched schools almost every year and moved a bit everywhere in America. She also participated in a humanist school trip. No police antecedents.

She's a good kid, according to her file. Josephine did a pretty good job raising her.

AVERY'S POV

"Thanks for the ride Mike."

"Anytime Avery"

"Can you pick me up in 3 hours?"

"No problem"

Awesome. Now, my time to shine. The gym is my thing. Funny, it rhymes.

I push the heavy doors of the place. Seemed decent, I guess.

"Are you lost, baby?"

Ugh. I hate those kinds of guys. So annoying, but so funny to kick their asses.

"I'm not. How much for one day?"

He looked surprised. There probably weren't many girls that dared to come here, with those sexist pigs, or they got annoyed to always reject their advances.

"First seance is free, baby. But, are you sure you're in the right place? You know, the spa is on the other side of the street."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Have a great day."

I went to the changing rooms. It was with a great shock, that I discovered the female changing room was completely empty. Almost had a heart attack there. Please note the sarcasm.

Now, time to forget everything in my life, and focus on my techniques. My body against the enemy. That's all that matters right now. I forget about my mom, my 'father', my brothers, aunt, everything. I just can't right now. I need to clear my head.

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