Chapter 2

The alarm clock that lay on Tonya's bedside table beeped and beeped, and was promptly smashed by her large flat palm rushing in the air.

She rubbed her eyes, and squeezed her sheets. Jumping in the shower quickly, she got dressed and placed the letter, the address, and the key, that was cold to touch.

Hopping on a bus, she made her way to Kensington Halls, a large and ominous building, the home to all lawyers and accountants alike.

As she entered the building, she felt as though all the happiness in the air had been sucked out of existence, and what was left was emptiness, closure, freedom through money but not through love.

She approached the main desk, where a very strict-looking secretary with the tightest chignon imaginable typed away at her computer. She wore an earpiece.

Tonya examined her with her deep blue eyes, and smiled when the secretary, who it seemed did not know what a smile meant, paid her attention.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm looking for the room of a Mr. Aterlascius Stride."

The secretary stared for a long time, motionless and expressionless. It was as though Tonya had just walked in without any clothes on.

"Is...is something the matter?"

"Mr. Stride died two days ago. Unknown causes, I'm afraid."

Tonya was more confused than shocked, but nonetheless flabbergasted.

"Well, you see, I received a letter in the post, telling me that I had just inherited a sum of money...and..."

"Ah, then you must be Ms. Francis," interrupted. "Mr. Stride asked that I give this to you." She rummaged around the desk and found an envelope, long, white, and labelled 'TONYA' on the front in big cursive letters.

"He asked that you read it immediately should something happen. Now...," she said, glancing from side to side, "please leave, before someone hears us."

The secretary went back to her work as if the conversation never happened. Tonya faltered for a few seconds, and then made her way to the entrance.

As she began walking along the pavement, she opened the envelope and found a letter. And so she began reading it as she walked:

Dearest Tonya,

If you are reading this, then I am deceased, and I fear the worst. It seems as though you have become involved simply from being a blood relative of your grandfather.

There are some people who were not so willing to enlist the inheritance to you, and now I have faced the consequences.

What I now ask of you is imperative. Go to your grandfather's estate. Everything will be explained over there.

I wish you luck and safety, and ask that you pray for my soul, wherever it may be.

Much love,

A. Stride

Tonya didn't know what to think. A dead grandfather that she never knew about, a fortune, and now a dead accountant who, from what Tonya could make out from the letter, was trying to help her through the confusion. To Tonya, it always seemed as though she learned everything after everyone else; always a step behind. And she hated it.

She would go to the estate, and solve all the mysteries that currently clouded her mind.

***