“I’m sorry ma’am but we can’t let you out yet.”

After eating that piece of bread, which is apparently what rich people call as lunch, she made a beeline towards the door outside making plans to take the bus this time. But two men with stocky build wearing identical black jeans and black shirt, one with a lot of tattoos and the other with a lot of piercings, blocked her way and she unconsciously took a step back, heart hammering at the thought that they might be there to hurt her as they look scary as hell. If the old woman—The Nun—looks like she would go and trap her in the depths of hell, these two looked like they are going to beat her to a pulp before The Nun trap her to the depths of hell.

“Huh?” She can only breathed out. Her eyes went from one man to another but they just stood there with both their arms crossed. “But um….” She can’t afford to be scared right now. “I just… I just need to go… somewhere….”

“Sorry ma’am. Boss’s orders.” The piercings guy shook his head at her.

Okay, I need to calm down. She doesn’t know how many times is it now she have to tell herself that. But she can feel the panic rising in her again. She had been so set in leaving this house and going to Charleen’s and possibly get the help she so desperately need that the thought of not being able to makes her suddenly feel suffocated. “But I need to go!” Her pitch had risen a notch, a clear indication that her panic is creeping in. “I… I need somewhere to be!” She tried walking past them but the piercings guy just stretched out his thick arm to block her.

Your father made specific instructions never to let you out until he found out who tried to kill you.

She remembered it now. She completely forgot about what the doctor told her. No, this can’t be happening. She tried to rack her brain for some plausible reason for going out. “I need to go to TechNext!” Surely, they would let her, right? “It’s imperative that I go to TechNext.” She looked at them back and forth. “My… my husband is there. I would be safe with my husband.” If she would go to TechNext, then she just hoped Charleen would be there. “You could drive me there if you want.”

The tattoos guy smirked. “Ma’am, your husband is among the people your father least trusted.”

The piercings guy subtly nudged the one with the tattoos and Sandy noticed it. “Sorry about that, Miss. What he meant to say is that your father doesn’t want you to leave the premises until he is sure you were safe since there was a threat to your life.” He paused before asking curiously, “Have you had your memories from that night?”

Memories? The memories of this woman who either jumped to her death or was a victim of an attempted murder?

The two men saw the confusion on her face and concluded that she really doesn’t have her full memories yet. “Sorry Miss. We’re just doing our job.”

Of course. They’re just doing their job. “What about a phone? Can I borrow your phone? I just need to call someone.”

The men looked at each other before the tattooed one handed her a phone, probably deciding that not letting the boss’ daughter call someone isn’t one of his orders. Sandy took the phone from his hand and turned her back from them trying to recall Charleen’s phone number. She was already on the fifth digit when she paused.

What is she going to say to her? Obviously, she can’t just blurt out It’s me, Sandy over the phone. There is the question of her best friend believing her when they came face to face let alone over a call.

Shoulders falling, she faced the men again and returned the phone. “I changed my mind. Thank you,” she just said in defeat and walked back towards the house. She clasped her sweaty hands together as she again tried to push the panic off her. There’ll be another way. There will be. It’s fine. She was concentrating too hard on trying to encourage herself that she just swung the door open and was startled when she heard a crash. She saw the maid who had served her lunch earlier bumped into the door she pushed open carelessly and the plates and glasses she was holding on the tray fell down and made a splintering noise as it crashed against the marbled tiles.

“I’m sor—”

But the maid didn’t even give her time to apologize. She immediately went to her knees with a cry and Sandy was horrified to see that she knelt over the broken shards.

“I’m sorry Miss! I didn’t see! I was bringing the food to the security guards! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” The maid was sobbing. “I need this job. Please!”

Sandy bent down and immediately tried to pull her up from kneeling on the broken fragments. “It’s fine, get up please!” But the maid wasn’t listening as she was too busy crying out her apologies and begging to keep her job and she wasn’t budging an inch even with how hard Sandy was pulling her up.

“Miss Daniella!” A voice rung out.

Sandy jumped at the loud voice and lifted her head up to see the old scary woman rushing over to them. “I’m sorry she’s—” She gestured at the maid.

“Kelly, get up.” The old woman ignored Sandy, her attention only to the crying maid. The maid swayed a little as she stood up and Sandy could see her bloody knees.

“I could—” Sandy started.

“Call Gemma to fix this,” the old woman ordered the maid she called Kelly looking at the broken plates and glasses with bits food around. “And treat that wound.” Kelly was sobbing but she nodded and made another apologetic bow at Sandy before walking limply towards the kitchen. Sandy watched in horror, not able to believe what she had witnessed. She was about to tell the old woman that she could help treat that wound as she had experience with aiding the wounded and injured but the words died in . What she thought the old woman as indifferent with only an authoritarian air about her, she is now looking at her with so much disgust that Sandy could practically feel it seeping into her bones.  No one had ever looked at her with so much hate in their eyes. She had never thought it possible that someone could actually look at someone like that.

But in a split of a second, the old woman’s face returned to its normal cold expression. “My apologies, Miss. The help is just bringing some food to your security. You didn’t have to make her kneel to apologize for bumping into you.”

Sandy was stumped for a second before she finally understood what the old woman was saying. “But I didn’t made her do that! She… she—”

“I’ll attend to the maids. Do you want me to call your security so they could carry you over the broken glasses and not hurt your feet?”

The sarcasm wasn’t lost on her but she wanted to cry. She just shook her head biting her lip to keep from doing so and the old woman gave her a small nod before leaving her by the door.

This is so unfair! She didn’t do anything! She didn’t ask for the maid to go hysterical and injure herself! She saw another maid rushed out with a broom and a dustpan but she stopped dead on her tracks when she saw Sandy still standing there. Sandy immediately decided to go back to her room now in case she got accused of injuring another maid.

One thing is clear. The old woman hated Daniella Romero. The maids are scared as hell with Daniella Romero. Even Adrian Lee regards Daniella with coldness as she remembered how he had looked at her the first day she woke up as his wife. The only people who are probably not scared of this woman are the two bouncers outside who were working for this woman’s father.

Everybody in the office knew Adrian Lee’s wife is a .

She clearly remembered Charleen saying that and she had never really believed it since it came from gossip.

Now she does.

She kept pacing back and forth while biting her nails, anxiety filling her as her thoughts kept going from Charleen to her grandparents and from her grandparents to Charleen worried sick about them. How are they now? What about her grandpa? Is his stomach still bothering him? Her grandma? Is she also drinking her medicines? Even though she is sure that Charleen is taking care of them, she still can’t help but be worried about them. Wanted to see them to really make sure they are alright.

But the question remains. How is she going to do that if she can’t even leave the house? She faced the mirror again and stared at the face of Daniella Romero, her sickly pallor already fading though the cuts from the fall is still visible on her cheeks, her chin and on her forehead. “Did somebody really tried to kill you?” she asked the reflection of Daniella Romero, her eyes roaming on the face. Then asked what she had been thinking of all along. “Did we switch bodies?” She had watched a lot of movies with that plot. “Are you inside my body when it died? Is your soul coming back?” If that happens then…. Her eyes lowered down to stare at a random pen on the vanity table. “My body’s gone. And I was the one who died. If… if you would be coming back… can you give me time to at least say goodbye to my grandparents and to Charleen? I’m not going to steal your body. I don’t even know how I got in. Much less how to get out. But… maybe it’s just going to happen. Maybe you would wake up one day back at your own body and I would… not… wake up….” Her voice trailed off at the sad thought then returned her attention back at the mirror. “Maybe then you could use your second change to… I dunno change and… be a lot nicer to people.” She gave a small smile at her the reflection. “Grandma always tells me that there is something good and beautiful to praise in everybody. And I believe you have one too.” She paused as she stared at the reflection. Daniella Romero had perfect smooth skin and without the make up, she looked ten times younger. “You’re obviously really beautiful. Physically. But it won’t mean anything if you’re ugly on the inside so… be a little nicer to everyone. And… if you’re there… please just give me a day to at least know my best friend and my grandparents are okay.” She stared at the reflection some more before heaving a sigh. This felt weird but honestly what else could she do? That has been her fear. That Daniella Romero would come back to take what’s hers. Of course Sandy wouldn’t know if Daniella did come back since she would basically just… be gone. But at least, if her soul is here somewhere… maybe she would hear her plea. Maybe she would give her a chance… a day… to see that the three most important people in her life are okay.

And that she could at least say good bye to them.

Sandy didn’t know how long she had been sitting on the floor by the bedroom door just staring at nothing while thoughts raged inside her head about the impending doom of her non existent future when she heard a familiar voice from outside the room. Sir Adrian. She could recognize that voice from anywhere. She immediately got to her feet and flung the door open to find Adrian talking on the phone as he walked up the stairs.

“I will have a dinner meeting tonight,” he was saying barely giving her a glance as he walked up towards the direction of his room. “I can meet you after that. I’m just going to change.”

“Sir Adrian!” Sandy called as she rushed over to him before he