two

HAN FAMILY FOUND DEAD.

The articles were everywhere, everything was a mess. Jia was a reck, her mind exploding by the seconds.

It had been two months since the dinner with the Carters, they'd gone back to America shortly after their rejection. The girl spent time with her brothers, showing them around Korea and even introducing them to her friends.

All hell broke loose once the family was gone.

From near-death experiences with stalkers to Jia's grandparents not waking up by their usual 8 AM routine. It was not just them, her aunts, uncles, and cousins too. The girl was the only person left in the Han Family and she wasn't blood-related to carrying on their bloodline.

The funeral went on, their ashes were poured into their favorite place, and inheritances were given. By that, Jia owned everything of the Han Family Name. Unfortunately, Jia was not an adult just yet. The legal advisors were having trouble with what to do for the girl. She could live in Korea on her own without problems, but she had a family in America with power and a say in what she did in her life.

As a result, Jia was being shipped off to America.

A car was waiting outside for her, a woman in a suit was standing outside of it and a man, also in a suit. They both smiled at her, shaking her hand while introducing themselves.

"Hi, Miss. Carter, I'm Tiffany, I will be your manager during your stay in New York. This is Willy, your driver."

"Thank you for agreeing to the job, Tiffany, Willy. Also, It's Miss. Han or you can call me Jia."

Tiffany nodded, gesturing for the girl to enter the car. Jia took a seat and Tiffany entered behind her, covering the girl's short skirt while she crawled over to the other end. Willy shut the van's door after they were seated.

The vehicle drove away from the airport immediately after start. As they drove down highways and highways. Jia noticed strange black cars tailing them.

"Tiffany, we're being followed."

"It's for safety reasons, no need to worry."

The girl stared outside of the window, her nerves were kicking in. In a dangerous city alone, without her grandparents.

The traffic in the city was just terrible back home, Jia stared out the window, she managed to get noticed by a fan who was able to see through the tint. Jia played with her with the windows up while they waited in traffic together. A few rounds of rock, paper, and scissors, cured their boredom. Sadly, the traffic became faster, so Jia was closer to her new home and the fan disappeared.

"We're here, Miss. Han."

The girl looked away from her phone to see a big house, with lots of green grass surrounding it. Willy honked the horn, signaling to the residents that she was outside.

The cars that were following them pulled up behind them, and about 6 men exited in black suits. They held cold expressions on their faces covered with sunglasses, standing by the doors of their cars...

One came over to the girl,

"Let's go inside Miss. Carter."

Jia didn't bother to correct him, she did not want to repeat herself 24/7 over the preferred name she was raised on. The man held out his hand for the girl to grab, she thanked him and grabbed it.

As they took the short walk to the front door, the man spoke to her, "Uh, my daughter is a fan."

"That's good to know, if you will be here often I'd love to meet her. Would you like a video for her? Or picture?"

"Oh, well-"

The door swung open, and Ian was there a huge smile rested on his face, "Sis."

He ran out to pick her up, swinging her around. The girl felt nauseous after the third loop when she was placed back on the ground. The unnamed man and Ian help her regain her balance.

"Sorry about that, I'm so happy to see you."

"It's great to see you too, Ian." Jia gave him a proper hug, which he didn't do just a moment ago.

"Bring her things inside and go back to your duties," Ian told the man, who only nodded and walked away.

Ian wrapped an arm around his sister, guiding her into the house toward the noise. Which happened to be the spacious living area, everyone was there. Mina, Elijah, Ezra, Cameron, and Eugene....all of them were standing side by side.

"Hey J, welcome home." Eugene went over to push Ian away and hug his sister. The girl wrapped her arms around him, hugging back. Then, he was ripped away by a shit-eating grinning Ezra, who opened up his arms wide.

"My sister! My dear dear sister~"

Jia thought her brother was funny, he seemed to always be in a playful mood. He even wore the best outfits, if she left anytime soon...he was coming with her to be the best stylist for the girl.

Ezra curled his arms around her for a quick second and patted her head, walking away to sit down. He sighed as he did so, hitting his legs which were probably cramped.

Cameron shuffled over to greet his sister as well,

"Hey, Jia."

He gave a quick hug and walked back to his original spot next to Mina and Eugene.

Speaking of Mina, she had the biggest smile with watery eyes. Walking over to her daughter, sniffling in teary joy.

"Hi Julia, I missed you."

"Hi, Mina."

The woman stilled at her daughter not addressing her as 'Mom' or 'Momma', but she did her best to understand that she wasn't there to be her mother for 17 years. She smiled at her before letting go of the tall girl who inherited her father's gene of height, just like all of her other siblings.

Elijah grabbed his daughter in a hug, lifting her off the ground as Ian did earlier, thankfully without spinning.

"Welcome home!"

"Thanks for welcoming me..."

"We planned a welcoming party for you tonight, just a dinner with a few family friends. They all knew you when you were a tiny baby." Said Elijah, releasing the girl from his strong grip of iron.

"Oh, okay..."

There was a silence after that, the area was quiet. It was awkward, Jia felt out of place as she stood in front of the family. She took the time to analyze her family's features.

She'd have to admit, they were stunning. Divine in fact, if they truly were related she knows where she's gotten her looks from.

Elijah was a giant, in height and weight, his weight went into his big muscles. He needed to look down to see his family, when looking up at him, you'd see he had the most dominant genes over his children. Dark, nearly black hair, tanned skin, and hazel eyes with seemed to change depending on lighting and his emotions.

Mina was the shortest of the family, but not too short. She is a thin woman with a height of 5'3. The heels that she wore often, made her seem taller almost reaching Jia's height. Her dark hair was long and styled, stopping at her hips. Her Asian inherited facial features were small and delicate. While in contrast to her husband, her emotions were easily shown on her face. As she couldn't hide them well.

Eugene, the oldest child, took after Elijah the most. Tall, with dark hair, but he had green eyes. A gene neither Mina nor Elijah had, but his Grandmother on his dad's side had them. His cheekbones and eye shape were the only barely noticeable signs of Asian ancestry.

Cameron looked like neither Mina nor Elijah. He was black, tall, and very fit. His eyes were slender as if they could put you under a trance with just a glance. Jia noticed he was very quiet, his words were short and he didn't seem to enjoy the company of too many people.

Ezra was a mix of the two parents, he was the shortest of the boys, but still taller than Jia. As stated earlier, he had an amazing fashion sense. His clothes were either random pieces put together and called an outfit, or they were a simple shirt and pants, but something, not everyone can wear with ease.

Ian only took the height from his father and the rest from his mother. He shared the same lips and nose as Jia, but he was the tallest out of all the boys. His height matched exactly with his dad, standing at 6'3. Due to his age, there was a chance that he'd still be growing. Jia felt the closest to Ian, he was more outgoing and held a strong bond after just two months of FaceTimes.

Much like Ian, Jia took the height from Elijah and the rest from Mina. The girl was 5'8 with a baby face, plump lips, and doe eyes. There was a high possibility of her still being able to grow as she was still young, and she grew an inch within the last month. Her friends teased her about it, believing that she'd do better as a model than an idol.

"Jia, I'll take you to your room and show you around!"

Ian grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her upstairs, noticing her bags must have already been stored in her room by the maids. The halls were nicely decorated with warm colors like brown, beige, and blue. It looked perfect here.

The duo arrived in front of a door with a star engraved into it with diamonds, making the door stand out next to the other door which belonged to one of the other Carter Siblings.

"We got it done recently, do you like it?"

"It's so pretty, I love it."

He opened the door for the girl, standing to the side like a doorman. Jia walked into the room, Ian following after her.

The room was medium-sized, decorated with light and dark colors. The color repeated the most was a dark mauve, which was seen on bedding and the walls. The wooden floor was covered with a fluffy white rug, placed under the bed and desk with the latest technology on it. All of which were apple products, a cute envelope placed on top of the box. Across from her bed was a flatscreen television that comes out of the table, she had one of those back in Korea. On the wall behind it was an electric clock that looked like another television. The room had its terrace, a patio set rested on it, and enough chairs for five people.

"Check out the closet, Ezra pitched in on the clothes. We nearly filed it up, but we remember you have your luggage to put in as well..."

The closet was just as big as the room, the shelves and racks were filled with pretty clothes and bags. Ranging from all colors of the rainbow and much more. The styles went from modest to more revealing, very much things her age group would wear. The brands were the most popularly known to ones she never heard of, noted that Ezra didn't care about higher-end brands of clothing as he just liked fashion in general.

There was another door in the closet leading to the bathroom, a very clean one. As it had never been used and had recently been remodeled for the girl's living purposes.

"Thank you, it's amazing." Jia hugged her brother, then walked over to the one thing that stood out the most.

The cute envelope.

Jia slowly opened it, not wanting it to rip.

Enjoy your gifts, my love.

-VK

"Who is VK? Ian?..."

Jia looked around her room for her brother, who suddenly disappeared without her noticing. Not a sound was made as he left the room. With a sigh, the girl slid off her shoes and lay on the king-sized bed. She'd been tired from the flight, needing a rest for a few hours. The moment her head touched the pillows, she fell into a deep sleep.

While Jia had been sleeping, A unknown man was speaking with Elijah via phone call.

"She'll be there tonight for sure?"

"Yes, she will. Do you doubt me, Valentin?"

The boy now known as, Valentin sighed and responded to the head of the American Mafia,

"Yes, I do. I doubt you very much, let's end this here. See you tonight, Elijah. Make sure my bride is there."

Valentin ended the call before the older man could respond, sitting his phone down on the desk nearby. The boy stood up to stretch out his long limbs. Before his phone call, he had been sitting in his office for 5 hours straight, filling out paperwork his father expected him to do.

Valentin was not just some office worker, he was the heir to the Swedish-English Mafia. Currently, 18, and too young to run a mafia, being the only child there was no choice for him to choose a different path in life. Murder and Money were all he knew, and he is damn well good at both committing murder and making money.

His hooded eyes gazed over to the door, where his right-hand man stood, "The day is finally here."

"You sound like you are getting married today, slow down."

"You wouldn't understand, let's go get ready to meet her."

Valentin walked out of the home office, his steps faster than usual. His most trusted man was hot on his heels.

Who is this Right-hand man?

Dirk, 19.

That's all there is to him, just a name and age. The boy was raised to serve Valentin with his lifelong duties. Until death, a family was possible if he was given the time. He never wanted to be an absent father like he was to him. While Dirk's father served the current Boss, Dirk's job was to Serve Valentin. He had a mom and younger sister, but they were no longer in his life, moved away from the life of crime and sin. Dirk sent them money every month to make sure they were alright, he didn't know if his father did the same as he barely spoke to him. Despite them working in the same place.

"Valentin..."

The tall male turned to his friend, "Hm?"

"...Wear black, you look your best in that color."

"Thank you."

As hours passed, Valentin went through 15 outfits and changed his hair 20 times. He settled on a black-themed, casual business style. His hair was parted and slicked back just a bit. He glanced over his shoulder to Dirk,

"Go change, find anything similar to my attire just not the same...and no bright colors."

Once Dirk left, he went back to his office to grab his phone. Taking a seat in his chair, and opening his camera roll, most of his recent photos were of his Julia. He took them from the Internet, it was all he had of her for the past two months.

He admired her pretty smile and watched downloaded videos of her on stages or talking to the camera in foreign languages. He understood nothing, but starter words and phrases. Valentin couldn't stare at her for too long or else he'd feel uncomfortable in a certain area of his body.

"I am ready..."

The voice startled Valentin, as he didn't expect Dirk to arrive back too quickly. His eyes ran over his outfit, giving it a nod in approval.

Thinking it would be best to leave the city now, as the traffic was intense today, Valentin called for his driver to be downstairs waiting for him by the time he gets out there.

"Is my father arriving separately?" He asked Dirk, who was standing behind him on his right.

"Yes, he is currently in a meeting."

Valentin hum in response, entering the car. He sat up to tell his driver where to go,

"The Carter's country home."

The carters tended to move around often, ever since their incident of letting Julia be kidnapped as a baby. They never wanted it to happen again. They'd just bought their new country home last year, but never lived in it until recently when they got word that Julia would be here soon.

The countryside was less dangerous than living in the city. Getting mugged or shot dead was a risk they weren't willing to take if their daughter would be living with them.

Traffic was a bitch, but they'd arrived at the estate surrounded by grass and perfect trees. Valentin wondered if Julia enjoyed the scenery when she saw it or if she liked the gifts he'd left for her in her room while her family wasn't home.

Stepping out when the car came to a stop, many other just arriving guests were chatting with each other like they hadn't just seen them last week for some other party held by a family or person of power, but a few years.

Valentin caught the eyes of many guests, he did not come to parties often as these were not of his taste. He's always with the crowds that were twice his age, why would he come to a party with the same crowds he was tired of?

There was only one reason he was here tonight,

Julia.

He looked up at her window, noticing that she was right there with her curtains to the side. Her blank expressionless face struck a curiosity in him, why was his girl so bored?

He caught her attention after a moment of staring. The girl glanced over him like he was a peasant or a speck of dirt. She walked away from her window, the curtains that were once to the side, now covering the entire window. Not allowing anyone to look inside as he just did.

Valentin's lips turned curled into a grin, his first plans of using his looks were no longer a good idea. It seemed like Julia was a lady of high class and standards...

The clicking of heels and a feminine voice brought Valentin out of his cloud of thoughts,

"Valentin, I didn't know you'd be here."

Looking over at them, it was a long-time family friend.

"Nice to see you, Gemma."

The brunette stood out a lot amongst the party people, she dressed well in the most expensive clothes with hair freshly done, and her makeup was extra in a nice way.

Gemma Laurie, her family is filled with money monsters. They feared no one and they were only loyal to money. Who wouldn't be these days, with money you are free to do whatever you want. The Laurie social status was high in America but not as high as The Kellogg and The Carters.

"I'm so glad to see you, what's this party for? The Carter's aren't ones for partying and neither are you."

"Maybe something brilliant happened? See you around."

Valentin and Dirk entered the large-sized home, the elderly stared at old paintings, the middle-aged are already drunk, the young are sneaking off somewhere, and the extra young were occupied with their iPads and phones.

"Stay close by, I'm fine on my own," Valentin told Dirk, who hadn't left his side yet. The shuffled of footsteps were heard, going away from him.

Making his way to the living area, where he was sure The Carters would be located altogether. He was right, it was typical for them to all be together in a crowd like this.

As he walked closer, he gave the family a big smile,

"Thank you for the invite."

The family didn't invite him, Elijah did without telling his wife and kids. They didn't question his presence though, not wanting to start any unnecessary problems.

Mina return his smile, holding out her hand,

"Thank you for coming, Valentin."

The younger Kellogg held the woman's hand, placing a kiss on top, "Of course, Mina."

Or should I say, Mother-in-law? Mom?

Valentin greeted the boys, who weren't happy to see him. Then, he kept up his smile for The Mafia man of the hour, Elijah, "Isn't it great to have your daughter back home, sir?"

Elijah didn't get angry like his sons did after Valentin said those words, more of a shame instead. He never told his family of that deal he made with the Swedish-English Mafia. Instead, he told them a little white lie. Everyone knows what happens to little white lies.

By the 10th year of his daughter's disappearance, he became desperate as he saw his wife think less of her life and his sons suffer from their parent's behavior.

If the Swedish-English Mafia helped and found, Julia... She would be promised to his son, Valentin Kellogg.

It was now time to keep that promise as it wasn't the American Mafia who found her.

Holding back his youngest son by his collar, Ian, who was already protective over his little sister,

"Yes, it is..."

A bell rang, meaning it was 7 o'clock. Time for dinner, the guests walked to the backyard, including Valentin and The Carters...

Tables were set up, lights are hung up by marble statues coming from the ground. It wasn't anything new, just typical for an outside dinner party. Although it was time for dinner, the food wouldn't be served for another 30 minutes. Now, people were just finding seats and engaging in small talk.

Valentin took a seat by the hosts of the night. He was anxious to meet Julia, sending Elijah looks, wanting him to hurry and bring her out...

As seats were filling up, Ezra, the middleman of the Carter brothers placed his blazer on a seat next to him meaning that the seat was reserved. Ian glared at him for it, wanting his sister to sit by him instead.

Minutes had passed, and guests began talking in hushed voices as they watched a girl pass by.

"Oh my, she is gorgeous!"

"I have never seen such a beautiful creature."

"Has she been married off yet?"

Her white lacy dress with knitted flowers was beautifully worn on her, the slight breeze of the air made it flow like water. The big curls at the ends of her hair bounced as she walked closer to the table the Carters were seated at.

Jia forced a smile on her face as she walked by strangers, their eyes glued onto her figure. She was bothered by the comments, but it was nothing she wasn't used to. She heard things like that all her life, and thankfully, protected from those people. Her family would never let a bad thing happen to her, a nanny had been fired for letting her trip once. The girl still felt guilt for that incident to this day...

"Jia, sit here!"

Ezra called the girl over to the seat he saved for her. He removed his blazer as she sat down,

"Thank you, Ezra."

Before anyone else compliments the girl, a boy grabbed her attention. He cleared his throat before speaking,

"Hello, I'm Valentin. I must say you are very beautiful."

Jia smiled at him,

"I'm Jia. Thank you, Valentin."

She did not like him, not one bit. Passing the sweet smile she plastered on for everyone to see, the girl was full of disgust and hatred. Jia disliked Valentin as much as she did the other guests, something about him gave her a bad feeling. She decided to trust her guts of not befriending him, although he looked close to her age.

After their small interaction, the girl paid him no attention. She just sat down quietly, browsing through her phone under the table. Jia did her best to ignore the curious stares from all down the table.

Elijah noticed the attention his daughter received from his guests. He thought it was best to announce the news now than later, just to get it over with. The man rose from his chair, a glass of wine in his left hand and a fork in his right. He tapped the fork on the glass to quiet down the party,

"I'm sure you all are curious about many things tonight, I will answer all of your obvious questions now..."

Elijah took a deep breath before continuing,

"These past 17 years have been hard for my family, we lost our only daughter when she was only months old. Now, she is back with us today..."

He looked over to Jia, who had given him the same look she gave Valentin not too long ago. Elijah wasn't that smart, he wouldn't notice if her eyes and lips said two different things.

"This day is to welcome back my daughter, Julia. Thank you all for being here today to witness this special moment in our life."

Everyone applauded and cheered like hooligans, Jia was still stuck there with her hurting smile on her face. She never agreed to be his daughter, only here to get to know them for a while until she's able to go home. Then, go back home and continue her career before she was forgotten by her fans and company. The girl fought the urge to roll her eyes, hoping no one saw the eye struggle she was going through. Her lids twitched as her nerves were bothered.

The dinner carried on after the big news was revealed, the guests saw her as a sign of opportunity. She was young, unmarried, and beautiful, she was enough to be their in-law. Who didn't want to marry into the Carter family? Now, that a girl was within their bloodline, they could send their sons after her instead of their daughters who'd been rejected already by the sons of the Carters.

Jia's dinner went peaceful as the stares she received earlier had decreased by a lot. Out of the four different servings of food, she only ate the appetizer and dessert. Beignets and Red velvet cake, the two entrees were not foods she liked or could have. The girl wasn't allowed to eat stake and she hated spaghetti with too many onions and bell peppers. It would take too much time trying to remove plenty of vegetables from the meal, so she didn't bother eating it.

The after-party began soon after, once dinner was over and plates had been taken away Jia couldn't have a moment to herself. Feeling introverted, she was standing by the staircase wondering if it would be appropriate if she snuck away to her room for the rest of the evening.

A blonde woman came up to her with an overbearing smile, "Hello, Dear."

"Hi."

The lady pulled her son over,

"I'm Kimberly, this is my son David."

The woman went on about her son, who was a weirdo. He looked at Jia like she was a piece of meat. David was in a private school with a future basketball career, Kimberly was so persistent on the two going elsewhere to talk privately.

Jia managed to get away from that ever happening,

"My family is calling me, if you'd excuse me..."

Jia walked upstairs to the hallway on her right, where her room was located. After entering, she locked her door behind her. Kimberly and her precious son, David were the 5th pair who tried to set her up tonight.

The girl sighed in disbelief, focusing on the corner of her room. Realizing something, a guy was sitting at her desk, looking at their phone.

"What are you doing in here?"

He looked up, she noticed it was Valentin, one of the many guests she didn't like...

"Did you like the gifts I got you?"

Jia was silent, thinking of what gift he could've gotten her,

"...VK?"

He smiled at her answer, "Mhm."

"Take them back and leave."

Valentin dropped his smile, walking over to where she stood with her hands behind her back. He brought his face closer to hers, "Why should I do that, hm?"

"I don't even know you, don't give expensive gifts to a person you don't know."

He sucked his teeth, placing his hands on her face. His hands were slapped away in response,

"Keep your hands off my face, leave immediately."

Valentin didn't like that she was feisty, for someone as cute as her it shouldn't be allowed.

"I went through a lot to find you, be thankful to me that you know who your real family is."

"Thankful for what? I never bothered to know who they are. I won't be thankful to someone who's messing with my life."

"You should watch your mouth."

"Didn't I tell you to leave?"

Valentin raised his hand, and Jia acted on instinct.

She moved her hand to her front, shocking him with the high voltage taser she held. The girl saw no reason for him to act that way towards her, no connection at all.

Jia watched without blinking or flinching as he collapsed to the ground in front of her. She kicked him in a sensitive area after the fall, just to make sure he was knocked out cold.

She looked down at the gift her friend bought for her. Sending a small prayer their way for thinking of her safety, her respect for her skyrocketed.