Chapter Four

As promised, there is a car waiting for her when she finally showered and dressed the next morning, as well as Margaret who is smiling brightly at her as she greets her.

Today, she has two destinations; the doctor's office to learn more about regaining lost memories, and the lawyer's office. Margaret helped her get a hold of all the documents she knew of that her mother had kept around the house, but they are all documents that her father supposedly knows about too.

There isn't a sign of any will or agreement of any kind, which means it must be with the lawyer, who thankfully Margaret knows, and knows where to find. Like Chloe asked her, she didn't and hasn't asked any questions since Chloe revealed as much as she could about her memory loss.

"We'll be stopping by the doctor's office first, you can wait in the car or wander around the stores until I call you back, it should take a little while depending on how busy they are," she says to Margaret as they climb into the car, directing the driver where they're headed.

"Oh, just mention your name Miss, and they'll have you seen right away."

She doesn't want to use her fame like that, but it is something that can be done quickly and swiftly, mind as well take up as little time as quickly as possible.

When she gets there, she does as Margaret suggested and mentions her full name to the receptionist at the counter, whose eyes widen and she scurries off into the back instantly. The doctor who visited the house when she first woke up comes out a few minutes later.

"Ah, Miss Rose, what a pleasure to see you out and about, I'm delighted at the speedy recovery you seem to be making."

"Thank you, doctor. It's all thanks to your care and expertise, I couldn't have asked for a better doctor to be looking after me. Could you spare me a few moments? I actually have a few questions pertaining to my condition."

He nods and ushers her into an examination room towards the back, having her take a seat next to the supply counter provided in each room. Sitting down by the small out of date computer, he brings up her file before turning to her and smiling.

"Now, what is it you're curious or concerned about?"

"Well, it's not an easy matter to talk about, but I feel I am suffering from some sort of memory loss, where I know who I am but I can't seem to remember large gaps of my memory are missing. Events and memories that occurred specifically before I had my no so accidental accident," she laughs, trying to make light of such a dark matter, not wanting to make the situation any more awkward than she knows discussing this topic will make it.

"That is a serious matter, I'm glad you brought this to my attention immediately. We call this amnesia, and there are many forms of them. Thankfully, yours is a case that has been cured successfully many times before."

This causes Chloe to perk up, hopeful that she won't forever be walking blindly in her new life. "What do you suggest I do to help move along the recovery process, or at least see if I can make any sort of recovery?"

"The best thing I can suggest, is to ask the people who seem close to you or that seem to know who you were before, and ask them places you had frequented or passions you used to practice, and try to revisit those places and moments. This might help awaken previous memories and help you recover from your amnesia altogether."

That doesn't seem too hard, and Margaret might be someone who can help, if there isn't anything useful in the journal Athena has left behind.

"Now, there isn't anything I can prescribe you to help this, but there is advice I want to offer you. If at any time you experience any headaches, whether minor or intense, try not to think too much during that time. Your mind might be overloading itself trying to remember, and it can cause temporary or permanent damage to the part of your brain that retains long and short-term memory."

She remembered learning about this in her previous life, it was a part of a psychology course taken in high school. Someone who suffers from short-term memory loss can no longer retain any new memories, but still has all their old ones. Their cases are more rare than long-term, and therefore harder to cure.

Whereas long-term memory is when someone loses majority or all of their old memories before the moment they forgot, but are still able to retain new memories, and since it is a much more known case, it can be cured with careful research from within and just trying to unlock the part of your brain that retains your long-term memory. But if a person pushes their brain to work too hard, or tries to rush the memories back, they can permanently damage that part of the brain, and no longer be able to access it ever.

Losing all their memories, and worse case possible, cause themselves to suffer major brain damage for the rest of their life, their long-term and short-term memory deteriorating slowly or quickly over time.

"Thank you, doctor. This has helped me and give me a lot to think about," Chloe says and smiles at the doctor, shaking his hand before getting up.

"Please let me know if you make any progress or have any questions, I'm just a phone call away," he says and gives her his card. This allows her to learn his name, Doctor Carlson, without asking him, though at this point it would be understandable if she can't remember. It feels nice once again to share her struggles, without the fear of being deemed crazy.

Returning to the car, Margaret is waiting outside for her.

"Miss, I saw a really nice clothing store just down the strip, and you haven't bought anything new since before your accident. Would you like to take a look? I think their style would suit you very much," she says and offers her a bright smile, one that is hard to turn down.

She allows Margaret to lead the way down the bustling city street, until they stop outside a large window, displaying bright colored clothes covered in frills and silks, looking like something a teenager might shop at.

Is this really the style Athena wears? If that's the case, she is going to need a major wardrobe upgrade. There is no way Chloe is going out wearing clothes like that, regardless of how good her figure looks now, that doesn't mean she wants to give sleezy men any reason to call her out on the streets.

A woman should be allowed to wear whatever she feels comfortable in, but that is and always will be a naïve thought, it just isn't the world we live in.

"Thank you, Margaret, but I'm starting to feel a little tired. Let's just visit the last stop and then head home, we can plan another day to go out shopping, I should try and clean out my closet first, before filling it up again. I plan to do a big shopping spree soon to upgrade my wardrobe as the seasons change."

That sounds like something a girl like Athena would say. Chloe remembers from all the fashion magazines she read in her past life, that many celebrities change their wardrobes as the seasons change, with new fashions and trends coming into style as the weather changes also, and the biggest thing for a celebrity to be successful, is keeping up with the trends. You don't want to make it big, just to disappear into the shadows soon after.

***

"Miss Rose, it is quite a surprise seeing you here. I have been trying to contact you for some time to go over your mother's will." The lawyer, Edward Collins, didn't try and hide his shock when he opened his office door to see Athena Rose and her company standing there, what looks like a determined look on her face.

He has been trying to sit down and discuss the details of her mother's will with her, but every time he tries calling the number her father gave him, it keeps saying the number is no longer available and he can't very well just show up at her house. Her father has been deemed responsible for all affairs, until her 21st birthday.

But thankfully, she has come to see him instead.

"Oh, is there something urgent you need to speak to me about?" she asks, almost as if expecting there to be something going on.

"Well, y-yes actually, now that you mention it. Please take a seat, I'll have my receptionist bring us some refreshments, we have a lot to discuss since your mother's funerals. First, I'll start by properly offering my condolences and introducing myself, my name is Edward Collins and I have been your mother's family attorney for many years," he explains and pulls out a seat for her in front of his large wooden desk.

"I'm glad to finally meet you, and that's very kind of you to say. My mother spoke very highly of you, I know her affairs have been kept in good order under your supervision."

The surprised and confused look on his face tells Chloe that she is speaking to proper for her age, forgetting that she is a 25-year-old woman stuck in a 20-year-old body. Though there might not be a huge difference in age, those few years can really add a lot of experience to a person, especially when it comes with conversational skills.

"I appreciate you saying that, especially since your father hasn't been making it that easy for me this last year following your mother's death. If it wasn't for my interference, I fear he would have drained her affairs dry." The look of concern on his face is proof that her father has already begun trying to transfer all her mother's affairs into his name permanently, instead of the temporary power of attorney he has right now.

"We're still quite a few months away until I turn 21 and can legally take over for my father, but I'm here to see if there is anything we can do about solidifying my status as rightful heir to my mother's affairs? I already had an idea that my father would try and put everything in his name, he has already started to bring his mistress and illegitimate daughter around the house. It's only a matter of time before he tries transferring things into her name as well."

Mr. Collins rears back in utter shock. "Mr. Rose is having an affair, and has already conceived another child with this woman? If the media gets hold of this, it would be a national disaster. He just became the head of a major company, and it's only been a year since his wife was killed in such a terrible accident. Why haven't you told anyone of this?"

"I'm but a child myself, Mr. Collins. Despite my influence with the media and in society, something like that wouldn't be taken seriously coming from someone like me. I could be seen as the girl who cried wolf, the jealous daughter who is lashing out at her father for moving on. At the moment, there is nothing proving that Alexia Maden had an affair with my father, since the child they share together is older than me, therefore born before my mother and father were married."

Mr. Collins sits back in his seat and assesses everything he has just learned, feeling like his head is about to explode. He knew there were scandals surrounding Jaden Rose, but he didn't think the man was this crazy, and stupid, to bring his previous love affair and secret child around his former wife's house, where the child they share is still present.

But she is right, her influence and age aren't enough for her to expose this properly. He can see now why she has come to see him, to make sure she assures all her assets and affairs in the family before she can legally claim them; and to have someone to help her expose the misdeeds of her father and mistress.

If she were to handle this on her own, she could very much be buried under her father's influence and power he has gained from the temporary charge he has.

It seems like good changes are coming to the Rose family, for once.

***

After bringing out all the documents signed by her mother, Chloe went over them carefully to make sure her father hasn't already got his hands on any of them, and tampered with the information. When everything seems up to date, she puts them away in a folder and asks Margaret to hold onto them for now, nearly giving the woman a heart attack.

She will need to find a secure location to keep them, the main house and even Mr. Collins office are breached already and too accessible to her father. He can come and go as he pleases from the main house, and there is nothing stopping him from sending hired goons to break into the office and steal what they can.

Even if he gets his hands on one deed to any property, that would be more than enough money for him to help fund his current affairs and plans.

"Thank you, Mr. Collins. I'll be in touch soon if needed."

"Where are we headed to now, Miss?" Margaret asks as they make their way out to the awaiting car.

"Back home, my tasks are done for the day and I have to figure out a place to hide those documents for the time being. We still have 6-months until I can take over for my father and finally banish him and his mistress out of the family."

Margaret gasps and covers her mouth, but there is a bright twinkle in her eye.

"Are you really going to try and do that, Miss Rose?" she asks.

"I can't guarantee I'll win, but I'm going to try the best I can to make sure what my mother left behind isn't tarnished or destroyed by someone unworthy. It's the least I can do, in memory of her." Chloe finds herself once again aching in the center of her chest when she thinks about protecting the name of a woman, she can barely call a mother, a woman she has never even met.

Are these the past feelings of the former Athena? Or is she really starting to merge completely with her new body, and is starting to become Athena?

If that's the case, will she lose her memories and identity as Chloe?

Thinking about that outcome, she is unsure of how she feels. In reality, there is no reason to hold any attachment towards her former life, there is nothing she can really do about the family and people she left behind in that life, not knowing if they even exist in this world anymore.

But she is still conflicted about forgetting her past self, knowing that part of her past self, is what is fueling her current self now to get the revenge she wants and life the life she has always dreamed.

If she loses that confidence and conviction, what are the chances that she won't just revert right back to the previous Athena, and everything she has worked for until then, will be pointless. Chloe has already determined that the previous Athena was too weak willed to fight back against the challenges she was faced with, or else she wouldn't have tried to take her own life.

Which means if she does forget her past self as Chloe and reverts back to the original Athena, there is a large chance she will end up on the streets or dead, before her 21st birthday. Ending yet another life and chance at luxury.

That isn't something Chloe can allow. She needs to find a solution and get a better understanding of her situation. She is a soul trapped in another body, and although she is starting to feel the same emotions as Athena, she hasn't lost any of her former feelings and memories of Chloe.

At least, not yet. Maybe keeping a journal or diary like Athena did will help document her past memories and experience, in case she does start to forget. With this in mind, she asks the driver to make a quick stop at a book store nearby, grabbing a simple notebook as her journal.

When she gets back to the main house, she tells Margaret to take the evening off and inform the chef to prepare lunch before she does, then retires to her own room to start writing in her journal and find a place to hide it as well, knowing Stella and her mother like to frequent the house when they think no one is home.

Chloe is aware that they are currently staying at a property her mother's family used to own. It was a property her mother had gifted her father for their 10th wedding anniversary, a place for him to go that was close to the city and if he ever had to work late, could stay there instead of traveling all the way home and risking falling asleep on the way.

Instead of using it for those purposes, he has instead decided to move his new family in, even though it pales in comparison to the mansion Athena and her family live in now. It would be no secret that someone like Stella, who views everything that Athena has as rightfully hers, would be extremely jealous that Athena gets to live in such a luxurious place while she is hiding away in a place that doesn't even really belong to her, a stolen home.

Everything she has to her name is stolen, something she has to live with until she can get her hands on everything Athena owns, and have her removed from the picture so Stella can be recognized as the legitimate daughter of Jaden Rose, who will forever hide the fact that his former wife, who gave him the fame and power of the last name he currently abuses, was murdered and not killed in a car accident.

Chloe can already see their plans mapped out before her, thinking everything is a little too obvious, but it doesn't seem like she is dealing with people who think they're going to get caught, telling her even more that Athena was a naïve girl before she tried to take her life.

She isn't sure why she was put in this body, but she is happy she was, or else this girl's life of luxury would have been ended too soon and for too little of a reason. She is confident she can take these people down no problem; she just needs time and a little help along the way.

Margaret has been showing promise, and it seems like Mr. Collins will prove useful when needed, and also seems to have an idea that something isn't right with Jaden Rose and his current endeavors, which is another good sign that he is willing to play dirty if needed, to make sure Jaden doesn't get what he wants.

Now, all she needs is someone with just as much expendable wealth as her, if not more, and has a lot more influence and power than she does.

Then, her revenge plot should be complete and ready to carry out.