Chapter 1

"Where's that document? Surely it must be around here somewhere."

"Mr. Woodson's been bragging about that new installment idea for a while now—it has to be here."

Strange men were searching through Morgan's house, looking for certain files and documents that belonged to her father. Just yesterday, May 21st, her father passed away due to a stroke. His death made quite the headline since he was the company head of SnapPic, the currently most popular social media in the world. His co-workers and supposed friends were now taking advantage of the situation and searching for whatever information they could find to advance the company. He left behind no will that was salvageable, meaning it was a free-for-all within the company. Morgan inherited everything he owned, but being just under eighteen didn't allow her to own the company.

"Megan, where's your father's room?" One of the men who had been searching her father's office now approaches Morgan, hoping for answers. "Something so important—yes, it must be in his room if not here."

Silently, she points towards the room down the hall that leads to the master bedroom. With excitement in his eyes, the man hurriedly makes his way to the room to investigate. "My name isn't Megan..." Mumbling under her breath as he leaves, she only watches the men, being sure to stay out of their way. Although it was now her home (thanks to the help of her father's best lawyer) she wanted nothing to do with the company her father had owned. It was worth millions, perhaps billions, but she knew she couldn't handle a company like that.

The sound of breaking glass catches her attention and so she peeks inside the office to notice one of the men had knocked over a picture frame. Hastily, he throws it back on the shelf, not caring about the crack that was now in the frame. On the other hand, Morgan finds herself staring at it. It was a photo of herself when she was fourteen and her step-mother dressed in costumes for Halloween. The sweet memory returns to her mind; her father was always too busy to take her trick-or-treating, so instead she was taken by Leia for her first time ever. Leia was more of a mother to her than her real mother ever was.

Finally, one of the taller men shuts his briefcase, seeming to be satisfied with what he had found. "We've already searched through everything. Let's get going." One by one, the others began to stop with their searching and exit the office. The one man who had searched through her father's bedroom seemed to be the most disappointed, meaning he had hardly found anything.

"Morgan, right?"

Turning to face him, the female in question politely nods. "Yes, that's me. Is there anything else I can do for you, Sir?"

The taller man reaches into his pocket, pulling out a business card which he hands to her. "If you need anything, call me. I'm Paul; one of your father's closest advisors. I'll help you out however I can." Giving her a gruff smile, he soon turns and leaves, following the others outside of the house.

Leaning over the indoor balcony from the second floor, Morgan observes the men file out of her home, shutting the door behind them. She's overcome with a sense of relief once they're finally gone. She hated how those men could enter her house and search through it as they pleased. After all, she was aware of what their true intentions were.

Morgan pulls out her phone, searching through her contact list. It was once filled with four names, but now had up to twenty five different names in it. Many of her fathers' co-workers took the privilege to add their contact information in her phone, even when she didn't know half of them. They all waited in hopes for some kind of response, hoping she'd give them a piece of her riches. However, she only ever used it to contact the housemaid and the lawyer who had helped her out.

At that exact moment, her phone buzzes in her hand, letting her know a new text message had come through. 'You're not at school again. Did something happen? Are you alright?' It was from Nadia, her closest friend in school. Although Morgan didn't like to socialize all that much, the girl constantly followed her around, showering her in unnecessary kindness. She was quite clingy, to add.

Just like yesterday, she tucks her phone away into her pocket and ignores the message. Morgan wasn't in the mood to deal with her, to explain her situation and receive pity from the other girl. Instead, she decided to pass it off for as long as possible.

What she needed was to get away from this whole situation, to escape from reality. While video games seemed to be the best option considering they were her favorite, Morgan knew she couldn't let herself become a shut-in. The best thing to do was to get some fresh air and try to relax.

Waiting a couple minutes to make sure the men from earlier were completely gone, Morgan slips out of the house, locking it behind her with the key she kept in her left pocket. The hot sun already beats down on her and she almost immediately regrets coming out into the heat. Determined, she proceeds forward, heading into the nearby woods that rested behind her house to escape to the shade from the blasting ball of fire in the sky.

From there, she tunes in with nature, walking along the faint path. Her hand slides across the bark of a tree, massaging the rough texture with her fingers. Compared to the relatively annoying squawks from the feathered creatures in the morning, she could only hear a soft hum from a single one this time. It was strangely calming, maybe because of the comparison. She continues to venture further into the depths of the woods, coming across her favorite spot of all. A small river extended about a mile or so outward, carrying a gentle trickling sound along with it.

As she slowly approaches the body of water, Morgan suddenly notices the small creature standing across from the stream, watching her intently with its docile, blue eyes. Compared to how normally skittish its kind was, the creature stood there calmly with its feet implanted in the ground, staring her down. It was an oddly colored fox that seemed to be majestic in its own way. Black fur covered its body with little tips of white that painted its snout, inner ears, and end of tail. Out of nowhere, the fox suddenly sneezes, whipping its head around and running off into the brush. Morgan frowns to herself, realizing she missed the perfect chance for a picture.

"Hey, wait...!" Curiosity overcomes her, and she hurries off to follow after the creature without scaring it. However, just as she breaks into a light jog and attempts to cross the river bank, her foot slips on the mud produced by the water, and her body soon stumbles in. Although the female attempts to balance herself or to grab on to something, she ends up slipping in the water, soaking her lower body. It was lucky the river wasn't so deep and that the current wasn't so heavy because it could've caused quite a bit of trouble for someone like Morgan who wasn't a good swimmer. Realizing her pants and shoes were now soaked, she decides to give up on her mini adventure and instead climbs out of the river, heading in the direction back to the house.

"These are filthy..." Morgan mumbles to herself, observing the muddy shoes which were once a pure white. Her pants were brown and could easily be washed, but shoes were another thing. Then again, the housemaid, Clara, usually worked wonders when it came to cleaning out stains and messes in just about anything. When she looks up towards the front of her house, she notices a familiar girl standing in front of the door, impatiently knocking and ringing the door bell. It was the girl she was hoping to avoid; Nadia.

The short girl keeps spamming the doorbell over and over again, obviously having no intention on leaving. "Moooooorgan, I know you're here! You can't hide from me forever!" It seemed like she had yet to notice the person she was looking for was peeking out at her from the side of the house.

Wanting no part in socializing with the other girl, especially in her half-drenched state, she circles around to the back of the house, trying to unlock the back door instead so she can sneak inside. Unfortunately, the key she had only worked for the front door.

"Moooorgan!" The girl quickly scrambles the other way once she hears her name being called out, seemingly getting closer to her position. It seemed she was also going to try the back door. Luckily, her 180 degree circle around the house allows Morgan to stealthily reach the front, while Nadia had just arrived at the back. "Come on... What's wrong with you? You've had perfect attendance for years, it's not like you to suddenly miss school!"

Working quickly, Morgan inserts the key into the door, twists it, hops into the safety of her shelter, shuts the door, and locks it tight. She makes quick work of her dirtied clothing, tossing both her shoes, socks, and pants off, then racing up the stairs to grab a new pair of leggings. Despite still being able to hear the shouting of her fellow peer from below, along with receiving a constant bombardment of texts from her, Morgan's able to ignore it, instead occupying her time with her video game console. Not only did it help her pass the time, but it also gave her peace of mind and plenty of entertainment.

After a couple of hours, Morgan glances over her phone to see one final text from the female, 'I'll be back tomorrow.' It seems to avoid further harassment, she'd have to attend school tomorrow.