The Blood Legacy (The Lost Heir Book III)

Hey, Seth, It's the 50's!

Isabella and Seth stood in the Foxworthy hotel's grand lobby. After everything they'd been through, the time portal had worked. Everything looked the same, yet completely different. The front check in desk with its candlestick phones and attendants wearing the Foxworthy hunter green behind looked like it could have been in their time, but look to the left, there was no Rolf behind the concierge desk or up and there was no projector screen running old movies on the far wall. The carpeting was a lighter shade and the people milling about were dressed like they'd stepped out of an old Hitchcock movie.

Isabella looked down at her clothes. She was in a floral print summer day dress and wearing gloves. She touched the side of her head. Her hair was pinned up at the sides and laid in soft waves over her shoulders. Seth was in a casual charcoal suit that made him look at least twenty-one. "They gave us clothes? How?"

"Just go with it," said Seth, taking her arm as if it was the most natural thing in the world and leading her through the thickening crowd of the lobby.

It was clearly a special day at the Foxworthy Hotel. Glamorous people bustled about, jaws wagging, hands flaring, as they spoke to one another about whatever was happening that day. "We need to find out what date it is?" Isabella whispered to Seth as they walked through the lobby, trying to blend in.

"Renee, darling. Why don't you look elegant!" a loud voice gushed. Isabella looked toward it with a gasp. The woman being complimented was none other than her paternal great-grandmother. Isabella swallowed and her stomach dropped. This couldn't be real.

Renee Foxworthy looked to be in her mid-40s, a regal but conservative beauty. Isabella knew from photos and stories the woman who'd died when Isabella was four had a rebellious streak in younger years and that included fashion choice. It seemed, however, during this era maturity and sophistication had set in. Renee had clearly settled into her persona as Hollywood royalty. A quiet style that was neither 'too much' or 'gauche' in appearance. This left Isabella, the unknown heiress from the future, in awe -- the sophisticated, former silent film star with her now famous children. Without doing anything at all, Renee made the Foxworthy into something Isabella felt beating from the walls as she'd grown up but could never put a finger on. It was beyond looks and glamour. It was – legacy.

A few onlookers also called out to Beatrice, Renee's beautiful daughter. The twenty-something woman's dark hair and green eyes mirrored Isabella's in a way that shook the young diadem to the core. But where Isabella was self-conscience Beatrice appeared sure. Where she was small, Beatrice bloomed. Looking away from her great aunt, Isabella recognized Mitchell, Isabella's grandfather and Catherine's husband, from old pictures. Around this time, the tall cinnamon-haired man would have just returned from the war – Korea to be exact. They watched him stride in with the slightly shorter, chiseled-jawed, fair-haired Leonard – Jack's idolized brother, a star-in-the-making. Beatrice looked ready to swoop upon the man she clearly desired.

"Hey, Iz. It's July 13th. It's the right day," Seth said, holding up a newspaper. "They're gonna have the party to celebrate Beatrice and Leonard's movie –"

"Where did you get that paper from?" she asked, eyeing the headline of the Culver Hills Register, a paper that no longer existed in their time.

Seth shrugged. "A guy had it sticking out of a pocket on the side of his suitcase as he walked by."

"You—you need to make sure no one notices us. If they do, we could...ruin everything. We need to find Serena. See who followed her maybe or what she's up to."

"You wanted to find the date."

"I know, but...all right. Let's just make sure not to talk to anyone related to either of us, which might be hard because those are the people we have to follow to find Serena. But still we have to try. Agreed?"