Crash and Burn

Chapter Seventeen

Scarlett's POV:

I guess she meant what she said.

True to her word, Layla took me to a buffet and let me eat as much as I wanted. When I passed the two small plate barrier pets could only have she herself would get up and go get whatever I want, bringing it back to the table for me to eat. I excitedly bit into my third slice of pizza while Layla furiously texted on her phone.

"What happened? Where did you go last night?" I asked once I swallowed. Her head snapped up.

"Huh? Oh..My Mother's tech department. I was helping her with some work until she got called down for an emergency. She let me follow. But I left when it hit almost midnight. She works late" She said, sitting up and stretching. I didn't miss the flash of excitement.

"So what did your Mom want? Then" I asked. She swirled her fork on her plate of pasta.

"She's allowing me to be Mother's second in command. Until Zane takes her place and he forces me out of the position of course" She snapped, rolling her eyes. I cleared my plates to the side and leaned forward.

"You two are siblings. And you're older. Shouldn't you be getting that position?" I asked. She snorted.

"Where have you been? Nope I couldn't. I'm the ADOPTED daughter. Zane is blood related to Mom. Therefore he gets it. If something happened and there's literally nobody to take over then yeah I'd get it. Until another heir is born and they're old enough to take my place" She explained. Ouch.

"Least you've got the tech department. I'm sure that's your strong suit. Maybe you can become like an Engineer or a Scientist. Don't you guys have colleges here?" I said with a smirk. She didn't return nor laugh at my smile so I dropped it.

"My sister was next in line. Samantha. By the time she was 24 she ran multiple parts by her self. When she died, Mom took them all back. Most likely gonna give them to Zane." She said, leaning her head on her hand. I sighed.

"That's such bullshit. You're the older sibling. Line of succession works oldest to youngest does it not?" I growled. She chuckled. One of the workers approached us and cleared up the plates. I fell silent. It was inappropriate for me to be talking so much. Quick answers were key. Pets were supposed to be silent for like half their life apparently.

Layla paid the bill and we left. I climbed into the passenger seat and she went into the drivers. She insisted on driving us today. She pulled out of the parking lot and began driving.

In the opposite direction of where we came from.

I sat up and glanced her way.

"Uh. Layla. You're going the wrong way.." I said. She ignored me, keeping both hands on the steering wall and her eyes glued to the road. I repeated what I said until she finally snapped.

"I know! I know. We're going somewhere. Be quiet." She practically snarled at me. I huffed and slumped in the seat, looking away from her and back out of the window.

We finally pulled up to an old abandoned building. It looked to be an old hospital. Layla got out and quickly ushered me out.

"We can't be seen here. They'll hide the car" She said, pulling me towards the building. We walked down the ramp to the underground garage. She pulled out her phone and opened the QR code reader. I raised an eyebrow as she moved her phone around the right side of the massive door.

"What are you doing?" I hissed. She failed to answer me. Suddenly her phone captured a QR code hidden on the door and successfully scanned it. A chat box pulled up, asking for a password. Layla typed in a bunch of letters and numbers and the box glowed green, filled with those little stars to keep the characters hidden. She stepped back and I followed.