What. The. Hell.

Who did that guy think he was? All that talk about me being a target... was he trying to scare me? I had to do something... but what [i]could[/i] I do? Hide myself away? Father and the others would find me for sure. And if they really were after me, they would certainly have the means to get to me.

My appetite had vanished. In fact, I had become a bit worried about whether my food had been poisoned, even though I had eaten some already. If there had been anything in it, I would have been affected already... wouldn't I? 

I desperately thought back to who would stand to gain from my death. Mother and Father might, of course. The only other potential recipient of my fortune would be the next youngest female member of my family. Who exactly was that? My only sibling was my older brother, but I had a lot of cousins, many of whom I had scarcely ever spoken to in my life. I didn't know which of them was the youngest!

I breathed deeply. I needed to calm down; there had to be some way out of this. Couldn't I just take a few billion dollars for myself and leave the rest in some collective family fund or something? There was no way I needed over a hundred billion dollars, and maybe if I did that it would get everyone else off my back. 

But... no. Somehow, I knew that would not be allowed. It might even make me more of a target than I already was. My family took its stupid [i]traditions[/i] very seriously. How had grandmother lived so long anyway?

Then it hit me. 

Grandmother had been headstrong, stubborn... [i]powerful[/i]. But I... I was just some weak girl who had been through hell and never fully recovered. They must think me [i]unworthy[/i] to control this fortune. That had to be it! So in order to stop their scheming, I would have to become strong. 

It was time to make a statement.

"Guards!" I called, drawing the attention of those dining at nearby tables, "I've changed my mind. Take me back home, [i]now[/i]."

I bit my lip, but only slightly, so that no one could see it. Was I truly going to speak to... that man?