Doomed to be Rich

Magazines & Paparazzi

I couldn't sleep at all Sunday night. All I could think of was the fact that Devon was about to become my stepbrother. Only Mom and Bela knew so far, and I wanted to keep it that way. At least for now.

I was passing by the convenience store on Monday morning, when I noticed the front of the magazines.

No, no no no, nonono.

Pasted on the front of Peoples magazine, was the headline, "Ambani's New Heiresses?" It showed a closeup of Mom, Bela and I leaving Hawsworth Resturant with Kamran and the twins. I hurriedly checked the other magazines, which almost all had close ups of us either leaving the resturant, or entering the mansion. One certain one caught my eye.

It read,"New Heiress Kali Plans to Steal the Ambani 9 Billion Dollar Company!" On the cover was a blurry photograph of Devon and I yelling at each other in front of the mansion.

Wait, what? Nine billion dollar WHAT?

I quickly scanned the article.

Seventeen year old Kali finds herself 'coincidentally' in the race for inheriting Kamran Ambani's multi-billion dollar company, Apple. Kamran's relationship with Kali's Mother, Salma, had been kept a secret until just recently an insider source told us, "Kamran and Salima just announced their engagement yesterday. Kali... gawking at the mansion.... after finding out she is almost 7 hours older than the twins..." Devon Ambani is currently in line for the fortune by being 2 minutes older than his twin brother, Damian. But since Kali is currently 7 hours older than Devon, she would then be first in line for the throne once Kamran marries Salima. Will Kali be able to steal the fortune she always thirsted for?

I was going to kill them. For certain, Mom would be the first to go. Why wouldn't she tell me any of this? Maybe even a Hey Kali, by the way, once I marry Kamran you'll be first in line to inherit a crap load of money from Kamran. You may also have stolen this inheritance from the twins.

I glanced to the right, where I saw two girls from my school whispering behind a magazine and eyeballing me from afar. My stomach turned when I imagined how everyone would react at school. My stomach wasn't the only thing turning either, my whole life might as well have been upside down. This wasn't me! The only thing I had ever wanted was to get good grades, become a doctor, and save peoples lives! What happened to that life? What happened to that family? I quickly continued walking to school with my head down. 
     There was a crowd of people with cameras gathered in front of the school, as I was about to walk in through the side doors. Unfortunately, one person spotted me before I was inside.
     "Kali! Kali! How  you plan on stealing a nine billion dollar inheritance from the Ambani's? " The mob quickly surrounded me, but I couldn't find my way out. Flashes blinded me as each of them tried to yell over one another. Suddenly two police officers banked me while pushing and shoving a path through the crowd. I stumbled through the door as gawking students looked on. The principal smiled at me, as I tried to fix my clothes. Animals. They were outright animals.
      "Hello dear. Your father informed us of the situation, and we send reinforcements as soon as we could.", she smiled, gesturing to the officers guarding the doors.
     "Kamran is NOT my father.", I huffed.
     "Not yet.", she bubbled, forcing out a laugh. Since when did I make the principal nervous?
     "If you would come with me, we can get you to your waiting ride that was sent for you.", she nervously wiped her hands discreetly on her skirt.
     "What about my classes?", I questioned, remembering my math test.
     "No need to worry about those, for you are excused for the day. A stellar student like yourself can afford to take the day off, if need be." Huh, is that so?
     I remembered her speech during the last assembly, where she told us that absences were not permitted by any means, and how even the best students grades could suffer with missed classes. She led me to the back entrance of the school, as students stared (or glared) at me. The hardest part was when I walked past Eric, Chloe, and Alice. Chloe and Alice pointedly ignored me while Eric mouthed call me.
     I didn't blame them for being mad, I was just glad that Eric was giving me a chance to explain. We walked out onto the back entrance, where only teachers could park. I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't spot any paparazzi in sight, which was immediately cut short once I saw a long, black limo waiting ahead. The aging man that Devon had yelled at came out of the limo to open the door for me. Once looking at my stunned expression, he smiled gently at me.
     I slowly sat on the sleek leather seats. The limo smelled like fresh leather and cleaning polish, a smell that lingered on all of the Ambani's vehicles I had so far ridden in. Out of the tinted black windows, I watched the principal exchange a few words with the driver, before he got into the limo.
     "Umm, excuse me sir...",I started.
     "Feel free to call me George, sweetie.", he replied. It was more than a little awkward speaking to him through the small window between the drivers seat and the rest of the car.
     "Alright, George. Where are you taking me?", I asked.
    "To the Ambani mansion to meet with your family.", he stated, pulling the limo out of the parking lot. As we rolled past the entrance, paparazzi surrounded the limo, yelling inaudible things as they flashed their cameras at the tinted windows. I sat stiffly as far from the windows as possible, staring straight ahead.