SEQUEL: TWENTY-SEVEN

Alina ended up spending her time on the balcony watching the world go by, it was awful compared to the peacefulness of watching happy families live back in her mother’s old house but she could focus on any shows so it was a way to pass the time.
Madeline woke up well past noon, coming out looking brighter than ever so Alina guess that she had taken a shower after waking up she was dressed differently too.
“Ready to go shopping?” She asked with a small smile, flipping her hair.
Alina walked past her to get to the bedroom, “Yeah, I just need to grab my bag, be right back.”
In no time they were in the elevator going to the ground floor, it was a little startling to walk out the rotating glass doors to a horde of paparazzi flashing camera lights in their face, good thing they both thought to wear sunglasses.
They got in Madeline’s car peacefully, the paparazzi might be a nuisance by showing up uninvited but they knew better than to swarm them. The paparazzi kept a respectable distance from them, there was no need to ask questions because they just needed pictures for the tabloids.
Madeline glanced over at the line of cameras to her side as she ignited the engine, a small smile playing on her lips as she peeked over her pink tinted sunglasses. She drove off with a nice thought playing in her head, how the paparazzi would focus solely on her after Alina was gone. Although pink was her favorite color, she knew she would look so good in funeral black, especially with a matching black crown.
They arrived at the first store without hitches, Madeline had made sure to inform Alina of all the stores they would be visiting, rattling them off at random although she had planned everything down to the very last minute.
They could only spend half an hour at the current store, then a full hour at the next before they would finally get to the store where her plot would take place. She was only going through the table of erasing her tracks to Alina just so that she wouldn’t be suspected if this attempt failed.
It was really difficult remaining perfectly calm through this wait and by the time they were driving to the third store, Madeline felt like she was sitting on pins and needles from how tense she was; she couldn’t wait for it to be all over.
Alina was too caught up in her head to notice anything amiss about Madeline, heavily regretting that she had agreed to this trip. Was it possible to hit mid-life crises at the age of twenty-four because she couldn’t give a name to how she felt?
Shopping felt colorless, it was just going to be her buying more unnecessary things that she would probably never wear. All of the clothes she currently had wouldn’t fit in a warehouse for sure and here she was buying more, and next week again, she would do the same, it was an endless cycle.
It would be even better if she got something from shopping like she used to, a burst of dopamine, a distraction from how hollow her life actually was. But it didn’t work anymore, the designer shopping bags in the backseat only highlighted how painfully empty her life was.
Silently, she had come to a decision that after the third store, they would return back to the penthouse. She didn’t even want to return to the penthouse, it felt distant, it was just a house… The more she thought about it, it more she realized that she didn’t actually have a home.
Her father’s castle felt just like the penthouse did, there were no nice memories there. Her childhood was just her being confined to her wing of the castle surrounded by servants who were only nice to her because she was the princess.
She didn’t want to return to the penthouse but it was a better option than going to the next store. They walked into the store and just like every single place they walked into, they were immediately given special attention.
In a short space of time, they were offered a private room and a personal shopper so they didn’t have to make poor money decisions beside other people.
Alina found herself zoning out throughout the entire ordeal, Madeline shooting her a look of concern.
“Lina, are you okay?” She asked gently, walking closer.
Her question snapped Alina into focus which was fortunate because just then she caught some movement behind a rack of clothes which sent her into high alert. Her bag was slung over her should and she discreetly reached into it as she walked closer to Madeline who hadn’t yet noticed anything amiss.
“I’m…” She started to say, trailing off when she got into Madeline’s personal space. “Duck!” She yelled at the same time that she pushed her friend down, a scarily accurate knife whizzing past her head. Without hesitating she pointed her gun in the direction that the knife had come from and shot.
Someone crumbled to the floor with a yell of pain and all hell broke loose. There were far more people than Alina had previously guessed and for some reason, they were all armed with knives, that didn’t make them easier to deal with though because they deftly threw the knives at them like bullets.
She dragged Madeline off the ground and hid behind a moving rack of clothes able to shoot down two more because a bunch of clothes weren’t enough to stop a bullet, unlike a thrown knife. By now, the ruckus in the private dressing room had attracted attention and security came pouring in.
Alina heaved when the armed security took over, their masked attackers immediately going for the escape while trying to drag off their injured partners. All the adrenaline drained away from Alina’s veins, making her feel a little lightheaded as the severity of their situation, finally sank in.
A tall dark skinned man with a badge that showed him to be the head of security immediately headed for them. “I deeply apologize for my incompetence, are either of you hurt in any way.”
“We’re fine,” Alina huffed, “Just catch the bastards that did this.” She said flippantly, wanting nothing more than to leave the store.
She looked over to her best friend who was still wide eyed in shock as what was previously a pretty dressing room quickly turned into a crime scene. She could totally understand exactly how Maddie felt and she was so glad she decided to start carrying a gun on her just so that she wouldn’t be forced to rely on Roman again.
Madeline’s wide eyes were still fixed on the wreck scene in front of her, her left her twitching. The little bitch had a fucking gun? Since when?? If she had known that, she wouldn’t have made an exception that the hired thugs only carry knives so that it would be a silent job.
She had already pictured the entire thing, she would turn around to find Alina hopefully stabbed in the throat and heart, unable to move and quickly dying out. Then she would scream bloody terror which would send people running in, the bloody knife and a mask would be left behind and masked attackers would be caught on camera sneaking in and escaping from the store. It would be a scene worthy of an Oscar,
Madeline’s face twisted in anger and she had to place her hands on her face to hide it. *’Why couldn’t anything fucking go right?!’*
Alina immediately pulled her distressed best friend into a hug, “Hey, it’s okay now.” She said comfortingly, her eyes dark as she thought about everything Iyla had put them through
The head of security walked up to them in the company of the manager who looked so frightful and pale, it was almost like he had been the one jumped by a group of knife wielding assassins.
“I’m so deeply sorry for this, Your Highness.” The chubby man said in distress.
“We’re also still on the chase for the attackers but I promise on my honor that I’ll have them at your feet.” The head of security said grandly.
Madeline had to fight the urge to roll her eyes, they were never going to catch them because she had hired highly trained professionals. They might not be so great at executing their missions but were adept at escaping because their prime goal was to keep their hirer a secret.
“Sure,” Alina said absently.
Madeline regained herself at this point, separating herself from Alina with a small smile. “Let’s leave,” She said quietly to her.
Alina nodded at this, that was what she wanted to do more than anything else. The manager was speaking again, talking about how they didn’t have to pay for what they bought and if they could be nice so as to not mention this unfortunate incident to the media…
She didn’t even pay any attention to the blabbing manager, following after Madeline who led the way out. No one dared to stop them, and the only people who made an effort to follow them were the manager who was desperate about protecting the image of his store, and the head of security who walked stoically beside him.
Alina thought about how the tubby manager would be singing a different tune if either of them had actually been hurt. Anyway, this was the outcome she had hoped for, Iyla was their private matter to deal with, and she would rather that this attack remained a secret. She wasn’t going to give the manager the reassurance he so craved though.
Madeline still looked really shaken up so she offered to drive, pulling out of the parking lot. “Is it safe to return to the penthouse though?” She spoke up as she started off.
Madeline glanced up at this question, her gaze distant. “You’re right, the paparazzi were in front of our hotel today so the entire world literally knows where it is.”
“I thought as much,” Alina muttered, swerving the car in a different direction.
She would have liked to go to one of her father’s houses but she didn’t want to compromise their locations. Going to the castle was probably her safest bet because it was practically impenetrable but she would rather brave getting attacked in her sleep over returning there.
The next best option was Madeline’s house so she brought it up, “Do you maybe think we should go over to your estate?” She asked carefully.
Madeline frowned at this, she didn’t mind going back home alone, she minded it if Alina was with her. “I don’t think we should,” She said shorty, unable to come up with an excuse for why they couldn’t.
Alina quickly backed down, not wanting to further upset Madeline who was currently very shaken up by what had just happened. “Yeah, you’re right, we’ll just book another hotel room,” She sucked in a deep breath, “So what are we going to do about her?”
Clearly, they couldn’t take Iyla on all by themselves and would have to leave it to someone else, but they needed to do that quickly before the weird cunt got around to actually winning against them.
“I’ll inform Peyton about the latest developments, she had been quietly laying low for a while but with this recent attack it should be easy for him to get a bead on her.” Madeline spoke up.
Alina sighed, “Okay, that’s… that’s good.” She nodded, “And you need to get a gun.”
Madeline whipped over to her, “I don’t know how to fucking shoot a gun,” She said in a panic.
“Then we’ll go to a gun range,” Alina calmly countered.
“I’ve never killed anyone before,” She whispered, sounding distraught.
Alina didn’t back down at this, because she would rather her best friend do the killing than her ending up dead. “Hopefully, it’ll remain that way.”