Reborn from the Ash
1.6 - Jacqueline's Visit
The sound of designer heels on pavement rang through the streets as an elegantly dressed woman walked purposely towards the wharf. A constant scowl darkened her face— clearly, this wasn’t the sort of activity she typically voluntarily took part in.
“Um, Mrs. Jacqueline! Mrs. Jacqueline, please! I’m the one with the directions!” Jinelle shouted as she took hurried steps in a weak attempt to keep up with Jacqueline.
Jacqueline stopped. “Fine. But make it snappy. We cannot allow Kiara the time to prepare for our arrival. That would defeat the purpose, hm?”
“Uh, right, Mrs. Jacqueline. Exactly.”
While Jinelle did have to exert a non-significant amount of effort directing Jacqueline, the pair eventually reached Kiara’s house. As the sun had just barely cleared the hills, Jacqueline was pleased with their relatively early arrival.
“I thought this place would be more of a hovel,” Jacqueline sighed. “Jinelle, explain this to me. Just how exactly did she manage this? How is she going to learn any sort of lesson here if her experience here isn’t just atrocious?”
“Well, you see, Mr. Sanchez, he…”
“He went behind my back. Of course. Why am I surprised? He showed me pictures of the place before he bought it for her, and this place certainly isn’t great by any means, but from what I observed in those images, I assumed the place would be infested with rats! I hoped a floorboard would break underneath her or that a broken window would make the place unusually drafty, and that, with a few scratches and maybe a ruined coat or two, she’d quickly realize that this is not the life for her. What is Antonio’s aim here?”
Jinelle shifted awkwardly. She had no idea how to respond to that.
“No matter. Let’s knock, shall we?” Jacqueline smiled.
She stepped onto the pathway, and in a few sweeping steps, she was at the door. She gave it a polite knock, then stepped back, waiting for Kiara to open it for her.
After a few moments, the door swung open, and Kiara greeted her mother with a smile. She looked put together, still as smartly dressed as she would have been if she was still living at home, and above all, content. Jacqueline felt an intense rush of sadness seeing her daughter so happy without her, but she pushed it deep down inside herself and kept her perfect smile on her face.
“Mother! Please, come in.”
“Lovely to see you dear,” Jacqueline said, giving Kiara a kiss on each cheek. “You’ve done something different with your hair, haven’t you! You have… bangs now…? Lovely...”
Once inside, Jacqueline looked around the space. In the time since she’d moved in, Kiara had expanded the back of the house to create a bigger kitchen and add a living space, painted the walls with an orange gradient pattern, redone the floors to be solid wood, replaced the windows, and moved in some familiar furniture.
“If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t this place was rather rundown and tiny when you first bought it? Well, at just a glance, I can tell you’ve certainly been busy! Even if it still is rather… quaint.”
“Well, yes, I want this place to feel like a home,” Kiara said. “For as quaint as it is, as you put it, it still feels homely, does it not?”
Jacqueline turned away from Kiara, to where Jinelle was still standing in the open door. “Jinelle, shut the door and make yourself useful, would you? You’re going to let the bugs in, standing there like that. Go and prepare tea or something, let me speak to my daughter.”
“Mrs. Jacqueline, how on earth would I-” Jinelle stammered. “Um… okay fine, I’ll… try.”
She shut the door and shuffled her way over to the kitchen, where she started to riffle through the cabinets.
“Well? Are you going to offer me a seat?” Jacqueline said expectantly, giving Kiara a very pointed stare.
Kiara got it now. This had to be a test. Typical.
“Oh, of course, right around here, mother.”
Kiara led Jacqueline past a fireplace that had a single designer chair facing it, over to a rather sparse looking living room. The same TV and sofas that had once been in Kiara’s room were set up in the same positioning they’d been in back home.
The sound of something falling echoed through the house from the kitchen as Jacqueline and Kiara took their seats. Jacqueline ran her hand over the fabric of the chair she was sitting in judgmentally, then gave Kiara a sad little shake of the head.
“Jinelle, could you please be careful?” Kiara asked anxiously.
“Ignore her!” Jacqueline exclaimed, waving an elegant hand as if to dismiss her concerns. “If something breaks, your father and I can replace it.”
Kiara sighed. “Look, mother. I don’t want-“
“Don’t want what, Kiara? Our help? Please. Look at this place. You’ve certainly made this place look like home— that horrible chair you have in front of the fireplace, for instance. I remember that ghastly thing from your wing of the house. Oh! And this rug, who could forget? And— if I could hazard a guess about why you suddenly have a larger house and painted walls… your father? Please, Kiara. You clearly still need us.”
“Oh, what a surprise! You were just waiting for the opportunity to criticize me, weren’t you? I never asked for any of this mother! Father just offered me the house, and some cash, and once I complained to Lyric about the house and what I missed from home, it was done for me before I even had a chance to turn it down.”
A spark lit up in Jacqueline’s eyes. “Lyric, was it? You say stuff to her, stuff magically happens, and you chose to keep talking to her? It’s clear to me that, in raising you, some of the messages I tried to impart to you failed to land, but Kiara, I was certain I’d at the very least raised you to be a good judge of character!”
“No, Jacqueline. You taught me that well, as typically, I know better than to welcome you into my living space,” Kiara said calmly. “And, I mean, are you serious? Even if Lyric is reporting to Antonio, I trust her! She’s just doing what she’d paid to. Lyric is always going to want nothing but the best for me!”
“Lyric wants the best- Kiara, dear, please. Do you really think you can trust anyone on your father’s payroll to put you before their paycheck and every privilege he grants them? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Kiara crossed her arms, and spoke to Jacqueline with a shaky voice that gradually rose in volume. “What about Jinelle then, mother? She’s clearly Kiara Version 2, isn’t she? Isn’t that why you dress her up like you once did for me, and seal her away with you when you feel threatened?”
Don’t you dare raise your voice at your mother!”
“Get out,” Kiara said quietly.
“What was that?”
“Take Jinelle, and go home. I don’t want either of you here. Ever.”
Jacqueline rose from her seat in a fury. “To think I came here to bring you a housewarming gift! Jinelle?”
Jinelle rushed into the room. “Mrs. Jacqueline, I couldn’t find the kettle-“
“I no longer care, Jinelle! The car better be here, because we’re leaving!”
Kiara stayed seated, and watched her mother’s storm as if she were looking through an opaque window. Despite the shouting, the chaos, she felt strangely level-headed. This… this was what she’d wanted to get away from. In moving out, and stopping direct interactions with her parents. she’d felt so distant from it all for this precious moment in time. She wanted that moment to last.
Barely hearing the insults she was sure her mother was throwing around, Kiara followed them to the door and watched as Jinelle opened the car door for Jacqueline. Jacqueline slammed the door shut before Jinelle had a chance to close it, and Jinelle let out a careful sigh before going around to the other side of the car and getting in. Just before the car drove off, Jacqueline rolled down her window and threw a wrapped present onto the road.
Kiara walked over to the present and stood in the car exhaust as Jacqueline’s car sped back to the mansion. Kneeling down, she slowly peeled off the paper to reveal a painting. One of her and Jacqueline, back when she was still a little girl. For one very brief moment, Kiara almost felt guilty.
The blistering summer sun hung directly over the Sanchez Mansion, highlighting Antonio’s display of wealth and power for the world to see. Yet inside, Antonio sat focused in his bedroom, the temperature of his home set to a coolness he’d designated to keep informally dressed visitors slightly uncomfortable. He was seated across from Ivailo, who was referring to notes written in a slender notebook that sat on the table between them.
“Houda Choukri, was it?” Antonio asked Ivailo, who sat across from him at a table.
“Based on my observations over the last few weeks, if any of the three of them pose any threat to you, however minimal, it’s her,” Ivailo said cooly.
“Ironic that Kiara would befriend someone who’s in the same position I was in when I first started out, isn’t it? Of course, she cannot hope to compet-“
They were interrupted by the muffled sounds of Jacqueline rushing up the stairs. “Antonio! Antonio, I went to visit out daughter, and you need to explain several things to me right this instant!”
Antonio gave Ivailo a purposeful nod that clearly indicated that they would finish up their discussion later. Ivailo wordlessly took the notebook from the table between the two of them, closed it, and slipped it into his jacket before Jacqueline threw open the doors to the bedroom. Once the doors were open, she raced into the room, face flushed and slightly out of breath. Jinelle eventually showed up behind her and could do nothing but give Antonio an apologetic shrug.
“Ivailo, leave us,” Antonio said calmly. “And, could you get in touch with Hugo Villarreal for me? He hasn’t followed through on a certain… prior commitment.”
“I’ll see it done at once, sir,” Ivailo said with his trademark half smile.
On his way out of the room, he gave Jacqueline a slight bow as he passed her. At the door, he grabbed Jinelle’s arm and indicated with a very controlled amount of force that they should leave the two of them to their conversation.
“Oh, I-! I’ll, uh, be in the kitchen, Mrs. Jacqueline! I’ll put the kettle on, like you wanted!” Jinelle called out as she was pulled out the door.
Antonio and Jacqueline could just barely hear their muffled conversation as the door closed behind them.
“Ivailo, ew! Don’t touch me! Ever!” Jinelle shrieked. “You’re always clammy, and…”
Jacqueline paid no mind to Jinelle. With the two of them gone, Jacqueline dropped every ounce of self restraint she was holding back and stormed her way over to Antonio.
“Antonio, we are losing our daughter, and it is incredibly disturbing to me how little you seem to care!”
Antonio’s face was as stoic as ever. “Take a seat, dear.”
Jacqueline crossed her arms, and gave Antonio a scathing look through the tears of rage adorning her eyes.
“Please?”
“Only if you promise to explain some things to me.”
Antonio nodded. “That’s only fair.”
Jacqueline threw herself into the chair next to Antonio. “Antonio, please explain this to me. How is our daughter supposed to learn how cruel and terrible the world is if she gets everything she could ever want, and has your little spies fluttering around her, reporting everything back to you so you can deal with her every problem?”
“I take it your painting didn’t have the effect you wanted.”
“The painting- Oh, of course,” Jacqueline let out a little laugh. “Jinelle probably told you, didn’t she? I give that girl everything she could ever want, and still-!”
Jacqueline paused, and let out a long breath. “That is besides the point. Antonio, when you spoke at that dinner, you painted it as if Kiara would be convinced to return home, and later, after that dinner, you promised me she would. But when I went to see her today, she was happy. That painting didn't have the effect I wanted because, clearly, she is too far gone for a painting of a precious childhood memory to rouse any long dead feelings of affection for her family.”
“Believe it or not, Jacqueline, I’m not going about this blind.”
Jacqueline leaned back in her chair, and raised a single eyebrow, as if to say “well?”
“As you have guessed, I have people watching and reporting back to me on Kiara. Anytime she leaves her house, I hear about it. I’m aware of exactly who she’s talking with, and plans have already been set in motion to make her feel less comfortable than she would have hoped.”
“Such as?”
Antonio was silent for a few moments before he spoke. “When she first moved in, I hired a man to rob her, and take something unremarkable that she wouldn’t miss. This was done with a specific goal in mind— to undermine her sense of safety before she ever got a chance to develop one.”
Jacqueline nodded her understanding, having been reassured by Antonio’s words. “Hm. Intriguing. I see. Antonio, I hate to admit it right now, but I have got to hand it to you, that is legitimately impressive… I should have consulted you about the painting, I’m sure together, we could have come up with a much more effective way to weaponize it.”
Antonio smiled. It was one of his rather rare genuine smiles. “Why, thank you darling. Just please- always remember that I have no intention of letting our daughter go. Additionally, that painting…”
Antonio paused, and looked thoughtfully out the window. “I could see it being more effective than you think. Don’t undersell your talents, Jacqueline. In fact, it’s exactly due to your talents that you I always intended on having you be a prominent contributor to the next stage of the plan.”
A playful smile danced across Jacqueline’s lips. “Do tell.”
Antonio leaned in. “We are going to find Kiara a husband. And this won’t be just any man, we’ll find a man we can use.”
At the Villarreal Estate, Max was lounging by the poolside, enjoying the sun. Life was finally going well for him, he could feel pieces coming together— then he saw Kiara Sanchez walking up his driveway. He let out a very audible sigh, one that attracted the attention of Luna, who’d been tending to the garden.
“That spoiled, yet still horribly ungrateful daughter friend of yours is here,” Max said, jerking a finger in her direction.
“Max, could you contain yourself for just one day?” Luna hissed as she hurried past him to greet Kiara.
Max snorted and went back to scrolling on his phone.
Cursing Max in her head, Luna greeted Kiara with a pleasant smile. “Wonderful to see you.”
“Likewise, Luna” Kiara said, offering Luna a hug.
Luna graciously accepted the hug, then led Kiara over to a series of glass outdoor tables that were set up next to the pool. Each was shielded from the sun with a classy looking square umbrella.
“I’m sorry I can’t offer you the complete shade of the indoors” Luna said apologetically as they sat down. “Hugo is spinning right now, and let me tell you, it’s not pleasant. Both Max and I chose to stay outside whenever he gets like this.”
Hearing his name, Max jokingly saluted Kiara from his lounge chair.
“Do you have any idea what’s wrong?” Kiara asked, legitimately concerned.
Luna shook her head. “The most I’ve been able to gather is that it has something to do with something your father asked of him, but he doesn’t go into specifics when either of us are within earshot.”
“That’s because you’re a bloody traitor and would fucking sell out this family to Kiara without even trying to benefit from it,” Max shouted from his lounge chair.
Luna whirled around, eyes blazing. “Max, if you want to be part of this conversation, by all means, join us, but if you’re going to sit there and make snide remarks, I’ll lock you and all your friends out of this house next time you want to meet here!”
A look of intense rage crossed Max’s face, but he relented. “Bitch. Fine.”
He did, however, put his phone away and meander over to where Kiara and Luna were having their conversation. There was no way he was letting Luna win every battle, even if he knew that whatever they were talking about would probably bore him to tears.
“Hi Max,” Kiara sighed as he slid into a seat.
“Hello there,” Max said smugly. He removed his sunglasses, then looked Kiara dead in the eyes. “What are we talking about? Fashion? Flowers?”
“My mother, actually. Luna, you’re okay with me ranting a bit, right?”
Luna nodded.
“And Max… I should ask, but honestly, I really do not care. You chose to be here though, so enjoy, I guess!”
Kiara recounted Jacqueline’s visit this morning to Luna and Max. Luna was incredibly sympathetic and a brilliant listener, as usual, and Max was uncharacteristically quiet. He made a few snide remarks at the beginning, but after a while he went silent. Kiara couldn’t tell if was zoned out or actually felt for her, but again, she really just did not care in the slightest.
“They’re never going to let you go, are they?” Luna sighed. “I’m sorry Kiara.”
Kiara shook her head. “I expected it. I just hope that with enough time away, they’ll eventually move on.”
Luna sadly shook her head. “Your parents remind me of my father. Jacques. Nothing Hugo could have done would have saved him from the future Jacques saw for him.”
Max finally broke his silence. “I remember chef Hugo.”
“That’s right,” Luna nodded. “When he was young, Hugo wanted to be a chef more than anything else. Jacques let him cook for us all until it became clear that his passion for food was coming at the cost of the social skills he’d need to develop to act as his heir and as a powerful head of the Villarreal family. He went straight to the headmaster of our school and had him adjust Hugo’s class schedule, and that year, his entire class schedule consisted of speech, debate, and finance classes. Jacques stamped any ability to pursue his own hobbies out of Hugo with the severity of that workload… I’d argue that it stamped a certain amount of joy out of him too.”
“So… chef Hugo. Is he still in there, somewhere?” Kiara asked.
Max gave Kiara an incredulous look. “He hasn’t cooked since I was 7. It’s beneath him now. He needs Luna or I to cook shit for him, otherwise he has an entire freezer fucking dedicated to just disgusting microwave meals.”
“He’s long gone,” Luna said sadly, with a small shake of her head. “My point is, Kiara, your parents, and Jacques, they’re birds of a feather. You’re their heiress, and they have had just one expectation for you since the day you were born.
Everyone at the table drifted into a tense silence. Kiara looked through the glass table to the grass below thoughtfully. Her singular focus her entire life up to this point has been escape, but Luna had a point. It was unlikely they’d ever stop chasing her.
A dark look crossed Luna’s face. “Sometimes… sometimes I’m glad he’s dead.”
Both Kiara and Max turned to Luna, utterly shocked.
“Oh, uh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“ Luna stammered.
Max shook his head. “No, sis. For once, we actually agree on something. I’ve been grateful his ass died for years. You think that man would’ve allowed me to be anything like this? He’d have beaten me to half to death trying to get the insufferable bastard out of me.”
Luna gasped. “Hugo, don’t say that!”
“What? It’s true. Don’t you even fucking try to deny it.”
Luna stuttered nonsense, and shook her head, but she couldn’t deny the obvious truth. That horrible thought had finally escaped her body and hung in the air between everyone that table. She’d kept it locked away in an box she kept in a dark corner of her mind since the day she’d had to speak at his funeral. She knew that if Jacques hadn’t died when he had, she never would have been able to even dream of starting her own clothing line, and a Max who’d gone through his teen years with Jacques present would be completely unrecognizable. Hugo was the only one who’d taken on the full brunt of Jacques’s expectations, and it was obvious to anyone that he wasn’t handling it well.
Luna looked at Kiara with concern. She hoped that whatever her future held, she was able to end up more like her and Max rather than become a Hugo.