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Even with her new look, Gemma was feeling panicked every time someone approached her.

It was high school and college all over again.

Her nerdy, shy personality prevented her from becoming a normal teenager or young adult.

She had a few friends, a few acquaintances but no one special in her life.

There were no girlfriend sleepovers as a child, only pony birthday parties on mansion lawns.

Blessed with a great education, paid for by her wealthy parents, she’d been able to excel at mathematics and technology. It was the advent of amazing things happening within the tech world, and she was at the beginning of it.

With an interest in computer science and math, she was accepted into MIT and surpassed all expectations. Her future was bright and paved with gold.

Ridiculous thoughts for a twenty-one-year-old girl.

In her final semester of college, she received a call from the registrar’s office to appear in person. Without a clue as to what it was about, she showed up and waited for the appointed time.

“Miss Palmer? Please come in,” said the woman.

“Is everything okay, Ms. Simms?”

“Lenora, have you been in touch with your parents recently?” she asked.

“Yes. Of course. We speak almost daily. I was actually home this past weekend. Why? Are they hurt? Has something happened to them?” she panicked.

“No. No, dear. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that anything had happened to them. Lenora, the check for your final semester here at MIT bounced.”

Gemma, known then as Lenora, stared at the woman and then laughed, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I’m sure it’s a mistake. Just run it through again.”

“Lenora, we’ve tried. Three times. It comes back every time as insufficient funds.”

“I’ll call my parents,” she said, reaching for the phone. The woman placed her hand over hers and shook her head.

“I’ve already done that, Lenora. Your parents asked that you come home when you’re able to.”

“This is ridiculous!” she said, standing and pushing the chair back abruptly. “My parents have millions of dollars. My father is a very influential and powerful man.”

“Lenora, have you not seen what’s happening in the markets these past few weeks and months? Many people are in the same boat. You’re my ninth meeting today, honey. You’re not alone in this.”

“Please, there must be something I can do. This is my last semester. What’s the cost? What do they owe?” she asked.

“It’s more than fourteen thousand dollars,” frowned the woman.

“If-if I can get the money, can I come back?” she asked.

“Lenora, how will you ever get that kind of money in time? You only have three days to get the payment in, or you’ll be expelled. We’ve been trying to get payment from your parents for more than a month now. There’s no money there, according to them.”

“Don’t give away my spot. Please. I’ll be back. I want to finish my education at MIT.”

“Alright, dear. You have seventy-two hours.”

Lenora caught the first train to Connecticut, although it took three credit cards to work.

The first thing she did was call the credit card companies to see what her available balances were.

Unfortunately, not nearly enough to pay for her semester, but it was enough to get her home and a little more.

As she approached the mansion on Cos Cobb Harbor outside of Greenwich, Connecticut, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Massive moving trucks were emptying her parents’ home.

“What are you doing? Where are you taking those things?” she yelled.

“Out of the way, honey,” said a big, gruff man in a moving company shirt. “It appears Daddy needs to sell everything.”

Lenora pushed past the man and stormed inside to see a hive of activity. Moving men, auctioneers, and appraisers were tagging items. Her items. Her things that she would inherit.

“Mom! Dad!” she yelled. Her parents stepped around the corner, staring at their daughter. “What the hell is happening?”

“Lenora,” whispered her mother. “We didn’t expect you so soon. Why are you home from school?”

“Why? Mom, my tuition check bounced. Three times. I’ve been told to leave unless I come up with the money within seventy-two hours. You asked me to come home!”

“Nori,” said her father, shaking his head, “I’m so sorry, pumpkin. Things are bad, kiddo. Really bad. I’ve lost everything.”

“Lost everything? What does that even mean, Dad? Isn’t this our home? Wasn’t this great-grandpa’s home? Don’t you own it?”

“It’s not that simple, Lenora,” said her mother.

“Your father and his company made some very foolish investments and attempted to move the money around so no one would know until it could be fixed. Except that it can’t be fixed.

In order for us to pay our creditors, we’ve got to sell everything. Even the house.”

“Everything. That china was my great-great grandmother’s,” she said, pointing to the wall of glassed shelves.

“Those books, thousands of books, were part of my great-grandfather’s collection he brought from Europe.

The paintings, the rugs, the tables, they belong to my family. They belong to me!”

“Enough!” yelled her father. She stared at him in shock. Her father never displayed anger. Never. “It belongs to the creditors now. They will auction it off, and, with any luck, I won’t do any time in jail.”

“Time in jail?” she frowned.

“You won’t ever understand, Lenora,” said her mother, stepping closer.

She looked around them, seeing people scrambling, touching her things.

Then she whispered to her daughter. “Go to your room and take anything that’s truly special to you.

Hide it in your bag and leave, Lenora. Go back to school. ”

“I can’t, mother,” she ground out. “I don’t have the money for tuition.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, stepping away from her daughter. “That’s all I can offer you.”

Lenora turned and ran upstairs, pushing men and women aside as she raced toward her room. They seemed occupied with the downstairs at the moment. Inside, she grabbed all of her jewelry and things that were most precious to her.

She hated the idea of giving up her huge, canopied bed and the furniture pieces that were hundreds of years old. She knew the value of them. Sitting on the floor, she could feel the panic rising in her chest.

“There’s not enough here,” she whispered to herself. Wiping her eyes, she slowly stood and peered into the hallway. Still, no one was on the second floor. She made her way along the wall and into her parents’ room.

Inside their dressing room, she opened her mother’s jewelry chest and smiled. This would be more than enough. Not even caring how she handled the items, she dumped the drawers of jewels into her backpack. When that was done, she went for her father’s multi-million dollar watch collection.

Staring at the custom suits, furs, and glittering gowns, she knew that they were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but she wouldn’t be able to get them out.

“This will be enough,” she said to herself.

She could sell it all, and it would be enough for tuition and to live on for several years if she were careful. With great effort, she placed the backpack over her shoulders and headed back downstairs.

“Lenora? Where are you going?” asked her mother.

“I’m going to sell my things,” she said, glaring at her mother.

“Will it be enough?” she asked compassionately.

“I have no idea, but I guess it’s not your problem any longer, is it, Mother?” Her mother’s hurt expression should have bothered her, but it didn’t.

“Lenora. Honey, we don’t know what will happen to us. You’ve been left out of this, but your father and I may have to go to court.” She only stared at her mother, not saying a word. Her entire world was crumbling around her. She didn’t give a shit where they lived.

“Don’t worry, Mother, I’ll be fine.”

“Lenora, we know you’ll be fine. You’re a strong, smart, resilient young woman. You’ll be successful no matter what you do in life,” said her mother. She gripped her shoulders, and Lenora pulled back, fearful that she might attempt to touch the backpack.

“I have to go. I need to sell my jewelry and get the money to the school.”

“Go to Abram on 5 th and 56 th in Manhattan,” said her father. “He’ll give you a fair price and won’t say a word to anyone.”

Now, the guilt hit her. Her father was helping her even though she was taking things that belonged to him.

“I-I will, Daddy. I’m sorry. For all of this,” she said, waving her hand. “I’m sorry.” She turned, leaving them standing, staring at the chaos around them. It never occurred to her that she should stay and help them, fight for them. She only worried for herself.

Abram was as good as her father said. He paid top dollar for the watches, the jewelry, all of it.

It was more than enough for tuition and for her to live off of for the next ten years.

She opened a bank account, only placing a tiny amount into it in order to reduce any suspicions.

When asked where her money came from, she cited tutoring jobs and part-time jobs at the university.

With the rest of the money, she opted for small safes and lock boxes in her tiny apartment.

When the trial for her parents and her father’s company began, her parents never gave a reaction to the fact that the courts reported millions in diamonds, jewels, and watches were missing from their property. Since she wasn’t living in the lap of luxury, she wasn’t a suspect.

After all, how could a twenty-one-year-old college girl living in a studio apartment with only a tiny amount of money in the bank have anything to do with her parents’ deceptions?

And her parents never gave her away, knowing full well their own child had done this to them.

Sentenced to ten to fifteen years in prison, she never set eyes on them again. Her mother died first. She never knew how or why. Her father wasn’t far behind, dying of pneumonia in prison.

For Lenora, nothing would ever be okay again until she acquired all that belonged to her family. She was almost there.

The eggs would bring millions of dollars on the black market, and the amber pieces were priceless. But she expected that she would get millions for those as well.

With the money, she could finally buy back the mansion that had once belonged to her family. Over the years, she’d re-purchased the furniture, china, artwork, books, family heirlooms, and more. Those that wouldn’t be sold to her, she stole. It was hers. It belonged in her home.

The items were safely stored in a massive warehouse in Connecticut, just waiting to be returned to their rightful place.

Then, she would forge her own way in the business world, taking everyone by storm. But first, she needed to call someone.