A little after noon, Sally joined them in the staff room. Dinah and Kylie had just finished a late lunch, and when Kylie saw Sally, she stood up and greeted her with a hug. Sally and Kylie quickly sat down and, after a few minutes of harmless gossip, Sally asked Kylie if she'd tried the injections that she'd suggested.

Kylie touched her face and laughed. She said, "We consulted a few beauty salons, and one of them was even called Gold Queen, but I got a bad feeling from each end of every one of them."

​​

Sally smiled, and she said, "You are young, you have a man, and your skin is very good, so you have nothing to worry about anyways. You may want to keep it in mind, though, for when you're older. We women, we hold our beauty in high esteem, and we all want it to last for as long as it is possible."

"That being said," Kylie countered, "even in Hollywood, there is a need for women who look their age. An actress that is sixty-five could never play the part of a grandmother if she looked forty-two. In the end, I may just allow my age to overtake me. Even if I look at this age until the day I die, by beauty will not stay Death's right hand."

Hearing this, Sally's jaw nearly hit the floor. She had never heard a woman speak like this. She had to admit, though, that Kylie had a point.

Am I really running from Death? She wondered.

As they chatted, Dinah got up and came back with tea and cookies. "The tea is peppermint," she said, "and the cookies are Scottish Shortbread."

"I am afraid of death," Sally supposed. "If I have to die though, I want to go out looking like a million bucks. What is this all about, though? Why the sudden interest in beauty for beauty's sake?"

"I know that you've had some help," Kylie admitted. "and I've worried. When I saw the small bumps on your face, I was so distressed. I thought they might be tumors. I talked to my friend who specializes in this kind of thing, and he said that they are tumors. You could get surgery though, but it would leave scars…"

Sally nodded and said, "I will seriously consider your suggestion."

Sally put her cup on the table, got up, and turned in the direction of the door. Before she was gone, she turned her head and said, "Thank you."

Kylie smiled and said, "You're welcome."

***

On their second day back at work, during their break, Kylie left to attend Khloe's funeral. For a while, she'd wrestled with whether she would go or not, but it seemed like the right thing to do in the end. When she arrived, though, she almost wished that she hadn't. Other than herself, Laurence and Alice were the only other people in attendance.

Walking into the church, she approached them and gave them her regards. Laurence was crying, and when he saw her, he hugged her tight and thanked her for coming. Alice, though, was angry to see her. She glared at her and said, "How dare you show your face here when you are the one that killed her?!?"

If looks could kill, then Kylie would have been dead by then. Laurence grabbed his wife by the arm through and hissed in her ear, "Stop it! This is the only person who showed up to pay their respects. Be grateful!"

Alice could not stop, though. It was outside of her power to stop. "Why don't you die?" she cried. "You should die. You colluded with Ken to kill Khloe. It was you! Otherwise, how could Khloe have been being raped by that bastard, Ken!"

"Alice!" Laurence shouted loudly. "Enough!"

Alice turned to Laurence. "And what about you," she moaned. "You are just as responsible as anyone else is. You are her father. It was your job to protect her, and you failed miserably!"

The sound of flesh contacting flesh filled the church as Laurence's hand slapped Alice's face. Alice staggered a few steps backward and fell next to Khloe's coffin. Turning, she placed both hands on her daughter's coffin and began to wail. "Why did you have to leave me?" she cried. "Didn't you know that I can't live without you... my dear, dear daughter…"

Not wanting to be of any more trouble, Kylie handed Laurence a red envelope and began to walk away. Unfortunately, Alice had been watching their exchange, and she rushed out to grab the envelope. She ripped it open and money scattered all over the ground. Alice looked at Kylie and sneered. She looked at Kylie and said, "This isn't the end. You will see it. This is not the end."

Not wanting to hear his wife go on, Laurence wrapped his hand over his wife's mouth. Quietly and calmly, he told her to "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Laurence looked into this wife's eyes and found that they looked like those of a rabid dog, and her mouth was foaming. She looked like she had absolutely gone cold for Cocoa Puffs; that is to say, her brain had checked out.

Laurence glanced at Kylie from time to time, who was standing to one side of him, but Alice didn't care. "How long will you keep your secret from her?" she hissed. "I heard that her biological father had been released from prison. Even if she doesn't look for her father, her father will look for her."

Kylie stood still, with no expression on her face. She had no idea what Alice was talking about, but she instinctively knew that she was talking about her. Alice turned to her and laughed. "You are such a fool," she said. "There is so much that you don't know, but there is no one to tell you!

"But I will tell you," Alice hissed. "Laurence is not your biological father. Your biological father traffics women and children. He should be dead, or you should be dead, or even Ken, but not my precious daughter!"

"That is enough!" Laurence shouted as he grabbed his wife and drugged her down the aisle. All the while, Alice cursed, screamed, and scratched at his arms – and, as the sound faded away, Kylie contemplated the things that Alice had told her.

Did Laurence know the truth about her lineage, she wondered. If so, then she would need to arrange to speak to Laurence in private and ready herself just in case Alice had spoken the truth.

***

Dinah met Kylie as she came out of the church. Kylie had said she wanted to go alone, but Dinah thought she might need a friend when she came out, and she'd been right. Dinah embraced Kylie, and once Kylie had told her everything that had gone on, she wanted to chase after Alice and teach her a lesson. Kylie calmed her down, though. "This is not the time or place," she said.

"Does Laurence ever bully you?" Dinah wondered.

"He does not," Kylie replied.

Dinah nodded as she helped Kylie into the passenger seat of her car. "Don't worry about your car," she said. "We can send someone to pick it up."

Kylie nodded. After what happened in the church, she was completely drained, and she found it hard to care about such mundane things.