What about this?" The store employee asked as she held another skirt up.

Carla clapped and smiled. "That one is so cute! That would be great for her 6th birthday dinner. What do you think, Skylar?"

Skylar kept his eyes locked on the floor and shrugged. "I don't really like it," he mumbled.

Carla bowed down a little. "What did you say, sweetie?" She asked.

He caught a glimpse at the skirt again. "I don't like it, mom."

Carla sighed and looked back at the employee. "I'm sorry that my daughter is being a bit of a brat today. It's really hard to shop for her," she apologized. "But we'll take it." She paid for the dress and asked Skylar is he wanted some ice cream.

"Yes," he answered. They walked to an ice cream parlor next to the clothing store. Carla bought vanilla for her and cookie dough for Skylar. They went back to the car and drove back home.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"When is dad coming home?" He asked. "I miss him."

"Tomorrow, Skylar," she replied. "But aren't you happy that you're hanging out with your mom?" Skylar didn't answer her. They reached home and Carla parked her car. They went inside. When Carla closed the door, Skylar tugged on her shirt, his head down. "What is it, sweetie?"

"I don't like it, mom," he whispered.

Carla frowned. "What do you not like?"

His eyes welled up with tears. "People keep mistaking me for a girl and I don't like it. No one wants to talk to me at school except Parker, because they think that I'm a freak," Skylar replied, wiping his tears away. "It hurts, mom. I want to wear normal boy clothes that Parker and the other boys in my class wear."

Carla looked down at him sadly. "But why do you want to wear but clothes? You're a girl after all."

He tilted his head up to look her in the eyes. "Mom, I'm a boy," he stated, his lips trembling.

Carla's eyes twitched. "You're a girl," she repeated, raising her voice a little.

Skylar shook his head as a stray tear fell on the ground. "I'm a boy!" He screamed. "I don't want to do this anymore! I want to cut my hair and wear normal boy clo-" His face turned to the side. When his cheeks began to sting, his mind processed what happened. Carla hit him. "W-why?" He sobbed.

Carla had no expression on her face. "Because you say weird things, Skylar. You are a girl and if you don't see it, I'll beat the boy out of you." She took off her belt as Skylar struggled to run up to his room. He locked the door and walked to the furthest corner of his room. She pounded on the door. A few seconds later, the pounding stopped. Skylar sighed, relieved that he was safe for now. He heard the door lock click and he tensed up. She slowly opened the door, no emotion on her face. Skylar was terrified. "Let's finish this quick. I still have to make dinner. And if you ever tell your dad what happened today, I'll kill you!"

Skylar woke up in cold sweat and with a headache. He felt soft sheets under him. He perked up and sat up straight. He observed the room that he was in. He saw a big flat-screen TV in front of him, a closet next to him and an open door that leads to the bathroom. He saw a security camera in the corner of the room. He got off the bed and looked down. He saw that someone changed him into a nightgown. He jumped a little at the sound of the door opening. An old woman walked into the room with clothes in her hands.

"Good evening, Ms. Kennedy. It's good to see that you've finally awakened. These are your clothes for this evening. I'll be back in 15 minutes," she said, putting his clothes ready. "Do you have any questions?"

"Um, yeah. How long was I asleep?" He asked.

Without looking at him, she replied. "3 and a half days, miss." She looked back at Skylar's shocked face.

"What's your name?"

"Mary, miss. Is that all?"

Skylar slowly nodded. She bowed and walked out of the room. He heard the lock click. "What the fuck?" He mumbled. "I was useless for 3 and a half days and my dad hasn't found me either." He glanced at the red clothing and remembered a red bandana.

"I hope that stupid idiot didn't bleed out." Skylar shook his head. "I have to find a way to escape." He grabbed the clothes and groaned loudly when he saw that it was a dress.

"So this man falls for traps," he muttered, sluggishly changing his clothes. 15 minutes passed and Mary opened the door again.

"Ready?" Skylar nodded. "You can put these on." In her hand, she held a pair of heels. Skylar sighed and put them on. "This way, miss." Skylar followed her to a big dining room. The door was already open as Skylar looked around.

"Impressed?" Skylar heard someone ask. His eyes went to the source of the voice to meet the bald man at the end. His dark brown eyes stared Skylar down until Skylar glared at him. He smiled.

Skylar didn't. "No. I've seen bigger," he replied.

"Oh, you wounded me." He motioned to the seat next to him. "Come and sit so we can have dinner."

Skylar walked and sat at the other end of the long table. "I'm fine here." The man chuckled. "What's your name and why the hell am I here?" Skylar demanded. The maids put plates of ravioli in front of them. Skylar crossed his arms.

"My name?" He asked. "You can call me Lex. The reason that you're here is because I love you," he smiled. Skylar felt cold shivers going down his spine. "You're just as beautiful as your mom."

Skylar grabbed the sharpest knife next to him and ran his finger across the blade. "Are you after my mom? I'd say that you can have her, but that'll make my dad sad," he replied, tightening his grip on the knife.

"I was a few years ago until I saw you. Do you believe in love at first sight? Because I do when I saw you the first time. That's the reason I wanted you away from your family and that hideous man that you call your boyfriend." Skylar's hands began to shake out of anger. In a second, the knife was stuck into the wall behind Lex. There was a cut right under Lex's right eye and blood dripped from it.

"Don't you ever talk about Ace like that. Or I'll kill you," Skylar warned, his eyes as cold as a snowstorm.

Lex touched the cut and looked at the blood on his finger. "I didn't expect you to know how to throw a knife that good," he said, ignoring Skylar's threat. He looked back at Skylar. "Do you also know how to fight?" Skylar sat down, his face frustrated. "I'll take that as a no. Phew, guess that I'm lucky then because there wasn't anything in your document that you can fight so I didn't learn a martial arts to put you down if things go south."

"How the fuck am I suppose to escape?" Skylar stood up with a napkin in his hand. "I have to act like I don't bother being here, gain his trust and kill Lex. Or I have to go on a killing spree right now. The latter seems more suitable for me, but I don't know where the exit is." He went to Lex and wiped the blood from his face, trying his best not to kill him at the spot.

"I am so sorry Lex! I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me!" Skylar cleaned the rest of it. "Do you have any rubbing alcohol?"

"It's fine, my love," he chuckled. "Did your dad teach you that?"

Skylar nodded shyly. "He's very overprotective because I look like a girl and he's scared that something would happen on the streets. I didn't want to learn, but I did it so he stopped bothering me," he explained.

"Finish your food so we can do something. I've waited a long time to show you around." Skylar listened to what he said and sat back down. He used his fork to grab a ravioli. He moved it to his mouth but stopped it right in front of his lips. "What's wrong with the food?"

He put the fork on his plate. "I don't trust the food. There's a high chance that you put a drug in it to rape me or something." Skylar cocked his head with a pout on his lips. "You wouldn't do that, right Lex?"

"I'd definitely wouldn't do that." Skylar raised his eyebrow. "If you don't trust what my chef made, you can go to the kitchen and make something yourself." He pointed at the door on the left.

"I'll take that challenge," Skylar smiled. "Lex, do you want anything?" He shook his head. Skylar pouted. "Fine then." Skylar winked and went to the kitchen. He closed the door and exhaled deeply when he saw that no one was in there.

"How long is it going to take for that idiot dad of mine to find me? Normally, it would've been 5 hours or so." Skylar rummaged through the kitchen cupboards for anything that was closed off. "I wonder how things are at home."

Meanwhile

"Ashton, we need to talk," Roy said. Roy held the door open as Ashton walked inside.

"Why, Mr. Kennedy? Where's Skylar and Carla?" He asked.

Roy walked to the kitchen. "Roy's fine. Carla is on a trip with her friend. Do you want some tea? Coffee? What kind of coffee?" Ashton followed him.

"Tea is fine. What do you want to talk about?" Roy ignored him and made coffee for him while the water's cooking for Ashton. Ashton noticed the dark bags under his eyes and his unshaved beard.

"Are you finally well? Skylar was low key bitching about you being sick and not going to school," Roy smiled sadly. He poured the tea for him and sat down at the table. Ashton did the same.

"Just tell me! Where the fuck is Skylar?!" He demanded.

Roy sighed and took a sip of his coffee. He put it back down. "He was kidnapped," he whispered.

Ashton blinked and hit the side of his head. "Come again?" Roy hit his fist on the table.

"He was kidnapped!" He screamed. "He was fucking kidnapped and I still don't have a clue on who could've done it!"

Ashton felt defeated because he was home being sick when it happened. "When? How?"

"When you weren't at school. He called me and reinforcements were 5 minutes too late. Miracle couldn't back him up, because she was passed out. She's at home now. A friend of hers, Jumin, had Skylar's back and got shot in process. He's in the hospital," he explained. "And there's something else that I have to say to you."

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't freak out."

"Just fucking tell me."

Roy sighed. "Were assassins."

There wasn't a single sound in the room until Ashton started laughing hysterically. "Assassins! Assassins!" He laughed. He wiped a tear away. "Man, that was a good joke." Roy kept quiet. "It's a joke, right?" He didn't respond. "Wait, are you for real? That can't be true. Skylar couldn't hurt a fly."

"Do you remember that masquerade ball from a few months back? And seeing a girl dressed in a black dress with long, blond hair? She was flirting with a man. That man was later on killed by that girl. That girl was Skylar." Ashton tried remembering that night. Slowly, he remembered talking to a girl with long blond hair.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked Skylar.

He shook his head. "I've never seen you in my life. Sorry," he smiled apologetically. "I wouldn't forget a face like that."

Ashton smirked. "I wouldn't forget a cute face with a sexy body like that either."

A tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it away. "So it is true. Is Carla also an assassin?"

Roy shook his head. "I've kept that secret from her for 20 years. And I'm not planning on telling her. She's also a reason why Skylar became an assassin because the day he was born, she made a big scene about how she wanted a girl, not a boy. And I knew about how she'd let him wear girly clothes and shit. That's when I decided that I'd train him. I've told him already that I don't want him to continue this job, but he doesn't have a backup plan for the future." He rubbed his eyes. Ashton didn't say a word. "I feel that there's a huge hint lying somewhere, just waiting to be noticed. There was a thing that I did a while back, but my brain isn't going there."

"What about his phone? Didn't you put a tracking chip or anything like that inside of it?"

Roy shook his head. "No, that's stupid. He could lose his phone anytime." Roy thought for a while. Out of nowhere, he stood up and poured his cold coffee in the sink. "We have to go. Now!"

"Wait a minute!" Ashton yelled. Roy was rushing grabbed his keys. "Where are we going?"

"To the base! I finally remembered what I forgot!"

"And that is?" He asked.

"The chip!" He yelled. "The chip that I let them put in his neck 14 years ago!"