After falling into a long sleep that lasted right into the next day, Isabella woke up a few minutes before noon with a startled cry. Her dreams were always tempestuous and contained the same things, but this particular one had shaken her to the core.

It started off the same way as the others: a dark and starless night, unfamiliar surroundings of long, sterile white corridors, the collective sounds of terrifying screams. She ran down the halls, trying to barge her way through the chaotic crowds of people. Although she was unsure of where she was, Isabella knew she had to get out quickly or something of unspeakable terror would happen.

Then, things suddenly switched to a different place. It was cold, unnaturally cold. She could see her breath forming into clouds in front of her face. Even more people scurried past her, wearing oddly shaped white coats that padded out their bodies. Her surroundings were more open than before but the volume of people around her made it very claustrophobic. To her side, there was water, nothing but water. The darkness had blurred the horizon so there was nothing but the black water. Then, out of nowhere, she felt alone. All these people were trying to escape somewhere, she didn't know where, but there wasn't a single person who cared for her. She was a little girl lost at sea.

It was the same dream that she had experienced countless times before. Everytime she woke from it, she couldn't help but squeal with shock and this time was no different. Her cheeks were clammy with panic as were her palms. After a few seconds to take in the reality of her surroundings, she determined that she was awake and calmed down. It was absurd to be afraid of the delusions of your own mind but Isabella couldn't help it. Those dreams were scarier than anything she had ever lived through. The feeling of solitary that seemed to overwhelm her in that dream was something she never wanted to go through.

Still a little sleepy, she stumbled from her 4-poster bed and decided to pack her bag for the Hamptons straightaway. Her father had decided that they should leave as soon as possible to enjoy the peace and quiet before the hoards of other beach-house owners joined them and disrupted things. Unfortunately it was impossible for the Hockleys to go anywhere without the circus of high-society following. Isabella had lived like this her entire life and it was completely normal to her, but horrifyingly dull. It was not unusual for her to stroll around Manhattan and be stopped by a well dressed stranger asking after her family or wondering if she was free to attend a special get-together. She tried to politely decline each invitation but it wasn't easy, especially after she had been raised to understand that each and every event contained the possibility of a business deal, and she didn't like to disappoint her father. The family business was his life and she tried to help as much as possible even if it did send her mad with boredom. In all honesty, she preferred the actual business side of things, such as the numbers and figures. Her grandfather called her 'an enigma' for showing interest in matters he considered 'men's work.' But Isabella had never paid any notice to the activities that girls were supposed participate in. Her clothing was proof of that.

She had 2 wardrobes. One contained the formal dresses her father bought her for special occasions while the other was full of her day-to-day wear. She opened the latter and picked out a few pieces that hung from the rail. The always practical minded Isabella favoured long slacks and tailored shirts. It meant she was much less likely to complain about being uncomfortable. Jocelyn constantly grumbled about how inconvenient her lavish dresses were yet wore them every single day, some of which bore a resemblance to a circus costume. Cal had bought Isabella many dresses, hand sewn with expensive fabrics and crowned with jewels, but she only wore them once before tossing them back into the wardrobe and forgeting about them. It was hard to feel guilty about such a waste when her father constantly bought her so many things. Isabella was spoilt rotten but, unlike some obnoxious girls she knew from school, she never took advantage of it. She rarely asked for anything from her father and felt wrong on the rare occasions that she did. Money wasn't everything to her.

She neatly placed some trousers of varying colours and a few white shirts into a leasther suitcase. Knowing that there would most likely be some sort of party she'd be obliged to attend, she grabbed some dresses from her other wardrobe at random. She didn't really care what ones they were, they were all awkward to wear. Into the suitcase went some shoes, both formal and casual, her porcelain hairbrush, a few books, sheet music for the piano (one of the few things she had asked her father for was another piano to keep in the Hamptons house) and a framed photograph.

The photograph was her favourite one, a scene of her and her father sitting on a bench in Central Park. They were both grinning madly and holding onto each other tightly. Isabella was just a little girl there, with bushy hair much darker than it was now. She had many pictures of the pair of them as well as several that included the tight lipped scene stealer Jocelyn. Unusually, she had none of her mother and neither did her father. Everytime she had asked about her mother, Cal had dismissed the subject, deeming it too upsetting for him to talk about. He told Isabella that her mother had died in childbirth and he was uncomfortable with talking about her. Everytime she brought up the subject, his eyes watered and he struggled to find words. It was obvious to her that Cal hadn't properly moved on from her mother, even as he celebrated 10 years marriage with Jocelyn. He had no pictures, none of her possessions, nothing that even marked her existance. She never really missed her, she couldn't remember having anybody else other than her father, but she felt that she lacked something that maybe a mother could fill. But Cal had done everything possible to make her life good and she loved him for that.

Isabella quickly dressed in yet more slacks and a shirt. With her suitcase packed, she left it by her bedroom door for one of the maids to pick up and headed downstairs to greet her father. He sat in the largest dining room surrounded by many sheets of paper, which he tried to organise while one of the maids poured him some coffee. Isabella sighed, he was always doing extra work at home. He never seemed to have any free time and he wasn't even the president of the business yet. She dreaded to think how many hours he would work when he did become that, she'd never see him.

"Morning father," She announced, kissing his forehead as she always did before sitting down next to him.

"Hello Isabella." Cal replied, smiling contently. "I thought I heard something upstairs earlier. Did you have a nightmare again?"

"Oh, yes. But it's okay. It's just a dream." She reassured her father, who seemed to always worry about her.

"Maybe I should take you to a doctor about them. They're becoming more frequent - that's the 2nd time this month you've had a bad dream."

"I don't need to see a shrink, I'm not mad." She quickly added. "I just need to destress a little. The Hamptons will do me some good." Cal looked at her, not quite believing her, and nodded at his daughter. He felt helpless when there was something wrong in her life, even the most insignificant thing, and he couldn't make it better. Isabella didn't tell her father what the dreams were about, there was no point in doing that until she could understand them herself. She went to grab herself an empty cup from the tray on the table but the maid got there first and poured her a strong coffee with lots of sugar but no milk, just the way she liked it. She quietly thanked the maid then surveyed the table. The piles of sheets covered up almost every inch of it.

"And here I was thinking that we were taking a vacation."

"We are, darling. I just need to get this all cleared up before go." Cal replied apologetically. "Then we'll leave as soon as you're finished breakfast."

Isabella picked up a sheet that lay in front of her. Her eyes quickly skimmed the page, noting several important words regarding her father and his father's business.

"So when does the official swap-over take place?" She asked.

"As soon as your grandfather signs these forms. Then there's the inevitable celebration which we will have to grin like imbiciles all the way through, then I can officially make some proper changes to Hockley Industries. No more hangers on, no more desperate boot lickers wanting to climb the business ladder. Things will be proper, a proper family business."

"Grandpa's going to miss being in charge." She said, handing over the paper. "He loves the business."

"Well he should have thought of that before he picked up that bourbon bottle." Cal retorted with a hint of sharpness. Isabella slumped her shoulders, folding her hands together to stop herself from fidgeting. Cal had a little bit of a tempter which fortunately he didn't unleash often, but when it looked as if he was about to, Isabella became extremely uneasy. It was an unpredictable process. Sometimes, it took a while to build up to a full blown scream. Other times he snapped and changed like the flip of a coin. She had only seen her father in that state once before, it had taken days for her to calm down again. Luckily Cal regained his normal composure quickly.

"Sorry, I need a little destressing myself. It's been a difficult time at work." He apologised. Things had been very hard to keep together at Hockley Industries. He was pratcially running the business on his own because his father had decided that he just couldn't be bothered any more. This wasn't much of a problem for Cal, who preferred having control of the business, but he couldn't make any drastic changes without the current president's signature and Nathan. who enjoyed having the prestige of presidency, refused to sign anything until he was sober - an increasingly rare occurence. But with only a few months until his 75th birthday, Nathan had finally given in and realised that retirement was the best option for everyone, but mostly himself. The change-over couldn't come soon enough for Cal, who wanted to have his daughter involved in the running of the family business as soon as possible.

"The sooner we get this deal smoothed out, the better." He said, packing away the sheets into his briefcase. He could take all the documents to the Hamptons to keep them safe. "Now, are you ready?"

"Is Jocelyn ready?" Isabella asked, smirking.

"She's already left to attend to something. She's going to meet us there, she still has a few things to pack."

"When we say a few things, we really mean she's off to buy more things she doesn't need, right?"

"She can spend money if she wishes too, it is her own inheritance after all." Cal reasoned, despite the fact that he despised his wife's unnecessary shopping sprees. It was a common sight to see her arriving home with a removal van full of purchases driving behind her, followed by a long story about how she saw it and just had to have it. Cal never spoiled his wife, having vowed never to buy a woman anything of ridiculous cost again, excluding Isabella. His father still complained 14 years after he had lost the Heart of the Ocean.

"I just think that all that spending is overcompensation for something else. You can't throw money at something and expect it to solve everything." Isabella said, finishing her coffee.

"I know what you mean," Cal said honestly. "Right, let's get a move on. Where's your suitcase?"

"In my room."

"Trudy." Cal called. The maid scurried back through to the dining room, stopping in front of her boss with her head kept down. "Go and fetch Isabella's suitcase from her room and take it out to the car."

"Yes sir," She obediantly answered before trotting off upstairs.

"Father," Isabella asked. "When you do take over from grandpa, does that mean we'll have to move to Pittsburgh?"

"God no, I am not going back there. We'll simply run things from New York. It's easier." He said. He meant that things would be safer from them. Many people back in his hometown knew about Isabella and the way she entered Cal's life. Many of these people also held certain grudges against him for past decisions he had made in the madness of immature youth. He wouldn't be surprised if one person 'accidentally' let something slip.

"Okay,"

"Right, let's get going." Cal said with a big smile on his face. The next few weeks would be a welcome chance to relax and forget about the past. Cal relished any moment he could spend solely in the company of his daughter. She had grown up so much in the past 14 years, and so quickly too. It felt like only a few days ago she was sitting on his lap, falling asleep as he read her a story. This vacation would give them some much needed father-daughter time, then he could tell her his plans to make her the company's vice president. It would make a lot of current associates furious but he didn't care, he knew she would be perfect for the job.

Isabella headed to the car, where the driver was waiting with the door open for her. She thanked him as she always did and sat in the back seat, opening the window all the way. It would be a long drive. She wanted to sleep again but didn't dare for fear of the dark water again.

(Author's note: I just wanted to say a massive thank you! to all the people who reviewed this story. I really didn't think anybody would read it. It was only a bit of fun after I watched the film with my parents and my imagination went wild. I hope you all continue to read and thanks again, the reviews were a fantastic confidence boost!)