He was taller - much taller.

That was the first thing she notices as Howard Stark walked into the kitchen of her childhood home. If she was to stand, she knew he would easily tower over her. He had grown not only tall, but everywhere else. Inessa's eyes slowly roamed over Howard's body, taking not of the way his arms and chest had filled out. His legs were no longer lanky like a school boy and his jaw had sharpened - perhaps the jawline was better described as jagged and angular. 

Taking a sip from her morning tea, she keeps her gaze forward as they slowly drift towards her brother. His tie was left untied, hanging loosely around his neck. In his left hand was a bottle of whiskey, or at least she assumed such. James had his other hand wrapped around Howard's neck, and it seemed he still hadn't learnt to keep his button-up shirt buttoned.

The two staggered further into the kitchen. Her presence was still a secret, and she suppose that made it all the more interesting. There was no reason for them to assume anyone was in the room regardless. The light was off, and the sun had not risen yet.

Inessa had been sitting in the dark. In silence.

She usually spent her morning sitting in the kitchen sipping on tea before the commotion of the household begun. In the beginning, she assumed she enjoyed the silence as it was relaxing - a place of peace. As she grew older and watched more of her family leave her childhood home, she came to realise that she only enjoyed the early morning for the power it gave.

When no one is walking the halls of Vanel manor, Inessa is free to speak any command to the house.

Power was a fickle thing, especially for a woman of her position.

Inessa Vanel had grown up as the pearl of society. Her father's family owned a railroad and her mother came from one of Russia's richest families, and together they paved the way for Vanel Industrial, a railway business passed down through her father's family, to grow all across America. In simple terms, her parents were beyond wealthy.

Over the years, Inessa watched their place is society slowly fall. 

Before she was born, her older brother, Henry, died from the Spanish flu. As heir to Vanel Industrials and her father's supposed right-hand-man, it ruined her father. Two years after, James was born followed by herself... and that was when tragedy struck.

Her father died in 1929.

She wasn't sure if it he died from old age or from the sudden crash of the stock market. Perhaps  seventy-five years made him too fragile to survive the Great Depression and he ended it himself. All she knew was her family grew smaller and another grave was filled.

At twenty two, Inessa's family barely had any money left to their name. All that remained was whispers of a past long gone: the finest cutlery, a closet of pearl necklaces, and the absence of the maids that used to roam the hallways.

If her family had remained wealthy - perhaps even influential, Inessa knew she would have some power, some sort of control. But such luck was never in her favour, and it seemed her location was finally exposed.

Howard had found the light and he was staring right at her.

"Good Morning, James" Inessa says as she places her hands in her lap, "Long night?"

James cringed at her words as he opened the cupboard and begun ransacking it for anything to eat. Had he been home for the past week, he would have known there was nothing inside. Her childhood home had became a ghost; beautifully terrifying as their poverty found new heights. They lived in a sprawling estate but barely could afford food. She would bathe in pearls but was unable to pay the cost of a stamp to send a letter to her relatives in Russia.

She watched as he slowly turned to face her and his eyes grew wide.

"Where the hell is the food?", he stated.

Inessa shrugged her shoulders as she picked up her teacup again and took a sip.

"This is unbelievable," James muttered under his breath, "Are we expected to become plebeian as well?"

Again, she shrugged her shoulders. 

She watches James throw his hands loudly against the wooden table as he stared down at the floor. He was clearly trying to control his breathing and Inessa's lips quipped into a grin.

"You think this is funny?", she hears Stark drawl.

Flickering her gaze at Stark, she's lost for words. In the dark, she could only notice how tall and filled out he had become. Yet, staring at him under the yellow light of the kitchen, he had changed drastically. The softness in his olive skin had been replace with an unyielding expression. His dark hair was tamed, slick back with enough gel to shine under the light. 

When her eyes meet hers, it's no longer golden and curious. Cold and wild brown eyes stared back at her. She was certain if she stared for too long it would cut her skin, and that was when she realised that Stark was no longer a boy.

He was a man now.

Everything about him seemed cruelly unfair - he had grown devastatingly handsome. 

"Clearly more funny than James," she replies back.

"How is this funny, Nessa!" James hisses at her. He stands again, right next to Howard, and the first thing that comes to mind is that she was right. Howard was taller than her brother now, perhaps by half a head. "We can't sell the pearls. The railroads have been abandoned. The only thing left valuable to sell is you."

Inessa rolls her eyes. James had always been one for dramatics, and she assumes that's why he is great friends with Howard. Two business men who probably should've been actors. 

Taking another sip from her teacup, she smiles sweetly at the two. 

"And how much do you expect the daughter of a failed businessman would sell for?", she baits. "I'm sure the daughter of a broke and dead railroad tycoon will yield high profits."

Placing the finished teacup back onto the plate, Inessa slowly stood up. She was dressed for the day: white dress with a brown fur coat keeping her warm from January's snow. 

Her eyes remained on her brother and Stark, but it seemed Stark had his eyes on her. On all of her. From the white heels giving her extra height, up her legs and to her knee - where the end of her dress meets. His gaze continues up and stares at her chest for an indecent amount of time. Then, it rests on the pearl necklace that adores her neck.

"How much are you selling her for?", Stark asks as his gaze meets her eyes once more.

There was something terrifying in his voice.

"Do you think two hundred thousand is too much?"

Inessa's mouth opens at her brother's reply. His voice had a tone of seriousness in it - the same tone he uses when he is either scheming or settling a business deal.

A sobering realisation, Inessa came to conclude.

"I'd take her for nine hundred thousand," Howard drawls and Inessa is lost for words, "If I get to take her now."

No noise came from her mouth as she turned to look at her brother. His eye brows were scrunched together - he was considering it!

Seconds turned into minutes, moments growing larger as she stared at her brother in complete disbelief. He wouldn't sell her for money, right? They would find another way to make money, they always found a way.

She watched James turn and offer Stark his hand.

"You got yourself a deal."