“You, whore!”
Jim was furious. He was in disbelief that the woman who killed his grandson was standing right before him. Raising a cane, he tried to hit her, but Sean stepped in. He got hit in place of the murderer.
“Oops! Grandpa! What are you doing?”
“What are you doing, Sean Andrew Hartmann?” the old man growled. “She killed your brother. Why are you protecting her?” Sean raised his hands in surrender. Then he grabbed his grandfather’s cane to put it down.
“She may have killed Scott, but she's still my wife. Gramps, we just got married? Can you at least let me spend a few more hours with her before you murder her?”
Jim was about to say something when someone else spoke, “Where is my son?” It was Emilie, his stepmother.
“You’re stepson!” Sean corrected.
“Whether I gave birth to you or not, the moment your father married me, I became your mother!” Emilie scolded.
“Enough!” the old Hartmann yelled. “If you want to be considered a mother, make sure you learn how to discipline your son first!”
Emilie bowed, feeling ashamed of what her father-in-law said. He was right. She had never been a mother to either Sean or Scott. She only paid attention to her biological son, Marcus.
Shunned, Emilie excused herself to leave. However, her attention diverted to the woman standing behind her stepson.
“Who is she?” Emilie pointed at Maxine. The woman was standing straight with her head bowed down.
“Oh, sorry! I forgot my manners,” Sean then placed an arm over Maxine’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “Stepmother dear, meet Maxine Winther. My wife and Scott’s killer.”
The woman next to him felt small. ‘How many times has he called me a killer in the past hours? I swear to God I don’t even know who Scott Hartmann is.’
“You’re wife? Last time I checked, you were single. You even declined Danielle’s invitation for dinner. And now you have a wife? You’re married?”
Without paying attention to everything Emilie said, Sean turned to Maxine and smiled, “Hon, meet my lovely stepmother,” his tone was full of sarcasm.
Maxine looked up to face the woman. She was about to shake her hand when she stopped midway, “H-Have we met before?”
Emilie narrowed her eyes at her. She felt weird about her question. “I don’t go to strip clubs!” she snapped.
“Sorry, ma’am,” then Maxine bowed in courtesy. “I’m Maxine Winther.”
The so-called lovely stepmother looked at Maxine from head to toe. Then her eyes landed on her hand before looking at her face. “Not so nice to meet you!” Then she turned around to leave.
As soon as Emelie left, the argument between Sean and his grandfather continued. Jim was mad, but Sean just kept teasing him.
The grandson was testing his grandfather’s patience. No one was backing down. Both of them were overflowing with pride and ego.
Maxine remained quiet at the side without sitting. She was just waiting for Sean to say when they were leaving.
Thankfully, after several more minutes of shouting and cursing, Jim let the case rest. He finally let go of his grandson without talking to Maxine, not even once.
“Where are we going this time?” she asked without even looking at him.
Sean gave the woman a side glance, “We’re going home, hon.”
Maxine felt irritated hearing what he called her. But instead of refuting or commenting, she decided to pay no mind.
Fortunately, the ride didn’t even take more than 16 minutes. The gate has an arch with the name Villa Vita written on it. Just like the Hartmann Estate, the gate opened automatically.
A middle-aged housekeeper named Martha greeted Sean. She took his coat and opened the villa’s door for the couple.
When they were inside, Martha gave them slippers. Maxine felt weird when it fitted her, and it looked like the female version of Sean’s pair.
The man then sat on the couch, resting his long arm on its backrest and putting his feet on the coffee table. Maxine, on the other hand, remained standing near the door.
“What are you doing? Sit down,” Sean invited, then he pointed to the single-seater in front of him.
Feeling tired and numb, Maxine sat down right away. She knew when to refuse, and that wasn’t the right time for it.
Mustering courage, the woman clasped her hands between her legs and faced the young Hartmann, “Can you please explain to me, in detail, what is going on?”
Sean shook his head as he put down his feet and crossed his legs. Leaning forward, he pointed at Maxine, “You’re the one who should explain to me.”
Maxine sighed in frustration. She just wanted to know what happened that she had to go through all this, but the man seemed to be making it hard for her.
“Did I really kill your brother?” She asked, hoping that it was just some sort of a prank.
“Do you think what I said was a joke?” Ignoring his irritating tone, she asked for his brother’s name instead. “Scott, Scott Hartmann.”
“When and where was he murdered?”
“Last January at Purple Spade.”
The woman closed her eyes to try and recall everything. However, she wasn’t lucky enough.
She had seen tons of murder cases related to her job. She couldn’t pinpoint which of those was Sean’s brother.
“Can you show me his picture?”
The man’s forehead creased, unable to figure out what the woman was trying to do. He picked up his phone from the coffee table, looked for a picture of Scott, and showed it to her.
When Maxine saw it, she let out the breath she'd been holding in. “This is your brother? I remember him!”
“Of course, you will. You killed Scott at the club. My brother just wanted to have a good time. Why do you have to do that to him?” clenching his jaws, Sean was trying to hold back the urge to strangle her.
“I didn’t kill him, and the incident was in Maryland, not Virginia. It was at the Mystic Club and not Purple Spade.”
Confused, Sean leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What are you saying?”
“I met him through Lottie. He was the man she used to call Shanks before of his red hair. So, I call him that too. He was nice to almost all the girls at the club, and he’s close to us.”
“He was nice to everyone! Yet you took advantage of it and killed him!” Sean accused.
“No…”
“Yes! Who knows? Your sister probably was an accomplice!”
“I said no!”
“And you think I’ll believe you?”
“You will, and you have to!”
“Why would I even believe a stripper and murder?”
“Because I didn’t do anything to him!” Maxine was furious too. Whenever he talked to Sean, she always felt like she was at a dead end. He never listened.
“Okay, okay! I’ll believe you if you could explain how his dead body moved from Maryland to Virginia. Explain to me why it was the police in Virginia who investigated the crime instead of those from Maryland. Did his body walk while he was dead? Did it move somewhere closer to home? Do you think I’m that stupid to believe your story?”
“Shut up!” I was trying to recall everything, and I wouldn’t be able to if you continue to interrupt me and wouldn’t stop talking!”
Maxine was mad.She could feel her hands shaking violently and her head throbbing. Looking at the man, she couldn’t identify what type of monster he was.He came to her nicely at the asylum, only to tell her that she was a murderer. He introduced her to his grandfather and stepmother only to let them know that she was the one who killed Scott.Now, they were talking about what was causing all this, yet, he won’t listen to her. ‘How stupid is he?’ she thought to herself.After a moment of silence, Sean let out a heavy sigh. “Fine, continue your story.” Maxine glared at him, and he smiled unknowingly. “I swear I won’t say anything. I’ll just listen.”Convinced by what he said, she sat properly to continue her narration. “As I said, he was friendly to everyone. He’s a regular customer of the club, and he’s known as ‘The Young CEO.’ To be honest, we really thought he owned Mystic.”“That night, he was already drunk when he came. A waitress named Verna welcomed him, and he requested a VIP
Sean walked to the stairs, his hands crossed over his chest. He nodded at the door under the stairs, and then he turned to the woman, “You’ll sleep there. I already asked Martha to have it cleaned. Just ignore the books. They won’t bite anyway.”Exhausted and frustrated all at the same time, Maxine just nodded at him. When he headed upstairs, she quickly crawled inside.The walls were bookshelves. Inside was a desk and chair pushed up to the wall to give space for the mattress.The young Hartmann may seem like a monster, but he was kind enough to add a pillow and a blanket. They were already spread on the floor, waiting for her.Maxine crawled to the mattress and pulled the blanket to cover herself from head to toe. She was worried as she had not spoken to her sister or their mother yet.Meanwhile, inside the master’s bedroom, Sean covered his lower body with a towel after showering. He looked at the mirror and smiled, weirded about everything that happened.Everything Maxine said mes
“Good morning, Mr. Hartmann,” a middle-aged woman greeted Sean, then her eyes landed on Maxine, and the man noticed that.“Let’s talk in the office, Lucile.”Maxine and the woman called Lucile followed Sean. When the door closed, the woman positioned herself next to Sean.“My schedule,” he asked, and Lucile quickly opened the tablet and read everything from there. Sean nodded and pointed at Maxine, “Give her a black card. I need her to buy something for me.”“Yes, sir!” Then Lucile excused herself and headed out of the office.Sean looked at Maxine. She was standing near the door, looking at her feet. With the light shining through the glass wall, she looked like an angel. But a frail one.He first saw her from the pictures shown to him by his private investigator. Maxine looked lovely in them.In one picture, she was wearing hot pink, three-piece booty shorts. She also paired it with hot pink high heels. She’s not wearing any makeup, but her beauty stands out.That was the Sasha embe
Emilie froze after hearing that awfully familiar voice. She slowly turned around, praying she was wrong, but her soul almost left when she confirmed it was her stepson.She wanted to run away and leave the scene, but it was too late. All the guards at the mall had already surrounded them.“Who gave the two of you the right to make a scene on my property?” the young Hartmann asked in his most authoritative tone.Maxine looked, surprised by what he said. She did not even know the entire mall belonged to the man.Even the salesladies who assisted her earlier were surprised to know that she was Mrs. Hartmann. Both girls were suddenly envious of her.“S-Sean, I-I’m sorry,” Danielle’s voice was shaking. Everyone could tell the man’s presence spelled danger for her.He clenched his fists, not taking his eyes from the woman. Thankfully, Danielle was a woman. If not, he would have punched her. He was fuming mad because he saw how she hit Maxine.Letting go of his wife, he slowly turned to the
Maxine sat on the wooden bench near the elevator. After a while, Lucile joined her with a cup of coffee. “How are you feeling?”She sighed before smiling lazily, “I’m okay. I just didn’t like the idea of slapping Danielle because of what they did.”“Young lady, you’re being too nice,” Lucile commented. “Those two were children of the devil. They don’t deserve anyone pitying them.”“Really?” she asked, and Sean’s assistant nodded incessantly. “Have they done something to you before?” She asked out of curiosity.However, before the assistant could respond, the boss emerged from the office. “I’ll tell you some other time,” she whispered before she walked up to the man. “You’re leaving now?”Sean nodded in response and headed for the elevator. Maxine quickly followed, but he raised a hand at her. “Use the stairs. I can still smell you from here.”Embarrassed, she pushed the door to the fire exit. Maxine ensured she washed off the stink from the water earlier. But if Sean could still smell
After parting with her family, Sean asked Salvo to drive back to Villa Vita. He decided not to return to his office, as his wife looked exhausted.On their way back, Sean couldn’t sit still. He was still thinking about the events at Maxine’s house earlier.He can’t get rid of how the place looked, the mattress, the corners of the walls, and above all else, their father.“Who was that man?” he asked. Maxine turned and creased her forehead at him. The man glanced at her and smirked, “Who was Henry?”“Who was Henry?” she parrotted and sighed. “He’s Stella’s husband.”Sean straightened up and glared at her. “Who is Stella then?” He asked again.“Stella?” she repeated. “She’s our adoptive mother.”The man sighed as he crossed his legs. He was getting annoyed as she kept repeating her questions and her one-line answers.“Maxine, can you please give me a backstory? How was your life in Grayson? How are you in Maryland?”“I thought you had someone investigate me?” she asked.“Not as far as ho
The following morning, Maxine woke up early. She quickly took a bath and dressed up. Then she headed to Martha’s room.She called the old lady in a low voice, worried she might wake up the rest of the housekeepers. “Do you need anything, Mrs. Hartmann?”Maxine was startled when the woman suddenly spoke behind her. She clutched her chest and smiled, “Martha, please, just call me Maxine. I’m not qualified for that title.”Martha reached out for her arm and gave it a light squeeze. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”The old lady liked her. In Martha’s heart, she can feel Maxine is innocent. She knew Sean was a little confused about his brother’s murder. But she believed that Maxine was not the culprit.“Can you tell me where I can wash this?” Maxine asked, showing Martha the handkerchief.“Is that Sean’s?” she asked with a teasing smile. Maxine immediately shook her head to dismiss whatever the woman was thinking. “He lent it to me.”Martha nodded, still not convinced that Sean had lent h
“Good morning, slave driver!”After three weeks of waiting, Elo finally showed up at the Hartmann Group. It was only a little past nine when he entered the CEO’s office.“Get your ass off!” Sean sneered.“Sean Andrew Hartmann! Why are you being so grumpy this early?” Elo asked as he moved down from the table to the chair. “Don’t tell me your wife was giving you a hard time,” he teased.The young man was grumpy because he couldn’t forget what Martha had told him. Maxine Winther doesn’t want to be called Mrs. Hartmann. That soured his mood.“Fine, I’ll stop!” Elo raised his hands to calm his friend. “When are we starting?”“As soon as possible!” the man replied, “You think we can start by the first week of next month?”“That soon?”Sean nodded and leaned forward, “I want to make sure it’s operational when I find her.”“Found who?”Sean let out a sigh and leaned far back on his swivel chair. He started telling his friend what happened to him during his stay at the Hartmann Hotel.He told