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
“I’m Maxine!”She introduced herself, still smiling, and that drew the last straw. When he heard Elo’s footsteps, he wrapped his coat around Maxine’s waist and pushed her towards the stairs.“What are you doing? I need to shake her hand!” Elo called him out, but his friend ignored him.“Go upstairs, change your clothes, and stay there until Elo leaves,” he instructed. Although confused, Maxine obeyed and headed to her room.“The greed, man! The greed!” Elo whined, but Sean just plopped on the couch without saying anything.Instead of paying attention to his childlike friend, he turned to the sketches on the couch. He picked them up, one by one, and called the housekeeper.“Yes, Sean?”“What are these?” he asked again, handing the papers to the old lady.After looking at it, she hid the papers behind her back, “Sorry, these might be Maxine’s sketches. She got bored earlier and asked for a pen and paper. She spent hours drawing.”“Drawing what?” Elo asked. “Let me see,” then Martha hand
“Dinner is ready!”As soon as Elo heard Martha’s announcement, he pushed himself off the couch and headed straight to the kitchen.When they got there, Maxine was quietly helping the housekeepers set up the table. Sean frowned when he saw that. He was still feeling guilty after he heard what she told Elo earlier.While Elo and Maxine were talking, he was eavesdropping. Before Elo returned, he sat on the couch and pretended he was checking his phone.His friend looked dejected, and Sean knew why. It was because Maxine rejected his offer, and it was all because of Sean.Elo took the liberty of sitting at the dinner table. He sat in Maxine’s place. And at an 8-feet dinner table, Maxine decided to sit a the other end.With his forehead creased, Sean took his seat and started eating. He was focused on his food until he noticed Maxine hadn’t started yet. He saw her pulling Martha’s sleeve.“What is wrong?” Sean asked, but instead of responding to him, Maxine just stopped what she was doing
The next day, Elo woke up at seven in the morning. He saw Martha in the kitchen, and the old lady offered him breakfast, but he settled for coffee.“How are things with the couple? And why was Maxine sleeping under the stairs?” Elo asked.“It was just like what you saw last night. Less Maxine’s tantrum,” she giggled. “She told us that Sean took her mother and sister to Scottsville, and she hasn’t talked to them for weeks.”“Wait,” putting a hand up to halt the old lady and then pressed between his eyes. He had not heard much yet, but he was already feeling depressed. “You mean, he suspected her of killing his brother, but he still married her? Then he took her family hostage?”Martha pulled a chair and started telling Elo everything the woman told her. “According to Maxine, she got kidnapped one night right next to the club she was working. When she woke up, she was at an asylum, where she met Sean. He told her he was looking for a stripper named Sasha, which was correct. Maxine’s kno
“You’re schedule’s a mess!” Lucile was in a panic. Her boss just arrived, and tons of people have been waiting for him.Sean would start his day at the office at ten in the morning. However, it was already fifteen past eleven when he arrived.“What happened?” his assistant asked as soon as they got inside his office.“Thank Elo. He’s the reason why I was late.”Elo’s eyes widened in shock, “Why me? You’re the—”“Shut up! If not for you, nothing would happen, and we wouldn’t be late!” Sean scolded, but his friend just laughed at him.Shaking her head, Lucile turned to her boss, “The heads of the manufacturing company were already waiting in the conference room. They’ve been here since ten. I’ve talked to Vito, too. He said he could come here at 1 in the afternoon. The applicants were waiting outside the conference room of L’Amour. It was Dina who assisted them.”“I got that!” Elo announced when he heard about the applicants. It was about time for him to take charge as the Executive Dir
“Surprise!” Elo yelled inside the CEO’s office.“If that’s all, sir, I’ll get going.”Sean nodded to Vito, and the man exited the office. Then he turned his attention to Elo. “Why are you here?”“As I said, I have a surprise for you!”“What is it?”“Come in!” Elo yelled again, and the office door opened. Sean’s mouth fell open when he saw the woman. “You were stunned, too, right?”Clearing his throat, he glared at his friend, “Did you finally convince her?”Elo nodded, then gestured for Maxine to sit on the chair in front of Sean’s desk. When she did, Elo took the other chair. “It was Martha who convinced her,” he giggled.Sean turned to Maxine. “Are you sure about this?” He asked, and the woman nodded. “Can you do it?” Once again, she nodded in response. “What is wrong with you?”She looked up, and her brow automatically arched, “I was answering your questions. Was that wrong?”Sean scowled, but Elo laughed. Then he stood up and grabbed the woman’s wrist. “Let’s go! You should at lea