Maximilian"Rebecca," I say to my sister just before she enters the bedroom with Edmund, "could we have a word?"She and Ed exchange a look, and I convince myself that I'm not offended by it. She and I have always been on the same page about many things. A perfect example is when we all agreed to come live with our father here after his diagnosis. I just went into his room to see him, but he was out like a flame. "Sure," Rebecca replies as she makes her way to my side, interrupting my train of thought. "Where would you want to talk?"I gesture at my room. There's a balcony and I think we'd have privacy there. I ignore the way Ed's looking at me, and open the door for her to enter my room. It's immaculate, courtesy of the maids who work hard to keep the place spotless. Then again, I've never been a messy person. I like things around me neat and organized. It helps me feel sane and in control. "What's the matter?" Rebecca asks as soon as I close my bedroom door. "I was hoping to tal
AdaI’ve never really had an enemy before, so this whole experience with Sheila is very new to me. Of course, there’s Reynold Loxley, but he’s never been an active enemy, if that makes sense. I’ve never looked the man in the eyes in my life. I’ve hated him from a distance, so it’s different to what I’m experiencing now with this delusional woman who somehow thinks I’m going to steal her opportunity to be Maximilian Loxley’s wife. At least, that’s the impression I have of her. She’s a bit on the crazy side, and although I find it concerning, life has taught me that it’s the people you’re less concerned about that are the problem. I can’t see how she would jeopardize my future here. Plus, what were my options, exactly? Playing along with her? Promising her that I’d do as she says?Nope. Not an option. So, I keep my head low and try not to be too excited about the fact that I’ll be cleaning the office today. I could find some valuable information that could help me uncover the truth.
Ada “Go on,” Sheila taunts when she sees my clenched fist by my side. “Hit me. See if you won’t fired for misconduct.”“You stupid bitch,” I hiss. “You tripped me.”“This is only a taste of what’s going to happen to you if you insist on challenging me,” she claims. Shamelessly. She’s so damn shameless. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like her in all my life. “You little—”“What’s going on?” Mrs. Danes asks as she heads toward us. “What happened?”Sheila turns around and tells her, “Naomi fell, Mrs. Danes. The poor thing.”“Are you alright?” Mrs. Danes asks me as she assesses the damage. There’s some food on the floor, but most of it’s on the tray, so that’s that. “Yes,” I answer while I make eye contact with Sheila. “Just fine. I’ll clean this mess right up.”Sheila smiles, and I realize that I have yet another person in this house who might prove to be problematic for me. I have to get rid of her. There’s no predicting what she could do, and I won’t risk my stay here. I’ve don
Maximilian I glance at the time on my watch and ignore the urge I have to groan in frustration. The party has only just started and I’m bored beyond belief. I hate such events, and the worst part is that the announcement of my succession will only be made in three hours. Rebecca and Edmund are having the time of their lives. They love these kinds of events; they thrive in this kind of environment. I, on the other hand, have never been the social butterfly. If anything, I’m on the antisocial side.I feel a tap on my shoulder and then hear Kelly’s voice before I see her face. “Max! You look so handsome! Did you miss me?”“Not really,” I joke before I take her hand in mine. Kelly is holding her mask on her left hand along with her clutch. I go ahead and remove the stupid shit from my face, too. “How was Paris?” I ask.“Oh, just great!” she exclaims. “I have to say that our fashion show went incredibly well, though I really wish you’d made it to my debut.”“Couldn’t,” I say simply. “W
AdaThe sight of Rebecca Loxley-Manney waving me over makes me look away from her brother, and I approach the group, but not without feeling my stomach turning from my nerves. A party like this is way out of my comfort zone, but of course, I couldn't say no to their invitation or chicken out, especially when they were kind enough to send me this dress. It’s absolutely stunning, and I don’t think I’ve ever owned a prettier dress. It suits my dark features so well, too, and I love this shade of purple. I walk toward them steadily in my high heels, and am pleased to see that Maximilian Loxley has finally looked away. He can’t hide his disdain for a second. I don’t even know how he managed to recognize me with my mask on. I skip it over my head when I get closer to them, and Rebecca looks me up and down appreciatively. “Wow. This dress is so beautiful!”“Thank you,” I say sheepishly, wondering if I should say something now about her being kind enough to get it for me or if I should wa
Ada The doors are still swinging when I approach them, and I hold the left one and slip inside the room through the gap of the doors. I was right when I assumed that it was a storage room. I see a whole bunch of crates filled with wine and champagne bottles as well as different liquors. What could Sheila possibly be doing here? That's what I want to know. And I find out soon enough. I hear voices and immediately duck behind a stack of crates. They're speaking in low voices, but I recognize Sheila's whiny, high-pitched voice. She's talking to a man, and when I peer over the crates, I'm not surprised to see Edmund talking to her. I wish I could get closer to hear what they're saying, but soon, they stop talking altogether and start kissing instead. My face reddens, and I cover my mouth with my hand. I shouldn't be surprised; I'd low-key deduced what was happening when she warned me off the men in the family. Her possessive manner made me realize that she must have had an affair wit
Ada“I gotta go,” I tell Damson quickly before hanging up and shoving the phone in my clutch. Edmund approaches me, his eyes following all my movements. “There you are. I’ve been wondering where you’ve been hiding. Is everything okay?”“Yes,” I lie. “I just thought I’d get some fresh air.”“Yes, it’s quite stuffy inside, isn’t it?” he asks before reaching into his blazer to retrieve a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Mind if I smoke?”“No.”He lights the cigarette, then stands smoking it. I notice that near his neck, there’s a lipstick stain. Won’t his wife notice? Isn’t he afraid?“You look lovely tonight,” he comments. “Did you like the dress?”Ah, the matter that I’ve been meaning to clarify. “I thought that your wife gifted it to me, so I guess her confusion left me…confused, too.”“About that,” he begins as he turns his body so he’s facing me directly. “Rebecca doesn’t know about the dress. She didn’t mention it or even think about it, I guess because of what happened with Sam
Maximilian Edmund faces me with a broad smile tugging at the corners of his lips, which would suggest that nothing is wrong. But the maid? Her face is ashen, and she looks like she’s a few breaths away from crying. Her eyes are downcast now, and she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, looking uncomfortable. What the hell is going on here?“Max,” Ed exclaims. I notice that he’s being a little too loud, in an exaggerated way, almost, and when he moves closer to me, I see a wave of panic cross his eyes before it disappears. Guilt. I detect guilt. And why would that be?“Something wrong?” I ask him, unfazed by the friendliness he’s showing me. Ed frowns. “Why would there be something wrong?”I wait for a beat to pass, then say, “I don’t know. You tell me.”He waves his hand dismissively and says, “I was just talking to Naomi here about Sammy, and I guess that put us both in a mood. Isn’t that right?”She raises her eyes to look at him, and I see that flash of defiance that
Maximilian “It’s been a long time since we last spoke, haven’t we?” Damson says in my ear. His voice still has that crazy quality to it. He doesn’t sound like a sane person. And the worst part is that this man is by my daughter’s side, somewhere out there. We don’t even know if he left the state or even the country. We know nothing. I clench my jaw so tightly that I hear a molar crack. I remind myself that this time, things have to be different. I need to stay calm and hope that this time, he’s going to tell me what he wants so we can get our daughter back. Everything is depending on me. “You always had so much to say, and now you’re saying nothing. You’re silent. I wonder…does that mean you declare defeat?”“Yes,” I say, the word scratching the sides of my throat and making my mouth so bitter that I nearly gag. I’ll say whatever I can to please this man. I’d do absolutely everything.“Yes? Good,” he claims. “Ada has received a similar call from me and she has also declared defe
Maximilian Today proves to be a pretty eventful day. I’ve gone so many years without a single thing happening outside of the normal and now, Rebecca has come to pay me the second visit of the day. And this time, she refuses to not be let inside. “I’ll stay here all night if I have to, Max. You’re not going to get any sleep! I need to talk to you and it’s urgent! Open up!”I rub my eyes as I stare at the door and think about what to do. It briefly occurs to me that I could call the police but then I decide that it’s not worth the trouble—I’d rather just find out what she wants and then hope she’ll leave. So, for the first time in seven years, we come face to face. I look into my sisters’s eyes and notice the changes. How the corner of her eyes are more crinkled. How her face is thinner. Rebecca narrows her eyes at me before barging in. “You were going to leave me out there all night, weren’t you? I bet you were even going to call the police.”“What do you want?” I ask, getting str
Ada After spending an entire day hunting for jobs and coming up with nothing, that’s when I start to feel the pressure. There’s nothing so far. Not a single job. I don’t want to feel desperate but this has all come from out of nowhere and it makes me wonder if the world is conspiring against me. I spend the whole day worrying and fretting, and I’m in a terrible mood. That’s until I’m visited by a face I haven’t seen in a long time. Rebecca.I must admit that her knocking on my door gives me this surreal feeling—I can’t even explain it. I have so many questions for her as I open the door. “Rebecca,” I say, pressing my hand to my mouth. Her eyes immediately start to tear up. Then again, she’s always been extremely dramatic. We embrace, not saying a word to each other. I’m still busy wrapping my head around this whole thing. She’s here. That’s insane and amazing at the same time. “How did you find me?” I ask right away. “I…this can’t be real.”The last time we saw each other was
Maximilian I hang up the phone and find myself staring at the wall.For seven years, I’ve been tormented by this guy. Tormented. He would call me and sometimes I’d hear the sound of my daughter’s voice in the background but it didn’t matter how much I screamed—she would never hear me. Today was no different. All I could do was hear as he talked to her. She was grown now—her voice wasn’t that of a baby’s. For some time now, her voice was that of a smart little young girl, and I wouldn’t hear her say all these things that ranged from things she saw outside to things she learned in school. And then she would call him Daddy. That lunatic.He’d hang up afterward. Less than a minute felt like an eternity. I’ve tried everything. Tracking the number. Involving the police. Nothing amounted to anything. I don’t know where that man is hiding her but he hasn’t been found since.I was the last person to have seen him. Before, I used to walk around the city, hoping k would spot him randomly a
Ada Seven Years Later…“Ada, could you come here for a second?”I abandon my spot in front of the coffee machine and head to the back to meet with the manager of the café where I work. She’s seated behind her desk as she usually is and only briefly glances at me. She and I don’t get along. Never have. For five years, she’s made sure to make my life an absolute nightmare but because I got used to the place and the tips are good, I chose to stay. “We have to cut back on costs. I’m sorry, Ada, you’ve been an excellent employer for five years but now, we’re going to have to let you go.”I stare at her face, dumbfounded. When she sees that I haven’t said a word or reacted yet, she finally looks up and looks as annoyed as ever. “You heard what I said didn’t you?”“Yes, I did,” I claim. “I just don’t understand why me. There is an employee in there that only got the job two days ago. Nobody does this better than me.”“I’m sorry but rules are rules. You have until the end of the day. I’m so
Ada My baby is back in my arms and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve left the hospital behind us and have been moved to a private clinic. Max believes it’s safer. It seems the perpetrator is still on the move. I don’t care much for the investigation now that my baby is safely in my arms. She’s been in the intensive care unit just to ensure that everything is in order and the new doctor claimed that she’s perfectly fine. I haven’t seen much of Max. He’s been up and down with the investigators, so I’ve been alone for most of the time. I’m anxious to receive news about my baby. I just want to be able to get out of here and go back home. But it seems they still have to run some tests and all I can do is be patient. Rebecca comes and goes. She’s doing this to avoid coming across Max. I’m glad she’s putting in the effort to see us. I haven’t spoken to Max about her yet but maybe now that our baby has been found, he’ll feel more forgiving toward his sister. There’s a knock on the door and
Maximilian “I know you know who it is. Come alone or you’ll regret it.”That was what the unknown caller said to me when I answered the call, and oddly enough, I knew exactly who it was. An address was sent to me in a different phone number and I knew I would go, and I’d obey the orders because my daughter’s life depended on it. I didn’t say a word to anyone. Not the private investigator who was still looking for this guy. Not Ada. How would I tell her that Damson called me and told me to meet him when she still didn’t know that he’d escaped from the institution? I knew I was right—I knew he had something to do with the kidnapping. Call it a father’s instinct. I’m on the way to him now and my hands are shaking as they grip the steering wheel. I don’t even know how I’m going to control my anger enough to face this man. I can’t do anything stupid that would put my daughter’s life at risk. I wonder what he wants since he didn’t ask to see Ada. What’s his plan? He just be truly crazy
Ada I haven’t been doing well at all. Not since my baby was taken. Every second of every day, she’s all I think about. What hurts me the most is that she didn’t even have a name, so in my head, she’s just ‘her’.She’s so young. So tiny. And this situation keeps getting worse and worse. Apparently, the same man was spotted in a hospital on the other side of the city, and he also killed two nurses to steal a baby. Two babies gone missing in the same day. Both girls. One can only imagine what kind of malicious intentions he has. Why go through so much trouble to kidnap two newborns? What’s the matter with him?Max seems distracted. I don’t know what’s wrong with him but every time I look at him, I can tell that he’s keeping something from me. There’s something he isn’t telling me about all this. I could be wrong, of course. Maybe he’s just not taking this news very well, the same way I’m not. But the truth is what I can’t have him being this distant. He’s always on the phone. He
Maximilian “Do you recognize this man, Mr. Loxley?”I stare at his face hard, my heart beating fast. It’s a blur and way too pixelated anyway for me to be able to recognize him. I shake my head, despair taking a hold of me. “No,” I finally say. “I don’t.”I keep a firm arm around Ada because I know she needs that right now. She needs me and my support. She’s not taking this well at all and it honestly breaks my heart. I’m heartbroken about all of this, too. I don’t feel emotional because it hasn’t kicked in yet. In my mind, there’s nothing that can be fixed. The detective says she’ll be found so that’s what I believe. He said it won’t take too long, and I’m counting on that. Ada is distraught, though. Deep down, I have this fear that the man involved is that fucking lunatic who escaped the institution, the one that’s haunted Ada for so long. I never even told her that he got out. Maybe I should. Maybe I should even mention it to the detective so he’ll at least have a lead. I don