Chapter 5 – A Rundown Of Events

• 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 room. Verna found that weird, of course, as he doesn’t normally do that. Most of the time, he’d stay by the bar and watch public performances. But that night, all of a sudden, he wanted a VIP room. Aside from that, he asked for me, specifically.”
• After hearing that last sentence, Sean tasted something bitter in his mouth. He suddenly felt grumpy and wanted her to stop. Then again, he swore he would listen, so he bit his tongue.
• “He was already in the VIP room thirty minutes before I came in. He was sleeping on the couch, so I thought he had passed out. I called the waiter and asked him to take Shanks upstairs. I mean, Scott. When he approached your brother, he noticed something wrong. He said he looked a bit purple, and his hands felt cold. When I checked him to find his pulse, there was none, so we called for an ambulance.”
• “Wait,” Sean raised a hand to stop Maxine, and she creased her forehead at him. “What do you mean he’s purplish?”
• “He’s purplish. He looked purple!”
• The man stared at his hands for a while, thinking about something. Then he gave Maxine the green light, and she continued.
• “I didn’t go with them to the hospital, but our manager did. He said that according to the doctors, he died of cardiac arrest and that it could be related to the volume of alcohol he consumed that night.”
• “Wait, hold up! What are you saying?”
• “What do you mean?”
• “Are you trying to make up stories to cover up your crime?”
• Maxine wasn’t able to respond as she was shocked. She tried recalling everything she said and was sure she did not miss anything. “I-I don’t get you.”
• Sean grabbed his phone instead of responding. He scrolled up and down before passing it to the woman. There she saw horrendous pictures of Scott. “W-What’s these?”
• “Those were his pictures from the hospital.”
• Maxine’s mouth fell open. She shook her head and dropped the phone to the floor. Tears started streaming down her face as she covered her mouth. “H-How did that happen?” her voice cracked.
• “You did that, and now you’re asking me how it happened?”
• “S-Sean, Mr. Hartmann, I swear to God I didn’t do anything to your brother,” she was starting to panic as Sean seemed firm in his belief that she killed Scott. She had no idea how to convince him otherwise.
• “I-I know. You should go to Maryland. I know where the former manager lives or the investigator who went to the crime scene. They took a sample of the alcohol he was drinking.”
• “Honey, I’m a billionaire CEO! Going to Maryland for nothing is a waste of time.” Maxine bowed as she felt hopeless. It seemed like being his wife was the end of her. “Let’s do it like this. Why don’t you reach out to the former manager or the investigator? Set an appointment, then we’ll go to Maryland.”
• “H-How can I do that?”
• “Maxine, mobile phones are a thing now. Don’t you have one?”
• The woman fell silent. She can’t even remember where she lost her phone after everything that happened to her in the past 24 hours.
• Maxine shook her head in response, and Sean snorted. “Are you so poor that you can’t afford a phone? Even a basic phone? Don’t tell me your customers never gifted you one!”
• “I don’t have customers that can afford that.”
• “What do you mean? Are you telling me you’re stripping for regular employees? Not even managers? Are you that cheap?”
• The woman felt insulted. One more word from the man, and she would punch him. In less than 24 hours, he detained her in an asylum, forced her to marry him, called her a killer, and now, he’s calling her cheap.
• She didn’t possess any strong background, but she had manners that this man did not seem to have, considering he was wealthy. Because of that, she realized that no matter how powerful and wealthy a person is, manners don’t come easy and free.
• Sean looked at her, and he could not help but chuckle at how uncomfortable she looked sitting in front of him. The man wanted to poke fun at the woman, but before he could, Martha showed up.
• “Sean, dinner is served.”
• When Maxine heard what the woman said, her stomach grumbled. Sean let out a hearty laugh when he heard it. “You’re hungry?”
• “I haven’t eaten since last night,” she told him shyly.
• The man clicked his tongue while pushing himself up from the couch. “Let’s go and eat before you die of starvation.”
• Maxine smiled, feeling grateful that, despite being treated like a hostage, he invited her to eat. She stood up and followed him to the kitchen.
• Lisa, one of the housekeepers, pulled a chair for her. “Thank you,” then she bowed at the woman.
• When Sean picked up his utensils, Maxine did the same. When the man started digging in, she started as well.
• She was able to swallow her food without choking as they ate quietly. The dining room felt peaceful, and Maxine felt relaxed for the first time since Sean took her out of the asylum.
• The man finished first, and since she was hungry, she continued eating. Maxine picked up the salad and put some on her plate.
• As he watched her, Sean didn’t say anything. But on her third plate, he started laughing. That caught the attention of the housekeepers. It was as if that was the first time they heard him laugh.
• Maxine, who was busy munching her food, stopped and looked at him, curious about his sudden reaction. Sean raised a hand and gave her a peace sign. “Why?”
• Patting his stomach, he sighed, “Nothing. I just can’t believe I married a beggar!”