Chapter 6 – The Stripper

• 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 messed up his mind.
• As soon as he came back from London, all he wanted to do was to get to the bottom of the case. Tons of questions boggled his mind, but up to this day, not of those questions were answered.
• It was Emelie who told him about Scott’s death. According to the woman, he sustained multiple stab wounds. The images were still fresh in his mind.
• But then, the woman had a different version of the story. For her, there was no crime, and Scott died due to a medical condition.
• If that were the case, it would have been easier for him to accept it. But based on the pictures sent to him, his brother died horrendously.
• The part where Scott was in the VIP room was correct. But it’s not true that he asked for it. Instead, he barged into someone else’s room and caused trouble.
• He saw his girlfriend drinking with another man. This girlfriend was a stripper named Sasha, someone he met at the club and dated.
• He beat the guy, but Sasha retaliated and hit him with a bottle. When he fell on the couch, she started stabbing him.
• There were differences in the stories, and Sean could not identify what was true. The problem was he was leaning towards believing Maxine instead of his stepmother.
• Tired of thinking, Sean laid down on the bed to rest However, something suddenly popped into his mind. It was the eventful dinner they had earlier.
• When he finished eating, he continued watching Maxine. He was happy that she was enjoying the meal, but at the same time, he also wanted to poke fun at her.
• “Nothing. I just can’t believe I married a beggar.”
• After saying that, Maxine glared at Sean as he laughed. What he did not notice was that he angered the woman and that she was already gripping the fork.
• He did not expect she would try to stab him, and he must admit he felt scared. The good thing was, he got quick reflexes and removed his hand from the table before the damned fork hit him.
• Martha panicked after what the young woman did. She wanted to call the police, but Sean stopped her.
• There was no reason for her to do that. Besides, Maxine is a visitor, and it was Sean’s fault that she got mad.
• Yes, Sean Hartmann knew how and when he was wrong. He knew how to admit his faults. But, of course, he wouldn’t say it out loud. Never!
• In his heart, he knew she was not at fault. It was the same for her case with Scott. She may have hurt him, but she would not kill him. She could not.
• While thinking, he realized something. ‘Someone’s playing here, and I don’t like this sort of game. It has to stop!’
• Drained of energy, he fell asleep.
• As he stayed up late, it was almost ten in the morning when he woke up. Without time to waste, he prepared to go to the Hartmann Group.
• He took his phone out, called someone, and headed downstairs. There, he saw Maxine sitting on the couch with her head bowed.
• “Good morning!” he greeted but didn’t get a response. “Good morning!” Still, the woman remained quiet.
• He walked over and tapped her shoulder, but she just leaned to the side. That was when he realized she was asleep.
• “Maxine!” he yelled, and it snapped the woman out of her slumber.
• “Good morning,” she greeted languidly. Her voice was husky. Maxine noticed he was in his suit, so she quickly stood up to ask, “You’re leaving?”
• Sean blinked several times before nodding, “I have to go to the office, and you’re coming with me,” then he headed to the kitchen.
• Maxine followed while combing her hair with her fingers. In the kitchen, she stood next to the man. Her legs were restless, and he noticed that.
• “Sit down,” he instructed, but she hesitated to obey him.
• “Y-You said I was coming with you to the office. But I don’t have anything to w-wear.”
• The young man looked at her from head to toe and put down his utensils. “Go upstairs to the guest room. Check the closet. You can find one you can wear there.”
• Upon hearing that, she rushed upstairs. She did not even bother heating. All she wanted to do was get out of her filthy clothes.
• “Miss Martha,” she called when the head housekeeper came out from one of the rooms.
• “Madam, you can just call me Martha.”
• “M-Martha, can you tell me where the guest room is? I need to find a new set of clothes.”
• The middle-aged woman nodded before turning around, leading her to the room next to Sean’s. She even opened the door to let her in.
• “Thank you!” she told the woman, and Martha bowed before leaving.
• Maxine opened the closet to look for something to wear. Everything inside looked brand new. ‘Do these belong to his girlfriend? Ex-wife? Flings?’ She thought to herself and shrugged it off. ‘Why do I care?’
• After a few more minutes, she picked up a blue shirt with a ROCKSTAR print and a pair of fitted jeans. She laid them on the bed before turning to check the drawer for a new pair of underwear.
• Creasing her forehead, she felt weird about how everything in the closet seemed to be of her size, even the underwear. But just like earlier, she dismissed the thought.
• She headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. After doing so, she used the towel to tie up her hair and stepped out with just her underwear.
• She gasped when she saw Sean inside the room, sitting at the foot of the bed. She didn’t expect him to be there. He didn’t make a sound.
• But instead of retreating, she walked up to the bed and grabbed the pair of jeans. “Why are you here?” she asked as she put them on.
• Sean was stunned.
• He did not expect she would come out of the bathroom with nothing but her underwear and a towel on her head. Worse was she did not seem to care even if he was there.
• “I—,” the man cleared his throat as it suddenly felt dry. “I thought you were ready. I’ve been waiting downstairs for almost an hour. I’m late to the office.”
• Maxine quickened her movements. She rushed back to the bathroom to hang the towel, then to the dresser to comb her hair. Good thing she had already brushed her teeth.
• “I’m ready!” she announced after she put on her worn-out sneakers.
• “Let’s go!” Then Sean turned around to leave. Scratching the back of his head, he couldn’t help but think, ‘She’s indeed a stripper!’