The Maxwell Twins

Chapter Two: Ivy & Flynn

Ivy

Danger truly did lurk around every corner, and unlucky for me, it'd landed right on my doorstep...again.

Turning back to letters in front of me, I wondered how I'd be so unfortunate in the family department. A crazy mother who'd raised even crazier children, and a father so set on his next gambling scheme, he actively forgot he had starving children at home. Now, my eldest brother was following in my fathers footsteps, and as luck would have it, his consequences were now my problem.

This wasn't the first time I'd received a death threat, but it was the first time I'd received one on the Maxwell compound. I was starting to believe my very fortunate lie that led me to the Maxwell compound wasn't worth all the effort after all.

See, I was a liar. A big, fat one too. I'd managed to trick poor Walter, Head of Staff for the Maxwell compound, with my very fake resume. In which I'd apparently attended culinary school, and then had moved onto head chef positions with two restaurants before I decided to create my own business, becoming a live-in personal chef. All lies. I hadn't even attended college, I'd barely finished high school before my brother decided I was the one who would pay for his crimes. I'd worked at restaurants for the past ten years, any position available at the time, under a multitude of fake IDs. Not because I'd wanted that life. But because I'd been on the run from the Italian Mafia ever since my brother stole over half a million dollars from them.

I didn't know the full story, I'd already begun to separate myself from the Greene family when I received the first death threat. I'd been weeks from graduating high school, sleeping on a friend's couches. The letter had arrived at school. I'd thought it'd been a prank, but as that week had drawn on, I'd begun to notice strange men following me. I'd panicked, approached one of the school delinquents who had a reputation of good fake IDs and the day after I graduated, I'd disappeared. Ten years on, and I was still running. Every time a death threat showed up, I moved onto the next town.

Four months ago, I'd received a new death threat, and it had been the one to scare me the most. They'd attached photos of me. Working, shopping, and the worst, sleeping. I'd packed my car that moment and had driven 8 hours to Seattle, Washington. I'd camped out at a local camping site for two weeks before I'd stumbled across the Maxwell compound job. I'd found such solace in the word compound that I hadn't been able to stop myself from googling to see if it was what I thought it may be.

Maxwell Security was an internationally wide security company that catered to the rich and powerful. While they had offices all over the world, the Maxwell compound was the original site. Large secluded land housed the owners main private property in the back and the main office building in the front. Maxwell Security HQ was accessible from the main road, but the private home of the Maxwell family was a ten minute drive from a side service road.

I'd never seen a piece of land so protected before. Tall, stone walls fenced the outside of the property, another 15 metres in was a wire fence, which I'd learnt was electrified. I knew there were three check points before you could even enter the main building. They'd done the same around the Maxwell home, too. Stone walls, electrified fencing, check points and private security who patrolled the grounds.

I'd known then that the Maxwell compound would be able to protect me. So, I'd gone back to my original name, who had at least my high school diploma, and had created an appealing resume the Maxwells wouldn't be able to refuse. Somehow, it worked. I'd been interviewed, asked to prepare a dish for tasting and within a week, I'd been hired. I'd felt slightly guilty for my lies but I truly was a great cook, and I very much enjoyed feeding people.

Now, months later. I'd settled into the Maxwell compound, and the thought of having to leave made me depressed. I'd been given such a beautiful room, the kitchen was an absolute dream, and the other staff who lived in the Maxwell compound were some of the greatest people I'd been blessed to have in my life, they'd all made me apart of their mismatched family, something I hadn't realised I'd been missing.