Beneath The Orange Sunset ✔️

31

~31~

Everything was going bad as it possibly could. Bad!

The upstairs part of the house was particularly quiet and still. It made the atmosphere of the huge mansion so eerie and gloomy.

The young heir was on the lookout for an opportunity to outwit the housekeeper and get out of the mansion. Either way he knew Henrietta wouldn't keep her mouth shut if he told her he could see, it would be safer not to let her know at all.

Multiple thoughts ran through Henrietta's head as she clutched a long wooden spoon in her right hand, making her way up the stairs. She was not a heroine but she had to protect the sick heir. And goodness he was blind. Her eyes glistened, fully alert as she approached the hallway.

"Sir Maxime, is that you?" Her thing voice echoed lightly over the thick walls.

Her heart was thumping hard. She shot her eyes across both ends of the hallway. It was clear.

"Sir..." she called as she approached the door on the left. She tightened her grip around the wooden spoon, raising it slightly above her head, she prepared to strike.

She pushed the white door ajar and peeked in. The bed was empty. There was no sound coming from the bathroom either. The muscles in her face weakened.

Where did the blind heir go? God, what will she tell madame Emile, that her son had disappeared!

Maxime trailed her scent as he skulked down the hallway. It took him seconds to reach the door to his room. He peered inside, just close enough to catch a glimpse of Henrietta's back as she tiptoed towards the bathroom. This was no time for sympathy. He stretched his hand and held the knob.

The housekeeper flinched when a shadow reflection moving against the wall caught her attention.

Swirling around, she made a run for the door but she was late. The door swung shut and the lock clicked to place.

She let out a harsh, guttural shrill and shouted.
"Help me!" she jerked the knob uncontrollably. "Who is there?" she screamed into the cold, empty room.

Maxime shut his eyes as he heard her cries. He felt bad for his action but he had no choice.

Maxime ran down the steps. His wobbly legs almost giving way as his head began to spin sporadically. He wore a pair of frocks laying by the door and pulled the door handle.

He took one last glance at the place he called home. There was barely any happy moment this past year especially without his father.

He thought of Samuel, with fondness. If there was anything he missed most about him, it was his positive gait when they were together. He never treated him like he was blind. He remembered his honeyed skin and that sexy aura that emanated from him.

Where are you, Samuel?

Once Maxime stepped outside, the hot morning rays hit his forehead. Medically, he was still unstable; naturally his eyes hurt. He recalled he had heard a beep on the phone earlier. He took it out and punched a button. He couldn't make out the words on the small screen nor see the numbers on the keypad.

Struck with sudden anxiety, he tottered down the lonely lane until he reached the major junction leading to town. The expressway was busy as cars zoomed past him. It would be difficult to get a cab in this spot.

Where are you, Samuel? Come and get me.

~~~~

Samuel and Josef were nearly at LaPointe's house and neither of them had ever been to the outskirts of the city. The woods were over run with tall trees and shrubs filled the area.