"Why should I trust your words?" A snarky voice arose in the room breaking the silence.

Richy looked up and gazed at the woman sitting on the couch with her legs crossed one over the other.

There was a glass of wine in her hand and an annoyed look on her face when she did not receive an answer to her question.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She derided him and scoffed when he stared at her with his eyes wide open.

Richy bit his lower lip and shook his head, his shoulders slightly slumped with a wronged and aggrieved expression on his face.

If this was Mandy sitting in front of him then surely she would have stopped her harsh words after looking at his sorry and anxious state.

However, the woman sitting before him, the one interrogating him for the past few minutes was not Mandy but her mother, Lucille Rong.

"Madam, I have always been by Young Miss's side so there is absolutely no way that I would snitch about her whereabouts to Miss Lina." He defended himself for the nth time since he had entered this room.

When he had just taken a break after leaving Mandy's room after inquiring about the scream he had heard, he was asked to immediately report to Madam Rong's room by a fellow maid.

Not wanting to get on her bad books, he waved goodbye to his precious break time and made his way to the place where his presence was needed.

The first thing that Lucille had asked of him was how in the hell did Lina know about Mandy visiting Jeanette Liang's house to check on her injury.

Lucille now knew that Lina had deduced that Mandy had gone to meet Jeanette after she was made aware of the clash between the two young women which resulted in one of them being injured.

However, she had planned to make Richy slip up and reveal something new in his panic.

Much to her chagrin, she had not been able to obtain anything useful out of his sealed lips as he just kept repeating the same sentences regarding his loyalty to her daughter.

Lucille was sick of hearing the same words of his complete loyalty for Mandy and decided to make him prove those big words he spoke just now.

"Hmmm…" She hummed in agreement while nodding her head.

Richy's face immediately bloomed when he saw her nod of approval and an angelic smile blossomed on his face.

Lucille rolled her eyes when she noticed his reaction to her hum and smirked thinking of what she was about to say.

"Prove it!" She challenged and then leisurely took a sip of wine from her glass which was close to finishing at any moment.

Richy's victorious smile faded the next second he heard her challenging words and a troubled look covered his face.

Lucille chuckled mockingly when she saw how conflicted he was now that she had asked him to prove the words he had uttered just moments ago.

"So I was right! There was no weight to your words." She mocked him while shaking her head.

Richy panicked for the first time since entering this room as his irises shook and his hands formed fists with much force which in turn embedded his neatly trimmed nails into his palms.

Yet he did not have time to be fussing over his hurting palms, all he needed to do right now was to prove where his loyalty rested.

"How should I prove it, Madam? Give me your command and I shall fulfill it." He requested and looked at her with determined eyes which surprised her.

His answer immensely pleased Lucille but she would never let it show on her face.

The earlier mocking smile remained on her face as she gulped the contents of her glass.

Tilting the glass upside down, she watched the last drops of the dark maroon shaded wine drip and fall to the carpet.

Instantly staining the white carpet, making it look as though it had been stained by blood.

"Prove it by making Lina's blood spill…" She muttered in a hoarse voice.

"Just like this." She ended her sentence and glanced down at the stain.

Richy's eyes widened when he heard her command and gulped his saliva to ease the pit he felt in his throat but to no avail.

Lucille looked up at him and when their eyes met, he shivered and quickly looked away.

The darkness he witnessed in her eyes was something he had never seen in her before and the eerie sensation he felt at the back of his mind sent shivers running down his spine.

"I need to see the results soon." She ordered and twirled the empty glass in her hand.

Richy could not utter a single word but he had to answer her before she got upset with him, therefore he nodded his head frantically.

Lucille chuckled when she saw his actions and decided that she had her share of fun for the day.

The scary aura around her dissipated and she waved her hand, dismissing him from the room.

"You have your instructions now, so get to work immediately." She commented and her polite and dignified smile which she displayed before everyone else made its appearance once again.

Richy bowed to hide the awe on his face after he saw her auras shift so rapidly.

Just as he was about to turn away, he heard her call his name.

"Here." She mumbled.

The next second the empty wine glass was thrown his way. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he leaped forward and caught the glass before it could fall to the ground and shatter to pieces.

"I will straightaway send a maid to change the carpet, Madam." He reminded her and then rushed out of the room.

Lucille kept her sight fixed on the wine stain and shook her head.

"I wasted a good carpet for that stupid bitch." She muttered and rose from her seat as she headed towards the washroom.

Outside the room, leaning against the opposite wall was Richy with his head lowered as he tried to calm his rapid and shallow breathing.

What he had heard inside was enough to cause his heart to race and he was now having a tough time trying to control his inner emotions.

He looked up when he heard footsteps in the distance and he knew that he couldn't stay here for long.

Clenching the empty wine glass in his hand, he strode in the direction of his dingy bedroom in the servant quarters.

'I need to contact Master to get permission before making my move.' He reckoned and hurriedly entered his room before locking the door shut.

He carefully placed the wine in a plastic bag and knelt near his bed.

He began tapping the floor until he found a hollow spot and skillfully removed the wooden plank following which he stored the bag in it then replaced the plank.

He made sure that the floor looked the same as it did earlier and then walked towards the mirror.

"Why won't master answer my calls? I need his instructions!" He growled and raised his hand to his left ear.

Pressing the diamond earring between his fingers, he began rolling it while taking deep breaths to clear his mind.

This was a coping mechanism that his master had taught him.

It always helped him in such tense situations and kept him away from his vices all these years.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and the weak and submissive Richy who was cowering in Lucille's presence had vanished.

The man now staring at his reflection in the mirror had the confidence and charm that was absent in the image he portrayed before others.

"If Master can't instruct me then it looks like I'll have to take matters into my own hands." He lazily sighed and ruffled his hair until they fell onto his forehead giving him a sly yet irresistible vibe.

Not wanting to waste his time, he loosened the tie around his neck and walked to the window then casually peeped outside.

'Forgive me but I have no other choice, Miss Lina.�� He thought as his eyes glanced around the vicinity.

"Clear." He mumbled and the next second, his body leaped out of the window and had vanished from his room.

____

Inside Lina's room,

After receiving that urgent call from Benji, Lina did not think twice as she rushed back to her room.

Now she was tying her hair into a high ponytail and gave herself a look over in the mirror.

She had changed out of her home clothes and was now dressed in black yoga pants with a midnight blue oversized hoodie that reached her thighs.

Her face was bare with zero makeup and big chunky glasses rested on her nose.

"Stupid Benji, he better have a very good reason for calling me over so urgently!" She scowled and picked up her sling bag.

She shoved her phone, credit cards, cash, and the keys to her car inside her bag and then strode out of the room.

Quickly entering the garage, she glanced around and found the black sedan that Uncle Pat had custom made for her.

This was the same car that Derek drove to take her to and from her office every day.

If she had wished then she could have ordered Derek to drive her to Benji's place but she did not want to disturb him after his work hours and decided to drive the car herself.

Lina walked towards her car and after sitting inside, she held the steering wheel tight in her hands and closed her eyes.

"You'll be fine as long as you take precaution while driving and be slow." She gave herself a pep talk and then opened her eyes to begin her drive to Benji's place.

After her car had slowly moved out of the garage, the figure hiding in the shadows dodged the security cameras with ease and sneaked away.