Chapter 17: Hide Me, Martha

"You will be mine before you join your parents in the afterlife," Addicus said with a sinister tone and ripped the top of Sharon's dress, exposing her breasts.

He cupped them in his hands and licked his lips. This made Sharon's skin crawl in disgust but she was helpless to do anything about it.

Just as he was about to slide himself into her and break her seal, she summoned strength from the depths of her soul which spread through her body.

She grabbed a piece of the broken vase and slashed across Addicus' face, cutting him from his right eye, across his nose and to his left cheek. He screamed in agony and rolled on the floor in pain.

Sharon saw this as her chance. With her ripped clothes and bruised skin, she managed to get up, open the door, lock Addicus in from the outside, and run away.

"Sharon! You will regret this. I'll find you and I'll make you pay," Addicus yelled out in rage as she left the room.

Sharon moved clumsily around the house. She was drowsy from the pain of her injuries. She could barely walk but managed to stay on her feet.

She had to get out of this mansion and far away from Addicus otherwise it would surely mean her death.

As she moved about the house trying to get to the exit, she ran into the head cook who had been very kind to her since she came to live in the mansion; **Martha.**

She moved towards her and fell at her feet, begging desperately for her help.

"Oh, my God. My dear girl. What happened to you? Who did this to you?" Martha asked and held her on the floor, doing whatever she could to help Sharon.

"Addicus. He wants to kill me. Please help me, Martha. Help me get away from here right now or he'll kill me," Sharon begged.

Martha looked around to make sure no one was watching and she took Sharon to the backroom in the kitchen to treat her wounds and keep her safe until she could figure out a way to get her out of

the house undetected.

Martha ran over to her sleeping quarters to get Sharon some clothes since hers were torn and bloody. She also took a bucket of water and a cloth from the kitchen to clean her wounds.

As she cleaned her up and changed her clothes, Martha asked her why Addicus did this to her, knowing fully well that he had never once hurt her in any way.

"Why would he do this to you? He adores you,"

"He doesn't. He never loved me. He was obsessed with me and wanted to make me his prized possession. He tried to rape me and he's responsible for my parents' death, Martha. He killed them and now he wants to kill me because I found out the truth."

Martha was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that the man she had worked for for so many years was a murderer and a rapist.

She knew he had a dark side because of his terrible past, but she had no idea it was this bad.

After cleaning Sharon's wounds and putting her in the new clothes, Martha went outside to figure out a way to sneak her out of the house unseen. She went outside and noticed that Sammy, the groundskeeper was just about to leave for the day.

It was already almost sundown and everywhere would soon be dark. She ran up to the old man and because she knew she could trust him, she told him everything and asked for his help to hide Sharon in his truck and take her with him when he left.

He agreed and asked Martha to hurry up and to be careful. Martha thanked him and went back inside to bring Sharon out. She moved around slowly and cautiously, trying not to be caught.

As she looked around, she saw Addicus speaking to his guards and she hid.

"Have any of you seen Sharon?" He asked angrily , his face bloodied up and scarred.

"No sir, we haven't," they answered.

"Then, how did she leave this house?"

"Sir, we've been right outside for hours. I can assure you that she hasn't come out yet," JJ clarified.

"Then that means she's still somewhere in the house. Find her immediately," he ordered the guards and they all spread out to look for Sharon.

Martha was worried. It was now or never, she had to get Sharon out. She snuck back into the back room in the kitchen.

"Sharon, my dear girl. He has his guards searching the entire house for you and it's only a matter of time before they find you. We have to go now," Martha told her and helped her up.

They managed to sneak out of the house undetected and get to Sammy's pickup truck. Sharon got in after hugging Martha and said her goodbyes.

"Thank you, Martha,"

"That's alright. Just take care of yourself. But, where will you go?" Martha asked.

"I have a good friend here in the city. She stays at the King's Rock hotel. She'll help me," Sharon said.

"Okay, my dear. Whenever I get the chance, I'll come by to see you,"

And Sammy drove off. Martha went back in to get rid of Sharon's bloody clothes so no one would find them. She went into the backroom and almost flew out of her skin in fear when she saw Addicus and his guards already there.

Addicus was holding Sharon's clothes and he stared at Martha with a menacing look. Martha tried to lie but it was of no use.

"Sir, I...I was just cleaning up the kitchen,"

"Don't even bother, Martha," he stopped her and threw the dress at her feet.

"I'm only going to ask you this once Martha and you'd better give me a good answer. Where is Sharon?" Addicus asked.

Martha opened the door and tried to run away but there was already a guard standing on the other side. The guard held her and turned her to face Addicus.

"Wrong answer," he said in a way that meant the worst for her.