“What did they do? What are they hiding?” I asked Frank for the hundredth time, chasing him on the staircase.
Frank halted furiously, stomping his feet on the ground as he turned around to face me. “Aaa!” He let out an agonizing scream. “Quit bugging me for more, Amelia. Can’t you appreciate mystery for once? Why do you want me to tell you everything? You’re supposed to unveil the dark secrets in such big mansions yourself.”
“That’s ridiculous. Why would I waste my energy when I can ask you?” I argued.
“What makes you think I will just give away years' worth of precious dirt I had collected on the Sinclair family? My blood and sweat are involved in this lady!” Frank hissed.
“Come on. I thought you and I were on the same team,” I said, hugging Frank.
“Get off me!” Frank pushed me away, and I pouted. His toxic hot and cold behavior was so annoying. “Let me make two things very clear to you. First, we are not friends. Our relationship is transactional. Let’s call it a partnership where we work together to benefit the most from this billionaire family. Second, valuable information, respect, and a decent place are earned in this mansion. You have already secured a decent position by marrying the son. Since they have no gay sons, all I am left with is_ I can’t say much except that knowledge is a weapon.”
“You are so evil,” I joked. Though that word somewhat suited Frank’s personality, I couldn’t say anything, as only a stupid person would want to make an enemy of a person who liked to use people’s darkest secrets for money, power, and probably revenge.
“Sh! Keep your volume low,” Frank scolded me in a hushed voice. “We can get in a lot of trouble if someone overhears this.” He quickly scanned the sizeable area with his eyes. No one was present there. He was just as afraid as me.
“No one is here,” I reassured him.
Frank aggressively placed a finger. “Sh! You won’t survive a day here if you keep talking so loudly. We are the hunters and don’t wish to get hunted. Since the ones we hunt are mighty strong, we must move silently.”
“Who are you hunting?” A deep voice came from the bottom of the staircase, giving us the biggest scare of our lives. Frank screamed like a girl, lost his balance, and tumbled down the stairs. He had fallen over so many steps that I went straight to help him without paying much attention to the man who had intervened in our conversation.
On the very last step, Frank was lying as still as a corpse. He didn’t have any visible injuries, but had he died from internal injuries?
“He’ll live,” said the man. I lifted my eyes to find a tall, middle-aged man with a devilishly handsome face. I had never been attracted to an older man before, but that person had something dangerously alluring about him. My first thought was that he could be Mr. Sinclair. Nathan bore no resemblance to him and little to his mother.
Nathan had hazel eyes, tan skin, and dirty blonde hair, whereas that man had blue eyes, ghostly pale skin, and raven black hair. Was it possible for a child to look completely different from his parents? Genetics don’t work that way, I suppose.
“What do you mean?” I questioned, strangely mesmerized by the man’s appearance.
“Allow me to show you,” he said, getting close to Frank’s unconscious or lifeless body on the ground. He pinched Frank’s nose, which worked like a wonder because Frank woke up panting and screaming. “Thank you, Mr. Sinclair. I almost died there for a second, and you helped me return to life.”
So he was Nathan’s father, after all. Or was he? What if Mrs. Sinclair had more affairs in the past? Could Nathan have a different father? I couldn’t say. Anything was possible. What shocked me the most was why his wife was having an affair with Doctor Williams. Sure, he was younger, but much below her husband in attractiveness.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Mr. Sinclair began with a soft smile. “I wouldn’t want you to leave this world before going on the hunt you were planning with your friend. What are you hunting? Lions, bears, or people?”
Frank laughed forcefully. “That is so funny, sir. Your sense of humor is impeccable.” He prodded my arm, asking me to play along with his eyes. “Ha ha,” I joined in the laughter, rubbing my belly. “I agree with Frank. Your humor is not for the ordinary. You strike me as a former professional comedian.”
“Too much. Cut it out,” Frank whispered.
“Your compliments are much appreciated.” Mr. Sinclair bowed my way. “I would like to join you in this hunt if you don’t mind.”
“No, sir. We are not hunting. I am against animal cruelty. My friend, Amelia.” Frank grabbed my shoulder and shook me excitedly. “She has a liking for such brutal activities, but not me. That’s why I was telling her no.”
Mr. Sinclair gave us a look of skepticism. “That doesn’t seem accurate. Because I am pretty sure you were telling her how you want to be the hunter instead of the hunted. What was that about?” Mr. Sinclair was on to us. What would Frank say now to save us?
My trapped new friend smacked his dry lips. “Sir, I know what I said. And I only said that because Amelia thinks that animals have no feelings and are on this planet to serve us. I used an alternate approach to show her the negative consequences of hunting animals. I painted for her a horrible scenario where we were being hunted and eaten alive by a predator because they are so much stronger than us.”
I gave Frank the black look. That was one terrible explanation that showed me as the most cruel human. I was almost a second away from punching Frank in the face for saying that when Mr. Sinclair started laughing.
“I am glad you said what you said,” he said. “Because now I know you see me as an idiot. And I want to see you two in my office right now!” His tone changed drastically from charming to our worst nightmare.