29. The Fake Maid

A call came in on my phone as Richard and I, along with my bodyguards, were making our way towards Rachel's lounge. I glanced at it and saw that it was from General Victor Sanchez, a high-ranking military general who was leading the search for my kidnapped workers.

"General Victor," I said as I answered the call.

"Boss, the President has issued an official order to the troops," General Victor said.

"What does the order say?" I inquired.

"It's a recall. He wants them back at their camps within the hour," General Victor informed me.

"Why?" I stopped in my tracks and asked. The troops had been incredibly helpful so far, managing to rescue eight of my workers without having to pay any ransom, including the six-month-old baby.

"He claims there is a new threat that requires the troops to be redeployed elsewhere," General Victor explained.

Samuel was quite close to both the President and Vice President. If there was a need to redeploy the troops, Samuel would have called me and informed me. I immediately sensed that something was wrong, so I quickly dialed Samuel's number. Samuel picked up on the third ring, which was unusual for him.

"Sammy," I called as soon as he answered. However, Samuel remained silent for a moment before responding in a peculiar tone.

"How's it going?" Samuel asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine. The President withdrew the troops," I said.

"Yep," he simply replied.

"Why?" I questioned.

"They shouldn't have been there to begin with, you know. He sent them secretly without the Senate's approval because I am his close ally," Samuel said.

"That's not true, buddy. What's really going on?" I asked, as I was certain that the Senate had approved the deployment of troops for the rescue mission. Samuel himself called me and informed me about it.

"Brandon, did you hide my daughter in your estate?" Samuel asked, and my brows furrowed as I glanced at Rachel.

"No!" I quickly responded.

"We received information that you have hidden my daughter somewhere on the estate. My men checked your surveillance cameras a few hours ago and discovered that none of them were working. They ceased functioning on Thursday. It is possible that they were deactivated intentionally to avoid capturing anything," Samuel stated.

"What? That's not true. Emma is not here, buddy, and the surveillance cameras are all functioning," I replied, hastening my steps to meet the girl who wanted to see me, ensuring she was not Emma.

"We checked Marbella's call records and found that Emma had contacted her using an encrypted number. She informed Marbella that she was going after him. However, Marbella claimed that Emma was pursuing her new boyfriend to clear her mind for a while. I didn't believe her because Emma doesn't have a boyfriend. She is engaged to Kaiden," Samuel explained.

I couldn't say anything, as I knew it was true that Emma didn't have a boyfriend. I quickened my pace to confirm that the girl I had slept with last night was not Emma before responding to Samuel.

Upon entering the lounge, the young and primitive girl who stood in the center of the room with her arms crossed in front of her legs, resembling an obedient servant, quickly lowered her head.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted me. I stood there motionless, staring at the girl with an expressionless face. Richard placed a supportive hand on my shoulder to calm my racing heart down.

"My source claims to have seen my daughter with his own eyes on the Julian Henderson estate," Samuel stated.

"I will have my entire estate thoroughly searched and will get back to you. But I am certain that Emma is not here," I responded, looking at the girl standing in the middle of the room.

Although I was relieved that she was not Emma, I couldn't help but despise myself for ever having been involved with such a young girl, who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old.

"I will await your call. Until then, the troops will return to their camps," Samuel said before disconnecting abruptly. I glanced at Rachel, who was standing behind me, and she immediately understood my expression. She shrugged and rolled her eyes innocently.

"She won't dare come here!" Rachel said, shaking her head. I continued to stare at her. Rachel shrugged once more.

"What's the deal? I already told you Emma ain't here!" Rachel said with a bit more volume.

"If I find out she's been in this estate and you knew about it this whole time, it's gonna be the end of this marriage!" I warned.

"As long as you give my kidney back, I'm cool," Rachel responded. I turned and motioned for the girl standing in the middle of the lounge to sit. She sat down, her hand trembling as if she had been brought before God himself.

Rachel smiled, sat beside me, and placed her hand on my shoulder, playing the part of a typical good wife.

How are you?" I asked the girl, who kept her face lowered. I had not seen that strange face in the villa, although I knew just a few of the domestic workers.

"I'm fine, sir," the young girl responded.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Gwen, sir," she mumbled, still keeping her face lowered. I turned to Rachel.

"Would you give us some space? I need to talk to her in private," I asked.

"No, I'm your wife and I want to hear everything you want to ask her," Rachel insisted on staying, and I turned to the girl again.

"What were you doing in my bedroom last night?" I asked.

"Ms. Winterberg sent me to decorate the bedroom with roses. I didn't know you were in the bedroom," the young girl muttered.

Even though she sounded like she was lying, I'm not too small that she wouldn't have noticed that I was in the room when she first entered.

"And then what happened?"

"You stopped me from leaving, boss. Your grip was so strong, and I couldn't get your hand off me."

I took a deep breath and licked my lower lip nervously.

"You're gonna talk to the law enforcement. I want you to tell them everything I did to you," I said.

"No, I'll forever be known as the girl who was raped by the president of Zenith Incorporation, and I don't want that. I can't send my boss to jail," the girl said, and silence hung in the lounge. I wasn't convinced that I had touched her.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I wasn't free last night, and I might likely get pregnant. If that happens, I want to carry the baby on behalf of the boss Lady, and when the child is delivered, I'll hand him or her over to her and leave. Secondly, I want us to keep this secret. I don't want the world to know that I was raped. It would change how my future husband would view me," the girl said, as though she was reading it from a book.

"Do you want to see a doctor?" I asked, unsure of what to say.

"Yes, but the boss lady and I have already discussed that. She has also called her doctor, and he's on his way here already," the girl responded. I quickly stood up, my phone on my ear as I walked out of the lounge. The girl's words sounded like a childish game. I began to doubt if I ever touched her. But as I remembered the bloodstains on the bedsheet, I was convinced I had deflowered a young girl.

"I need to search the entire estate, and I will supervise the search myself," I told Richard as we walked out of the lounge.

"Your wife intentionally planted her maid in your bedroom. She doesn't want to carry your baby," Richard whimpered and what he said was not far from the truth.

"General Victor, please come to Julian Henderson Estate. I need your assistance urgently," I said as I walked away to assemble men who would follow me to search the entire estate.