"Who are you?" The woman asked flatly as she stared at the girl before her.
"Penny Willard. I'm here to see Mr Osvaldo Adkins concerning a mistake that needs to be rectified." Penny said.
"What mistake?" She stared at the girl, wondering if no one told her. This mansion is forbidden, it is sacred, and no visitors are allowed. No one dared come here, not even the family members. And how did this girl know of her master?
"Uhm, I was forced into marriage with him and I want him to sign the divorce papers," Penny said and the woman frowned.
One look and Hughes could guess the person behind this. That stupid Chris was out on his wife hunt again. They all know how this always ends with Osvaldo.
"Well, if you want that, you'll have to speak to master yourself," Hughes said staring at the girl pitifully.
"I'll do just that, is he available now?" Penny asked excitedly. She just couldn't wait to get this over with. She didn't care if this woman was acting so strange, all she wanted was to be free.
"We can never tell when master Osvaldo is really available miss. But you can try your best to maybe get him to sign the papers so that you can be free." Hughes said.
"That will be fine." Penny beamed. This is the first good news she's heard in days. She didn't care when he'd be available, she was ready to wait. She needed to be free.
"Come inside please," Hughes said and Penny stepped in.
Penny wondered what she'd do next when she finally got divorced. Maybe travel out of the country to one of the hospitals looking for fat women for experiment again. Or better still, keep trying her own research.
The door slammed shut behind them and Penny's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the empty house before her. The interior was even worse than the exterior.
There was no furniture around. No paintings. No curtains. Nothing. The huge penthouse didn't even have the little decorations that hung from one side of the walls to the other.
It was just empty. Bare, suffocating walls. Her skin prickled with unease.
Who the hell is Osvaldo Adkins and why is his home like this?
The Adkins are the richest family in the world, why the hell is this mansion empty? Have they been lying about their wealth all this time or was this some sort of Prank from Chris?
"In the meantime, Rosie will show you to your room and prepare you for my master. I am Mrs Hughes by the way, the housekeeper of this house." The older woman started walking away, her steps quiet as she hurried to a corner.
Penny had a lot of questions, she had a lot to ask, but there was no one to answer.
How long was she to stay here before she saw Osvaldo? Maybe during dinner, she could at least talk to him and maybe make him visit the bureau office tomorrow.
"Please come this way, madam, hurry up before he comes out." Rosie started walking towards the stairs.
"Before who comes out?" Penny asked looking around. The house already looked so creepy and this maid trying to scare her was not helping matters.
Rosie opened her mouth to speak but then they heard a loud bang. The bang was so loud that they all flinched.
"Ahhh, he's held me! He's killing me! Help!" A loud shriek sounded, scaring everyone in the mansion. Penny watched the maids move back and forth, male servants running in a direction.
"What's going on Steven?" Mrs Hughes asked a male servant. "And where the hell is Barnaby?"
"Master has broken his chain again. I told Phillip not to go in there for today but he wouldn't listen. Mr Barnaby had been called by mistress earlier. I'm afraid he's not around to tame master." He said nervously, his body shaking like a scared animal and Penny wondered what was wrong.
Master? Penny thought. Were they talking about Osvaldo Adkins?
Was he that violent? She smiled. She knew he wouldn't be different from the other rich kids around. The ones who mistreat their maids and beat up their wives.
She was glad she was going to be out of this in no time. Once she's free from this marriage and her family, she might go to the rural part of the country to start up a new life.
Penny watched Mrs. Hughes sigh and turn to the stairs, her eyes widened slightly.
"Rosie you know how master is with newcomers, take her in quickly before he sees her." Her tone sent a shiver down Penny's spine. Penny watched Hughes run through another part of the large mansion.
"Come with me, Miss Penny." The maid urged, her eyes darting toward the hallway as if she expected something, or someone, to appear. Her eyes held fear, something Penny saw in all of their gazes.
Penny hesitated.
Something wasn't right.
And just then, she heard a growl.
A low. Animalistic growl.
The hairs on Penny's arms rose.
The sound came from down the hall.
The maid beside her tensed. She grabbed Penny's arm. "We have to go. Now."
But Penny's feet wouldn't move.
Another sound came again, this time more ferocious than the last. It sounded like a beast. By then the screams of the man from before were no more.
Heavy footsteps sounded with multiple others. "Master Osvaldo please don't go that way." Penny could hear muffled pleas from maids and she wondered what was happening.
Her curiosity had kept her in a place, unable to move. She wanted to see, she wanted to know who Osvaldo Adkins was.
Was he real?
If he was, why has no one in all of Halkhalls seen him before?
Then a laughter sounded. It sounded demonic. Chills ran down Penny's spine. Her hair rose.
The maid with her panicked. She pushed Penny toward the stairs. "Run!"
Penny was about to run when she saw him...
A man?
A monster?
A beast?