ravaged hearts

CHAPTER SIX,

RAVAGED HEARTS | CHAPTER SIX

"I WAS IN the kitchen then," the maid admitted, hands balled together on her lap. Her nervousness showed, but he didn't find it suspicious. She was, after all, being questioned by agents in what was basically a cell. "It was too loud in there to hear any sound—they'd just finished their meal, you see, we were cleaning up. Almost all of us in the kitchen."

  Across the room, Io narrowed her eyes. "But the nanny says she was going to grab them a snack."

  The maid nodded earnestly. "Oh, she was. The young master and lady extremely enjoy their snacks. Mr Bailen was trying to break them out of the habit, but they'd throw a temper tantrum and Mrs Rodriguez cracks. She spoils them if you ask me." She spoke of them with fondness. All of them. There was a sad, wistful smile on her face.

  "The children are well-behaved?" Louis asked, tilting his head. This was the fifth maid they'd questioned so far. None of the others had yielded answers of any kind. Nothing useful, anyway.

  "Extremely," the brunette nodded. "We all love them, really. The sweetest children. Very polite. Treats us with respect, which is more than what we can say for a lot of other people we've worked for in the past, you know."

  Louis did know. He'd seen how people treated servants. Been treated as one while playing the role. How kind and gentle someone could seem in one moment, how callously cruel and dismissive the next when they saw you as lesser than. The world was brutally cold. At the end of the day, only the status you presented to the world for show mattered and nothing else.

  "Their personality," Constanza said. "Tell us about their personality."

  The servant hesitated for a moment, picking the right words. "Well... Miss Elena is a very strong character. She's brave, very brave, too brave. Not a week would pass without her accidentally injuring herself in some way. Quite interested in science—Mr Bailen was considering installing a small laboratory in the house for her and employing a tutor just for that.  Very academically inclined, always going on about... something." The woman shrugged. "Young Master Andres is like most boys his age. Very active, enjoys sports. Quite the reader. Energetic and bubbly, very contrasting to his sister. One's calm, one's... not."

  A portrait of the two children was already building up in Louis' head. He'd seen paintings of them. They didn't need to worry about collecting imposters now.

  "How do you think they'll react to being forcibly taken away?" Io asked, pursing her lips and tapping her chin.

  "I don't think either would take it very well. Or sitting down." The servant bit her lip, thinking about the possibilities and consequences of that. Whatever was in her mind, it was probably wrong. Nothing against her, most people would have thought the worst.

  So. They might have been drugged. They wouldn't be hurt too bad, and would be left alive, but might be unconscious to keep passive and cooperative. Rather them unconscious than actively alert and awake of their situation. It was a mercy sometimes. And anyone pulling something like this wouldn't be an amateurish thug or brute. They'd be trained, experienced, and with vengeance and a narrow, concrete purpose in mind.

  Castrillo assured, "They'll be alright." She'd remained mostly silent until now, letting Io and Louis take the lead with the questioning. The Enrique Zevallos twins were waiting outside, standing guard. Louis wasn't completely sure why they hadn't come in with the rest of them. Maybe it had to do with the death glares Io sent them before entering the room.

  She had changed. A lot. And Louis was starting to despise this new callous, cruel woman who cared so little for the feelings and opinions of others. It was the complete opposite of the Io he used to know.