As the evening drew to a close, Quincy sent a text to the remaining two applicants, inviting them to come over the next morning. Once more, he checked the profile of the women who had applied. The last woman had described herself as having a "motherly" approach, and he found that he was particularly looking forward to meeting her. He hoped that she would be the one to finally fill the void he had been feeling.As he lay in bed that night, Quincy couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. He was eager to meet the next two applicants, especially the one who seemed to embody the qualities he had been searching for. He was eager to have someone in the house again. Maybe that would clear off the echoes of all the people he had lived with recently. Maybe it would wash off the sense of immense loneliness he was feeling. He just needed someone— anyone in the house, to fill the space, but he also needed the person to be someone he could accept.Quincy drifted off to sleep, his mind whirl

Lauren had gone to Paris, and she was in her apartment, with a glass of wine in her hand, thinking about all that happened, and her mind drifted back to when she had just gotten news that Quincy was engaged.~flashback~Lauren couldn’t wash off the shock she felt when she got to know that Quincy was engaged. “Was that the reason he hadn’t made any step, towards calling us a thing?” She thought to herself.Her heart felt shattered, and that was when she knew how deep her feelings had become for him. She had always felt this strong connection with him, even before they got a little close. “Why did he have to be engaged, and had said nothing about it? Why was he taking time to reveal it to me?” Another thought came to her mind.“Why?” She muttered as she sat on her bed, feeling devastated.A tear ran down her eyes, and another came, and they began flowing down to her chin, and dripped down her gown.The pain went deeper, and her hand found its way to her chest, and squeezed it, wishing

On the other hand, Quincy stared at the image of pretty Elise Walter who had been the third applicant. She had been great at cooking and had laughed a lot, showing a jovial side to her, but she had been too young.He had doubted she'd be able to handle keeping the house. She'd have to clean, wash, tidy, and cook. He didn't think she had the patience nor the strength for all that. Also, he didn't want anything that would remind him of Lauren or Kohler. Already, the big turn-off was that she was wearing one of the earrings Kohler used to wear. She was pretty with Auburn hair, and large green eyes, with heart-shaped lips. Of course, he wouldn't want someone as pretty as a maid. He didn't want any situation that Kohler would think he'd moved on already. “This lady applied to your house yesterday as a maid? You should have known such a young, bright lady wouldn't come for an interview unless she had a hidden agenda.” Scott said, frowning down at the photo. “I didn't accept her anyways.”

Quincy stared at the horrible sight for a long time, and so did the maid, as all words were robbed mercilessly from them.“What happened?” Quincy asked Bertha, who was still on the floor, paralyzed from the horror. “I… I… I was about to… to sleep, but… but realized the room was a little dusty, so… so I wanted to do a bit of cleaning before… before concluding the day over, and… and oh goodness…” she shuddered, “the lights were on, and… and I just thought to turn them off, nothing more. I'm… I'm quite sure I turned them off before going to my room, and… and this is what I saw.”Her trembling hand went to her mouth, as her eyes filled up with tears. She shook her head as if trying to erase the image from her head. Quincy helped her to stand, but she was unable to tear her eyes off the horrible sight. “Can I… can I know if… if you've wronged someone? Is someone out to get you? Is there anyone apart from us who has keys to the house?” She asked, and Quincy could tell she wanted to flee.

Quincy on the other hand, was furious, when he saw the message. “What’s going on, Quincy? What did you see?” Scott asked, out of concern.“Just imagine the message I got, again,” Quincy uttered, and then handed over his phone to Scott.Scott was also shocked to see the message, and it was quite as annoying as it should be. More like the person was engaging them in a hide-and-seek game, which he didn’t intend to join.“I need to get to the root of this.” He said, to himself.Then he stepped out of the living room, to the guards who were in the compound.“Did anyone get into this house, without me knowing?” He asked them, and they shook their heads.“Are you certain about this?” Quincy asked again, finding it difficult to believe that someone had not stepped into the house, if not, how would a message have been scribbled on his maid’s room walls?It was even more confusing as to how the person had gotten his number.“Sir, no one strange has come into this building. We assure you of tha