Seed of Possession

Flora ran away from the garden, following what Butler Rolando had told her. She was scared about what had happened earlier; she thought he might eat her alive. She couldn’t understand their earlier conversation, but the only thing she understood was that her Aunt Giselle had a 7-year-old child. This news was significant enough to shake the entire family.

Flora stopped as she walked to a bench and sat down. She never knew the simple game of hide and seek could end up like this. Flora remembered her sister Maxine inviting her to play hide and seek because she was in a good mood, which made her a little happier. But before they started, Sister Maxine set a rule that if Flora lost, she had to give up a hairpin their mother had given her. That’s why Flora was eager to run and hide from her sister.

“I want my Yaya,” Flora hiccupped, looking at the ground.

“I want her,” she sniffed, tears falling onto her red rosy cheeks. Flora was scared and confused about the earlier events. Hearing the information and learning about her family’s status put her in a difficult situation. She cried and cried until her eyes hurt.

“FLORA! FLORA! FLORA!”

Flora quickly raised her head upon hearing a familiar voice in the distance. She sniffed and started crying again as she ran towards the voice, calling her name.

“YAYA!” She called out and jumped into her nanny’s arms.

“Oh, Flora. What happened to you? Why are you crying?” Her nanny asked while soothing her. Flora didn’t answer; she only cried on her nanny’s arm.

“Shhhh… It’s okay, you can cry all you want,” her nanny said while rubbing her back to soothe her. After a few minutes, Flora finally calmed down, sniffling and rubbing her puffy eyes.

“Are you okay now?” Her nanny asked with a soft smile, making Flora feel warm.

“I’m okay,” she mumbled, hugging her nanny as she suddenly felt sleepy. “Are you feeling sleepy now?” her nanny asked as she lifted Flora and carried her.

“Should we go back to your room?”

“Yes, I want to go back,” Flora whispered before falling asleep on her nanny’s shoulder.

MIRANDA just sighed as soon as she felt that Flora had fallen asleep on her shoulder. The two were ready to return to their room when Miranda suddenly felt a presence behind her.

“Rolando,” she called the name of the man who was standing behind her and slowly turned around to face him.

“What do you want?” Miranda immediately asked, looking at Rolando.

“Watch that kid. She heard everything earlier.”

“What?”

“You heard me. She heard everything. Watch that kid. If that kid spills the information, all the plans we made will go in vain,” Rolando said coldly, looking at the sleeping face of Flora.

“Rolando, she’s just a child. I’ll watch her to make sure she doesn’t leak the information to her parents,” Miranda assured Rolando.

“Don’t forget the reason why you are there; You are there not to serve them, but to serve Master Xander by being a spy in that family,” Rolando reminded Miranda.

“I know, and I have only one Master, and that is Master Xander,” Miranda answered. Rolando nodded his head before he turned his back and walked away.

Miranda let out a deep sigh while watching Rolando walking away from them.

“Just what did Flora hear earlier? Did she hear about my identity or the plan?” Miranda muttered as she looked at the sleeping face of Flora.

Miranda turned away and started to walk to Flora’s room. While walking back to the room, Miranda noticed Maxine running excitedly, oblivious to their presence. Miranda’s eyes narrowed because she noticed the suspicious movement of Maxine. She knew they had been playing hide and seek earlier, but it looked like Maxine didn’t want to continue the game anymore.

Miranda hurriedly walked towards Flora’s room and entered. She walked towards the bed and gently put Flora in her bed. Miranda planted a soft kiss on Flora’s forehead before she left the room.

Miranda treated Flora as her own child because she was the one who had taken care of her since she was a newborn. Chantal was almost dead while giving birth to Flora, and after that, she went into severe postpartum depression. Because of that, Miranda was the only one who took care of Flora. Originally, Miranda was one of Xander’s butlers, and she was the half-sister of Rolando. She was an illegitimate child of the head butler, and no one knew of her existence and real identity except Xander, Rolando, and the Head Butler of the family. Before Miranda made her official debut as one of Xander’s butlers, Xander sent her to the Lorenzo family to be a spy, and she easily accepted it. She wanted to prove her worth as a butler and servant of Xander. After years of serving the Lorenzo family, Miranda gradually became closer to Lorenzo’s two children, Lenox and Flora, and more importantly, she became closer to Chantal.

Miranda straightened her back as she prepared to look for Maxine due to her uneasy feeling. Something was nagging at Miranda’s mind. She was thinking about the game the two girls had played earlier, and knowing Maxine, she would easily search for Flora, who often hid in the garden. Miranda was afraid that Maxine had also overheard the conversation that had taken place in the garden. If she had heard it, she would surely tell her mother.

Miranda was going to Chantal’s room to check if Maxine was there. If Chantal asked why she was there, she would use Flora as an excuse. Miranda now stood in front of Chantal and Lorenzo’s room. She was about to knock when she heard a lewd noise coming from inside. Miranda looked closely at the door and saw it was slightly open. Her face turned bright red as she realized what was happening. She quickly stepped back and turned around.

“She’s not there,” Miranda coughed, clearing her throat.

“I guess she’s out there,” she mumbled as she started to walk away. Miranda headed toward the right annex of the building, intending to leave a secret message for her half-brother Rolando, asking him to meet her as soon as possible to discuss what information was revealed in the garden. She needed to create countermeasures.

“Miranda,” she froze as she heard Chantal’s voice behind her. Slowly turning, her shock deepened. Chantal stood there, accompanied by Maxine.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Why are you here, Miranda? Is your duty done?” Chantal inquired, to which Miranda nodded. She took a deep breath, swiftly regaining her composure.

“Yes, Ma’am. Ms. Flora is now sleeping soundly in her room after playing,” Miranda responded.

“Is that so? Then where are you headed? This isn’t the way to the maids’ quarters, is it?” Chantal followed up.

“I’m searching for Flora’s favorite pin, Madam. She wants me to find it when she wakes up,” Maxine calmly answered.

“Very well, go ahead and search for her pin,” Chantal instructed.

“Yes, Madam,” Miranda replied, bowing her head respectfully. Once Chantal and Maxine had left, Miranda stood straight, gazing at their retreating figures. As Chantal returned to her room with Maxine, Miranda couldn’t shake the feeling that chaos would ensue in the family before the actual conflict began.

“What perfect timing,” she mumbled, contemplating the uncertain future ahead.