Ashley's POV

I stepped out of the elevator, making my way to Marcus' office.

Marcus was in a state, frantically running his hands through his hair as he took in deep breaths.

He sighed, slamming the telephone down after he had finished his call.

"Is everything okay sir?" I asked stepping into his office.

"Well, one of the maids just fell sick and Megan is not here either because her mother is in the hospital. We are already short staffed so I'm in a bit of a crisis." He explained.

I took a moment to think things through. I was already familiar with the job,  it wouldn't hurt helping. "Well, I can help out.  I'd be happy to do whatever you need." I suggested.

He sighed, releasing all the tension he had been holding in. "You are such a lifesaver. That would be amazing." He answered.

I wonder what had happened to him, he used to yell at me all the time.

"There are only two suites to take care of. You don't have to do most of the work, you just need to make the rooms look presentable. I'll send someone else tomorrow as well." he said.

I nodded.

I took note of the two room numbers that needed to be cleaned.

I proceeded and went to gather the cleaning supplies I needed for the job, grabbing an apron as well since I no longer had my uniform. It would have to do.

The first room was located on the third floor. Most of the people who rented the rooms on the top floors were millionaires, while those on the bottom floors often came here for the experience, blowing off their whole year's savings.

The one-bedroom suite was empty.
It had an open house plan with the living space and the bedroom combined, the kitchen at the far right end. Despite this poor planning for a hotel room, it still looked chic with all the decorations.

It was good that it was empty, it meant I could move faster.

The suite was in a disastrous state, with towers and bathrobes hovering over the floor, as well as empty plates of food on the bed. It wasn't that hard taking a plate to the kitchen, or even calling someone in to do it for you.

I began with my job, picking up the laundry on the floor and then changing the bed linens.

In just twenty minutes, the place looked a lot better than it had initially. I was used to this job, I knew the places that needed to be cleaned first to make it look like you had done a whole spring cleaning.

There was a rattle coming from the door. Someone had arrived.

Soon after, a man walked into the suite. I presumed he was the hotel guest.

He had his black jacket over his shoulder, circles under his eyes and was barely able to walk in a straight line. He was completely wasted.

Before I had the chance to greet him, he was moving into the bedroom area and removing his pants. Had he even noticed I was here?

I cleared my throat to grab his attention. "If you'd like, I could leave and come back at a more convenient time," I said turning away.

Luckily, he had exchanged his trousers for another pair as he walked toward me. I would have preferred it if he hadn't removed any clothes at all but at least he wasn't one of those completely indecent hotel guests.

"I'm not bothered by your presence at all sweetheart." He answered. "Maybe we could order some room service, and get a bottle of champagne. You know, do something fun. Maybe join me in the hot tub." He winked.

He looked to be in his forties. Probably one of those husband's you would assume where at work all the while he was here instead.

Likely, there was a knock at the door to save me from this awkwardness.

"Should I get that for you?" I offered.

"No sweetheart, I'll do it myself." He smiled.

I sighed as he made his way to the door.
I should just gather my things and leave, I didn't want to stay here longer than needed.

He opened the door.

His body stiffened as he stared at the person in front of him. "Baby," he exclaimed staring at the woman at the door.

She sighed, pushing past him as she entered the suite, which was easy considering how drunk he was.

"You haven't texted me all week, have you been ghosting me?" She exclaimed.

Her eyes spotted me, eyeing me suspiciously. "Have you been cheating on me with this one?" She pointed at me. She shot me a dirty look.

Not even if I was desperate.

This was the last thing I wanted, getting in between whatever that was.

"No sweetheart, you know I'd never cheat on you. Not with someone like her for that matter." He answered. He took her hands into his then kissed them to soften her up.

I must say, I was surprised he could lie so effortlessly despite how drunk he was.

She looked more relaxed, taking her eyes away from me.

"Well, you forgot about our anniversary today. If your secretary hadn't told me you were here, I wouldn't have seen you at all." She pulled her arms away from him then crossed them, now staring at him angrily.

"I have a surprise for you," He smiled.

He walked to the bedside, grabbing a gift right beside it.

He returned to her, handing her the bag as he studied her expression.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the gift bag. "My favourite perfume," she exclaimed, taking the perfume out of the gift bag. "How did you know?" she exclaimed.

She studied the label on the perfume, spraying some on her forearm.

"You know I pay attention to everything you say. I love everything about you." He smiled.

She paused, staring at the label of the perfume a bit more closely.

I would have assumed that she had spotted it was a fake but what she said was a lot worse.

"It says here it's a sample," she pointed at the label on the side of the perfume as she shot daggers at him.

I nearly broke into laughter, walking away to the kitchen to clean up the counter. Even from there, it was still very easy to listen in on their conversation.

"Of all the money that you have, you just have to be so cheap." She yelled.

He sighed. "Babe, you know that my wife keeps track of every cent in my bank account. Besides, the samples are always a lot better than anything you can buy." He tried to justify himself.

"So, when are you finally planning to leave your wife? You've been making excuses for months." She yelled next.

He was a lot more shameless than I could have thought. He was the type that if his wife walked in, he would cower and pretend it had all been a set  up.

I rushed through the rest of my work. I wanted to be out of here before knives started being thrown or at least before the wife got here.

The two of them were back to arguing again when I made my way out. I would have asked them if they needed anything else but I very much liked keeping my head.

It was time for me to proceed to the next room.

I was surprised when the room number landed me in front of Leonardo's door. Of all the places I could have ended up. I wanted to avoid any confrontation with him. I had already agreed to do this, I couldn't back out now.

I knocked on the door, but no one answered. This was a good thing. It meant he wasn't here so I could go in and out without being seen. But, since when has it ever worked for me?

I entered the suite with my cleaning supplies.

The place wasn't as dirty, with only a few things out of place and some plates.

This would be an in-and-out job.

I swiftly moved through the suite, cleaning mostly the obvious places.

I received a text from Ivy. Without reading the message, I tucked my phone back into my pocket.

I didn't have time for her right now. I wanted to get out of here without any delays.

All while cleaning I was on edge, listening in to every sound in case Leonardo returned. I was up to my neck in problems. I had to lose this baby very soon.

Today I must have been moving at bionic speed because, in just half an hour, I had convinced myself that everything was in order and that I was ready to go. But the day had other plans for me.

On my way out, as I wheeled out the bucket filled with some of the cleaning stuff I had been using, it accidentally knocked into the table. This caused the stacked folders on the edge of the table to fall to the floor.

These accidents had to stop.

I sighed, bending down to pick up the folders and the loose papers now sticking out.

I suddenly froze as I stared at the pictures now scattered on the floor.

It was pictures of me, not just of me, some including my mom and Katy. Some of the pictures date ten years back, including some embarrassing twelfth-birthday pictures.

I couldn't wrap my head around it as I continued scanning through the pictures. What was this and why did he have pictures of my family and I? Was he some sick psychopath? Does that mean he knew me before he even arrived here or was this part of some sick obsession?

My hands stopped as I stared down at an old photo. It was definitely a younger version of my mom. Probably around my age. I could recognize her smile and the same golden brown hair I inherited from her. Beside her was a boy who smiled just as brightly, their arms held together. It took me a while to realize that was Leonardo's very familiar face. The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

There were sounds coming from the door. Someone had arrived.

My hands quickly moved as I tried to stash all of those photos back into the folders. My trembling hands only made things worse.

If this man was collecting pictures of my family and I, who knows what else he would be capable of. I could be murdered here for all I know.

His horrified expression matched mine, so many emotions swept across me.

"Let me explain," he said.

I felt too frightened to even move or speak.

My left hand was still holding onto the picture of my mom and him as I slowly rose to my feet.

He didn't dare step any further. Anyone could see how frightened and confused I was.

What if he was a serial killer?

For the first time, I started running through all of my options. Seeing me here, he had left the front door open, so I could make a quick escape.

I chose that option, running out of the suite. Not looking back despite his calls.

Luckily, the elevator arrived just in time. I pressed the button for the ground floor and stood at the far end of the elevator. I was just too confused about everything. Nothing made sense to me right now. I would have stayed to find out but the thought of possibly getting murdered outweighed my curiosity.

The elevator stopped two floors down. I tried to mask my emotions. I didn't want anyone who walked in to think I was some psychopath.

Much to my surprise, it was Ivy who walked in.

At first, she hadn't seen me. She looked tired with her eyes fixed on the floor as she dragged her feet.

"Ashley," Ivy exclaimed looking up.

I didn't answer, I didn't know how. Not with the many thoughts running through my mind. Ivy quickly picked up on this as she stepped closer to me.

The elevator doors closed again.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Can you please tell Marcus that I'm sick and that I had to go home urgently. Tell him I have already finished both rooms." I stated.

"Sure but you don't look very well right now. Did something happen?" she asked.

To explain, I handed her the picture. My hands were still shaking.

"Holy cow," she muttered, her eyes widening. I could tell that she thought about it too.

"It was a lot more disturbing. He had more pictures of my family and me dating back to ten years ago." I continued.

I would have loved to explain more to her but I still didn't know what was going on. Maybe my mom had the answers.

"At least now we know for sure that he definitely knows your mother." She said examining the picture.

"It doesn't explain why he has a whole album of our photos," I said.

This was just too creepy, some stranger whom you've only spoken to a few times having your family pictures, plus he visited my mom. Putting things together, it just made me all the more curious.

"Do you think that what I said could be true? Maybe he is your father." She exclaimed.

"I thought that was already ruled out. It was far too outrageous," I replied.

"Think about it. Your mother never told you about it. Maybe she left because he was some creep in order to protect you and now he has been doing his research and found out about your whereabouts." She rumbled.

She was suffering from the side effects of watching too many telenovelas.

"He was at our house the other day. Katy said that the two of them were too friendly. You don't smile at creeps who you are trying to run away from." I reasoned.

She sighed as she tried to think of another hypothesis.

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor.

"Tell me about how everything goes." She pulled me in for a quick hug. "Be safe." She added.

I smiled back as I collected the picture back from her. I hurried to gather my things in the locker room before rushing out to get a taxi.

I tried to think through things to the point that I was even more confused. But one thing was for sure, my mother knew the truth and I was just going to have to get it out of her. She owned me so much since she could call me stupid for getting pregnant.

Thanks to me leaving work a bit early, there wasn't much traffic.

I handed the driver his fee as I stepped out of the cab, right in front of the house.

I matched into our yard. The front door was unlocked. Around this time both mom and Katy were likely to be at home.

The front door emitted its usual loud noise. I really hate this door.

Mom was in the living room. Multitasking as usual, she was reading through her baking magazine while the TV was on.

Katy was lying on the floor, her school books laid out as she worked through some sums.

They looked surprised to see me here at this time.

"Did he already put you on maternity leave?" Mom asked looking up from her magazine.

I took in a deep breath, not wanting to lose all of the calm that I had been holding in.

I handed her the picture.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the picture.

Just then, there was a loud knock on our front door. Katy stood up to get it.

I wanted to tell Katy not to move, that she should stay here and be safe because it could be someone dangerous. However, that would just give mom the chance to lie to me again or try to get herself out of this.

"Are you going to explain who he is?" I asked.

Mom sighed, her body relaxing just a little bit as she looked up at me.

Why did she look so calm? I imagined that she would have been freaking out. It's not like she wanted us to find out or else she would have introduced us.

Katy returned, but she wasn't alone. Leonardo was right behind her as they slowly walked into the living room.

It's great that both of them were here. I could get the truth out of someone.
There was less chances of him murdering all three of us at once.

Mom looked back at Leonardo as if she was looking for his permission. I think I saw him nod.

She sighed, her gaze returning to me. "He is my brother," she explained.

"What?" I whispered.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading.

Any thoughts on Leonardo?

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