Poor Amber.

Lola's smile gradually disappeared.

"finally I got his blood sample," she intoned to herself.

She took a small transparent plastic bag from her drawer, opened it, and carefully poured everything containing his blood into it without touching it.

She took out her phone and called Maria.

Lola asked as soon as Maria picked up the phone, "I got it, did you find the right hospital?"

"Is that how you address your friend? No, how are you doing? or how is your weekend treating you?"

Lola sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before saying, "Send the hospital's address."

"I know, on it, and everything's in your name," Maria explained.

"OK good, understood," Lola said as she hung up the phone call.

The following day...

When Livia's urge to vomit worsened to the point where she couldn't eat that morning, Santiago was convinced she was sick.

The three of them left the house and went to the hospital that Lola had reserved for them.

'Why is she suddenly assisting? I know Lola doesn't like me, so why ?' Livia pondered.

As they entered the reception area.

Lola and Santiago spent some time at the reception desk talking with the nurse.

'And why another hospital?' Livia clenched her stomach and exhaled heavily.

They were both finished with their conversation with the nurse. Santiago approached Livia and assisted her in getting up.

"Let's go," Santiago said, leading her to the gynecologist's office, with Lola close behind.

'For some reason, I can't understand that woman, But I know she's up to something,' Livia thought, returning her gaze to Lola, who's face was expressionless.

' Or is she sincere... Ugh, all this vomiting has weakened my reasoning,' Livia reflected as she rested her hand on her head, trying to set her vision straight. When she returned her gaze Lola had vanished .

'Is she not here, or am I hallucinating again?' Livia reflected as she and Santiago entered the gynecologist's office.

Lola, meanwhile, exited the hospital and approached a black SUV parked in the hospital parking lot. Lola tapped on the window, which opened to reveal Maria and Marco wearing sunglasses.

"Is this supposed to be a disguise?" Lola asked with a raised eyebrow.

Maria removed her sunglasses and said, "It seemed cool to ride around in sunglasses, we look like secret agents,"

Lola was irked by Maria's remark and asked, "Why did you bring my assistant?"

"He wanted to help, he loves his madam so much I felt touched and pitied him when he begged to follow me so I let him come," Maria said dramatically.

Marco nodded, paused, and looked at Maria with widened eyes,

"Wait, that's not how it happened," he exclaimed.

'I simply asked her, and she said okay; I never begged,' Marco reflected.

"I don't have time to scold you and remove those glasses... both of you," Lola ordered sternly, and they both removed their glasses.

"Mr. Fernandez, I'll go over everything with you "Lola continued as she opened the back seat door and entered.

"There's no need; I've already told him everything," Maria replied, smiling.

"All right, Mr Fernandez, here are the blood samples," Lola said, pulling a plastic bag from her handbag and handing it to him.

Maria interrupted Lola before she could finish her sentence, "Yes, I know, we'll both go there, and when the test results are available, Marco will bring them to you. Mrs Clara is a good friend of mine, and she won't mind having me around unlike someone who happens to be my bestfriend, if not my very closest friend, "She stated, when she finished and turned around, Lola had already left.

She sighed as she looked at Marco, "When did she leave?"

Maria let out a frustrated sigh as Marco repeated, "When you said, 'she won't mind having me around, unlike someone who happens to be my bestfriend, if not my very close friend,' "

"I wasn't expecting you to respond to me, Marco," Maria groaned, and Marco gave her a surprised look.

"Did you just address me by my first name?" With a low voice, he inquired.

Maria narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "Do you have a problem with it?"

Marco shook his head violently and replied, "No, I mean you're Madam's friend, Mrs Morales and I must respect everyone who is afflicted with Madam," clenching his fist proudly.

Maria burst out laughing after a couple of blinks at him.

With a wide grin on her lips, she grabbed his face and pulled it closer to hers. 'Is she going to kiss me?' Marco's eyes widened as his face reddened. They both locked gaze and Marco immediately closed his eyes.

"You are so adorable, hardworking, and loyal!" Maria squealed with delight as she ruffled his black hair.

"Ah shit stop!" Marco screamed, trying to push her hand away, but she wouldn't let go.

Maria eventually came to a halt and stated, "Ahem! Please address me as Maria."

Marco nodded as he looked at her.

"Let's wait for them to leave." Maria stated. Outside the window, Marco notices Santiago, Lola, and Livia leaving the hospital.

He immediately turned to Maria and said, "They're leaving."

"All right, it's action time," Maria said, putting her sunglasses back on.

"You're really serious about this," Marco said, his sunglasses on.

"Yes, Lola is my best friend, and I would do almost anything to help her," Maria smiled.

"I didn't expect you two to be so close," Marco mumbled.

Maria looked at him solemnly, "Hey, Lola may appear to be a cold, callous, aloof, indifferent, egoistical, evil woman."

"You didn't hold back with the insults," Marco observed.

"What? it is correct. Anyway, she has a soft spot for people she truly cares about, she just has a hard time expressing it," Maria replied, exhaling.

"Shall I tell you about your boss's history?" Maria asked, and Marco nodded.

"You really like Lola, don't you?" When Maria inquired, Marco's eyes widened and he replied, "No, it's not like that; I simply admire her ability to work. She is my role model."

"I wonder where Lola found you honestly, you're just like a puppy," Maria exclaimed.

Marco blinked and tilted his head.

"Anyway, let's just say Lola wasn't as cold and aloof in high school as she is now." Maria elaborated.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you anything else."Maria added, and Marco stated, "Something made her change,and you have no idea what caused it."

"I have no idea," Maria shrugged.

"However, you're her best friend." Marco stated.

"I sometimes feel like I gave myself the title of 'bestfriend' because she never told me anything about her college years or the years after that. We communicated but never had a deep conversation because she was distant "Maria elaborated, as she stared out the window with a softened gaze.

"Oh," Marco exclaimed quietly.

Maria noticed Santiago's car was no longer parked there. She turned to Marco and said, "They're gone, let's go," as she highlighted from the car.

Marco examined the sunglasses, put them on, smiled, highlighted the car, and followed Maria into the hospital.

*The gynecologist's office*

"Mrs Clara, we brought the samples," Maria said to a woman with dark-brown bob hairstyle, who was squinting at her.

She yelled, "How many times do I have to remind you it's Ms not Mrs, do I look married to you!" as she took the plastic bag from Marco's grip and scanned both of them.

"What's with the sunglasses? And Is he your boyfriend?" Mrs Clara sniggered, unable to stop herself from laughing.

Marco blushed in embarrassment, and Maria only laughed in an obvious awkward manner at Clara's statement.

"Do you have the baby's DNA sample?" Maria inquired.

"Of course," Clara assured, adjusting the rim of her glasses on her nose.

"Do this test and let's get this over with," Maria said, and Clara nodded.

***

Late At Night,

The head maid walked into Lola's room and bowed , "You called for me, madam."

Lola closed her laptop and glanced at the head maid .

"How many maids did we hire in this mansion ?" Lola asked.

The head maid rose her head with a confused expression on her face as she wondered why her madam was asking such questions.

"I'm waiting for your response."

The head maid came back to from her thoughts and mumbled,

"They are twenty-five in number, madam."

"Really? But I thought we had only twenty four, at the time, I and Santiago got married."

The head maid's face went pale, cold sweat rushed down her face as her gaze averted.

Lola stood up from her bed walked towards the maid and asked in a icy tone,

"Was there a maid I didn't evaluate myself?"

The head maid exhaled shakily and dropped to her knees and stuttered, "Forgive me, madam, I thought since sir evaluated her in your sted, it would be fine to hire her. "

Lola eyes widened in shock, ' Santiago, hired her.'

"I should have noticed this earlier, I didn't even notice her presence. What's her name? " Lola mumbled to herself as she covered her face with her hands.

"Amber."

She looked at the head maid once again and grinned slyly, "I will forgive you, if you help me."

The head maid nodded violently and replied, "Anything, madam."

"Bring Amber to the storage room and don't tell her it's me." Lola ordered.

"Huh? Alright, Madam."

She quickly stood on her feet and left Lola's room.

Later on , Lola walked out of her room and went to the storage room.

The head maid went into the maid quarters and knocked on Amber's room door.

Amber opened the door while rubbingher eyes with her fingers and asked in with a drowsy tone, "what is it?"

"Is this how to talk to someone who's higher than you? " The head maid asked.

When she heard the head maid's voice, her vision became clear and the drowsy tone disappeared.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am." She apologized.

" I want you to do something for me. You know the storage room outside, I want you to check if we need new supplies."

"Huh? But it's late."

"Just do as I tell you"

"Fine." She sighed.

***

Amber left and went to the storage room without a second thought. When she arrived, she discovered that the door had been left unlocked.

She slowly pushed the door open. The moonlight shining through the window provided the only light in the room. It wasn't that it was difficult to see in here, but the walls seemed especially empty and devoid of anything. She entered, closed the door behind her, and the lights turned on.

"Hello, Amber," Lola said as she sat cross-legged, her smile faltering as Amber took in her appearance, her eyes wide with fear. She backed up against the wall even more and shook her head, hoping she was just seeing things, but she wasn't.

Lola just laughed at Amber's behaviour. The noise reverberated throughout the otherwise silent storage room.

"Why are you so afraid of me?" Lola asked, still smiling.

"What did I do to you to deserve such a reaction?" She asked again, tilting her head slightly, as if she was genuinely interested in Amber's response.

Amber looked up at Lola with wide, terrified eyes before looking back down and vigorously shaking her head in denial.

"Do you realise what you've done?" Lola inquired once more. She stood up, moved closer to Amber, and extended her hand; Amber flinched. Lola raised an eyebrow and drew her hand back before taking another step towards Amber.

Amber tried backing into the corner even harder, tears welling up in her eyes. Amber was terrified. She'd never met anyone this terrifying in person before. She had always managed to not appear in front of Lola.

"Tell me!" She demanded. Her face was expressionless as she awaited Amber's response.

Amber shuddered at the tone of her voice, and the sight of her hand reaching out again made her cry even harder. Amber looked around, hoping to find a way out so she could flee or get help, but Lola barred all exits. Amber was imprisoned. Her eyes widened as she began to hyperventilate.

Lola came to a halt, her face expressionless. "Would you like me to tell you what I did?"

Amber whimpered, her eyes welling up with tears, unable to speak. She quickly nodded.

"You're working for Livia, aren't you?" Lola chuckled.

Amber froze and looked up at Lola warily when she heard Livia's name.

Amber's eyes confirmed Lola's guess, her face softening before returning to its previous neutral state. Her lips reverted to a smile. "Did you think you'd be able to get away with it ?"

Amber was too scared to ask Lola how she knew, and Lola didn't elaborate anyway, continuing her questioning.

"Tell me everything. You know what will happen if you lie to me."

Amber gulped, fully aware that she is nothing more than an ant in comparison to Lola, insignificant, nothing. She opened her mouth, ready to tell Lola everything she needed to know. But before she could say anything, Lola spoke with a cold tone laced with anger that made Amber flinch and stop talking, "Do not make me repeat myself, Amber."

Amber opened her mouth and said, "I work for Livia, she hired me- to spy on you and Santiago."

"Since when?" Lola inquired.

Lola's harshness made Amber shiver.

"A year after You and Santiago married," Amber responded truthfully.

'That was four years ago...'

Lola hummed to herself. Amber fixed her gaze on her, waiting for her response.

Lola finally responded after a few minutes, "Amber, you appear to be telling the truth... This time, I'll let it slide."

"On one condition," she said, pausing briefly.

Amber gulped audibly as she heard the statement. "Anything."

Lola looked at Amber appraisingly, "Firstly, get yourself fired from this job. "

Amber gulped once more.

But Lola kept going without pausing, "Don't worry, I'll pay you well and provide you with whatever you desire. Simply join my side and provide me with more information about Livia."