The mysterious thrills had come down for a little while. The mansion, like pretty much unusual, felt like a normal house like all the other houses sprawling over the river. The adventures had returned to normal, and Dona Maria was feeling more relaxed, quiet and she had been spending her days between the lounge and her room where she liked to stay for most of the day playing on her piano, reading or meditating yoga. She wasn't feeling no need to rise into the secret vault for a quite a few days.
Don Lupez was recovering a little bit: the pain over his back was disappearing slowly and the headache and cumbersome feeling over his head was gone. He also was doing like his normal activities in the mansion; he read his books in the office, wrote his poetry and imagined fairy stories. When he walked to his office, Don Lupez could always see the impressive portrait of Dona Maria through the hallway, and he could feel tempted by the beauty of the masterpiece , but there was always a strange force which pushed him away from approaching the masterpiece, making him think of it as an ordinary and familiar poster he had seen before like any other piece of art in the mansion, and he would just walk away from the portrait.
It seemed that he had slightly become a different person though since he collapsed in the secret vault. In fact, he had become a bit strange and he could feel that he was possessed by a certain force and that he had somehow become a different person. When he was in the mansion, he felt sometimes confined, agitated and lost but when he was outside of the mansion he felt free, relaxed and he could feel a feeling that he had rediscovered his true self again. He was staying in the mansion much of his time, but he had also found interest in taking long walks outside all along the river. He woke up sometimes early in the morning, and would launch into a long walk by the river, taking pictures of the trees, the hills, the valley, the flowers and all the beauties all over the river, and returned home after a few hours of walk.
When Don was in the mansion, Dona Maria was no longer worried about him getting into the secret vault again. It seemed that the magical spirits were pushing Don away from the secret vault, and Dona Maria was convinced that the magical spirits had such power.
Away from the magical spirits, Dona Maria had her feet back on the ground for a little while, and since a few days she had been doing basic things which she liked to do. She played confidently on her piano for many hours almost every day and she also sang loud in her room like an opera singer. She looked more human and earthly when playing on her piano, but also more relaxed.
She hadn't played on her piano previously for a few months, and she enjoyed swinging her hands on the piano notes again to compose beautiful melodies through her grand piano.
At every time she was playing, the mellow sound of the piano illuminated the mansion with a feeling of amazement, and the handmaids felt surprised and entertained when the sweet sounds spiked into their ears.
''Wow, what a beautiful tune!.'', whispered Leah, hearing the sound all the way from the kitchen as she wiped the dishes off.
''Who is playing the piano?'', muttered Amalia, peeling off the vegetables.
'' Mrs. Sandoval.'', said Ava.
''Oh I didn't know the patroness had such a great skill at piano.'', said Amalia.
''Oh yes, she really does.'' said Ava, shaking her head. She had worked in the mansion for more years than the other handmaids, and she had seen Dona Maria perform before.
''Really lovely!'' Whispered Maya, looking amazed as she was doing her hair up in her room in the third floor. She thought the piano melody was rumbling from the Sanchez's house. In fact, Mrs. Sanchez was also used to playing piano almost every evening before going to bed, and the sound could be heard from the third floor.
Scarlet was also hearing the canorous sound of the piano all the way from her room. The room was located on the third floor of the mansion on the right side of the hallway; Scarlet and Mr. Perez had their room in the right side of the hallway while on the left side of the hallway were located rooms for the handmaids: Ava had her personal room, across hers was Maya's room, while Leah and Amalia shared the same room down at the back of the hallway.
She was lying on her bed alone thinking about the business opportunities while the sweet, mellifluous sound of the piano along with her mother's low, silvery and beautiful voice as it rose into high decibel pleasantly seeped into her ears.
She was keeping the letter containing the business proposal which she had received from the mailman a few days previously. She got up from the bed and grabbed the letter out from the drawer of her nightstand and walked out of her room, striding towards her mother's room.
In fact, she had been looking for an opportunity to discuss with her mother since a few days, but Dona Maria was looking a bit stressed out lately. She had an important announcement she needed to share with her mother.
''May I come in, momma'' she asked, knocking on the door.
''Yes, come through.'', said Dona maria, pausing on the piano note.
Scarlet walked in, holding the letter in her right hand. She looked excited, ravished and Dona Maria could feel that her daughter had some good news to announce to her.
'' What's this letter you holding up', she asked.
'' That's why I came here, mommy.'', she replied, smiling.
The letter contained a business proposal from a large conglomerate called Merkshire Inc. which was located in the Southern side of the Caducian valley in a business zone known as the Corporation Valley where most of the giant companies were headquartered, and it read:
Dear Mrs. Perez,
In partnership with North River Inc. a large consortium specializing in the extraction and production process of many resources, mainly rare resources of great value ,and the extraction of precious germ stones suchs as diamnonds, rubies, aquamarines, emeralds and beryls, we seek to collaborate with you in the field as a professional business consultant for the successful realization of a diamond extraction project.
This will result in the increase of your personal shares in the company for a considerable quantity.
We look forward to welcoming your seasoned experience in the area and to collaborating with you successfully throughout the process.
Yours Faithfully,
Scarlet had been working as a business consultant for Merkshire Inc. for over seven years, and she also owned a 15% share in the company. She was also a corporate lawyer for the conglomerate. With this new business proposal, her shares in the company would rise to over 50%, and she would have a share in many of the different businesses run by the southern conglomerate, which meant that Scarlet would become part of the range of the highest CEO'S in the company.
It was an opportunity for her to become extremely wealthy, and her shares in the company altogether combined could possibly make her the richest member of the Sandoval family ever, and Dona Maria had already started to imagine the potential turnover that this business proposal could bring.
''Let me see the letter'' she said, grabbing her eyeglasses. She had a slight myopia and the letters seemed a bit too small to her.
Scarlet handed the letter to her and sat down on a little chair right by the piano.
'' We could be really well-off, darling.', she said, feeling excited after reading the first few words of the letter.
'' Yes, really rich.'', whispered Scarlet.
''Did anyone else see this letter?'' asked, Dona Maria, looking excited.
'' No,'' replied, Scarlet, ''you the only one.''. She trusted her mommy more than anyone else in the family, and the two had a perfect connection.
''Perfect, princess.'', said Dona Maria, shaking the letter.
Dona Maria didn't want Don Lupez to know of her daughter's new business opportunity. In fact, on top of the sense of mistrust which had developed in her marriage due to Don Lupez's promiscuous lifestyle and was causing trouble in their marriage, Dona Maria was also causing trouble in her own marriage; besides being a witch and mysterious woman, Dona Maria was also a woman who had a paranormal taste for glamor and luxury, and her early days of marriage with Don Lupez, her lust for expensive and extravagant things oftentimes caused arguments.
Throughout all her marriage with Don Lupez, she only wished to become richer than her husband and own the purchasing power over her expenses without having to account to her husband. Although she was skillful at playing instruments, the musical career of hers was not really satisfactory to her. She sang and played in the clubs, bars, and gave large concerts with her band, but every penny she made didn't seem to satisfy her huge lifestyle.
It seemed that Dona Maria had married Don Lupez only for his wealth. It was during those days when she gave performances that she met Don in a famous bar located in the eastern side of the Caducian valley. Don was seated in a large VIP table reserved only for the high bourgeoisie, popping a bottle of champagne, while a bunch of groupie women cheered, laughed and danced by his side.
Don squinted his eyes up before the stage, and saw the young lady performing skillfully on her piano and humming with a sweet, smoky voice, and he felt seduced by the beautiful singer and mesmerized by the bright performance. When the performance was over, he walked towards her, congratulated her for the outstanding performance and arranged for an opportunity to seduce her.
''What a brilliant performance!'', he said in a seductive voice, ''congratulations.''.
''Thank you.'' Mumbled Dona Maria, running her right hand through the slit of her dress. She was clad in a sexy, red glamorous stage outfit, which revealed her long and seductive legs.
'' I'm Don, by the way.'', said Don, stretching out his right hand, his eyes lustfully glancing at her legs.
''My name's Maria Villanueva.'', said Dona Maria, looking a bit shy if not uninterested.
'' Nice to meet you, princess.'' Said Don, trying to seduce her, squeezing her soft hands gently.
'' I'm glad to meet you too.'', whispered Dona Maria, blinking her eyes strangely.
Throughout the conversation, she didn't seem to be interested in Don Lupez. In fact, Don Lupez was not a really attractive man: he was a bit short, chubby with a fat belly, long hair in a ponytail, a bushy beard, and he had his eyeglasses slightly askew, looking like a slouchy man, and Dona Maria was never attracted to men of his type. She liked tall, well-built men with short cropped hairstyle, and she had dated a man of such kind named Johnny a few years back and the man remained up to that day the love of her life. Johnny was a horse keeper and an event organizer who was not so successful as Don Lupez, and Dona Maria had abandoned him in part for her ambitions.
She didn't feel impressed until Don Lupez started sounding off about how wealthy he was and all the things he owned.
''I'm an eminent entrepreneur.'', he said, handing a business card to his future wife, '' I own many companies in the Corporation Valley.''
''Oh really?'', exclaimed Dona Maria.
She had heard of a very wealthy man who ran many businesses in the corporation valley and owned a gigantic mansion on the eastern side of the river, and she dreamt of marrying a man of such opulence, but she couldn't think that Don Lupez was actually the wealthy she had heard of.
'' So, the Royal mansion also belongs to you?'', she asked,
'' Yes, I own the Royal mansion.'', replied Don lordly, feeling confident.
''I just can't believe it!'', said Dona Maria, looking amazed. She had started to feel more interested in Don Lupez, and she started to get more engaged in the conversation.
'' You are a really special and hard-working man, Don.", she said, licking her lips.
'' And I think you are a very cute woman, Maria.'', said Don, finding a way to play his trump card of seduction.
'' Thanks.'' said Dona Maria, blinking her eyes, '' I feel really flattered.''.
Don could feel already that she could conquer her, and he offered to invite her over for a dinner in a glamorous restaurant the next day.
'' I' d be glad to hang out with some day, Maria'' he said,
'' Yes, with pleasure.'' Replied Dona Maria, pouting her lips.
Looking at the way that Don lupez was glaring at her, the way he treated her and all the attention she had gotten from him, Dona Maria felt that her dream to marry the tycoon of the corporation valley had already come true.
''oh, I got him in my pocket.'' she thought, her eyes tripping.
''what you thinking about'' asked Don, noticing that she had her mind slightly tripping.
''Oh nothing.'', replied, ''I just feel amazed by your kindness, Don.''
Over a few days following their encounter Don Lupez and Dona Maria started a date which would turn into a marriage a few months later. Their wedding was a huge, extravagant ceremony, and Dona Lupez had squandered a lot of money for the wedding to be held : The venue was an enormous villa located in a strip of land overlooking an archipelago to which a boat ride was necessary to get to, and there was a selected number of distinguished guests and family members, most of which were people of patrician class. Don Lupez was dressed in an elegant black suit, a tie, and a stylish sombrero over his head, and Dona Maria had a long, white wedding dress with flower patches which ran all the way down to the floor and she was feeling a bit nervous having to carry the tips of her dress up with her hand as she walked confidently in that elegant dress before the crowd, feeling like a diva as the cheers and rounds of applauses ran in her honor.
Their first few years of marriage seemed to be years of wonder, and the couple appeared to be passionate lovebirds. In fact, Dona Maria seemed to be really in love with her millionaire husband, and the love she had for her beloved Johnny the horse keeper seemed to have been conquered by the expensive and extravagant lifestyle that Don offered to her, but also somehow by the passionate love and gentleness that Don showed to her in their first days, weeks, months and years of marriage.
Could money buy Dona Maria's love? If it couldn't buy it, it certainly triggered it without with no doubt. For the wedding Don Lupez had offered her a generous allowance to his wife-to-be, and over the years following their marriage, many expensive and luxurious gifts such as a collection of , earrings, necklaces, and rings. As part of their prenuptial agreement, Dona Lupez had also signed to share a percentage of his fortune with his wife, not including his greatest properties such as his companies and the royal mansion.
In her wardrobe Dona Maria owns a variety of swanky, pricey and elegant dresses of all kinds, a collection of shoes of all kinds, and by the grand piano where she had been playing, there was a splendid Victorian console table with a large mirror on top of which she placed fashionable jewelries, earrings, necklaces, and rings, including the glowy diamond ring which glared over her finger on the painting. And right above the cupboard there was the small black case where Dona Maria had slipped the book of magic.
Over the nightstand right behind the chair where Scarlet was sitting while talking to her mother, there was a picture of Dona Maria and Don Lupez on their wedding day, and the picture expressed how extravagant the wedding had been: it was a sepia-toned photograph taken many years ago and it showed Don Lupez and Dona Maria dressed in extravagant clothes, and right behind there was a monumental wedding cake of seven floors peeping up in the picture. On the picture, Dona Maria looked so younger, more attractive and really blissful and with the bliss in her cheerful face there was no doubt that her dream to marry a wealthy man was a great source of comfort to her.
''We need to consult Jocelyn.'', said Scarlet
''Hum…'' whispered Dona Maria, looking skeptical, ''she is really close to your dad.''
''Yes, I know.'', said Scarlet, ''but we need her legal assistance.''
Mrs. Jocelyn Amaral was an eminent businesswoman and legal consultant whose fortune largely exceeded the Sandoval's wealth, and as an in-law to the Sandoval family, she had helped Don Lupez in many intricate phases in his business endeavors. She was also the head of a legal entity which delivered business licenses and Scarlet needed her signature in order to undertake the extraction of precious stone germs.
Meanwhile, Mr. Perez had returned from his meeting, and he had just entered the mansion and slouched into the lounge, looking confused.
''Where is my wife ?'' , he asked to Maya, who was wiping the dust off the windows through the hallway of the mansion.
''Hum… I think Mrs. Scarlet is in her room.'', she said, touching her head doubtfully.
''Okay'' whispered Mr. Perez
'' May I serve you anything, Mr. Perez?'' said Maya, enchantingly.
'' No, thank you, Amalia.'' , he said.
'' My name is Maya, Mr. Perez.'', corrected Leah with a little grin in her face, ''Amalia has curly hair.''
'' Oh sorry….'', said Mr. Perez, twisting his eyes strangely. In fact he seemed to be secretly feeling attracted by Amalia.
'' No biggies.'', said Amalia, excusing herself to carry on her work.
Mr. Perez took the stairs up into the second floor where his room was located. As he reached into the stairs, he ran into Don Lupez coming downstairs. He had been reading and writing in his office for some time, and was walking down to his room to relax. Don Lupez had a good relationship with his son-in-law, and both men were men of a measured temperament. They were also both skeptical men who only believed in things their eyes could goggle, which made them look foolish sometimes and unable to figure out any mystery in the mansion.
Through Scarlet, Mr. Perez had gotten wind of his father-in-law's malaise and he knew Don had been feeling bad lately, but he was busy with a load of criminal cases…
''Are you feeling better, Don.?'', Asked Don, stretching his over Don's shoulder.
''Yes, I'm ok.'', mumbled Don, looking a bit exhausted.
The two men hugged and kept walking their different ways. It was around 4pm in the evening, and the loud and harsh voice of Samson could be heard barking all the way from the yard of the Rojas family.