Seed of Possession

“I don’t want to sit down with you,” Maxine stated firmly to Chandrea, crossing her arms.

“Don’t be like that, Maxine. Come to your mother, you naughty brat,” Chandrea called to Maxine while still tapping the space beside her.

“I’m not your daughter, and you are not my mother,” Maxine firmly said to Chandrea, which made Chandrea laugh out of amusement.

“Dream on, little girl. Whether you like it or not, I am your mother, and you cannot do anything about it. You and I are the same because you came out from my womb, not from Chantal. You are just a parasite who was lurking around in my dearest sister,” Chandrea said to her daughter while still tapping the space beside her.

“I will not let that happen!” Maxine said firmly as she sat down on a chair away from Chandrea.

“Dream on, b*tch, because when your Father and I got together, I will send you to a boarding school far away from us. And you can show your bratiness to that school away from us,” Chandrea warned sweetly to her daughter. Maxine just rolled her her eyes at her real mother and avoided looking at her.

After a few seconds, someone knocked at the door, and Chandrea immediately got excited because she recognized the person’s distinct knocking pattern. Four knocks before entering.

“Lorenzo,” Chandrea squealed, jumping towards Lorenzo and giving him a peck on his lips.

“Here you are!” Chandrea said sweetly, hugging Lorenzo. She then looked at her daughter Maxine and made a face at her.

“I bet Mom knows about the affair between the two of you. I can’t wait for her to get a divorce, and I will go with her. In terms of custody, just give me to her, and you can have your two children,” Maxine commented, making Lorenzo raise his eyebrows.

“Who is going to get a divorce? And why would you go with her? You aren’t even her real daughter. You are only my daughter, and this woman is your mother,” Lorenzo said as he weakly pushed Chandrea away from him.

“Stop dreaming and compose yourself. Once she finds out that you’re not her daughter, both of us will be doomed, and you’ll be stuck with this woman,” Lorenzo continued, pointing to Chandrea.

“Hey, Darling! What’s wrong if she’s stuck with me? Technically, I am her mother. I have more rights to have her than my sister,” Chandrea said in a mocking tone, putting pressure on Maxine and making her overthink.

“Don’t make me laugh. Both of you don’t even like each other,” Lorenzo said as he sat down on the wooden chair.

“Remember the time when you got pregnant at the same time as Chantal? Our plan was to place Maxine in an orphanage, and then you would adopt her to show that you were a good woman capable of adopting a child. Fortunately, our firstborn daughter of Chantal was stillborn, and because of that, we switched the two babies, making Maxine appear as Chantal’s daughter,” Lorenzo said as he let Chandrea sit in his lap.

“Thankfully, Chantal didn’t notice the baby switch, even though the first time she held you, she sensed something was wrong and didn’t feel a connection because she believed you weren’t her child, which was accurate. We simply made her think it was all part of post-partum depression,” Lorenzo continued, making Chantal giggle.

“Yes, I remember that time. She cried the entire day and refused to hold you,” Chantal added, which brought tears to Maxine’s eyes as she heard this. Her loving mother had done this to her?

“It’s understandable why she acted that way, as you weren’t her child. Her maternal instincts didn’t kick in with you. Countless therapy sessions occurred before she finally accepted you,” Lorenzo finished, gesturing for Chandrea to massage his shoulder.

“I told you we shouldn’t have done that to your room,” Chandrea playfully whispered in her husband’s ear, making Lorenzo chuckle.

“What can I do? You look so alluring in the Maid’s costume,” Lorenzo answered, which made Maxine angry.

“I am just 7 years old. Can you stop talking like that in front of me?! And we should think about Mom. What if she left us?” Maxine desperately asked, making Lorenzo look at her sternly.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I locked your Mom in the room. She can’t leave us, and besides, I still need her to win this competition,” Lorenzo answered as he smirked at Maxine.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Don’t be so nervous and just chill. You just need to be a perfect daughter, and I will make sure that Chantal will stay with us forever, and she will never ever learn about your true identity,” Lorenzo added. Maxine just gulped at what her father said to her. Being the daughter of a perfectionist father, having Chantal as a great support system was important for her, and because of that, Chantal was determined to keep her identity a secret until the day she died.

“Dad, if you win the competition, will Mom not have to leave us? Even if she knows about my identity?” Maxine asked Lorenzo.

“Of course. If I win this competition, I will have the power to make her stay here in the mansion with you. And I can send your other siblings to boarding schools while you stay here with Chantal. You can have her all to yourself,” Lorenzo assured Maxine.

“I think I have a way to ensure that you will win this competition,” Maxine said to Lorenzo. Chandrea looked at her daughter and raised her eyebrows.

“How can you be sure that it will help my Lorenzo with your silly idea? Maybe it’s just like sparkling dust or a wish from the tooth fairy. Are you just making things up?”

“No! I’m not making things up. I’m telling the truth. I think I have the information that can help Dad win this competition!” Maxine said determinedly, catching Lorenzo’s interest. He raised his hands and signaled Chandrea to stop her massage on his shoulders.

“Go on, tell me. I’m listening.”

Maxine looked at her father and took a deep breath before recounting what she had heard in the garden.

“In the garden, I overheard Butler Rolando and Auntie Krizza arguing. They used hurtful words, and Auntie Krizza mentioned the first-born daughter of Auntie Giselle. A daughter who is the same age as me and lives in the orphanage in San Alfonso,” Maxine explained. Lorenzo thought deeply about what Maxine had just said; it was a serious accusation.

“Ha!? We can’t rely on that. A child’s word? We don’t even know the name of this alleged child, and how can we be sure that she’s telling the truth? Maybe she’s making up the story to stay with her fake mother,” Chandrea scoffed, earning a glare from Maxine.

“I’m telling the truth! Flora was there! Ask her. She heard everything, and she was even caught by Butler Rolando. I’m sure they’ll be shaken up when they hear Flora speak to Grandfather,” Maxine responded, causing Lorenzo to smile with a sense of satisfaction. He looked at Maxine, realizing that she truly was his daughter, willing to use devious plans to achieve their goals, wearing a mask to catch their prey.

“Then we just need to get Flora, and the two of you can tell your Grandfather about what happened and the truth about Uncle Xander’s wife,” Lorenzo leaned back in his chair.

“Dad, I don’t want to be the one to talk to Grandfather about this issue. I want Flora to share what she heard. I just want to protect myself from Uncle Xander’s anger when the truth comes out,” Maxine admitted, and Lorenzo nodded.

“That’s cute. Darling, she inherited my attitude of using others as shields,” Chandrea playfully said as she walked towards Maxine and hugged her.

“You really are my daughter. I’m glad I didn’t abort you,” Chandrea murmured while caressing Maxine’s hair, which infuriated her.

“What?!” Maxine exclaimed, pushing Chandrea away.

“You’re crazy,” Maxine said, causing Chandrea to laugh.

“We’re both crazy,” Chandrea said before turning back to Lorenzo.

“Darling, want to play with me again?” Chandrea whispered in his ear, not considering that Maxine was still in the room.

“This is disgusting. I’m leaving,” Maxine said, quickly exiting the room. As soon as she left, she kissed Lorenzo passionately. She was devotedly in love with him. They had been together since they were young, and she was determined to stay together forever.

Lorenzo simply lets Chandrea do as she pleases on top of him, knowing how infatuated she is with him. He uses this to his advantage. Lorenzo neither loves nor likes Chandrea; he merely has a mild attraction to her as a man because she presents herself well, especially in bed. Currently, he is in a good mood because he learned valuable information from his daughter Maxine. He can’t wait to use it as ammunition against his cousin Xander, as he’s eager to win this competition.