Chapter Sixteen

Gabriella I took in a deep breath as I calmly drove into the Deville's estate, a place that I haven't visited in years. After thinking long and hard about it, I finally made up my mind to visit Martin's family house even though I was asked not to go anywhere near him. Although, my main reason for coming here was to at the very least, get a glimpse of Martin and know how he was doing but I intended to use Martin's father as an excuse instead because I also needed to talk to him and give that old geezer a piece of my mind. I was able to find out from Liam's connection that Martin's father wanted my court case to be rushed because he wanted me to be put in jail as soon as possible and I was immediately pissed off to find out that he was still hell-bent on sending me to jail instead of trying to find out the person that really wanted to hurt Martin. I hated the fact that I had to leave Martin in his care when I knew that he could care less about Martin's health and would even want him to remain in that condition so that he could control him and manipulate him but since I have no other choice but to stay away from Martin, I decided that speaking to Martin's father and letting him know that he wasn't going to succeed in pinning a crime that I didn't commit on me, and also confronting him as I wanted to the last time I saw him, was my best bet and was the only way I could get into the mansion and try to meet Martin. If there's one thing about the Deville's estate, it's that it is heavily guarded and getting in wasn't going to be easy to pull off and for that reason, I decided to lie about my identity and pretend to be Gabrielle instead. I informed the guards that I wanted to meet with Martin because he and I were friends and I showed them a fake identity card of Elle's that I happened to have courtesy of Martin himself. They were a little sceptical about letting me in and I almost got caught when one of them suggested that they call the main house to ask if I was allowed to enter but lucky for me, something else happened to distract them at that moment and they just hurried me in to attend to whatever it was that saved me from getting in trouble. I drove in as quickly as I could without bothering to look back so that they wouldn't end up changing their minds and actually calling the main house to confirm my visitation and I let out a sigh of relief as soon as I was far enough. I decided against driving to the front of the place and instead, I parked my car in a place where they wouldn't notice it and I walked toward the main entrance of the mansion. As expected, there were more guards to deal with and they did ask me to state my purpose for visiting, and who I came to visit they also requested my identification card, which I handed to them immediately. I even ended up lying that the security at the gate already called to confirm my visit and after searching through my things and having a female guard search my body, they finally allowed me inside. This wasn't the first time I was going through such an intense search at Martin's place because it was a normal routine over here and it didn't exactly surprise me that they were this thorough and strict. I'd like to think that the reason why Martin's father was so strict about security is that he knew that a lot of people hated him very much and many would want to see him dead because he was a horrible person. I don't consider myself as one of the people that want to see him dead but, I'm definitely one of the many people that can't stand him and absolutely detest everything about him. I walked into the place and I would have gasped in shock at how huge the place was but then, it wasn't my first time here and I had much more important things to do than focus on at the moment. My goal is to find Martin and confirm for myself that it was doing okay but if I'm not able to find him, I'll simply pretend like I actually came to see his father instead even though I did have every intention of seeing his father, although it wasn't a priority. On my way in, I ran into one of the servants who immediately looked at me with a suspicious look on her face and I could tell that she was waiting for me to introduce myself and state my reasons for being inside here. "Is there a problem, Miss?" I asked and she frowned. "With all due respect Miss, I believe I'm the one that's supposed to ask that question because I do not know who you are or what you're doing in here and you're supposed to announce yourself and state your reasons for being here and who you're here for before walking around like you own the place," she responded and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by how harsh and rude she was. I understand that I'm trespassing but she didn't have any right to speak to me that way and sound so rude and audacious but since I also didn't have any right to be in here or talk back to anyone at all, I decided to just swallow the disrespect and bring myself down to her level by asking her where I can find Martin and letting her know that I was here to see him. "I apologise for coming in and trespassing but, the security already checked me and confirmed my identity and I just came here because I wanted to speak with Martin and check up on him," I said, hoping she would be nice enough to at least tell me where Martin was. All I needed to know was where he was and I would be able to find him since I was quite familiar with the house and even though I was not very familiar with every part of the place, I knew how to get around without getting caught because that was usually how Martin was able to sneak me into his room when he was still living with his parents. "I know you've confirmed your identity with the security but I still need to ask you what your relationship is with Mr Martin and why you want to see him," she replied and I frowned. "I believe I just said that I'm here to check up on you and to just know if he's doing okay. My relationship with him shouldn't exactly matter but since you'd like to know, he's a very good friend of mine and I'm here to meet with him," I replied, trying very hard to hide the fact that I was very irritated by her tone and also by her questions that seemed very unnecessary. I could already tell that she was one of those maids that liked to act all high and mighty whenever their bosses weren't around and she was actually very lucky that I didn't want to draw any attention to myself because I wasn't supposed to be here if not, I would have given her a piece of my mind and let her know that I wasn't someone that she should just talk to however she pleased. "Unfortunately miss, I can't allow you to see Mr Martin because visitation is predicted for him except if Mr Deville personally approves of it and confirms that you can go in to see him. The best thing that I can do for you is let Mr Deville know that you are here to see his son and if he permits you to speak with him, I'll let you know where Mr Martin is and you can go ahead and speak to him but until I get direct orders to let you see him, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to either wait or take your leave," she responded and I mentally rolled my eyes. I couldn't help but wonder why she didn't just tell me this from the very beginning instead of asking me questions that weren't even necessary. As it seemed, there was no way that I could meet with Martin. After all, his father would not permit us to meet because he knew that I could actually help to trigger Martin's memories and since he didn't want Martin to get his memories back, I'll be the last person he would allow to see his son. "If you don't mind then, how about you go up there and let your boss know that a girl by the name of Gabriella Johansson is here to speak with him and please do let him know that, I won't be leaving here until I speak with him," I told her and she gasped in shock. "Are you the same Gabriella Johansson that I think you are?" she asked and I furrowed my brows in confusion. "What exactly is the reason behind that question?" I asked, wondering why she seemed so shocked. "If you have Gabriella Johansson that I think you are, then you should know that you are not permitted to be in here and you have to be the most shameless person on earth to actually show your face here after what you tried to do to your friend," she hissed and I sighed. I was usually a very patient person that didn't react to things like this but lately, I've noticed that my patience has actually run very thin and I honestly didn't have the energy to deal with such comments. "Listen, sweetie, you've been getting on my nerves since you and I started talking and I've been trying really hard to just keep calm and be patient with you but right now, I no longer have the patience to deal with you so you have two options, you either go up there and deliver my message to your boss like the servant that you are or, you keep running that mouth of yours and I'll make you wish you had chosen the first option, which do you prefer?" I threatened directly and I meant it cause if she kept talking and insulting, chances are that she'd get slapped and I'd just walk out of here and reschedule meeting Martin's father some other time. "Please excuse me," she said, wearing a disgusted look on her face before heading up the stairs to where I presumed David was and I patiently waited downstairs, anticipating what was going to happen next.