There was nothing wrong with the curtains, nor the balcony outside. Apart from some greenery, nothing else was sighted.
Just to be thorough, Shaun sent someone to jump over the railings to take a look outside. There was no one hiding beneath either.
By the looks of it, a presence of any kind was highly unlikely.
Celine was still in a state of disbelief.
“How can that be? I really heard it. The woman was crying, rather miserably as though someone was strangling her. How-how can there be no one?”
In a daze, she strolled towards the balcony and went through the area in a fluster.
Nevertheless, the fact was, if a person was hiding in this limited space, she would have been long discovered. There was no way she could be in hiding until now.
“Don’t tell me... It’s really a ghost...”
“What ghost are you talking about? I don’t believe in the supernatural!”
Blowing his top, Shaun tugged on the curtain with all his might. Just then, a tiny black item fell from the top.
Soon enough, a burst of whimpering cries echoed in the room.
Everyone was dumbstruck.
Basically, they froze.
The people fixated their gaze on the tiny item lying on the ground. It took a while before they figured out that the earlier bawls were coming from this thing.
Sally bent over to pick it up. It was a subminiature sound recorder.
Someone must have recorded the sound and set a timer to broadcast. Hence, the reason why Celine would hear sounds of a woman crying from time to time.
“What the hell!”
She smashed the item on the ground. Her face revealed her fury.
“Who did this? How could someone put such a thing in the second miss’ room?”
The maids ,who had arrived later, were scared out of their wits at this turn of events.
They were quick to shake their heads in denial, refusing to admit it was their doing.
Sullen, Shaun turned to Celine.
“Who went into your room today?”
Celine was left scratching her head as well. After digging through her memory, she shook her head in the end.
“There were too many people, I can’t remember.”
The number of maids that entered her room throughout the day was between three to six. How would she know who the culprit behind it was?
“Ha! Is that so? Call the police then! Take them for questioning and the truth will soon come out.”
The maids began to beg for mercy right there and then.
“Sir, it really wasn’t me. I’d never do such a thing.”
“Yes, we bear no grudges towards the young lady. Why would we do such a thing? It does us no good!”
However, Shaun would never listen to them.
“Alright now. It’s decided. Don’t worry, if you did not play a hand in this, we won’t make further enquiries, but if I find out that there’s a mole in this house...”
He darted a sinister look at the few and scoffed. “Ha! Don’t blame me for what’s to come!”
With that, Shaun had someone come in to put a restraint on the maids in Celine’s room and to call the cops at daybreak before taking his leave.
Leith Garden.
All was tranquil in a bedroom, when suddenly a phone sitting on the bedside buzzed the alert of a notification.
Nell opened her eyes. Her slender body was firmly held against a man’s chest as a muscular arm hung over her body. Amid the darkness, the man’s fresh odor assailed her nostrils.
She quietly lifted an arm to remove the man’s arm before leaning over to grab her phone.
It was an anonymous message. The content was forthright.
“It’s done. Remember to transfer the money on time.”
After Nell came out, Gareth went straight to the point. “Fourth Aunt, I’m really sorry, I was too blind to recognize the relationship between you and my fourth uncle. Please forgive me if I ever stepped on your toes.”
With widened eyes, Nell gave a look as if she had seen a ghost.
“What did you call me?”
“Fourth Aunt!”
Nell drew a sharp breath.
Aware that Nell took it the wrong way, Gareth quickly explained, “It’s like this. I’m actually part of the Leith family in the capital, but a bit far off from the family tree and a distant relative so many do not know. In terms of seniority, I address President Leith as Fourth Uncle so you’re, of course, my fourth aunt.”
Nell’s facial muscles impeded her from pulling her lips back for a decent smile.
“I... see. So you know about our relationship?”
“I do, I do. I do now.”
The mixture of relief and after-fear on Gareth’s face almost had Nell under the impression that he did something behind her back.
“Fourth Aunt, this is a little something I hope that you’ll accept.”
He then handed over a gift.
Nell took a step back and looked back in doubt.
“Alright now. Don’t call me Fourth Aunt. It’s really awkward. Just address me by my name!”
Without persisting, Gareth acknowledged with a smile.
Nell pointed at the gift in his hand. “There’s no such a thing as a free lunch. You should take back this thing!”
She then took strides with the intention to leave.
Gareth immediately got in the way.
“Fourth... Nell, I came over because I really have something to discuss with you.”
Surprised, Nell stared at him in shock. “What’s the matter?”
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