A Replacement Bride

Chapter 391

Chapter 390 One Possibility

"I see." Katherine finished the egg and dusted her hands off. "Let's go."

Joaquin smiled and got up to get the car keys. "Let's go." He didn't let Jeremy come with them that day. Instead, he took Katherine, turned the GPS on, and drove away.

Half an hour later, they stopped in front of an old house. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Katherine got out of the car and looked at the deserted house, and she sighed. "Everyone's gone. This place is abandoned."

Joaquin went around the car and stood beside her, staring at the house. Calmly, he said, "After the Olsens went into a decline, nobody ever came back. It's normal that this place looks abandoned."

Curious, Katherine asked, "Not a single Olsen came?"

"Yes." Joaquin nodded. "They go their own separate ways now. Not many are in Kyoland."

Katherine thought it was a pity. "Well, nothing lasts forever, even riches." They went inside without saying anything more.

The place was so old, they managed to unlock the door without much strength, then they hung the rusted lock aside. That made this house look even more abandoned. Everything and everywhere in this house was coated in a thick layer of dust. Since the windows were coated with dust as well, not much sunlight could come in. Only a sliver of it managed to illuminate this place, keeping it out of total darkness' reach.

"This place looks like a haunted house." Katherine slowed down and looked around the house, then she muttered, "Did Grandpa really leave that thing here?"

Joaquin followed her all the way inside and handed his handkerchief to her so she could cover her nose, then he fanned her. "He went all the way to tuck that slip inside Regal Summit Bank, so it shouldn't be fake. This place is remote and deserted. It's perfect to hide something. Nobody would think that he would hide something in an abandoned ancestral hall." He pointed at the floor-to-ceiling window. "The hall should be in the backyard."

Katherine looked where he was pointing and nodded, then she went to the backyard. Since this place had been abandoned for a long time, a lot of things were starting to decay, including the wheels under the window. She tried her best to push, but it wouldn't budge.

"I'll do it." Joaquin pushed her behind. "You cover your face."

He held the window and yanked it forward. An ear-piercing screech ripped through the air, and the window finally opened. Dust rained from above, spreading across the air. Even though Katherine had her face closed, the dust still made her choke. "There's so much dust here."

Joaquin pursed his lips and led her outside.

Only when they were out in the open did Katherine put her hands down and heave a sigh. "Nobody ever came back, I see. Look at this place. It's practically covered in dust. Honestly, Grandpa had foresight." She glanced at the little house on the left. "I take it that the ancestral hall is there?"

Joaquin looked at where she was looking and nodded. "Yes. There's a plaque there."

They went to the house and noticed that the door was open, then they frowned. Katherine's face fell, and she said coolly, "I think we've oversimplified things a little. Somebody did come here, but they went straight to the hall."

Surprised, Joaquin frowned. "Who? And why did they come straight to the ancestral hall?"

Katherine shook her head, her eyes filled with thoughts. "Not sure. But they could find this place easily, so they must know the family well. Perhaps they used to be friends too," she mocked, a smirk curling her lips. She then went inside. The ancestral hall was like those of other houses. There was empty ground in the first half of the hall, and the second half of the hall was taken up by the ancestors' tablets. It looked deserted, for it had been too long since anyone came.

Joaquin strolled around and whispered, "Someone was here not too long ago. The footprints aren't even covered up yet."

Katherine looked where he was pointing, but she said nothing. Instead, she followed the footprints around. "They left without finding anything," she said after a while.

Surprised, Joaquin asked, "How do you know?"

She pointed her chin at the footprints. "These footprints look patterned, not focused. The guest probably walked around and left without finding anything."

Joaquin cocked his eyebrow. "Where do you think your grandpa would hide the stuff?"

Katherine mused for a moment and muttered, "He hid it here, so it won't be easy to find, and the fact the guests found nothing proves it. It must be well hidden. Perhaps there's a hidden compartment somewhere. Reminded of something, she chuckled. "Man, the old guys really love being mysterious. The Scott-Tuttons' ancestral home has a secret chamber too."

Joaquin nodded. "Every rich family has that, including mine. I've never gone into it, though."

Katherine blinked, but she said nothing. Instead, she turned around to look at the hall, wondering where a secret chamber or compartment would be.

Joaquin went into a search as well, but they found nothing.

"Odd. We checked everywhere. Every inch of the ground, but there's no compartment."

Katherine bit her lips, a deep frown hanging on her forehead. Did Grandpa leave me a fake trail? Maybe he knew someone might take the box from Regal Summit Bank, so he left me a fake? No, I can't think that. That'd open up a big can of worms.

He went all the way to keep this information in Regal Summit Bank, and Grandma never spoke about it, so it must be real. Which means it's here, but where is it hidden? She looked around the hall sharply, and something struck her, then she looked up. "Since it's not on or under the ground, that leaves us with one place…"