Chapter 233

It was only then that I realized, "Oh no, are we too late? We gotta go, like, right now."

"You should've woken me up. How did I sleep so long?"

Royce sighed, got up, and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You were just really tired."

"Don't worry, we'll head out right after you eat something."

"I've already got everything set up."

With his reassurance, I felt a wave of relief and nodded.

"That's good."

The table was set with various breakfast items, probably bought by Royce or prepared by the housekeeper. There was one plate of scrambled eggs that looked pretty unappetizing.

The eggs were a mess, with the edges burnt.

Seeing my gaze linger on the plate, he said, "I made those."

I nodded, having already guessed.

"I was gonna toss them, but the housekeeper said it would be wasteful, so I kept them."

"Why throw them out? I'll eat them."

I grabbed some utensils and ate the scrambled eggs he made.

Honestly, the meal tasted like cardboard to me because my mind was elsewhere, too preoccupied to savor the food.

So whether the eggs were burnt or bitter, I couldn't really tell.

I quickly finished eating, went upstairs to change clothes, and then said to him, "Let's go!"

Royce nodded and led me outside.

Next to the estate was a wild forest park, a luxurious area with plenty of fresh air, clearly a place that cost a fortune.

Inside, there was even a helipad with a small helicopter parked on it.

"I've arranged for us to take this. It'll be much faster."

"But it can only get us to the county where Karen bought her house. From there, it'll be a long drive to the fishing village, so we need to save time where we can."

I nodded, impressed by his meticulous planning.

I could never have arranged all this in such a short time.

We boarded the helicopter and put on our helmets.

Soon, the helicopter landed us on the rooftop of a tall building.

Royce said to me, "This is the county where Karen bought her house. The surrounding area is full of fishing villages, and this county is the closest town to all of them. The locals come here to shop."

I was eager to find out the secret behind the house Karen bought, feeling a bit excited.

We headed to the neighborhood where Karen's house was located. It was considered upscale in the county, with security guards at the entrance and a well-equipped property management office.

When we tried to enter, the guard asked for an access card.

Fortunately, Royce was prepared and handed one over. "We're here to do some repairs for the residents of Unit 501 in Building 2. They said something was broken."

The guard didn't seem suspicious and let us in.

No wonder Royce had specifically told me to dress casually this morning, suggesting I wear pants instead of a skirt.

He had thought of everything!

We arrived at the house, but it was eerily quiet, with no sounds coming from inside.

There wasn't even the faintest hint of a child's cry, making it seem like an uninhabited place.

I started to panic and looked at Royce, unsure of what to do.

He shook his head. "Don't worry, even if the kid's not here, there'll be other clues."

I nodded, watching him enter the code to unlock the door.

I didn't ask how Royce got the code, but I had a feeling he always had a way. It seemed like nothing was unsolvable for him.

The house smelled of dust, as if it hadn't been lived in for a long time.

As we walked in, our footsteps left clear prints on the floor.

It looked like the owner had moved out in a hurry, leaving many things behind.

Or maybe they only took the most useful items.

We found an old phone in the house, a model from several years ago, likely discarded.

I took it, thinking it might hold some secrets.

Before we could examine it, the neighbor suddenly opened their door and looked at us suspiciously.

"Who are you two? This isn't your house, is it?"

Royce smoothly explained, "We're here on behalf of the owner to do some repairs."

The neighbor didn't believe him. "Really? I haven't heard anything about that."

"That woman usually does everything herself. She's pretty stingy."

I caught an important detail: the house owner was a woman.

But being stingy didn't match Karen's behavior.

Since moving up in the world, Karen had become quite the spender, never skimping on anything.

So the stinginess didn't fit Karen's profile, suggesting the owner was someone else.

Royce remained calm. "You can call and check if you want. We're here because she doesn't have time to come herself."

"Alright, wait here. I'll make a call."

The neighbor went back inside to make the call, leaving the door open.

I was anxious and grabbed Royce's arm. "What do we do? If she calls, we'll be exposed!"

Royce shook his head. "Don't worry, I've got this. Worst case, if we're found out, you run first."

His fearless attitude made me even more nervous.

But I couldn't just leave, so I gritted my teeth and waited.

The neighbor returned after making the call. "I just called, and she did say she hired someone to fix the place. She's planning to sell it and wanted to check for any issues."

"Have you found anything broken yet?"

Royce shook his head. "Not yet. Some appliances have been without power for too long. We'll need to turn the power back on and check again in a day or two."

"Alright, hurry up then."

The neighbor went back inside and closed the door.

I let out a sigh of relief and looked at Royce, wanting to ask how he managed all this.

But Royce just gently closed the door and shook his head.

I realized this wasn't a good place to talk, as the neighbor could be eavesdropping.

Royce led me to the elevator, and I finally asked, "What happened? I thought we were going to be exposed."

"We found out about this house and then discovered online that it was looking for repair workers for electrical maintenance."