Devoted Love:The Billionaire's Precious Wife
Chapter 428

Chapter 428: Chapter 428

"What kind of people were they?"

"It was in the dead of night, so I couldn’t see clearly, but there seemed to be about seven or eight people in the yard. After that night, Professor Earwood didn’t open his door for four or five days. When I finally saw him, I asked him what was going on, and he said he was visited by relatives. Who has that many relatives visiting in the middle of the night? In the rain, they were all wandering around the yard. It was strange."

Rosemary continued her inquiry, "Could it be that Professor Earwood made some enemies?"

"Unlikely. He and his wife are kind people, and they never leave this small town. They get along well with everyone. I think it might have something to do with Carol. Shortly after this incident, they both resigned and went to find her."

A hint of sadness filled Rosemary’s eyes. "I wonder when I will see Carol again."

"Well, it’s hard to say. If they had any news, Professor Earwood would have brought her back by now. But there has been no word from them. I wonder how the search abroad is going."

"Thank you, ma’am," Rosemary expressed her gratitude. "It seems I will have to wait until next time to return the book to Carol."

"You’re a good kid, coming all this way to return a book." The woman glanced at Rosemary’s backpack, no doubt filled with Carol’s books.

After exchanging a few polite words with the woman, Rosemary slipped around to the back of house number 111. Seeing no one around, she hopped over the wall and entered the yard.

The yard was full of fallen leaves and wilted plants, indicating that no one had lived there for a while. Rosemary pulled out a Luminol spray from her backpack and sprayed it on the ground. After a while, some areas began to glow.

Luminol could detect traces of blood diluted up to 12,000 times. Even if it was cleaned up thoroughly, as long as there was Luminol, the blood traces could be detected.

The scattered traces of blood were few, indicating that either the injured person wasn’t seriously hurt or this wasn’t the primary crime scene.

The yard was surrounded by side rooms. All the doors were locked, but upon closer inspection, Rosemary noticed that the locks had been tampered with. She took a fingerprint flashlight from her bag and shone it on the lock. There were no fingerprints.

Logically, if Professor Earwood had locked the door before leaving, there would be fingerprints. But the lock was clean, which meant two possibilities:

1. Someone had been here after Mr. and Mrs. Earwood locked the door and left.

2. The person who locked the door wasn’t Mr. and Mrs. Earwood, but someone else who was cautious enough not to leave their identity behind.

Rosemary donned a mask, a baseball cap, and gloves, then pushed the door open. The living room was neat and tidy, with a layer of dust indicating a lack of recent habitation.

She then took out a pair of glasses she had developed a while ago. After putting them on, she quickly spotted a small red dot on a wall socket. The red dot was the light emitted by a camera, indicating that someone had installed a surveillance camera there.

She quickly moved, observing other areas, and eventually found a total of six cameras in the living room. Clearly, this was not the work of Mr. and Mrs. Earwood. The cameras were all hidden in discreet locations, like multiple pairs of eyes spying on everything in the house.

Rosemary dismounted the cameras. Her phone vibrated at that moment—it was a call from Romeo.

"What’s up?" Rosemary hung up the call and texted him.

Romeo’s voice conveyed a hint of longing. "I’m at Reflections Villa. Edith said you left early. Where did you go?"

"Handling some stuff," Rosemary replied. "I’ll tell you later."

"Okay, let me know when you’re free. I’ll come find you."

"Sure."

Rosemary put away her phone and took out a detector, discovering several bugging devices installed in the room. These spying devices, all of the latest models released just a few months ago, hinted that Carol’s disappearance was far from simple.

After searching the living room, Rosemary sprayed Luminol again. Now, the floor was spotted with numerous blood residues. This must have been the initial crime scene.

The question remained: Whose blood was it?

Rosemary then ascended the staircase, making her way to Carol’s room. Just like the living room, it was neat and tidy, with a warm, inviting aura. She sprayed the Luminol, but no blood residues were found. The room was too clean, as if all the valuable clues had been wiped away.

After a thorough search, Rosemary found an old bottle labeled ’Vitamin C’, now empty. She brought it to her nose for a sniff and realized it didn’t smell like Vitamin C at all. There was a powdery residue at the bottom, and upon closer inspection, it seemed to contain traces of Aetherbloom—a potent poison with a distinct smell.

Unable to identify the other ingredients, she carefully collected the powder in a small transparent bag from her purse, intending to take it back for testing.

The night before, Clark had mentioned that he and Carol had been dating for a year. Yet, in Carol’s room, there was no sign of Clark’s existence. It was as if he had never been a part of her world.

After another fruitless search, Rosemary decided to leave the house for a while. She climbed over the wall, grabbed some food, and sent her subordinates to Lidaria to track down leads. By nightfall, she was back, climbing over the wall once more.

She had dismantled all the cameras and spy devices in the house during the day and was sure that someone would come to check on them. The only question was: Who would it be?

Just then, her phone buzzed—a call from Clark. After dismissing the call, she texted him:

[What’s up, Clark?]

[Edith said you left early this morning, and I called Romeo—he hasn’t seen you all day either. Where are you?]

[I’m working on something. I’ll be back soon.]

[Are you investigating Carol’s disappearance? Any new findings?] Clark quickly caught on.

Instead of answering, Rosemary asked:

[Clark, have you ever been to Stardust Lane?]

[Of course. More than once.] Clark responded earnestly. He had attempted to find Carol there before, but perhaps because he was a stranger, people weren’t very forthcoming with information.

[I even went to Carol’s house a few times. Her parents always claimed they didn’t know where she was.]

Clark didn’t buy it. [Maybe Carol found someone else, and her parents didn’t want me pestering her, so they lied to me.]

[Didn’t they mention anything else?]

[No. What have you found?] At Rosemary’s question, Clark wondered.

[I’ll tell you later.]

Rosemary had just sent the message when she felt the presence of people in the yard—more than one. A smirk danced on her lips. The fish had taken the bait.

Under the moonlight, several figures quickly entered the living room from the yard. Their swift movements were nothing short of astonishing.