The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 251

Chapter 251

Soon, the firefighters began breaking down the hidden compartment inside the chimney, the sound of their tools ringing out.

Nina and the others instinctively kept their eyes glued to the fireplace below the chimney.

With the gecko leading the way, the work went quickly.

Suddenly, from inside the chimney, the firefighter’s muffled voice rang out: “Holy shit. It’s a woman’s corpse. Urgh-”

There was a flurry of movement and the sound of fabric scraping as the firefighter, secured by a rope around his waist, struggled to haul the shrouded body down.

He immediately rushed off to the side and puked.

It was not like he had a weak stomach or anything.

The space inside the chimney was so cramped that the second he busted it open, he was suddenly face-to- face with the corpse.

Everyone would lose it in that situation.

Still retching, the firefighter forced himself to give his report, “The body was hanging right there in the cramped space inside the chimney.”

He caught his breath and explained, “Those weird noises at night? Most likely, the night wind blowing down the chimney, squeezing through the cracks, and making the body sway.

“Her shoes kept tapping against the wall, and that’s what made that creepy tap-tap noise.”

Nina shot a sympathetic glance at the firefighter, whose face was as pale as a sheet.

Then her gaze shifted to the body, covered in a white sheet with only a pair of feet sticking out.

They were a pair of classic Mary Jane shoes. They looked familiar.

Nina remembered seeing the maids working in the kitchen wearing the exact same shoes.

The forensics guy rushed over to give the body a quick once-over.

Fiona, worried the old woman might get too freaked out, quickly pulled her inside to rest as soon as the firefighter brought the body down.

When she came back to the hall and saw the corpse’s face, she just stood there, stunned.

Fiona froze when she saw the familiar face; her eyes widened in shock as she clapped a hand over her mouth. “That’s Ada, the maid from the mansion. Didn’t she get fired last month for stealing stuff from the house?

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Chapter 251

“How could she be here?”

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Simon, wearing gloves and crouched beside the body with the forensics guy, looked up at Fiona when he heard her words. “She was fired for stealing? What did she take?”

Fiona thought for a moment. “Danny said Ada stole my grandma’s emerald pendant necklace, and he caught her red-handed.”

Simon crouched down, checking out the body. “All the injuries are on one side, classic signs of a nasty fall from up high.

“Her skull’s crushed and her neck’s snapped, all from one brutal impact. Looks like she died from tumbling down the stairs.”

The forensics guy couldn’t help but ask Fiona, puzzled, “The body’s already mummified. Has the fireplace in the mansion been burning nonstop lately?”

“Yeah,” Fiona nodded quickly. “It’s been getting colder, and my grandma can’t stand the cold, so the fireplace has barely been off.”

The forensics guy broke it down for everyone, “That explains it.

“The body was stashed in the chimney’s hidden compartment, and with the fireplace burning nonstop, that space basically turned into a natural high-temp drying chamber.

“The heat quickly sucked all the moisture out, turning the corpse into something like a mummy.”

He added, “And with the chimney’s great airflow and the strong smell of burning charcoal, any nasty odors from the body were completely covered up.”

Fiona’s face went ghostly pale. “The creepy noises in the mansion started showing up about two weeks ago.

“So Ada’s body was hanging in that hidden compartment behind the chimney wall for nearly two weeks.”

Her voice shook as she stared at the chimney that connected to the fireplace. “W-Who killed Ada?”

Just then, the gecko darted out of the chimney, zipped right up to Nina’s shoe, and held its head high like it owned the place.

“Gecko, did you see everything in there?” Nina crouched down and asked gently.

As a nocturnal creature, the gecko’s night vision is absolutely top-notch.

Most animals are basically colorblind after dark, only able to make out shades of black, white, and gray, but geckos aren’t like that at all.

It was like they had got a high-def night vision camera built right into their eyes, so they could see everything in full color, even when it was pitch black.

The gecko lifted its head with pride. “Saw it all, crystal clear. The spot the firefighters busted open was crazy tight. On the side up against the wall, there’s a hidden little door.”

10:49 Tue, Jan 20 ↑

Chapter 251

It waved its tiny claws. “And on the door, there’s this round, glinting thing, super shiny.”

“A round, shiny thing?” Nina pressed.

The gecko turned its head to look at the keyhole on the mansion’s front door and pointed with its tiny paw. “Just like that.”

Nina’s eyes lit up. “So there’s a hidden door in the compartment, and it’s got a keyhole.”

Nina didn’t waste a second; she got up and went straight to Simon to share her big discovery.

Simon’s sharp eyes swept over the chimney’s structure. “In old mansions like this, the chimney usually has a maintenance passage built in.”

Nina’s eyes flashed with sharp insight. “But when the firefighters were busting things open, Elowen was only worried about the house getting wrecked. She didn’t mention anything about there being a hidden compartment or a secret door in the chimney.”

“Exactly.” Simon nodded slightly, lowering his voice even more. “Fiona had no clue there was a hidden compartment in the chimney. But her grandma wasn’t even fazed by the fact that there was a secret space behind the chimney.”

Nina and Simon shared a look that said it all. “She is the person who’s been here the longest.”

The moment those words left her mouth, both of them turned to stare at the tightly shut door where Elowen was resting.

Nina gently picked up the gecko, speaking in a soft whisper. “Gecko, do you know who put her in that hidden compartment?”

“It was Elowen. And there was a man with her, too.” As soon as the gecko finished talking, it darted out of her hand and scurried up to the huge family portrait hanging on the living room wall.

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