Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Mikayla walked to security, only to receive a piece of devastating news.
"Mr. Ludwig seldom comes back. The camera at the entrance was broken before and has never been repaired," a security guard told Mikayla, who came to inquire about the surveillance footage.
Mikayla stepped on the gravel road and mused, 'I've underestimated Natasha! She has been wandering around the Ludwig mansion every day. She probably knows this mansion better than anyone else. How could she make such a silly mistake?' Just then, she ran into Myla, who came out of the mansion. The latter was the housekeeper who took care of Natasha. "Myla!" Mikayla greeted her with a smile.
Myla looked at Mikayla in surprise. After all, the Ludwig mansion was a place of humility, and she must be more disciplined than others after being next to Natasha for so long. Despite her reluctance, she nodded slightly to Mikayla. "Mrs. Ludwig."
"Myla, how long have you been taking care of Natasha?" Mikayla asked.
At Mikayla's unexpected question, Myla's expression softened a little. She answered truthfully, "I've been caring for Natasha since she was a child." "Myla, can you show me that painting? The one that Natasha gave me." Seeing that Myla no longer talked sharply at the mention of Natasha, Mikayla continued, "You've been caring for Natasha since her childhood. You're also the closest person to her. Honestly, it wasn't me who ripped the painting, much less threw it into the pool. I hope you'll tell me what happened and show me Natasha's painting, will you? Surely, you don't want to see her sad, let alone affect her relationship with Carlos."
Mikayla believed that Myla, who had helped Natasha since childhood, must have cared about her more than others. Therefore, she had no choice but to take advantage of Myla's affection for Natasha. As Mikayla expected, the way Myla looked at her changed. The housekeeper told her the whole story.
"After breakfast today, I wheeled Ms. Ludwig around the garden to aid digestion. However, when we were about to return, she suddenly wanted to see the koi fish in the pool. Then, she saw a painting torn in half floating in the pool. She loves painting the most, so she broke down in tears. Later, we asked someone to retrieve it. It was the painting she gifted you and Mr. Ludwig," Myla explained.
Mikayla quickly processed the information from Myla and asked, "Where's that pool?"
Myla pointed to the pool not far away. "It's over there."
Mikayla glanced at their current location. It was in the middle where the entrance and the mansion were connected, and there was still a long distance from the pool. She asked again, "Does Natasha usually like to watch koi fish?"
Myla glanced at Mikayla suspiciously and averted her gaze. "Yes."
Myla's reaction did not escape Mikayla's sharp eyes. However, she pretended not to see it. "Myla, can I have a look at that painting?"
"Yes! I'll take you there. It was soaked, so I tried to dry it in the morning and placed it in my room." Myla led Mikayla to her room. Myla's room was placed across from Natasha's for convenience.
When passing by Natasha's room, Mikayla looked at the closed room and couldn't hear any sound inside. Without pondering, she followed Myla into her room. Everything was neatly sorted out. Mikayla glanced at the supplies inside and thought, 'She's treated nicely for a housekeeper. The Ludwig family treats their housekeepers well. That's why they rejected me so much after the incident.'
Myla handed Mikayla the collected scroll from the table. It was apparent that Myla was an attentive person.
Opening the scroll, Mikayla looked at
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the torn painting. After being soaked in water, some lines were blurry. After piecing everything together, t wasn't difficult to see that it was a painting of her and Carlos standing on the stage looking at each other affectionately when they got married.
"Ms. Ludwig drew this while watching the live stream on her computer!" Myla said.
"Natasha is very talented in painting." Mikayla had to admit that when one door closed for Natasha, another opened for her at the same time. Although Natasha had congenital heart disease and became disabled, she was incredibly good at painting, as well as acting.
"Yes! Ms. Ludwig began to learn painting when she was four. She also loved dancing at that time, but unfortunately..." Myla began to reminisce.
Mikayla had no time to listen to Myla
talk about the past. Rolling up the painting, she said goodbye to Myla and left the somber room. Then, Mikayla returned to her room. With her memory, she found paper and pen in the room. She began to draw the incident's location, the pool, and her room. 'Natasha is disabled, so she can't possibly do it herself. She likely asked another person in the mansion to help her. Except for Myla, who's the closest to her? Who else could it be? If Natasha is smart enough to exploit the broken surveillance camera outside Carlos' room, she will choose a path to the pool without being seen. There has to be a surveillance camera at the gate and main entrance of the Ludwig mansion. Surely, other places can lead to this pool!' she pondered.
After finding the crucial points for these two days, Mikayla left Carlos' room again. She first walked around the ground floor of the mansion twice. The camera's location was quite obvious. Then, she walked around twice and pinpointed a
housekeeper's room. Mikaylael
go in directly. Instead, she went to the security guard and took a few 20-dollar bills from her small bag. She introduced herself as "Mrs. Ludwig" and told him secretly that she wanted to know how many paths there were from the mansion to the pool, and whether there was any blind spot for the surveillance camera.
The security guard didn't know what happened in the mansion. After learning Mikayla's identity, he accepted the mary gift and told her the truth.
It was just as Mikayla had guessed. There were two doors in the housekeeper's room. It was said that they were specially prepared for the landscaping expert of the mansion, so it was convenient to enter and exit. Later, this room was vacated when they ran out of rooms for the housekeepers.
The next problem was much easier to solve. Mikayla entered the mansion and asked a housekeeper, "Who lives in the innermost room?"
The housekeeper glanced at Mikayla. Perhaps it was because of what Mikayla had said to them, so she replied angrily, "It's Libby Newman. She resigned today. I guess she's packing now!"
Before Mikayla could take a few steps, she heard murmurs behind her.
"She's here to get even with Libby!"
"Exactly! It turns out that beautiful women are heartless."
"Poor Libby. She has a young brother at home. She finally found a decent job, but was forced to resign."
Mikayla ignored the gossip and mused, 'The truth will eventually come to light. It's pointless to argue with them.' She vaguely heard a woman crying inside when she got close to the room.