Jo noticed that the ledger notepad was gone, so probably after she left, the Butler came in. Perfect! This way, he had a whole night to panic and wonder, who got him.
Two minutes later, a figure stood at the door. The Butler's expression was a new shade of black, vantablack. When he saw who was sitting in his chair with her legs on his desk, he was beyond shocked. How did this woman escaped from the locked cabin, how has she dodged the security guards outside and the surveillance cameras inside?!. He realised that his pity he held for this woman, was a slap on his face, it looked more like he was raising a snake under his roof.
"Good morning Butler! Enter!" the girl commanded. Butler Gu looked sideways and saw the door pulled from its hinges and leaning on the wall. He was puzzled, this girl had a unique way of thinking outside the box. He stepped in casually and sat on the chair opposite.
"I came here, as I wanted to thank you for your hospitality, you are rather kind, but you see... the hut in the garden has another tenant now and is a bit small for my needs so if you don't mind... I would like to move in this lovely house you're having!"
Butler Gu was shocked... what??? Another tenant?Move into the house?! Didn't she wanted to leave? He could've opened the doors for her to escape, was this woman alright in the head?"
Jo knew what he was thinking and replied to his thoughts.
"Do you think I am stupid?! Yes you could let me go! But how far would I get before your master catches me again?! Didn't you say you are only following orders?" Jo asked the man.
Butler Gu was silent, indeed she was not stupid and her ability of thinking in advance was quite unique. He was in awe again with this girl. Although she behaved like a snake, he didn't disliked her. He was rather curious about her and wanted to see what else she was up to, so he decided to play this game of hers.
"What makes you so sure, I will obey your orders?" Replied Butler Gu.
"Haven't you lost something, Butler?" Asked Jo, she didn't like to beat around the bush.
Butler Gu raised his eyebrows, it was her... he breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't know why, but he felt that the letter was safer with her, than it was with him. Although she didn't knew that, so he said.
"I will ask the maids to prepare the master bedroom!"
"No!" Interjected Jo "Get me another room, a guest bedroom will do". Although she was now the master of this house, she didn't want to take his room, for some reason she respected the true owner of the house... besides she still had manners and principles, even though now she was behaving like a bandit.
Butler Gu was surprised... this girl wasn't greedy, a warm feel of appreciation rose in his heart.
"I also want all the staff to obey me, including you! I am your only Master, from now on. Ask security to change the passwords of all the locks and alarms of the estate!" Commanded the girl.
An internal slap Butler's Gu gave himself across his face, he deserved it. He thought too highly of her. Ha! this girl was quite clever, but would she be able to be a match to him.
"I can arrange for that as well!" Said the Butler quietly.
"Another thing..." What now!!! Thought the butler.
"The other tenant in the hut, you should send someone to evict her, before its not to late!" The girl said with a creepy smile and got up from the chair.
She walked out of the office and started exploring the house. Jo took the stairs and entered a wide corridor, two maids who were cleaning nearby followed her with their eyes shyly. They whispered to each other. "So its true? She is our new Mistress?". One maid asked. "It must be! Didn't Sir announced it just now". The other replied.
Jo looked at them casually and entered a guest bedroom. She sat on the bed and realised the quality of the mattress was exquisite, she lifted the sheets to check the supplier, it was Tempur Cloud Luxe. No wonder. She looked around a bit more in the room and then left.
At the end of the corridor, it was another room, Jo opened the door and what she saw inside, it brought tears to her yes. There were gowns and dresses and shoes and bags and perfumes and expensive jewellery. She was shocked, after walking through hell for so long, she had finally opened the gates of heaven.
"Dear gracious God, I thank you deeply for your blessings".
Jo's eyes were sparkling like stars in the night sky, she browsed through the items and eyed a long elegant red dress. She was going to put it on later, she suspected a grander show will follow up her exquisite invasion act and she wanted to look spectacular, fit for her lead actress role.
At the back of the garden Butler Gu, along with two maids entered the hut. As soon as they opened the door, a foul smell emerged from inside, making them sick on the spot. Butler Gu covered his nose and his mouth and pushed the door open. On the bed, a pale Ming Sha was laying peacefully, like she was deep in her sleep. Butler Gu was shocked, once again, this girl had so many secrets. Hadn't this maid resigned the other day? She was an odd one and always seemed to have a hidden motive, he was suspicious about her a long time ago.
Butler Gu sent the other maids away and went to inspect the body. The girl laid peacefully on the bed, with her arms crossed on her chest, holding a dagger. No traces of violence was seen on her body, besides the wide incision on her neck. It was a sudden death, he concluded and called over two security guards to clean up, while he headed towards the control room. He asked the operator to change the passwords as per the new house head's command and pull up the surveillance recordings from two days ago. The man opened the folder and he mentioned casually "Sir, the system updated twice in the last few hours, I haven't seen it update at least once in all these years, have we bought an upgrade package?".
Butler Gu was surprised, he asked "What happens when is being updated?"
The operator replied "The cameras turn off!"
Butler Gu was in awe, this girl was a genius, he ignored the question of the man and opened the recordings. He went back at the time, when Ming Sha left his study, with her termination letter.
Ming Sha headed towards her room that afternoon, two hours later she exited the room, with her luggage in tow and headed outside. By the main gates, a car was waiting for her, a man came out and put her belongings in the boot, then he handed her something long and thin. It looked like a dagger. She then went back inside the house and then into her room. There was no more movements after that. He fast forwarded the recording and the girl didn't came out of the room. He opened another camera view and went back to that night. That camera aimed at the back side of the house, catching in its view her window as well. Hours later, he saw the girl jumping off wearing a rain coat, her head was covered by the hoodie and she disappeared into the garden. Butler Gu, changed the camera view again and saw her at the door of the cabin. He stopped the recording and left.
Jo put on the outfit she selected earlier and was about to head down to the dining area when the door bell rang. He was here. Jo looked at the intercom screen on the first floor and saw two men standing at the door, one seemed panicky and fearfull, while the other... a feeling of anxiety mixed with fear enveloped her, she shivered. A few seconds later the bell rang again. Jo was startled and the unfathomable presence looking at her through the tiny camera seemed to have possessed her, commanding her to answer the call.
Present time.
"Madam Lu, you are quite daring!" Lu Ye Ze warned the girl.
Jo was starring at him with no emotion on the outside, but on the inside an explosion of fireworks was taking place, she had never seen a man as handsome as him. He was gorgeous when close up, his air his mannerism his fragrance... he was perfect, Jo felt instantly love-struck.
Seeing the girl starring at him without saying a word, he then continued.
"Since I am already here, why don't you invite me for dinner? It would only be polite for you to do so!"