Chapter 74 Investigating the Truth (1)
Cecilia took a cab back to the Whitaker family's mansion.
With the entire family at the hospital with Emily, the mansion's servants had a rare moment of downtime. They congregated in the kitchen, their whispers quickly turning into a fervent discussion centered around the upheaval caused by Pamela's mysterious death.
"Emily is in poor health, and yet Cecilia still treats her this way! You all know that Emily has always been pampered by Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker, but today, after Cecilia arrived, Emily even tried to please her. I can't believe Cecilia didn't appreciate it and still did such things to Emily. I really feel it's unfair for her!" lamented one of the maids, indignation coloring her words.
"Yes, I saw Emily being so cautious in trying to please Cecilia. I can't believe Cecilia was so cruel to Pamela. She knows how important Pamela is to Emily, yet she still did it. She's too much!" added another, shaking her head in sorrow.
"Exactly! If I could, I would expose Cecilia's crimes to the world and let everyone know what she has done." another chimed in fervently, her eyes flashing with anger.
"Stop." cautioned one servant, tugging on her companion's sleeve.
"Why are you stopping me? I haven't finished..." The speaker’s words halted abruptly as her eyes landed on Cecilia, who had entered the kitchen unnoticed. Fear washed over her, and she quickly looked down, her bravado vanishing.
The room fell silent, the servants frozen in their places. They awaited Cecilia's reaction with bated breath, each one imagining their potential fates.
Cecilia cast a cold, sweeping glance over them. Her icy demeanor was enough to quiet their tongues. She walked past them without saying another word, a tacit reminder of her presence and authority.
From Cecilia's current position, it wasn't the right moment to chastise them. Given the circumstances, any harsh reprimand might be misconstrued as her trying to assert dominance in the absence of the Whitaker family. Besides, she had bigger concerns at hand. Emily seemed to be capable of anything.
As she walked past the household staff, she stopped and addressed one of them, "Come with me to my room. I need some help packing."
The servant's eyes brimmed with tears as she responded, "Yes, ma'am."
She was the very one who had been most vocally critical of Cecilia moments earlier.
Cecilia led the trembling servant back to her room. The young woman’s voice quivered as she asked, "What do you need me to pack?"
"Actually, I just need you to answer a few questions. Be honest, okay?"
The servant nodded, her fear palpable. "Okay."
"What's your name?" Cecilia asked.
"Ruth Gonzalez; everyone calls me Ruth."
"And how old are you, Ruth?"
"I'm 28."
"How long have you been working for the Whitaker family?"
"I started when I was 18, right after I dropped out of high school. It's been ten years now," Ruth said, her eyes filling with tears again. "Please, don't fire me."
"Calm down," Cecilia reassured her, "I never said I was going to fire you."
Ruth sniffled, nodding obediently.
"In this house, who is Emily closest to?" Cecilia got straight to the point.
Having served the Whitaker family for so long, Ruth was a wellspring of information. "Ms. Emily Whitaker is very close to Mrs. Arabella Whitaker. She leans on her a lot, and Mrs. Arabella dotes on her in return."
"What about the others?"
"The others?" Ruth pondered before replying, "They all keep a pretty equal distance."
"Is Emily close to Alaric?" Cecilia queried, her eyes narrowing.
Ruth hesitated, unsure how to respond.
"Just answer truthfully." Cecilia insisted, her tone authoritative and slightly menacing.
Ruth quickly relented. "The young master doesn't come back here often, so she doesn't interact with him much. But I've heard her personal maid, Anna Young, say that Emily gets very happy whenever she hears he is coming back, and she even dresses up nicely."
Cecilia pondered this, then asked, "What about Pamela? How close is Emily to her?"
"Very close," Ruth nodded vigorously. "No matter where she goes, Pamela is always with her. Honestly, that's why I spoke out of turn earlier. Emily adores Pamela."
"You mentioned earlier that Pamela isn't close to anyone else?" Cecilia’s voice was casual, masking her deeper curiosity.
"Pamela doesn't really bond with any of us," Ruth confirmed. "Sometimes we try to play with her, but she just runs away. No one except Emily can really control her."
"In that case, is Emily the one who takes care of Pamela?" Cecilia inquired.
"No, of course not. She's too... delicate for that. It's her maid, Anna, who takes care of Pamela. Pamela listens to Anna. When Pamela isn't with her owner and we want to play with her, it's Anna who brings her over."
A thought crystallized in Cecilia’s mind. "Where is Anna now?"
"Since the incident with Pamela, Anna has locked herself in her room. She must feel very guilty and sad. After all, she's been taking care of Pamela, and now she can't escape responsibility. Plus, she was very close to Pamela, so she must be heartbroken."
"Okay." Cecilia acknowledged, nodding. Casually, she added, "Is there surveillance in the house?"
"Yes. Except for the bedrooms, all the common areas have surveillance," Ruth quickly answered.
"Where is the surveillance room?" Cecilia inquired, her plan forming.
"In the security guard's room at the main gate."
"Alright." Cecilia said, dismissing Ruth with a wave. "You can go now."
"OK." Ruth bowed slightly, respect evident in her demeanor. As she turned to leave, she hesitated. "I..."
"Don't tell anyone about the questions I asked you today. As for the things you said about me, I'll pretend I didn't hear them," Cecilia said.
"Rest assured, I won't say a word." Ruth was perplexed by Cecilia’s caution. To her, the questions seemed ordinary enough. Why would Cecilia care if others knew?Not wanting to risk her position, Ruth left the room quietly.
Cecilia wasted no time. She headed directly downstairs to the security room and instructed the guard to pull all surveillance footage from yesterday afternoon to this morning. Settling in, she began scanning the footage at the highest speed.
The rapid pace left the security guard dizzy. Eventually, he gave up trying to follow along and stood to the side, waiting.
"Alright," Cecilia suddenly said, stopping the playback.
The guard blinked, feeling as if he had seen nothing but a blur of motion. Cecilia thanked him and exited the security room, her suspicions deepening.
As she had feared, the footage revealed no clear answers. Dealing with Emily was proving to be a formidable challenge.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
