Lucian, who was often composed, was surprisingly anxious as he hit the accelerator. He didn’t want to wait any longer to discover if his mother-in-law’s heirloom was hidden in the photo frame.
A grim expression was set on Roxanne’s countenance. Her heart was racing. Winnie cares so much about the object Mom left behind that she’s still searching for it after failing for more than a decade. Whatever it is, it must be important. Perhaps it’s evidence that she killed Mom. I really want to know how she inflicted a slow-acting poison on Mom because they didn’t interact with each other directly back then!
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Jarvis residence. It was morning, but Bill was still searching around with the bodyguards. They knocked on the walls, trying to locate a hidden storage space.
When he saw the couple rushing in, he asked, “Did something happen?” Lucian shook his head, zipped through the living room, and entered his mother-in-law’s room. Seeing that the wedding photo was still affixed on the wall, he became more at ease.
The picture was hung relatively high, so Roxanne grabbed a chair for Lucian to stand on before he carefully lowered the picture frame. This is heavy! The mahogany frame must be expensive.
Confusion swirled in Bill’s eyes as he watched the couple. A few seconds later, he understood something. “I examined the picture before but didn’t notice how unusual the frame was.” As a famous, experienced cop, he could swiftly realize what he had missed.
Lucian nodded. Like last time, he quickly removed the heavy mahogany frame columns. Then he brushed his hand along the columns. and grinned. The difference in weight is subtle, but I can still tell one side is lighter than the others.
He proceeded to lay three other frame columns. aside and inspected the one in his hand scrupulously. No one could notice anything odd about it. because its peculiarity couldn’t be spotted with the naked eye.
However, Lucian used another method to detect it. He knocked on the column from top to bottom while listening to the sound it produced attentively.
Knock, knock. Knock, knock….
For the most part, the produced sound was dull and quiet. Near the end of the column, that sound became crisper. Promptly, Lucian and Roxanne exchanged a look of delight.
Bill was visibly elated. “You two found it! That section of the column has clearly been hollowed out. Wait for me. Don’t break it open with brute force. I’ll go grab some tools before we figure out how to saw it open.”
Lucian nodded in agreement because whatever was hidden within might be damaged if the column was shattered haphazardly. Moments later, Bill returned to the room with a tiny saw and meticulously cut the column.
By the end, the sawn-off section revealed a tiny, concealed tube, which had almost been damaged during the process. The tube was lodged inside that hollow section of the column. Its ingenious design prevented it from making any sounds.
“There should be a piece of paper hiding inside. Maybe all the answers are written there.” Looking at the tube, Lucian slowly removed it from the column.
When he did, he noticed the tube had a hollowed center. It was then a faint blue light flashed before the trio’s eyes. Bill was fast and caught the ring falling to the ground in time. Then he opened his palm and handed the ring to Roxanne.
Lucian’s attention was also drawn to the ring. As he stared at the blue ring in his wife’s hand, he exclaimed, “This is a priceless sapphire!”
