Chapter 306 - Crime Scene

Avaleigh slowly enjoyed the food on the table in front of her. Every single dish was just as delicious as the last and she didn't want to stop, but she knew she had to control herself. She still had a concert tomorrow and she couldn't overindulge. As she scooped one last mouthful of tofu pudding into her mouth, she glanced at the man beside her and noticed he had fallen asleep.

He was still in a seated position, but his eyes were closed and he looked peaceful.

Avaleigh felt her heart hurt a little when she saw this. That was right, he had been working non-stop since this morning. At least she got a little break between her rehearsals and her performance. Emerson hadn't even stopped to take a breath. He even had to worry about her and prepare food for her.

Avaleigh glanced at her watch. It was midnight.

She gently waved one of the maids over and said, "Can I borrow a phone to call a taxi and a bit of money to pay for it? I don't want to trouble the President to drive me back." She had left her phone and her wallet at the hotel.

The maid glanced at her Young Master and nodded her head. Emerson had prepared an entire dinner for this woman, so obviously, a bit of money for a taxi wasn't an issue. She would ask him back for it tomorrow. She then handed the phone to Avaleigh and called a few male helpers over, "The Young Master fell asleep again. Can you guys carry him to his room?"

Avaleigh watched as three men lifted Emerson up meticulously, like they had done it many times before, and carried him upstairs.

"Does he fall asleep like this all the time?" Avaleigh asked.

The maid nodded her head. Ever since his mother, uncle, and auntie were all thrown into prison, Emerson had lost three authoritative figures in the casino and was left with triple the amount of work. He needed to desperately hire more people, but it was hard to find people he could trust, especially in the corrupt casino industry, so he was often overworked and tired by the time he got home. But, of course, the maid did not explain all this and Avaleigh had no idea. There were a lot of things about Emerson that she didn't know.

Avaleigh glanced upstairs and caught one last look of Emerson's handsome face as he was carried down a corridor towards his room. He had done so much for her that she wished there was something she could do for him in return, but all she could do at that moment was not disturb his sleep and find her own way back to the hotel.

Soon, a taxi arrived outside the huge mansion and Avaleigh got inside. By now, all the owners of the household were asleep and only the workers were awake, so the maid saw her out. Before the taxi drove away, the maid approached and handed Avaleigh an envelope of money so she could pay for the ride home. Avaleigh accepted the money thankfully and said, "Tell your Young Master to rest properly. I will make sure I eat all my meals tomorrow, he doesn't have to come check on me in the morning or the afternoon. But, I hope he can finish work on time tomorrow and let me treat him to a thank you dinner after work."

In other words, she was telling him to sleep in, finish work on time, and not to worry about her and the concert.

The maid nodded and waved politely, "Don't worry, I will make sure to pass on your message."

With that, the taxi began driving away.

It took roughly 45 minutes to drive back to the AsiaWorld-Expo from The Peak so Avaleigh took this time to enjoy the night view of Hong Kong. It had been a long time since she returned to this city, but she still had many nostalgic memories of the place.

The driver glanced at the weird woman sitting in the back of his taxi. She had walked out of one of the richest mansions in The Peak, but she was dressed in a hotel cleaner's uniform and she had a mask on her face. The maid even handed her an envelope of money as she left. He couldn't help but wonder who she was. Did she work a double shift at the mansion and the hotel? Or did the rich owners of the mansion have some kind of weird fetish and hire someone in costume?

Even though he couldn't see her face properly, her nails were manicured with pastel colors and gems, she had piercings all over her ear, she appeared young, and her hair was curled and dyed. She looked nothing like a typical cleaner. His latter guess definitely seemed more feasible.

But, he did not ask any questions. He had worked the night shift for many years and often met weird people at this time of night. In fact, it was one of the things that kept his job interesting. So, he simply smirked at his own over-imaginative mind and kept driving. If he wasn't a taxi driver, he could perhaps become a writer someday.

Soon, the taxi pulled up outside the hotel that Avaleigh was staying in and Avaleigh quickly paid the driver with the money in her envelope. There was more than enough so she told the driver to keep the rest as a tip. After all, she understood how hard it was to work at night. The driver accepted the money thankfully and left.

After that, Avaleigh carefully returned to her room. She wasn't sure if any paparazzi were still around and if they had noticed that she had left her room, so she kept her disguise and returned to her room as a cleaner. As she stepped out of the elevator, she took a quick glance to both sides of her. The corridors seemed empty. There was no one around.

She checked her watch again. It was almost 1am. The paparazzi must have gone home by now, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

But, just as she approached her room door, she noticed the room next to hers was slightly open.

The room next door was Mimi's. Did she accidentally leave her door open?

Avaleigh furrowed her brows and approached her group member's room. "Mimi, are you there?" she called out quietly. It was 1am so she didn't want to disturb the neighbors.

There was no answer.

Avaleigh gently pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Mimi, you left your door open. Do you want me to close it for you?"

The lights were on, so Avaleigh assumed Mimi was awake and in the room.

But, there was still no response.

Avaleigh looked around. The living room and kitchen were empty so she headed for the bedroom.

"Mimi..."

Avaleigh gently pushed open the door and noticed a body lying face down on the bed. It was Mimi. Was she so tired from the concert that she had dropped asleep in this weird position? But, why didn't she respond? Avaleigh's gut told her something wasn't right.

"Mimi..." she called again.

The body on the bed remained still.

Avaleigh approached and gently nudged her group member. That was when she noticed something red seeping out from underneath the woman.

Was she seeing things?

Avaleigh felt her body go numb and her breathing stop. 

Her voice trembled as she called the woman again, "Mimi..."

Still, there was no response.

Gathering her courage, she flipped the woman over.

But...

...she almost fainted at the scene before her.

The red stuff seeping out from under the woman...was blood...and it was all over her lifeless body...

Avaleigh's knees fell weak and she dropped on the floor. Staring at her hands in shock, she let out a blood-curdling scream.

Mimi had been murdered...and she was sitting in the middle of a crime scene with the woman's blood all over hands...