Chapter 7

This photo contains nothing but pornographic material.

Naked bodies are intertwined, and the woman in the picture is captured clearly.

She looks almost exactly like Natsume Rina.

Rina snatched the photo from Kurosawa Shiran's hand and carefully examined both sides.

The air suddenly became very quiet, with only the sound of pattering rain outside the window.

"...That was terrifying." Kurosawa Shiran collapsed weakly onto the sofa, looking somewhat dejected.

However, with nowhere to put their two long legs, they could only awkwardly stretch them out in the gap between the sofa and the coffee table.

The room decorations in the photos are arranged at the same angle, confirming that it is the one from the sister's room that was burned.

Rina tried to calm herself down, then turned back to look at him thoughtfully. "Have you seen this man before?"

"The photos are all blurred out; you can only vaguely make out that it's a thin man, and a heavy smoker." Kurosawa Shiran stroked his chin, glancing at the photo indifferently, as if lost in thought.

He thought to himself: If he had seen him, he would probably be long gone by now.

Rina looked him up and down, a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

Kurosawa Shiran's eyelids twitched heavily. Understanding what she meant, she immediately sat up straight. "Sister, this person isn't as tall as me. You can't doubt me."

Rina gave him a deep look, stood up and saw him off, "Go back to your chicken coop."

"..." Kurosawa Shiran's lips twitched uncontrollably, and she said pitifully, "Sister, someone is threatening you."

After a moment of silence, Rina crossed her arms and impatiently pointed to the door.

Kurosawa Shiran stared at her hand for a while, then stood up tactfully, not forgetting to tempt her before leaving, "Goodnight, sister."

After everyone left, Rina burned the photos and went to the bathroom for a quick shower.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier.

Ah Min stood at the corner of the stairs with his head down, hesitating for a long time. When he saw Kurosawa Shiran casually walking down the stairs, he became even more flustered.

“Hoshino-kun…”

Kurosawa Shiran nodded, looked around, stopped and stood in front of her, and said gently, "What are you doing here, Amin?"

“I, I want, I want to see Madam,” Amin said, his face flushed, not daring to look up at him. “I have something to tell her.”

Kurosawa Shiran smiled and said, "Amin, Madam is already resting. Would you like to go up and disturb her?"

"Ah!" Ah Min exclaimed as if he had been hit on the head with a stick. He gesticulated wildly as he straightened his clothes. "I... but I really have something very important to tell you, Madam."

Kurosawa Shiran licked his lips and smiled slightly, "Can Amin tell me?"

Amin blinked hard, seemingly regaining some composure. "Hoshino-kun, were you with Madam just now?"

Asking one more question patiently paid off. Kurosawa Shiran, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, looked down at her and said cheerfully, "Yes."

“Um, Hoshino-kun, I believe in Hoshino-kun’s character. Those rumors are just too much,” Amin took a deep breath and tried to organize his thoughts. “I came to see you, Madam, to talk about Yuriko. Junichi told me a lot of stories about vengeful spirits killing people, but I know they’re all fake. Actually, Yuriko is a very nice person, and she has a good relationship with Mr. Takase.”

“I see,” Kurosawa Shiran narrowed his eyes. “Then is it certain that Yuriko committed suicide by hanging?”

Amin nodded.

Kurosawa Shiran lifted her foot and left, saying, "Thank you."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was very pleasant to listen to.

Amin noticed the bloodstains on Hoshino-kun's faded white shirt and couldn't help but worry: "Hoshino-kun, are you hurt?"

Kurosawa Shiran looked at the torrential rain outside without turning to look at her, and simply said nonchalantly, "It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about."

“Hoshino-kun,” Amin took a few steps forward and handed the umbrella to Kurosawa Shiran with both hands, “We are still a distance from the ranch. It’s raining heavily outside, so here you can have this umbrella.”

Kurosawa Shiran looked annoyed as she turned around and saw Shiran following her blankly. Her expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and she exuded a strong sense of oppression.

The other person remained silent, and Ah Min finally mustered the courage to raise his head.

Just then, Rina came downstairs wrapped in a bathrobe, her belt tied tightly around her waist, highlighting her slender figure.

Hearing the noise, Kurosawa Shiran looked up and instantly demonstrated what it means to change one's attitude like turning the pages of a book, "Sister."

Amin didn't see Kurosawa Shiran's dark face, but felt a kind of panic, as if his confession had been seen. "Madam!"

"Why haven't you left yet?" Rina walked to the tea room on the first floor and glanced at the two of them.

Ah Min thought they were talking to her, so he hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Sister, Madam, I need to talk to you about something..."

Kurosawa Shiran's "sister" was so sweet that it kept playing in her mind, causing her to call her by the wrong name.

Rina pushed open the sliding door and walked into the kitchen. The two followed behind her, watching her rummage through several cabinets and then look at the refrigerator, and they understood what she meant.

Kurosawa Shiran walked up to her and said ingratiatingly, "Are you hungry, sister? I can cook."

Hoshino-kun is injured, how can we let him do the cooking?

Thinking of this, Amin stepped forward without hesitation, "I, I can do it too. I often help the head chef, Madam. Hoshino-kun isn't feeling well, so let me do it."

Kurosawa Shiran narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Rina opened the refrigerator, looked at the lettuce inside and the meat in the freezer, her expression was somewhat indescribable, and finally took a bottle of cocktail from the safe.

He walked up to Kurosawa Shiran and said, "You do it."

When he got to Amin's side, he said, "Come here."

Amin's mind was in a mess. He paused for a moment, then slowly blinked. "Madam?"

As she pulled the tab, Rina's hand got wet, and she instinctively shook it off. "Didn't you have something to say?"

Amin nodded obediently, pursed his lips, and glanced back at the person.

Kurosawa Shiranui unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt, revealing glimpses of his well-defined pectoral muscles, exuding an indescribable sexiness.

Just like everyone's comments, he has a broad and upright frame, but a narrow waist and long, straight legs. He is the type who looks slim in clothes but has a muscular build when undressed.

He opened the refrigerator and asked, "What would you like to eat, sister?"

Rina's eyelids twitched slightly as she looked him over from head to toe, the last glimmer of light in her eyes fading away. "He has no dietary restrictions; he eats everything."

The last time she asked that question was by her sister.

Amin followed behind her, and Lina came to her senses and gestured for her to sit down.

"Madam, I'd better go and help." The girl felt really guilty and secretly glanced at him several times, feeling like her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

"If he's willing, let him be." Rina strolled around the tea room and found a bottle of Scotch whisky in the liquor cabinet.

She glanced at the production date, made sure it was okay, and then poured herself a glass.

Ah Min stammered, "Madam, you didn't drink before."

"Go ahead and say it, I'm listening." Rina held her wine glass, leaning against the window, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the rain outside, lost in thought.

Amin repeated what he had just said to Kurosawa Shiran.

Rina: "Have you talked to the police about these things?"

Amin hesitated for a moment, then said, "No, because they didn't ask those questions."

A strong gust of wind swept through the treetops, a flash of lightning streaked across the window, and raindrops pattered loudly against the roof tiles.

Rain splashed onto Rina, and she subtly took a step back before sitting back down in the tea room. "You mean Takase and Yuriko had feelings for each other before?"

“Yes, since Yuriko moved here, Takase has been in charge of managing the annex,” Amin took a deep breath. “Myoko and I are good friends, and she often complains about Makoto. So a year ago, Myoko couldn’t stand Makoto’s temper anymore and came to the annex in a fit of anger, even taking a 50% pay cut. But it was precisely because of this that her relationship with Mr. Takase developed further. They originally planned to get engaged next summer and then leave the annex together…”

At this point, she began to sob uncontrollably.

Rina: "Who is Yuriko closer to?"

Amin wiped away his tears, hesitated for a moment, and said with a troubled expression, "Besides Mr. Takase, only... only the president..."

It's important to know that Yuriko was a prostitute, and her close relationship with Hideo Kawashima inevitably aroused suspicion.

"Keeping a mistress in a gilded cage?" Not in a hurry to draw a conclusion, Rina looked at her expressionlessly, "Continue."

“Madam asked about this before, but at that time, no one was willing to talk about it. Now that a murder has occurred, everyone is afraid to hide anything in order to catch the murderer,” Amin pondered for a long time, and then seemed to have made up his mind. “When Yuriko first arrived at the villa, the chairman would visit her every time he came back from a business trip, and he also invited many doctors... After Yuriko died, the chairman also had all her belongings burned, leaving only some furniture to be moved to the storeroom.”

Fifteen years have passed, and Hideo Kawashima, a cautious man, has given up all hope for the doctor's lead.

But remembering the clues she found in the storeroom, she checked again, "Yuriko can play the piano?"

"Yes, yes, and it sounds very nice." Amin thought for a moment, "Does Madam know?"

The antique piano in the storeroom was covered in dust, but the dust on it was nowhere near as thick as that on the dressing table.

Someone used that piano.

The storeroom door was secured with a high-security lock, and the windows were boarded up, so the servants wouldn't accidentally enter. Apart from Hoshino, it could only be Takase and the person imprisoned in the secret room.

As for Hideo Kawashima, it was his idea to lock people in the secret room, so he must have known about it.

Rina pulled a few tissues from the table to wipe her hands.

Kurosawa Shiran peeked out from behind the sofa, rested her cheek on her forearm, and said sweetly, "Sister, I've finished cooking."

His bangs covered half of his face, making him look like a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) from an anime, but at the same time, he exuded a captivating and deadly mystery.

He is a very dangerous person.

With that thought in mind, Rina picked up her wine glass and got up to go to the dining table.

The filet mignon on the plate was seared with alternating light and dark stripes, exuding a rich aroma, and was garnished with golden-brown peanut crumbs, making it look very appetizing.

In addition, he also paired the steak with a refreshing salad.

Fully cooked, remove seeds from chili peppers.

Rina glanced back at Amin.

"It's getting late, I... I'll head back now." Amin felt guilty for not being able to help Aoki Miko, so he kept wiping away tears with his sleeve, bowed, and left.

Rina then turned her eyes to look at Kurosawa Shiran.

He looked completely bewildered as the two sat facing each other across the table.

Rina took the knife and fork and cut the steak very elegantly, then her phone vibrated a few times.

Junji Sato: [Junichi Takahashi is out of danger, but will not regain consciousness for some time.]

Rina: [Uh...]

Junji Sato: [Any other discoveries?]

Rina: [Kawajima Hideo's family information.]

Junji Sato: [A high-ranking politician; the police can't access his personal information.]

Rina put down her phone, awkwardly tossed her long hair, and continued eating her late-night snack.

Kurosawa Shiran looked at her quietly, a smile playing on her lips. "Sister, is it delicious?"

"It's alright," Rina said, enjoying her meal. "Have you studied it?"

Kurosawa Tokiaki: "I lived abroad for a period of time."

Rina: "You didn't lose your memory?"

“Fragments of information.” Kurosawa Shiran leaned on the table, tilting her head. “Sister, can you tell me who’s in the secret room?”

Rina's gaze swept over Kurosawa Shiran before calmly returning to her original position. "Kohana is Yuriko. She must have had other identities after being brought to the annex."

Kurosawa Shiran: "Not Kawashima Hideo's lover?"

Rina: "This is just one possibility."

Kurosawa Shiran: "How did you guess that, sister?"

“The cigarette ash, there’s a room on the second floor of the storeroom with a piano and oil paintings, which are her hobbies. They prove that Yuriko once lived there briefly. And the cigarette ash on the dressing table and the smell on Takase when he came out of the secret room are from the same expensive cigarette brand. From my observation, Takase doesn’t like the smell of smoke at all, he even hates it, so it couldn’t be him smoking,” Rina paused slightly and wiped her mouth with a tissue. “Takase is Kawashima Hideo’s butler, and he’s very trusted, so something must have happened here that made Kawashima Hideo lock Yuriko up. And it was for protection, not imprisonment.”

It's simply unrealistic for someone who's been imprisoned to smoke expensive cigarettes.

Kurosawa Shiran nodded. "Then how did you find out about Makoto-san?"

"Why do you have so many strange questions?" Rina looked puzzled and spoke in a cold tone, but when she saw the empty plate, she told him, "She smells of more than a dozen cheap perfumes, and her chest and the back of her neck are red, indicating that she has had massages. Moreover, it is obvious that she has been soaking for too long, as her fingers are wrinkled."

Kurosawa Shiran slowly and deliberately asked, "Why not with friends?"

Lina recalled a less-than-pleasant experience and took a sip of her drink: "I remember this brand of perfume being very popular with male hosts."

“It seems you know a lot about male escorts,” Kurosawa Shiran’s expression underwent a very subtle change, but she managed to force a gentle and polite smile. “Do you often go to places like that, sister?”

Rina: "......"

She paused, turned her face to hide her embarrassment, and said slowly, "To be honest, this villa is eerie everywhere. I advise you to give up any wicked ideas."

Kurosawa Shiran didn't deny it, but instead leaned forward, "Sister, are you saying the accomplice hasn't been caught yet?"

This is more than just a matter of being an accomplice. Rina opened her phone screen, opened an email, and handed the phone to Kurosawa Shiran. "Junichi Takahashi's personal information."

Kurosawa Shiran leaned close to the screen and looked at it for a long time, swiping her finger across the screen a few times. “Takahashi Junichi, female, 20 years old, a student repeating a year of high school, graduated from XX Women’s College, majoring in accounting, her mother is a full-time housewife, her father is a private driver, her brother is a chef at a restaurant, her family income is below average, her salary is handed over to her every month, and her parents have a tendency to favor sons over daughters.”

Rina: "What did you see?"

Kurosawa Shiran didn't answer immediately, and thought for a long time before saying, "Hmm... it's just ordinary, I can't tell anything special about it."

“Everyone has criminal thoughts, but their moral bottom line and conscience do not allow them to do so. If an ordinary girl wants to kill a living person, she must first break through her own psychological defenses. Secondly, even if she makes up her mind to make the decision, it is difficult to do it when she grips the knife. She may even suffer backlash during the planning process, be tormented, and ruin herself. The chance of killing her with one blow is very small unless she has received professional training.” Rina took back her phone and went upstairs without looking back. “Not everyone has the courage of you and carries so many military knives with you.”

"Is that so?" Kurosawa Shiran looked up at her back, his icy blue pupils bright.

He thought to himself, "What's the deal with that guy with the gun...?"

Rina returned to her room, brushed her teeth, and then lay down on the tatami mat and drifted off to sleep.

Before dawn, she seemed to wake up groggily.

The sounds coming from inside the room became increasingly clear.

It sounded like chewing coming from inside the sandalwood floorboards, or like some living thing walking, making a "tap-tap" sound.

Gradually, the sound grew closer.

It seemed to have penetrated every part of the body with the most cruel malice.

Her emotions began to waver, and she felt a pang of fear, deeply trapped in a kind of perverse terror.

Unfortunately, his body was completely immobilized because his wrists and ankles were chained to the bed.

An invisible hand wrapped around his neck, thin and bony, but it tightened more and more until he could no longer breathe.

Rina suddenly opened her eyes.

All I could see was a face without eyes, just inches away.

"Please offer your soul to the devil for invading the king's most sacred territory."

The sound was hollow and ethereal, yet even when accompanied by heart-wrenching screams, it was still clearly audible.

The brain calmed down due to fear.

She stopped struggling and quietly waited for the lifeless lake to completely engulf her.

The next morning, the sky was overcast.

The window was blown open again, letting in a rush of cool air, and a ray of light shone directly on her face.

Rina sat up and stared quietly at the caller ID on her phone for a full two minutes before picking it up to check.

Hideo Kawashima: [Please dress appropriately for the cocktail party at the estate tonight.]

Junji Sato: [Yokohama Port Store Bombing: Mafia Involved]

Miyako: [Take your medication on time] Attached is a medical record stating that Ms. Natsume Rina was diagnosed with neurasthenia.

Lina ignored the messages, put down her phone, got up and drew the curtains shut, then went back into bed.

Unfortunately, her brain just wouldn't stop.

She sent a message to Sato, asking about the time of death of Hideo Kawashima's first wife.

This annex was once occupied by Hideo Kawashima's first wife, who passed away, for a period of time, and also by his second wife, who has since been diagnosed with mental illness.

The time between the diagnosis of her mental illness and Yuriko's suicide was only two days.

Takase likes Yuriko, but at the same time, he's planning to get engaged to Aoki Myoko...

Junichi Takahashi despised women who lacked chastity and was in poor mental condition, but Takase held a high place in his heart.

What is the connection between these events and her sister's suicide?

Lina felt a chill for no reason.

Immediately afterwards, the phone screen lit up.

Sato sent a message: "[December 4th, 2005, heart attack, what happened?]"

This time was exactly the second month since Yuriko arrived at the annex.

If both of these deaths are related to Yuriko, then what kind of relationship could make Hideo Kawashima keep it a secret for her?

Rina got up and tidied herself up. While changing clothes in the dressing room, she suddenly stopped.

Kanon Natsume has a particular fondness for dresses in simple, elegant colors.

So she searched the entire walk-in closet but couldn't find any casual pants.

Yes, that dress with pockets from yesterday was quite a find.

She turned the walk-in closet upside down.

Rina realized this, slowly raised her head, her fingers pinching the hem of her skirt, her eyes somewhat unfocused.

I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly tears started falling from my hand.

So, is my sister really gone?