Mansion Mystery

Forgiven

Buzz...buzz

Kaili put down her comb and examined her buzzing phone just as her feline friend jumped onto the counter to greet her. 'Shady guess what, it's from JiHu', she spoke to the furry creature who bumped its head against her silver serpent bracelet

'Hey Kaili, I know you didn't expect a message from me but...I just want to say thank you again for everything. Kyung-Il and I have decided to take a small vacation to Korea to get away from all of this for a little while 😊'

She smiled and scrolled down

'As for the house, I think I'll turn it into an Air bnb, I can't imagine living there and might as well put that big place to good use. I hope we can go for dinner together when I return from my trip, Ms Liya is invited as well. All the best 💕'

She sighed and turned off her phone, placing it down to rub the warm white spot just below Shady's chin, 'You know girl, today is an important day', she shared, 'Your old owner, Chen Fang?, well I think he's finally coming back..for good'

'Meow?'

She nodded, 'I know it's soon, I know we should've been harder on him to make him remember how he just left us'

Pausing, she looked the engraved initials on her case as her eyes lifted, 'But he's been through alot, just like us. I think..we should cut him just a bit of slack'

'Meow'

The furry face knocked into her hands harder, 'Okay okay', Kaili realized, picking her up and setting her onto the wooden ground, 'I'll get you breakfast, geez I get it'

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'Welcome back Mr Zha', Liya giggled as she raised her glass of beer, 'Can I call you that now?'

'Don't tempt me', he threatened with a hint of sweetness in his tone

A flush overcame her as she laughed off his attempt causing Dongmin to slap his back, 'You know you don't need to come back if you don't want to', he taunted, sipping his own ginger coloured beer, 'We'll do fine'

'I know you guys will', he played along, 'But...'

He looked at them, their eyes zoning on him full of life and warmth, 'I need you guys', he confessed, slightly raising his own glass

'Aww Chen Fang finally admits it', Kaili snorted before clinking her glass against his, 'But honestly he ain't wrong, we're pretty great'

'Yea yea', he chuckled as his voice shifted, 'In all seriousness though, I want to tell you all why I left'

They stopped smiling, putting their glasses back down in confusion, 'Didn't you leave because you needed to grieve alone?', Dongmin questioned, 'That's what we all thought anyway'

'Well, that was partially the reason'

Liya scooted close to him, 'So..what's the other reason?'

He pulled out his wallet, a photo of Liya and himself staring directly at them catching her off guard, 'Oh my', Kaili commented, nudging her friend

Unfazed, he wedged his fingers behind the photo and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, 'This was sent to my hotel room at the time'

Unfolding it revealed a single sentence. 'Ren's death was too good to be true, wasn't it?'

Kaili's eyes flared open as Liya clutched her mouth in shock, 'What the hell?', Dongmin began, rereading it just to ensure he wasn't dreaming, 'I'm sorry who sent this?'

'I don't know', he confessed, 'But I spent the next few months trying to find the sender'

'And?'

'I've had no luck', he sighed, 'I've tried asking the hotel but they said it was anonymous'

They looked at each other before Liya smiled, 'I think, we'll start solving it..tomorrow'

'But-'

'No more buts Mr Zha', she interrupted, 'We did good on our first case back together, we deserve to celebrate'

He glanced at Dongmin who silently nodded in agreement, 'Besides, there's always tomorrow'

Looking over at Kaili who also smiled, he slowly raised his glass, 'Glad to be back', he toasted, 'And trust me, I'm not leaving anytime soon'

The End