A Replacement Bride

Chapter 386

Chapter 385 Matryoshka?

"Miss Levisay, Mr. Cornell, this way, please," Mr. Smith invited respectfully, pointing at a row of drawers.

Katherine nodded and exchanged a glance with Joaquin before they traversed past several drawers and finally stopped in front of one particular drawer. In this row, the drawers were extremely large, as if they were filled with items.

"Miss Levisay, this is your grandfather's safe where he kept his belongings, and this is the key," Smith said as he handed a small and exquisitely crafted key to Katherine.

She accepted the key and turned it over in her palm, commenting, "I don't recall seeing a key with this design on the market."

Smith chuckled. "That's right. Your grandfather designed this key himself. Back when he stored his things here, his only wish was to forge the safe and the key as well as its lock according to his instructions, and this is the only one we have in the bank."

At his words, a spark appeared in Katherine's eyes as she had an idea of what Darren had been planning. He probably expected someone to secretly sneak into this place early on. Although Regal Summit Bank's security system was second to none in the country, nothing could be certain, and Darren did this to ensure an extra layer of protection.

Hence, even if someone had come all the way to this place from the outside world, it would still be a fairly difficult feat to open the lock that was one of its kind in the entire world, and they wouldn't be able to take the safe with them nor have the spare time to investigate the lock either.

"Mr. Smith, thank you so much for helping my grandfather take care of this key for so many years."

The fact that Darren had handed such an important key to Mr. Smith showed that he trusted him, and there was a trace of respect in Katherine's gaze as she turned to him once more.

Mr. Smith shook his hands. "You're being too courteous, Miss Levisay. As a matter of fact, it was my father who was on good terms with your grandfather, and it's my honor to obtain your grandfather's trust."

At the sight of him talking about Darren with so much reverence, Katherine lifted her eyebrows and remained silent. However, her curiosity was piqued.

If Darren did everything possible to store his belongings here and even went out of his way to design a lock like this, it meant that the contents of the safe were of great importance. Moreover, Mr. Smith's attitude toward Darren made her feel that whatever was inside was something that held a great amount of influence.

"Miss Levisay, Mr. Cornell, I'll give you some privacy now. You can open this safe freely, and if you plan on taking the contents away, just come to my office to let me know after you leave."

It wasn't appropriate for him to remain with them when it came to withdrawing personal belongings, so he tactfully took his leave, leaving only Katherine and Joaquin in the vast room.

The two exchanged a glance, and Joaquin raised an eyebrow as he said gently, "Ready to open the safe?"

Katherine didn't seem nervous and curled the corners of her lips into a jaunty smile. "What is there to get ready for? Didn't we come all the way to take what's inside the safe?"

Upon saying that, she clenched the key in her hand and quickly opened the primary latch of the safe without any hesitation.

"As expected of a lock that was personally designed by my grandfather. Even if we have the key, it still isn't easy to open."

She failed to open it the first time, but after she turned the key twice, the lock opened with a loud clack. Then, she keyed in the password that she had obtained from Jennifer's belongings, and the second latch was finally unlocked. A wooden box lay inside the safe, identical to the one that had belonged to Jennifer.

Katherine looked at it firmly for a few beats before she removed it from the safe. As it had remained unopened for a long time, there was a thick layer of dust shrouding the wooden box.

After wiping it down with a tissue, she raised her gaze to look at Joaquin. "Let's go. Come out with me and wait for me in the hall. I'm going to the washroom."

Joaquin was a little taken aback by her answer. "What are you planning? Aren't you going to open it here?"

Katherine shook her head, her eyes twinkling as she said with a confident expression, "It won't be as interesting if we open it here. The fun is still yet to come."

"Fun?" Joaquin repeated in confusion. "What fun?"

However, he quickly returned to his senses and asked, "Does that mean that Jayden's men are already here?"

Katherine narrowed her eyes, a trace of mocking appearing in her smile. "I'm not that sure either, but there's a good chance. He's an extremely despicable and shameless person, and he definitely won't let us go after we tricked him before leaving Fontan. Since he's so set on my grandmother's belongings, he'll definitely send someone after us."

Joaquin finally came to a realization. "Are you planning to put on a show for them?"

Katherine nodded and urged, "Let's go out. If we stay here any longer, they might not take the bait anymore.

The two quickly walked out, and as soon as they stepped out of the entrance, the heavy metal doors slowly closed from both sides as if sensing their departure and locked themselves close with a clack. This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

Following Katherine's instructions, Joaquin went to wait in the hall while she headed straight to the bathroom with the box in her hands.

As she sat in a locked stall and looked at the exquisite wooden box on her legs, she took a deep breath and slowly opened it. To her surprise, there was nothing out of the ordinary inside except for a single piece of paper. Feeling a little taken aback, she took the paper out and looked at it carefully, only to realize that there was nothing else but two words written on it—ancestral shrine.

Katherine was rendered speechless. Could this be a matryoshka? They'd followed a clue to yet another clue where they found a new clue, and after running around in circles, they finally came to this clue that pointed to the ancestral shrine.

The said ancestral shrine must be the Olsen Family's shrine. As their family was located in Kyoland, the shrine must be as well. Although she had never heard of it, it wouldn't be difficult to find it. As for what exactly was hidden in the shrine, she had to find out.

With a sigh, Katherine closed the box. Just as she was about to stand up and leave, as if recalling something, she hurriedly took a seat again. Then, she opened the box and tore the piece of paper into pieces before opening the cover of the toilet seat and tossing it in, flushing it away.

After repeating this a few more times, she pulled out a bottle of liquid that she had prepared with a pair of twinkling eyes and placed it into the wooden box. This liquid was not just any other liquid, but a special reagent that she had developed in secret. She rarely used it except for special circumstances, and the current situation just so happened to be one.

Once she was finished, she exited the bathroom and went to the hall to look for Joaquin. The two then headed to Mr. Smith's office to complete the withdrawal paperwork before leaving the bank. Before they walked out, Katherine held the wooden box to herself and chatted with Joaquin calmly, but she deliberately lowered her voice.