Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 85: Someone Died in the House
Sonia Quincy glanced at Felix Preston for his opinion. He thought for a moment and said, "I’m a bit swamped with work. I’ll probably need another hour."
Fearing Mrs. Preston couldn’t hear, Sonia repeated, "Felix isn’t finished with his work yet. We probably can’t leave the studio for another hour."
"That’s fine." Mrs. Preston’s voice sounded noticeably relieved. "Lawrence is running late, so you’ll have plenty of time to get here after you finish your work."
Sonia nodded. "Alright, we’ll head back as soon as we’re done. Don’t worry, Mom."
Mrs. Preston replied, "Alright, I’ll be waiting for you at home."
After hanging up, Sonia clasped her hands behind her back and turned to walk into the office. "Let’s power through! Once we’re done, we can clock out early!"
Felix pushed up his glasses, his gaze following her back with adoration. "Alright."
"Preston," Evan Yates popped up from his chair and said to Felix Preston with a pathetic look, "Can I head back with you later? My parents are out of town, so I’m all alone at home. I’ve been eating takeout for three or four days straight, and I can’t stand it anymore..."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "So, you want to come with me to mooch a free meal?"
Evan nodded vigorously. "Yup! It’s been almost a month since the last time I came over for a meal. I’m sure Mrs. Preston misses me."
"..." Felix sighed in resignation. "Yes, she misses you. Just remember to buy a bigger bowl on your way over. The ones at home are nowhere near big enough for your appetite."
"Heh heh..." Evan was satisfied. "Thanks, Preston!"
At three in the afternoon, Felix locked up the studio and clocked out at the earliest he ever had, with his wife and best friend in tow.
Two Mercedes, one after the other, drove out of the community’s parking garage. They reached their destination before the evening rush hour.
Coincidentally, just as they reached the entrance to the building, they ran into the agent, Lawrence, and the... massive family of clients he’d brought with him.
It was no exaggeration to call them a massive family. They ranged from little kids still in kindergarten to stooped, elderly people. Sonia did a quick headcount and guessed there were about twelve of them—almost too many to fit in a single elevator.
"Lawrence, what is... this?" Sonia asked, gesturing at the large group of clients, somewhat dumbfounded.
Lawrence explained with an awkward smile, "Miss Quincy, these are the buyers who are here for the viewing."
Felix tightened his grip on Sonia’s hand, subtly angling his body to shield her behind him.
"Who’s the buyer?" he asked, his tone cold.
Lawrence pointed to a young couple in the corner and answered quietly, "They are. They’re buying it for their marital home."
Felix’s face was cold as he frowned. "Then why are so many people here?"
"Sigh..." Lawrence rubbed his forehead, clearly getting a headache. He took a couple of steps closer and whispered, "The money for the house was pooled by the entire family. Once the deed is transferred, they all plan to move in, so... they all came to see it."
"...S-so many people? Living together?!" Sonia was genuinely flabbergasted. "This apartment is certainly large, but for a dozen people... wouldn’t that be a little too crowded?"
Lawrence gave a bitter smile and shrugged, speaking in what was almost a whisper, "And this isn’t even everyone. The couple told me they still have two sisters and an aunt on the way..."
"..." Sonia felt her vision go dark.
Felix said, his face impassive, "How many people they cram in there is their business, and I couldn’t care less. But there’s no way they’re all going in to see the house at once. Too many people means too much can go wrong. We just dealt with our last headache; I’d rather not get a new one so quickly."
"I understand how you feel," Lawrence said. "I already discussed it with them before we came. They have to go in batches for the viewing, three or four people at a time. I promise they won’t all swarm in at once."
"Sonia, what do you think?" Felix didn’t agree right away, asking for Sonia’s opinion first.
Sonia hesitated for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly. "Fine. They’re already here. If we don’t let them see it, they’re bound to cause a scene."
Felix then asked, "Lawrence, did you tell them there are security cameras in the apartment?"
Lawrence replied, "Yes, yes, I told them. They all know."
Sonia tugged on Felix’s hand. "Let’s go, then. Time to show them the apartment."
"Right!" Lawrence let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your understanding, Miss Quincy."
Since Sonia was pregnant, Felix worried she’d get jostled in the crowd. He had Lawrence take the group of clients up in the elevator first, while he, Evan, and Sonia waited for the next one.
DING—
The elevator doors closed, whisking the chattering crowd upward.
"Man, what the hell." Evan put his hands on his hips, finally free to complain out loud.
"That’s just insane! A dozen people show up for a viewing, and then a dozen people plan to live there? That’s more packed than a tenement. I can’t even imagine what they’d do to Mrs. Preston’s apartment if you actually sell it to them."
"Sigh..." Sonia let out a long sigh and shook her head, her expression complicated. "They say it’s a marital home for the young couple, but it turns out the entire clan plans to move in. If they couldn’t afford it, they could have just bought a less expensive place. Why set themselves up for such an unhappy life?"
"If the people involved don’t think about it, what’s the point of us bystanders saying anything?" Felix draped an arm over Sonia’s shoulder, his fingers affectionately pinching her cheek.
"Just let them be. Our only job is to sell the apartment."
Sonia rubbed her cheek against his fingers. "Okay."
There were so many people that Mrs. Preston got a real shock when she opened the door. Unable to handle it on her own, she didn’t let Lawrence bring anyone inside right away. Instead, she waited for Sonia and Felix to arrive before letting them enter in batches.
"Evan, do me a favor," Sonia said suddenly, patting his shoulder.
Evan replied, "Sure. What is it?"
Sonia leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Follow them inside. Use your phone to record the entire viewing, and try to get everyone on camera."
"There are too many of them, which creates a lot of blind spots. The security cameras might not be able to get a clear shot of everything."
Evan didn’t hesitate, immediately pulling out his phone and heading inside.
The first group had four people. Realizing he couldn’t film them all by himself, Evan asked Lawrence to help him record. Lawrence, also worried about something going wrong, agreed immediately.
Though several of them were on guard and had taken precautions, they were ultimately unable to prevent an incident from occurring.
As the third group was viewing the apartment, the elderly man standing in the middle suddenly let out a piercing wail and then, as everyone watched, collapsed to the floor.
