Ice and Fire novel Chapter 573

Derek drove as fast as he could, the speed at which he was going made it look like he was in a Fast and Furious movie. As soon as he reached the military residential compound, he got out of the car and stormed into the Chu Family house with an ominous looking yellow folder.

He went straight to the hall, and saw Jackson sitting on the couch, waiting for him wistfully.

Derek had some important news to share. "Jackson, I have found some clues," Derek said to Jackson eagerly.

Jackson was deep in thought, and he did not seem excited by the prospect of new information. 'Will Derek find the same information as what I discovered on grandpa's bedside table?'

Derek handed the folder to him, waiting to see his reaction.

Having taken the folder, Jackson opened it, took out the papers inside and began reading them with care. He didn't want to miss out on any details.

"I never expected her to be that person," Derek opened his mouth. When he had learnt that Lily had a sordid past, he had been taken by great surprise. He couldn't understand why a maid working for Jackson had such an intimate relationship with Andrew. He realized that Lily had just been masquerading as a common servant.

"Lily decided to work in my house with her own intentions," Jackson responded. 'I selected two servants for my house but made a grave mistake by not investigating their past. But look what has come to light now, ' he thought to himself.

"According to the information we have, she probably planned all of this so that she could be hired by you and work in your house," Derek assumed.

"Don't you think Andrew planted her in our house?" Jackson asked. 'Lily wouldn't be able to conceal her identity successfully in my house all on her own. No matter how rich or powerful she is, it would be impossible for anyone to not make any mistakes that reveals their true identity. Therefore, she must have had an accomplice. Besides, the paper shows that she was in touch with grandpa before he passed away. Perhaps grandpa arranged her to work for me, ' he pondered.

"I don't know," Derek said with an air of uncertainty. "Jackson, we can't figure out the real relationship between Lily and Andrew. But this investigation suggests that it was Andrew's arrangement. But we can't find any proof to confirm this. Do you think that you can completely believe Lily's words?" Derek continued.

Derek's words left Jackson in contemplation. 'I'm willing to believe Lily. But I can't entirely trust her, especially when she hid such a big secret from us.'

"Jackson, do you think that Lily has something to do with the token?" Derek asked, noticing that Jackson kept silent. He had no clue what sort of a role the servant was playing in this whole business.

Jackson shook his head, looking bewildered. Now he was at a loss. "I don't know. But I found a paper in a corner of grandpa's bedside table. There are two words on it: Xu and Wu," he said.

"Xu?" Derek repeated to himself, confused. "Does it refer to Mond?" he asked, his eyes glinting.

"I think so. Except Mond, I can't think of anyone else," Jackson replied. 'After all, Mond is my father's child. Even though grandpa sent him away after giving him a big sum of money, he must have cared about him, ' he assumed.

"Do you think that 'Wu' refers to your maid?" Derek stammered in disbelief.

"I have no idea. There are so many people whose family name is Xu. It is a very common surname," Jackson answered, shaking his head. 'If they followed the trail of the name, it would lead to a dead end. Andrew knew lots of people whose last name is Xu. It's uncertain whether 'Xu' refers to Lily. But according to Derek's investigation results, Andrew had been in frequent touch with Lily, which means that Lily is much likely to be that person, ' he ruminated.

"Jackson, do you think that Lily has another motive to approach you? Is she a good person?" Derek bombarded Jackson with questions. He intended to figure out the mystery of the maid. Derek wasn't sure whether Lily was a good person. Before the investigation, he had thought that Lily was an amiable and sensible woman for he had never found fault with her behavior of work. She was a hard-working, caring maid. Now that she wasn't who she had claimed to be, it was hard to decide whether she was good or bad.

All of a sudden, a thought cropped in his mind.

Jackson rose immediately, took his phone and car key and said to Derek,"Okay, let's go home."

Derek knew which home he referred to. Noticing that Jackson strode towards the door, Derek followed him immediately.

Jackson drove at a dangerous speed on his way to his villa. Firstly, he was impatient to meet Lily to find out her real identity and the whereabouts of the token. Secondly, he was worried about Cherry's safety. After all, he had no clue whether Lily was evil or not. Given that, he was afraid that she might hurt Cherry. But meanwhile, he was convinced that Lily wasn't a bad woman and she would never lay a hand on his family if she had been sent by Andrew.

Derek followed Jackson's car. He drove almost as fast as Jackson did. Looking at the speed at which he was driving, he was worried about Jackson. 'I hope Lily didn't work in Jackson's house for evil reasons. Otherwise, he might not be able to handle it, ' he thought with a scowl.

They arrived at the villa soon. The minute Jackson got out of the car, he dashed inside and Derek followed behind at his heels.

Jackson walked into the living room and looked around. However, he found that the house was surprisingly empty. 'The first floor looks recently cleaned. Where is Lily though?' he wondered.

"Lily?" Jackson called out hesitantly. He waited for a while, but received no response.

As his heat beat faster than he could handle, Jason ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. He had to check on Cherry.

He entered their bedroom in a hurry and found no one inside. Noticing that Cherry wasn't lying on the bed, he immediately opened the bathroom door. To his disappointment and worry, Cherry wasn't inside.