The Apple Never Falls Far From The Tree

III

Chapter three: Humble Home

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"Please come on in."

A young girl welcomed us at around 10 am inside the mansion. I stepped in and Eddie followed. Oh my Lord! This place is huge.

It felt like I had entered a time machine into the past because this place was decorated like it was the Victorian Era. There were antiques everywhere, vases were lined against the walls and filled with fresh flowers. There was a huge chandelier hanging from a pastel-colored ceiling. There was a huge staircase decorated with marble from the bottom to the top, that turned into two stairs at the top. Two cupid statues stood on either side of the stairs; a velvet carpet was on the ground making it all the way to the top of the staircase, the wall was colored beige with occasional sunflowers that were on it.

"I am the maid of Darlington manor my name is Valerie; I will try to do anything to make u feel at home. If you need me please call me, I shall be at your service."

My attention went back to the person who let us in, to begin with. She had dark hair and dark eyes. She was a small woman wearing an apron with her name 'Valerie' on it. She had a Russian accent when she spoke.

"Thank you, Valerie," Eddie said.

Valerie smiled and disappeared into the mansion.

"Hello welcome to our humble home." a voice echoed. I looked up to see a man on top of the stairs. As he made his way down, you could tell what he was wearing and what he looked like. He wore his light brown hair parted to a side, along with a black suit and light blue shirt but no tie. He was Asian and shared a lot of similarities with Dalton Ito so this is with no doubt-

"I'm William, William Ito," he said shaking hands with Eddie.

"I'm Eddie and this is Lyla."

I smiled weakly and gave a little wave. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

William nodded. "Father lived a happy life. He was beloved by all. I don't see how anyone could do this to him. Every day he would say 'Son, a day without a smile is a day gone to waste' Father will be missed." William's eyes gleamed a little like he was about to cry, but didn't. He sighed and took a deep breath.
"Let's go to the living room. I will try to be helpful and tell you everything I know to help you with the investigation."

We followed him into another room much smaller than the other one but richer! There were a bunch of sofas and chairs all made of the color velvet surrounding a coffee table.

Maybe velvet is a rich people color. Paintings stood tall on the walls, all showing rich Japanese men. All of them had the same pose, seated on a huge chair, looking serious and each one of them wearing what looked like their finest suit.

"My ancestors," William explained. "I come from a very long line of successful and wealthy men. Every father teaches his son the true value of money so one day he never starves."

"What if he had no son?" I asked, curious.

"He had to have a son." William said like they could control mother nature.

Eddie and I took a seat on one of the couches and William sat in front of us. I took out my phone from the pockets and opened notes. This is how I take notes, on a phone. It's the 21st century, don't judge.

"So William, how many people were at the house at the time of the murder?" Eddie started off.

"There's my father, me, my sister, her husband, the maid, gardener, secretary, and the guard outside. There are five or six girls that work in the kitchen with Valerie but they weren't here two days ago and they always leave before it gets dark." William explained.