Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle-Chapter 152: Still, Untouched

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the tall trees lining one of Montclair’s older residential streets. The neighborhood felt noticeably different from the center of the city. The buildings here were older, set back from the road behind low stone walls and iron gates. Mature trees shaded the sidewalks, their branches stretching over the street in uneven arcs that cast shifting patterns of light across the pavement.

Arianne slowed the car as she turned onto a narrower road that curved gently between the properties.

In the back seat, Lily leaned toward the window, her hands pressed against the glass as she watched the houses pass by. "There are so many trees here," she said.

Leo sat beside her with his tablet against his knees. His fingers moved quickly across the screen before he turned the device toward the front. Old houses.

Franz glanced back, reading the words before giving a small nod. "You’re not wrong, bud."

The car continued another hundred meters before Arianne turned into a long driveway bordered by aging maples. The branches overhead formed a canopy that dimmed the sunlight as the car moved beneath them. Gravel shifted quietly under the tires.

The driveway curved once before opening into a wider clearing. At the end of it stood the house.

The structure was large but understated, built of pale stone that had weathered into a softer color over time. Tall windows stretched across the front façade, their frames painted dark against the lighter walls. A broad porch extended across the entrance, partially shaded by two large oak trees whose branches reached across the roofline.

The house didn’t look abandoned. The windows were clean. The hedges had been trimmed recently. Even the stone path leading to the steps had been swept. But the place carried the unmistakable stillness of somewhere that had not been lived in for many years.

Arianne parked the car near the front gate and turned off the engine. The quiet settled almost immediately. For a moment no one spoke.

Then Lily leaned forward. "Is this it?"

Arianne nodded once. "Yes."

They stepped out of the car together. The air outside felt cooler beneath the shade of the trees. Gio moved ahead and pushed open the iron gate with a soft metallic sound.

Arianne walked toward the front steps without hesitation, the key already in her hand. Franz followed a few steps behind her.

From this distance the details of the house became clearer. The porch railings had been repainted recently. The stone steps had been repaired where the edges had worn down over the years. Someone had taken care of the property. Just not lived in it.

Arianne reached the door and inserted the key. The lock turned easily.

When the door opened, the interior revealed a tall foyer illuminated by wide windows facing the garden. Sunlight spread across the polished wooden floor in long pale rectangles. The air inside carried the faint scent of polished wood and old paper.

Leo stepped through the doorway first and looked around carefully. The house seemed to absorb the sound of their footsteps. He typed quickly and turned the tablet toward Franz. Quiet house.

Franz read the message and nodded. "Yes." His voice remained low. "Very quiet."

They moved farther inside. The living room opened to the left, its tall windows allowing soft light to spill across the floor.

Lily stepped into the room and stopped almost immediately. "There’s a piano."

An upright grand piano stood near the windows, its dark wooden surface reflecting the sunlight. The instrument looked perfectly preserved. The bench sat neatly in front of it, the lid closed.

Franz noticed Arianne glance at it briefly as she passed.

"You played?" he asked.

"Yes." The answer came easily, without hesitation.

Lily climbed onto the bench and pressed one of the keys lightly. A single note rang out, echoing through the quiet house before fading. She looked back toward Arianne. "Did you play a lot?"

Arianne’s gaze remained on the piano for another second before she turned away. "Only for my mother."

Franz watched her expression. "You don’t play anymore."

Arianne shook her head once. "No." There was nothing else to add.

Lily slid off the bench and hurried back toward Leo, already distracted by something else in the room.

The piano remained where it had always been. Still. Untouched.

They continued down the hallway. The corridor stretched deeper into the house, its walls lined with framed photographs and awards carefully preserved behind glass.

Franz slowed as his attention was drawn to a large frame mounted at the center of the wall. It was not a casual photograph. It was a formal portrait.

The painting dominated the hallway. Gabriel Summers stood at the center of the composition, tall and composed in a dark suit. Even in the still image, the man carried a presence that filled the frame. His posture was straight, his expression calm yet confident, suggesting quiet authority.

Franz had spent years working alongside actors and public figures. Very few possessed the kind of natural presence Gabriel Summers carried, even in paint.

Beside him stood Ysabella Conway. Her appearance softened the entire portrait. Where Gabriel’s presence was striking and commanding, Ysabella’s was elegant and gentle. Her features were delicate, her expression warm in a way that balanced the strength of the man beside her.

One hand rested lightly on the shoulder of the young girl standing between them. Arianne.

Franz studied the image for a moment. Even as a child the resemblance was unmistakable. Her posture mirrored Gabriel’s exactly—straight-backed, composed, steady. But her features leaned toward Ysabella. The same delicate structure around the eyes. The same softness in the shape of her face.

Franz noticed something else. The young Arianne in the portrait was smiling. Not the controlled expression she usually carried. A real smile. Open and unguarded.

Arianne did not stop walking. But her pace slowed slightly as she passed the portrait.

Gio’s voice came from farther down the corridor. "The property manager said the documents were usually stored in the study."

Arianne nodded. "It’s at the end of the hall."

They followed her down the corridor. The hallway ended at a closed wooden door.

Arianne reached for the handle. Her hand paused.

The hesitation lasted only a moment. So brief that anyone not paying attention might have missed it entirely.

Leo typed quickly and turned the tablet toward Franz. Investigation room?

Franz glanced at the message before looking back at Arianne. "Something like that, little man."

Arianne opened the door.

The study inside was lined with tall shelves filled with binders and folders, arranged with careful precision years ago. A large wooden desk stood beneath a wide window overlooking the back garden. Dust floated slowly through the sunlight that streamed across the room.

Everything looked exactly as it must have decades ago. Unchanged.

Arianne stepped inside first. Franz remained near the doorway for a moment, watching her cross the room. Her posture remained perfectly composed. Calm. Controlled.

But the meaning of the room was obvious.

This was where she had found her mother.

Arianne stopped beside the desk and opened one of the drawers, beginning her search for the documents as if the memory carried no weight at all.

Behind them, the quiet house seemed to settle again around the sound of their footsteps.