Sophie and Colby circled the old ancestral hall twice, only to find it empty, devoid of any useful information, let alone anything of value.


    "Don''t waste your energy. If there were anything valuable, it probably would have been taken by your uncle a long time ago."


    In the end, Colby ced the memorial que back in its original spot. They had even inspected the memorial que, short of turning the entire ce upside down, but found nothing. "Could it be... the so-called secret hidden within the family is a hoax?"


    Sophie fell silent. If there truly was a treasure within the Devonport estate, many would have sought it relentlessly after all these years.


    "The treasure isn''t a hoax. Our ancestors just hid it well." Colby looked at the array of ques and said, "Let''s head back for today. We have the key, so we cane back anytime we wish." "Colby, I feel uneasy."


    Sophie looked troubled, and Colby held her in his arms, his voice low andforting. "Don''t overthink it. I''m here for you and won''t let you get hurt."


    Sophie leaned into Colby''s embrace, her gaze falling onto the crimson column behind him, sparking a thought, "Colby, do you think there might be something beneath the column?"


    Colby released Sophie and turned to look at the crimson column.


    Sophie continued, "I remember the Russell family ancestral hall. It has always been here, untouched for centuries. No one has ever renovated it. If there''s nothing above, beneath, or behind the walls, could it be... something is hidden under this column?"


    They had searched everywhere else in the ancestral hall, but no one had thought to look under the column.


    Colby approached the column, crouched down, and inspected its base. The century-old structure had never been renovated, yet its foundation remained solid.


    Colby tapped the ground and said, "It''s hollow underneath."


    Sophie also crouched down, adding, "If it''s hollow, then there must be something inside. I''ll call someone over."


    "Wait." Colby stopped Sophie as she reached for her phone, frowning, "The fewer people know about this, the better. Let me handle it."


    "You? Are you sure?"


    "What? Don''t you trust your man?"


    "It''s not that I don''t trust you..."


    Before Sophie could finish, Colby had already rolled up his sleeves and gently touched her head, saying, "Sweetheart, leave the heavy lifting to me." Sophie raised an eyebrow. "Alright then, I''ll go get some tools for you."


    "Thank you," Colby said affectionately.


    Sophie turned and went back to the Russell family''s main house to gather some tools she found that could be of use. Then, she returned to the ancestral hall and ced a box of tools in front of Colby "Will these do?"


    Colby nced at the hammer, tweezers, and some rusted shovels in the box. "Do you usually use these?"


    "I guess so. I saw them in the attic."


    Sophie vaguely remembered seeing these tools when ying hide and seek in the attic as a child. Sure enough, they were there when she looked.


    Colby inspected the tools casually. "Not bad, these should work."


    When he looked up and noticed a folding chair in the box, he asked with a smile, "Excuse me, what''s the purpose of this chair?"


    "I thought might get tired of


    waiting, so I got a chair for myself With a smile, Sophie took the folding chai out of the box, cing it beside Colby. "Please, do your best, Colby." Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    Colby pinched her cheek affectionately. "Alright, I''ll try not to keep my wife waiting too long."


    Colby tapped the tile beneath the column, and in the next moment, it cracked open. With a light chuckle, he said, "It seems this ce really hasn''t been renovated in a century."


    "Hm?"


    Sophie leaned in to see the easily shattered tile. After a moment of thought, she mentioned, "That tile must''ve been worth something."


    "I''llpensate you," Colby said while he continued to uncover the soil bricks next to the column, revealing a sealed mahogany box, antique and seemingly centuries old. "This mahogany box is exquisitely made. It must be expensive."


    "It''s existed for a century, so it''s practically an artifact."


    Sophie stared at the delicate lock on the mahogany box and was puzzled. "I doubt even Uncle Perry would have the key for this."


    Sophie had never seen her father use such a small key, implying he was likely unaware of the box hidden beneath the column, and judging by the dust on the box, it hadn''t been unearthed in a long time.


    "Let me handle this."


    Colby took the box, inspected the lock briefly, and then pulled a piece of wire from the ne around his neck.