Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 72: The Trojan Horse

"Did you see him come in?"

The Angora rabbit shook its head. "No, I found him the first time in the closet. How strange."

Nancy found it strange. "Try to think harder, did you see anyone sneak in two days ago?"

The rabbit tugged at its long ears, looking thoughtful. "Um… The maid came by to clean up my poop, feed me, change out my water bowl, groom me…"

Nancy pressed further. "Did anyone else come in with them?"

"No… There are two movers who came by with a huge wooden crate two days ago. No one came back after that."

Nancy’s internal alarm bells went off immediately. She turned to Stella. "The bunny says a massive wooden crate was delivered to your place the day before yesterday. What was in it?"

Stella thought for a moment. "It was a new mobile wardrobe I ordered. The heavy-duty kind that can hold two hundred outfits." She frowned. "But it wasn't assembled right away. My assistant, Avery, called to say the seller had missed some parts, so it couldn't be set up yet."

Officer Lou’s instincts kicked in. "Let's take a look at that crate."

Led by Stella, the three officers entered the walk-in closet. When Nancy saw the room through the screen, she was stunned. She had expected a large closet, but this looked more like a high-end fashion warehouse.

The walls were lined with identical white closet doors, arranged with the precision of falling dominoes. Behind each door lay the latest seasonal designs, their handles gleaming under the lights. Any one of those doors was large enough to hide a grown man.

"No wonder the bunny loves it here," Nancy muttered. "It’s like a giant playground for a rabbit."

Officer Lou spotted the crate the rabbit had described and stepped forward to inspect it.

"This crate is empty," he noted. "There’s no wardrobe in here!"

Stella rushed over. The crate was indeed devoid of furniture; instead, it was littered with instant food wrappers and empty water bottles. Tucked into a corner were tools—hammers and wire—the very things used to sabotage the door lock.

It was blindingly obvious. The stalker had packed himself into the crate with food, water, and tools, allowing the unsuspecting movers to carry him right past security and surveillance.

"How... how is this possible?!" Stella’s face went bone-white, her voice trembling.

Nancy’s brow furrowed. "Someone swapped the contents of the crate? Or were the movers in on it?"

"That can't be right," Stella said, shaking her head. "The movers are the building’s dedicated staff. They have to log their IDs for every delivery. They wouldn't risk their careers for something like this."

Nancy turned back to the Angora rabbit. "Bunny, think back. When the assistant brought the movers in, did anything else happen? Tell me exactly what they did from the moment they walked in until they left the crate in the closet."

The rabbit nodded. "It was around evening that day, and the sun was just about to set. The assistant came in with the movers with the crate. They moved it straight to the closet. I was curious about the crate, so I went to look. The movers opened up the crate and wanted to help install it, but the assistant said no since there were missing parts. The assistant told them to just leave the crate there. They left after that."

Nancy caught the discrepancy immediately. "If they never opened the box to inspect it, how did the assistant know parts were missing? Did the seller tell her?"

"Let me call the shop," Stella said, her hand shaking as she dialed.

When she hung up a few minutes later, her lips were trembling. "How... why would Avery lie to me?"

Officer Lou stepped closer. "What did the shop say?"

"They said my order hasn't even shipped yet," Stella whispered.

"The assistant is definitely involved," Nancy said firmly. "Think about it—this stalker knew exactly when you were coming home. He couldn't have pulled this off without an insider’s help."

Nancy realized that as an assistant, Avery would have spent plenty of time alone in the apartment with the rabbit.

"When your human isn't home, does the assistant come by often? How does she treat you?"

The rabbit’s ears flattened, and it lowered its voice. "That mean woman! Every time she comes over, she pinches my bottom and threatens to turn me into spicy rabbit stew if I tell on her!"

Nancy’s jaw tightened as the rabbit continued.

"She doesn't come here to work. I saw her stuffing my human’s necklaces into her own bag!"

Stella’s collection of accessories was so vast it looked like a wholesale jewelry shop; she likely wouldn't notice a few missing pieces.

"And the worst part? She puts on my human’s dresses and twirls in front of the mirror, telling her phone, 'All of this belongs to me.' Yesterday... she even spat in my human's face cream! I could smell the stench from across the room!"

Nancy relayed these details to Stella, her face grim. Stella turned pale and immediately swept the cosmetics off her vanity and into the trash.

"Why don't you have cameras in here?" Nancy asked, worried. "At least it would be safer."

Stella gave a hollow laugh and shook her head. "Online security cameras are too easy to hack. If I installed them, I’d probably find footage of myself getting dressed being livestreamed on the internet the next day."