In the sweltering summer of 1995, Zhu Qing graduated top of her class from the Wong Chuk Hang Police School and joined the West Kowloon Regional Crime Unit as a provisional detective. Despite her academic excellence, she faced skepticism from colleagues who viewed her as an aloof, rule-bound rookie known as the "Iceberg Woman." Her first major case was an armed robbery, which she handled with such precision that Sergeant Mo Zhenbang removed her temporary status. Shortly after, she was assigned to a high-profile investigation involving human skeletal remains discovered in the fireplace of a Mid-Levels villa belonging to Sheng Wenchang, a wealthy jewelry tycoon who had recently died in a plane crash along with his wife.
The Sheng family was in the midst of a tense inheritance dispute between their two daughters: the capable but estranged eldest daughter, Sheng Peirong, and the younger, disabled daughter, Sheng Peishan, who was married to the charming Chen Chaosheng. The discovery of the bones, dated approximately ten years old, coincided with rumors of a hidden heir. Zhu Qing encountered Sheng Fang, a three-year-old boy secretly raised in the villa, who bore a striking resemblance to the late patriarch. As the investigation progressed, forensic evidence linked the remains to He Jia'er, a university graduate who had disappeared a decade prior after taking a job at a nightclub to pay off her father's gambling debts. The victim's parents identified the remains through surgical records and a platinum ring found with the bones, which contained a cryptic engraving.
The case deepened when the Sheng family's Maltese dog, Bobo, died suddenly, and Chen Chaosheng's car experienced brake failure, leading Sheng Peishan to believe a killer was still active within the household. Zhu Qing stayed overnight at the villa to monitor the situation, where she observed the complex dynamics between the family members and the staff. Interviews with the original construction contractor revealed that a worker named Li Fa had rushed the fireplace installation, finishing in two days instead of five, suggesting the body had been concealed before the structure was completed. The investigation also uncovered that Sheng Peirong, despite public feuds with her father, had maintained a connection to the villa, while Chen Chaosheng appeared to be consolidating power within the family business.
As DNA confirmation solidified the victim's identity as He Jia'er, the police faced the challenge of connecting her death to the Sheng family. The engraved ring became a crucial clue, though its message remained undeciphered. Zhu Qing's methodical approach and keen observation allowed her to navigate the wealthy family's secrets, uncovering layers of deception involving hidden children, suppressed histories, and potential murder. The narrative follows her efforts to piece together the timeline of the crime, the motives behind the concealment, and the true identity of the killer, all while managing the political pressures from the Sheng family's legal team and the media scrutiny surrounding the "Skeleton House" case.
