Imdiately after their secret eting, Bernard was the first to step out of the reading room.
He carefully walked around the mansion, making sure no one was nearby who could see Cassandra leaving, except for the guards, who were always stationed around.
Once he confird the coast was clear, he returned to the reading room and signaled Cassandra to co out.
Cassandra stepped out with visible discomfort and fear. Her heart raced as she moved, terrified of being seen by Maria or Bernard’s parents. Sha weighed her down so heavily that she kept her head bowed, unable to walk with confidence.
Without delay, Bernard called one of the drivers to take Cassandra ho. She hurried to the car, quickly hopping in and covering her face with her hands to avoid being recognized by anyone.
As the driver started the car and pulled out of the mansion, Bernard stood in the yard, watching with a satisfied smile curling his lips.
’Good. I’ve handled her well. Now let the information start flowing,’ Bernard thought smugly as he turned and walked back into the house.
But as soon as he entered the living room, his heart skipped a beat. There, seated and watching him intently, was Beta Gilbert.
Bernard greeted his father, trying to appear casual, but guilt made it difficult to et his father’s gaze. He was about to walk past and head to his room when Beta Gilbert’s question froze him in his tracks.
"Won’t you tell who she is to you now?" his father asked firmly.
Bernard slowly turned back, eting his father’s sharp eyes. "Who are you talking about, Dad?"
"Don’t insult my intelligence, Bernard. I’m asking about Cassandra. Who is she to you now?"
Bernard quickly moved closer, raising his hand in a silent plea. "Dad, please keep your voice down... Maria is upstairs. She might hear you."
"Then answer my question, quietly or not!" Beta Gilbert snapped, his patience thinning.
"She’s... she’s soone I like. And I need her. I want to use her to get valuable information from Maria. They’ve been childhood friends. Maria trusts her. Cassandra can reach places I can’t."
Beta Gilbert’s face darkened. "And you thought it was wise to bring her here without Maria’s knowledge? That’s reckless, Bernard. What if Maria had seen her?"
"I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t think that far. I just... I was desperate to get Cassandra involved quickly," Bernard admitted, guilt washing over him.
"Of course you were desperate. You were desperate enough to sleep with her too, right? Was that part of your brilliant plan?" Beta Gilbert’s voice dropped, but his disappointnt cut deep.
Bernard’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected anyone—especially his father—to know what happened.
"I... I—" he stamred.
"Just be careful. If you’re going to mix business with pleasure, do it outside this house. Don’t jeopardize everything we’ve worked for all these years," Beta Gilbert warned, standing up and walking out, leaving Bernard alone in his sha.
’That was too close,’ Bernard thought, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers. ’Thank goodness it was only Dad who found out. I’m sure Mom wasn’t ho, and Maria couldn’t have seen us without reacting.’
What Bernard didn’t know was that Laura had overheard everything from the shadows. She had been moving silently around the mansion, listening carefully to their conversations.
The mont she realized Bernard and Cassandra had slept together, disappointnt crushed her heart.
’This isn’t what I expected from Cassandra. I can’t believe she crossed this line. But I must focus on my mission—to protect Maria. Now I know I’ve found another enemy much closer to her than I imagined,’ Laura thought bitterly as she carefully slipped away from the living room and quietly climbed the stairs to Maria’s room.
’I need to see Maria without raising any suspicion. The only way is to listen to every thought surrounding her right now,’ Laura thought as she gently pressed her ear against the door.
She carefully listened, focusing her senses to pick up on Maria’s thoughts and emotions. After a few monts, she confird that Maria’s mind was still intact—she hadn’t been possessed by any dark spirits. Relief flooded Laura’s chest.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard footsteps approaching. She turned quickly and saw Luna Victoria climbing the stairs. There was no ti to hide.
Laura’s eyes darted around frantically until she spotted the main electricity control switch on the wall nearby. Without thinking, she jumped and switched it off, plunging the entire house into darkness.
Luna Victoria gasped in panic, the sudden blackout leaving her disoriented. "What’s going on? Why did the lights go out?" she called out, her voice trembling.
The guards rushed to check the cause, and soon Beta Gilbert and Bernard appeared, both alard by the power failure.
"Mason! Secure the building imdiately and send extra guards upstairs!" Bernard barked his orders as he scanned the house with growing suspicion.
Mason quickly assembled his n, positioning them around key entry points while he and two others moved upstairs, shining bright flashlights as they went.
The first place they checked was the power control box. To their surprise, they found the switch had been manually turned off. They quickly flipped it back on, and the house lit up again.
"This is strange... can a switch like that just turn off by itself?" Beta Gilbert asked, clearly unsettled.
Bernard narrowed his eyes, his instincts telling him sothing wasn’t right. "Mason, co with . The rest of you, stay here with my parents."
Grabbing a gun tucked behind his belt, Bernard stord downstairs with Mason, searching every corner of the house. They checked windows, doors, and even hidden entrances—nothing was out of place. No signs of forced entry.
Bernard’s frustration boiled over. "That switch didn’t flip itself off. Soone was in this house. And all of you missed it!" he roared at Mason and the guards.
"I’m deeply sorry, sir. We’ll double the security from now on. It won’t happen again," Mason pleaded, his head bowed.
"This isn’t just about security," Bernard snapped. "It’s about what this intruder was after. What information could have been stolen while we were unaware? You’ve all failed !"
Fuming, Bernard stord away, still clutching his gun tightly.
When he returned to the living room, Beta Gilbert and Luna Victoria sat anxiously, waiting for an update.
"Did you find anything?" Luna Victoria asked, her voice shaky.
"Nothing. Whoever ca in here was a professional. They left no trace," Bernard replied bitterly, waving the guards away. "You’re all useless. How could soone sneak in under your watch?"
"Calm down, son," Beta Gilbert tried to soothe him. "We’ve never experienced this before. Maybe it’s a warning for us to improve our security."
"I know, Dad. But this is a crucial ti. We can’t afford mistakes like this," Bernard said, still seething.
Suddenly, they realized Maria hadn’t co out of her room during the entire commotion.
"Where’s Maria?" Luna Victoria asked, her gaze drifting towards the staircase.
A mont later, Maria appeared, slowly descending the stairs with a sleepy, puzzled expression.
"What were you doing in your room all this ti?" Bernard asked, suspicion lacing his tone.
"What else would I be doing? I’ve been sleeping since I took my dication. The noise from the living room woke ," Maria replied, frowning at the way Bernard was scrutinizing her.
"Why are you staring at like that? What’s going on here?" she asked as she took her seat, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"It’s nothing serious," Beta Gilbert quickly answered. "The power went out. We found that the main switch was turned off. We thought soone might have broken in, but nothing was found."
Maria’s face tightened in shock as she processed his words. A deep furrow ford on her forehead as she tried to recall sothing.
"What is it, Maria? Did you see anything?" Luna Victoria asked, imdiately noticing her thoughtful expression.
"Not really... but I rember hearing footsteps, like soone running. I thought it was part of a dream, so I didn’t pay attention," Maria said softly, still unsure.
"Don’t worry. There’s no need to stress yourself. We’ll increase security, and this won’t happen again," Beta Gilbert reassured her with a calm smile.
But Bernard wasn’t as easily convinced. ’I just hope Maria isn’t involved in this,’ he thought grimly, still watching her with suspicion.
Deep down, Maria’s mind wandered, silently wondering if the footsteps she heard were a dream, or if they were sothing more...
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