Minutes before Neil had entered Lisa’s room, he had been wandering the luxurious halls of the Griffin estate with Maxine, who had offered—more like been assigned—to show him around. She smiled as she pointed out various rooms with rehearsed warmth, but Neil didn’t seem to notice her stiffness. Instead, he walked beside her like an eager, innocent guest, eyes wide with false wonder.“This house is so big,” Neil said, clasping his hands behind his back. “You could hide a whole other family in here and no one would notice.”Maxine gave a tight smile. “We don’t do that here.”Neil chuckled softly, brushing his fingers over the polished banister as they moved up the stairs. “Of course not. Just saying.”Maxine tried her best not to show how thrilled she was about Alicia being part of the family. She was worried it might scare her off. But deep down, she was also restless, wondering what was happening to Tedmond.She hated that she couldn’t be there while they were dealing with him and was

Lisa couldn’t believe what she was hearing. When Max had stepped in earlier, she had been relieved, thinking someone would finally take her side. But instead, he sided with Alicia, leaving her isolated and blaming her for something that wasn’t even her fault.He made it seem like she was the one in the wrong. And she hadn’t done anything—she had only scolded the woman for barging into their room, yet somehow she was now the villain.“What’s your problem?” Max asked.He knew it was wrong to scold Lisa, especially when she hadn’t truly done anything wrong. But she should have understood why he did it.Max clenched his jaw as Lisa glared at him, her chest rising and falling sharply. The weight of what he had just done pressed heavily on him.‘I shouldn’t have spoken to her like that. She’s my wife, and she didn’t do anything except react. But I had to. If Alicia storms out now and refuses to return, months of effort will be wasted. I can fix things with Lisa later. I’ll apologize. But ri

Murmurs rippled softly through the line of servants. Their eyes darted nervously, each person too tense to remain silent but too afraid to speak above a whisper.“They only gather us like this when it’s about that man… Tedmond,” one maid whispered, clutching her apron tightly. “But he hasn’t been here in months. Why now?”An older maid shot her a sharp look. “Shh. Don’t say his name too loud. You remember what they used to do to him when he caused trouble? If they find out someone helped him this time…”The younger maid swallowed hard, memories flashing back to the last “meeting” like this. Tedmond had been dragged into the hall, beaten, humiliated in front of everyone, then locked away again. They had been forced to watch, powerless to intervene.She had pitied him then. And now, hearing he’d escaped, she couldn’t help feeling relieved.‘If I’d known he was trapped here again, I might have tried to help him too.’Nearby, a footman muttered, “If he really escaped, he’s smarter than we

At the same time,Otis stood at the head of the grand hall, arms crossed tightly as the guards returned carrying the hard drive. His gaze locked on them immediately.“Do you have it?” he demanded.The guards exchanged uneasy glances. They had searched every archive, every backup, but one crucial section was missing.“Yes, sir,” one finally replied, holding out the device. “But… there’s a problem. Some of the footage is gone.”Otis’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Gone? Deleted? By who?”Confusion rippled through the others standing nearby.“What are you talking about?” Frank asked sharply.“What does ‘deleted’ mean?” Tina snapped, irritation flashing across her face.She didn’t even want to believe that “delete” meant exactly what it sounded like.Adeline groaned, rubbing her temples. “Great. I thought this nightmare was over. What the hell is happening now?”Gerald stood silently in the corner, his jaw tight, anger simmering.The guards look

Hearing that, Max immediately sprinted toward Lisa, a slight frown on his face. He had clearly asked her to stay in her room—so why was she outside?But Lisa wasn’t afraid at all. She wanted Max to panic, and she was getting exactly the reaction she wanted. From what she had observed so far, something important was happening, and she suspected Alicia wasn’t welcome in the house that day.‘What are you doing here?’ Max whispered sharply. ‘They’re going to pin Tedmond’s disappearance on you.’Lisa’s brows furrowed. She hadn’t expected the suspicion to turn on her so quickly. Yes, she had been the last person to leave that area, but she hadn’t imagined they would suspect her this soon.“What are you doing, Max?” Otis’s voice cut through the tension. “We’re talking about Maxine leaving the guest unattended.”Max stepped forward defensively. “Don’t put all the blame on her. I asked her to come down—”“That’s exactly the problem, Max!” Otis snapped. “You were supposed to keep things under c