Austin and Alexander fell silent before the latter asked, "Who first realized Rhea was missing?"

"I was," Austin pointed to himself. "But I only peeked through the window; I didn't have the key. Who else could open the door besides you?"

Alexander didn't answer, but they exchanged a knowing look.

"It can't be Mike!" Austin shook his head after a moment's thought. "He hates Rhea as much as I do. I don't believe he opened the door for her, let alone helped her escape."

Alexander said, "I agree, but we must think logically. As you said, she couldn't have simply vanished. Even if she could become invisible, she'd still need to open the door. That means there's only one possibility: someone else must have opened the door for her."

After pondering, Austin said, "Did she only run away when we opened the door?" He shivered, thinking, Did Rhea become invisible and escape when we inspected the seemingly empty house? She could have murdered us!

"That's unlikely," Alexander said readily. "Even if we couldn't see her, we could sense her presence. I was the one who opened the door. I felt nothing when I entered—not even the slightest warmth. I'm sure she wasn't in the house then." As someone trained in combat, he could sense people's presence; even without sight, he could detect a heartbeat and breathing, as long as they were alive. There was nothing that day. In other words, Rhea had already left before he opened the door. Whether she became invisible, he couldn't be sure.

"That means someone helped her," Austin clicked his tongue. "To think Rhea could gain a helper while locked up! I wonder how she managed that."

"Me too," Alexander said. "Still, her escape isn't good."

Austin was less worried. "Hasn't Secretary Rollins increased surveillance across the city? I'm sure she can't avoid us forever." He believed everyone needed interaction; if Rhea needed food and accommodation, they would find her. Finding her with cameras in every street and alley should be easier.

"What if she went to the embassy?" Alexander said. He'd considered this possibility but hadn't voiced it. Since they'd had a conflict there last time, re-accessing the embassy would be difficult. Fred knew what they wanted, and they knew he was the antagonist, but they couldn't act due to Fred's position.

"If she has," Austin added, "things will be tricky. We already had difficulty rescuing Lily, and Rhea at the embassy would only worsen things."

Austin anxiously asked, realizing what Rhea might do, "Shit, if that's the case, would Rhea try to harm Lily?"