*********Richmond, Duke's Lake*********

<>

"We are gathered here today to remember our dear mayor..."

The vice mayor—a man old enough to be Mayor Kingfield's father—stood at the foot of the coffin, reading a script solemnly.

"In honour of his services, all work should halt for half a day as the city mourns his passing."

The silence of the crowd was broken when the mayor's brother began to chuckle. All heads turned to him.

"Hehe, merely half a day...," he said. "They say that Duke's Lake's true currencies are blood and tears. But vice mayor, even speaking as the mayor's elder brother and influence, that sounds a little unconscionable."

Mayor Scott Kingfield's elder brother, John, was what the citizens called "eccentric". No one knows what's wrong with him, whether it's a mental illness or dry humour, but it was certainly not the right time for this.

The mayor's wife, Amelia, pushed through the crowd and faced John. Her eyes were red and wild.

"Scott was murdered...," she cried, "But you heartless jerk, always with a convenient excuse to remain in the comfort of the home my husband provided you."

She breathed heavily, and looked as if she was about to faint. She took another look at John. He was smiling. His expression made her fury intensify.

"You couldn't hope to understand, so why don't you keep your mouth shut!" she yelled. "We don't want to make the children cry..."

She broke down in tears right there. Her son Lucas hugged her and stared daggers at John. The rest of the crowd was silent, but were looking at Amelia.

The vice mayor cleared his throat. "Shall we continue?" he asked in a monotone voice. All heads—including the Kingfields—turned back to him.

"Essential services such as groceries and hospitals will continue their work. But schools, recreational facilities, and malls will close until 6:00 P.M. tonight."

<<8:01 A.M.>>

After the ceremony ended, the crowd slowly dispersed. John Kingfield got into his car and drove off to who knows where.

"Excuse me...," Arthur heard someone say as they tapped his shoulder. "Are you Theodore Stonehill?"

He turned around. It was Lucas, the mayor's son. The man's brown eyes were teary.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kingfield, but I'm just Mr. Stonehill's employee."

Lucas nodded disappointingly. "I see. So you're Arthur Callum, the one solving Abigail Hartrand's disappearance?"

"That's right, sir."

"Your boss told me that he'll be investigating my father's murder. He said he'd arrive today, but didn't mention a specific time," Lucas explained.

"Understood, sir. If I run into him, I'll inform you. Is there anyone I can contact?"

Lucas pointed to Arthur's notebook. "May I?"

Arthur handed it over. Lucas wrote something down with a pen, before giving it back. Arthur saw two phone numbers written.

"The first one is my personal number. But in case that I'm busy and you're unable to reach me, you can call Todd Irving."

Arthur's eyes widened and he nearly dropped the notebook.

"W-Woah," Lucas exclaimed, holding out a hand to support Arthur. "Are you alright?"

"I didn't quite catch his name, sir. Who else should I contact?"

"My butler, Todd Irving."

Irving. He had the same last name as the mysterious man whose blood was mixed in with the Woodskiffs. Was it a coincidence?

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Lucas said, worried.

"I'm quite alright, sir. I just have a slight illness at the moment," Arthur lied.

"Oh, get well soon then," Lucas said, patting Arthur on the back. "Until we meet again."

"It was a pleasure, sir," Arthur replied, shaking his hand.

When Lucas left, Arthur entered his car and just sat there for a few minutes. He was thinking of a connection between the Kingfields' butler and Thomas Alec Irving.

"The Woodskiffs were just an average family with no connection to the mayor whatsoever, so why would the Irvings target them? Were the Woodskiffs a random target?" he thought.

He remembered the crime scene which he and Gabriel arrived at last night. The bottom half of the house was charred black. He vividly remembered Amelia's hysterical cries while the paramedics tried to console her.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Scott's body was never recovered from the ashes. No matter how much the police and firefighters looked around, there was no sign of the mayor anywhere.

On the night of the murder, theories spread throughout the internet about a "rebel uprising" in Duke's Lake that stemmed from the police's indifference to the Woodskiff murders. They said that the failure to find Abigail Hartrand was the last straw, and that the Hartrands themselves were the ones who burned down the house.

Arthur had visited the Hartrands at around 10 P.M. to see if the sons were present. But, conveniently, Seth—the younger one—was at a friend's house while Cain had moved out.

"Are the rumours true, that you committed—or at least planned—the arson attack against the Kingfields?" he'd asked them.

Adam's eyes grew large, stunned that Arthur would dare accuse them of such a thing. Without raising his voice, he told Arthur to "have a good day" and "we'll see you when you find her".

*********Cornwall, Duke's Lake*********

<<9:16 P.M.>>

~Either all of them are involved in this, or the rest are covering up for one.

"Makes sense," Arthur commented. He was laying on his bed, calling Akio about the recent situation.

~You know, as soon as news of Mayor Kingfield's death spread out, I knew you'd call me anytime soon.

"You know me too well. By the way, where's Caleb?"

~Oh, sleeping in the other room.

"On my bed?"

~Nah, on mine. I'm the one who took your bed.

Akio turned the camera to reveal Arthur's room.

"I trust that you won't disturb any of the things I left there."

~Do you take me for some kind of snooper?

Akio's almost angry tone made Arthur laugh. "Remember three months ago? When I caught you going through my phone?"

The other side went silent for a few seconds.

~I didn't see anything, I swear! I only scrolled your messages with the other university students...

"Right, I see. I totally trust you. After all, the only reason I found out about your crush on Caleb is because I found your phone lying on the couch."

~See?! We're even!

"Fine, fine, I guess you're right," Arthur chuckled. "Anyway, Duke's Lake is flooding with reporters now after the story of Hartrand's disappearance got out. Seems that Evelyn got tired of the delays and just decided to tell the police."

~About time she did. What's her deal with the cops anyway?

"Her youngest, Seth, was attacked by some sort of creature—or human, I don't really know—in the woods last year. The police just wrote it down as a bear and didn't think much of it."

~I guess she decided to give them another chance, seeing as the police chief was changed.

"I think so too. Well, anyway, I have something else to ask you."

~Sure, go ahead.

"It is possible for two people to be completely unrelated to each other, but share a last name, correct?"

Akio raised an eyebrow at his friend's strange question.

~Uh, obviously, yeah.

"Even in a city one-fifth the size of Manchester?"

~Unlikely, but not impossible. Why?

"Azalea told me about a lead they found a few days ago that they kept confidential. Mixed in with the blood of the Woodskiffs, was the blood of a completely unrelated guy. His name was Thomas Alec Irving."

~Uhuh, yeah. And?

"Wait, hold on—have you seen Mr. Stonehill around there?"

~No, Ethan told me that he hasn't been to the office since you left.

"Huh? But he just told someone that—nevermind. It's probably private. Anyway, the mayor's son Lucas approached me after the funeral. He told me to keep an eye out for Mr. Stonehill, who had told him that he'd be the one to investigate the arson. He mentioned his butler's name—Todd Irving."

Akio was left speechless for a moment.

~That is crazy. Have you researched anything about the Irvings?

"I did for a few hours before I called you. The government records state that Todd Irving was a 60-year-old man from London, but Thomas was a 52-year-old man who immigrated from France and took on an English name."

~I have another theory.

"Spill it," Arthur said in anticipation.

~What if...Thomas Alec Irving is an alias?

Arthur didn't expect that revelation. But it made sense to him.

~Think of it like this—why would a Frenchman take on an English name? Hell, I didn't even change mine when I moved here 10 years ago.

"He either just wanted to, or was under a disguise."

~Bingo. I personally think the latter is more likely. Now we just need to trace his real identity.

"Any way to narrow down thousands of French immigrants?"

Akio shook his head and frowned. This is going to be harder than they thought.

"I have a hunch that 'Irving' is the leader of the so-called rebel group, and have taken both Abigail and Shane. He already killed Shane, so I just hope we'll get to Abigail in time."

~Do you have anyone nearby that can help? Like...Azalea?

"No, she still has her baby to take care of. And her husband will probably be caught up with the mayor's death."

~Damn. So what's your plan?

"I applied for Duke's Lake High School as a history teacher."

Akio erupted in laughter.

~You what?!

"What's so funny? It's for a reason. Seth Hartrand studies here, so I'll use this opportunity to gain intel and possibly get him to help in the investigation."

Akio wiped tears from his eyes. A big grin was left on his face.

~Sorry, just the thought of you in front of a large class makes me laugh. But, yeah, that's a great idea. But what about the other one?

"Oh, Cain? Uh, his parents told me that he was a dropout who now resides in his friend's house, so I figured that he's less approachable."

Akio stifled a yawn. His eyes were drooping, and almost closed shut.

~It's getting late, and I still have classes tomorrow. I'll go to bed now. Goodnight, Arthur.

"Yeah, good luck. Goodnight."

Akio hung up, leaving the room in total silence. Arthur sighed and collapsed onto the mattress.

"I should get some sleep too, I guess. I should be at the school by six."

*********Astraeus Manor*********

A woman leans on the doorway to a private office. Her fingers ran through a dagger's blade, which was glistening in the moonlight that streamed from a window.

"Killing him was a bold move, Elnath. But are you sure that the other members would agree?"

Elnath sits on a velvet office chair, his gaze locked with the woman's. The nameplate on the desk reads 'SIRIUS'.

"The others hated Sirius as much as we do, Vega. But was disposing of his body really necessary?"

Vega sighed. "Did you forget about the little tussle you had with Sirius before he died? Your fingerprints and blood were all over him. And you're a well-known figure—the most famous of us all, even. There's no saying that you'll get off scot-free."

"We're Enneasteri, Vega. Our talent is to manipulate and instil fear into the commoners. And you're worried about the police?"

"Yes, I'm worried—because of the branding that Sirius did."

Elnath clicked his tongue and leaned back on the chair. He placed his legs on the table. "Ah, yes. The lucky one chosen by our leader himself. What was the reason, anyway?"

"This specific power's requirement is a stable mind, a keen eye, and an ambivert personality. The boy he chose perfectly fits all three criteria."

"Tsk, poor choice. He'll be a hindrance to our plans, and we can't even control him now."

Elnath rubbed his forehead with his palm. He shook his head. "Why would someone as ambitious as Sirius choose to become the mayor of Duke's Lake?" he asked, chuckling to himself. "But at least most suspicion will fall on his elder brother. Vega, you've used my father's books to manipulate him, yes?"

Vega nodded. "Of course. Giving dear Johnny a sense of nihilism will for sure turn some heads."

"Good," Elnath said. "Now let's see if we can make that girl one of us. Call Alpherg, and tell him to come here as soon as possible."

"Understood."