"Answer me this instant!

" Ryder roared, showing his angry side, which he rarely showed in front of his loved ones.

"W-we did it on the orders of Master Bastion and Madam Esmi. They told us to do it! I don't know why! That's all I know! I promise!

" the man explained as his face was covered in sweat.

"What the hell are you talking about! I don't even know you!

" Esmi caller out in protest.

"And Bastion will never do something like this!

"

"Why are you lying, madam! He will kill me if I don't tell the truth! Confess to him and ask for forgiveness. Don't let me die! I did so many things for you! You can't let me die like that!

" the man called out.

"You Bastard! You dare to slander me! Ryder, I promise I don't know who he is!

" Esmi said as she walked to Ryder and held his hand.

Ryder looked at her before he looked at the man, crying on the ground.

He shook his hand, freeing his hand from Esmi, who looked blankly at him.

She could feel that he didn't believe her.

She took a step back, not saying anything.

Ryder sat down near the man and placed his hand on the chest of the man.

"I will count to three before I shoot you. I know when you're lying. You're definitely lying now. Tell me the truth,

" he said.

Hearing his words, a relieved expression appeared on her face. She took a sigh of relief as she saw Ryder trusting her. Her eyes were already wet when she thought he didn't trust her, but only now did her tears started falling as she felt his trust.

She was sure that if she were in his place, even she would doubt herself after the man's accusation. Ryder still chose to believe her. It warned her heart.

"Don't you dare lie to me! Tell me the truth! I am not falling for that. Who told you to do it? Who wanted Esmi and Bastion to be blamed and why?

" Ryder asked the man as he started pressing the gun on the man's chest

"I-i swear to god! It was Master Bastion and Esmi who told us to do it!

" the man said, feeling scared for his life. His voice was barely audible now in fear.

****

As Ryder was interrogating inside the house, Shu was standing outside with his hands on the helicopter.

His fingers kept tapping on the metal as if he was counting.

There was no expression on his face at the moment as if he was lost in some thought.

He didn't look towards Esmi's Mansion.

His fingers were tapping in what seemed like a rhythm.

****

"Tell me this instant. You know I'm not in the mood to joke! Answer now! I'll count to three before I shoot!

" Ryder said, sternly.

"1... 2... Wha...

"

Ryder started counting to three, but he stopped midway as he saw white bubbles coming out of the man's neck. His eyes started bleeding as well. His heart stopped beating instantly.

"He is dead. He was already poisoned. It looks like whoever did this didn't want him to live for longer. He must have known it too, but he still didn't give the name of the real person. Maybe they have his family hostage or something else. Whatever being the case, it's a dead-end,

" Ryder muttered as he declared the man dead and stood up.

He walked over to Alice and removed the tape from her mouth. He started removing the ties on her hand as he asked,

"Are you alright?

"

Alice nodded her head.

"I am fine. They didn't harm us at all. In fact, they were very stern about not harming us. One of them kept saying that there shouldn't even be a single scratch on our body,

" she told Ryder as she rubbed her wrists.

Ryder walked over to the other side of the bed and started untying her as well.

"So they didn't plan to harm you. Their only intention was to bring you here. Most probably to use you to make me against Esmi and Bastion? They could have easily killed you and left if they only wanted to frame Esmi. They kept you safe, especially so they could accuse Esmi and Bastion in front of me,

" Ryder muttered as he thought to himself.

"Who would plan something like this? What would they get by making me against them?

" he wondered as he finished untying the other girl.

"I really don't know how he entered my house and my bedroom. I was in the study room, reading something, so I really didn't check my bedroom,

" Esmi said to Ryder as she walked closer to him.

"Don't worry. I know you wouldn't be so stupid as bring her here even if you did it. Also, that man's heartbeat gave him away. He was lying when he took your and Bastion's name. It's unfortunate that I can't find the real culprit,

" Ryder replied as he walked over to the bodies and checked them for any form of identification.

Finding none, he kicked the bodies in frustration. He pulled out his phone and took photos of the faces of both the dead bodies.

He sent the photos to a number before he called it.

"Yeah, Ray. I sent you two photos. Can you run these faces in the database? Try to find a match for them,

" he told Ray.

" Alright. I will do that when I go back to HQ in the morning,

" Ray replied before he started telling his own problem.

"That aside, it's been such a long time. You said you'd send the address of that Dark Uprising Base. I have received all the permission thinking that I'll do it soon, and now everyone expected me to go for that raid. You know how embarrassing it is when people ask me why I'm delaying and if I'm scared? I can't even tell them that I don't even have the location before I got the permission, or they'll think that I'm crazy. Can you make it faster, please?

" he asked Ryder.

"I do have the location of two of their high-ranking members, but they haven't gone back to their base from what I believe. I can give you their location, but it'll be useless if you go after two and kiss the rest. You'll catch the rat I left to get to the real tiger. Wait a little longer. I'm sure they will go to their base soon,

" Ryder replied, shaking his head. He still didn't have any exact answer to give.