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While Sia was concentrating on the remaining paperwork, her phone suddenly rang. Looking at the caller ID, she quickly answered the call, worried that something might have happened.

"Hi Dr. Brown, is everything alright?" Sia asked with some apparent worry in her voice. Dr. Brown was known to rarely use his phone, as he was someone that would rather walk to her office and chat with her than call her on phone, especially when it was already evening.

"Hi Sia, it's me, Mark. There was information leak and the Vallauris side has already gotten hold of my dad's hospitalization. They have now started investigating the people who had access to the fifth floor during my father's stay in the hospital. Please lay low, and don't contact any of us the upcoming days." After a moment's pause Mark continued, "we are getting dad discharged now and will continue his recuperation at a nearby hotel until we figure out how much Luke knows. We will also be taking Dr Brown with us, so please don't worry about him."

The last time Sia heard Mark this anxious was before his father's operation. It seemed that the situation might be much worse than what Mark made it out to be, however, Sia clearly understood that it was not the time to question him.

"Got it. I will also help from my side."

"Thanks, I got to go now, " Mark concluded the call, leaving Siana with one more matter to take worry about.

Even if her relationship with Cain remained hidden, if the Lion got wind of her connection to the Herondales he wouldn't spare any effort to get information from her on Jason's condition. Thinking about what she needed to do, she realised she would be having another long day at the hospital as various matters kept piling up.

—

- Veturia -

Alex had just landed, feeling especially tired from his flight that lasted over 10 hours. It was early morning in Veturia so the airport wasn't very busy. This gave Alex the space to ponder about his trip to Ribekia, going over every little event that took place in the past one week. He came to the conclusion that the next time he wanted to meet his cousin, he would need to go for a longer trip, so as to at least have the time to recover from his jet lag and the exhaustive flights to and fro. He also would need more time as his cousin seemed to always be busy, either with her patients or with her boyfriend. It also became apparent that from now on he would need to take care of visiting her himself, as she seemed to be the type to get buried in work and forget about others, like she did yesterday. Considering she was a magnet for trouble, he felt even more irritated about the distance between their countries.

While having these thoughts, Alex absentmindedly exited the airport and started looking for Derek. After looking around he instead noticed two familiar people with their backs facing him, seemingly engaged in a serious conversation. He quickened his pace, and stopped about a meter away from them.

"Ahem, ahem... how come you are here? Were you waiting for me?" Coughing lightly, he attracted the attention of his friends. Will and Ren immediately turned around when they heard their friend's familiar voice. Will nodded at him in affirmative, confirming his doubts while Ren went on to inquire about his flight and his plans for the day.

After realising that Derek was dismissed by his two friends, and was waiting outside, Alex suggested they start moving. As they walked and chatted, there seemed to be a tacit understanding not to talk about Ribekia, or more specifically, the person from Ribekia as all the topics covered bypassed any matters that were remotely related to Siana. Alex was glad that he had previously briefed Ren about Sia's rejection to Will's confession, as Ren was exactly the type who could stir endless problems with his mindless questions. Alex nonetheless chose to keep Sia's relationship to Cain a secret from Ren, even though the latter seemed to still have not forgotten Cain's actions from weeks ago. As much as Ren was a close friend of his, the less people knew about Cain and Siana the better for her security.

"It seems like all of us are busy tonight, so how about we go for dinner tomorrow? We will also be able to catch up," Alex suggested, taking a special note of Will's reaction.

"Sure," Will answered calmly, which made Alex relax a bit. It seemed like Will had come to terms with Sia's rejection, as he was now much more calm and nonchalant, similar to how he was before meeting Sia. However, as he turned to Ren, he missed the cold glint in Will's eyes that appeared and disappeared in a flash… Only Will knew whether he had truly given up or not…

As they left the airport, Alex still had questions as to why the two had personally come to meet him. He had a feeling that this had something to do with Will, but he would need to ask Ren separately so as to get a better understanding of their rationale behind meeting him that day.

An hour and a half after the three friends went their separate ways, Alex alighted from the car, and started walking towards the mansion that was lit from inside out. The valet opened the door for him, greeting his young master with utmost respect. Alex nodded at the valet, and walked inside, to be greeted by the butler this time.

"Greetings young master. Sir and Madam didn't know you were coming so they have just finished their breakfast. Please come in quickly while we prepare food for you."

Alex nodded at him in greeting and went on to ask directly, "is father home? Please lead me to him."

"Of course young master, he is in the study," the butler answered enthusiastically. After all, this pair of father and son were like oil and water since the day the young master decided to pursue design instead of inheriting the family business. As if to make matters worse, sir's intervention in young master's personal life had always ended with the two arguing for days. He couldn't help but think what could have made the young master come and seek sir on his own. Nonetheless, seeing the young master's serious yet distracted expression, he had a feeling that the chat wasn't going to be a light one. It probably had to do with the cousin sir forced the young master take care of.

While old and young men were each having their own thoughts, they reached the biggest study in the mansion. Alex thanked the butler and after dismissing him, proceeded to knock on the door of the study. Soon a slightly irritated voice came from the inside,

"Come in!"

As the door opened, James Illes was pleasantly surprised upon seeing his son. However, the next moment, he furrowed his brows as he noticed the expression on his son's face, and asked with his tone much sharper:

"What's the matter?"

Instead of answering right away, Alex took a seat in front of his dad. He held his head in his hands, as if thinking of something. After a while, as if coming to a decision, he slowly lifted his head up, and said with determination apparent in his eyes, "I want to know everything about the incident that happened to Siana."