It took Ava nearly an hour to edit the interview footage.
Even as she worked, Alexander's answers echoed relentlessly in her mind.
None of it felt normal.
Then again, perhaps nothing about Alexander Rhea was ever meant to be.
"Agh... done."
She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her tired eyes.
"It still feels incomplete... like a puzzle with half the pieces missing."
Determined to learn more, she picked up her phone and searched Alexander Rhea.
She had done her research before accepting the interview, but now every unanswered question felt far more significant.
Article after article appeared on her screen.
Biographies.
Business achievements.
Book reviews.
Rumors.
Speculations.
Yet every article ended the same way—
With another mystery.
She frowned.
"The mansion... Juvine Hills..."
"For someone worth billions, why choose a place this isolated? Why not live in the city?"
She scrolled further.
Some believed he suffered from agoraphobia.
Others claimed he despised society.
Some insisted he was simply obsessed with privacy.
None of them had proof.
"So many theories..."
She whispered,
"...but no answers."
A sudden sound interrupted her thoughts.
Thud.
Then another.
Thud.
It sounded like someone digging outside.
Curiosity pulled her toward the window.
She carefully unlatched it, opening it just enough to peer outside without making a sound.
In the backyard, several figures stood beneath the rain.
They were digging near the enormous banyan tree.
Standing among them was Alexander.
A dark raincoat draped over his broad shoulders as rainwater traced slow paths down his sleeves before dripping onto the muddy ground.
His posture remained perfectly still.
Almost statuesque.
Ava leaned forward slightly, trying to see what they were burying.
Something pale emerged from the earth.
Her breath caught.
"A... bone?"
The object looked disturbingly human.
Almost as if sensing her presence, Alexander slowly turned toward the mansion.
His eyes swept across the darkness.
Ava instinctively shut the window.
Her heart pounded violently.
"No..."
She shook her head.
"I'm overthinking."
"I have to be."
Trying to calm herself, she reopened the news articles she had been reading.
One headline immediately caught her attention.
CEO of Susev Textiles Missing Near Juvine Hills. Search Operation Underway.
Her eyes scanned every line.
The location.
The timeline.
Everything matched.
A chill crept through her body.
She climbed into bed, pulling the blanket tightly around herself, but sleep refused to come.
Questions circled endlessly inside her mind.
Near midnight...
The grandfather clock struck twelve.
Each heavy chime echoed throughout the silent mansion.
Ava's eyes snapped open.
The house had become unnervingly quiet.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Nothing.
Only the memory of the digging remained.
She looked toward the backyard.
"I have to know."
She quietly opened the window and climbed outside.
The rain had almost stopped, leaving behind damp earth and the scent of wet leaves.
Carefully placing each step, she crossed the muddy ground until she reached the banyan tree.
The pit was gone.
In its place stood a freshly planted sapling.
It looked...
Too perfect.
Too deliberate.
"This doesn't feel right."
She crouched beside the newly turned soil.
The earth was darker than the surrounding ground.
A faint metallic scent lingered in the cold night air.
Her pulse quickened.
As she brushed away a thin layer of mud, something glinted beneath the surface.
A ring.
She carefully picked it up.
It looked strangely familiar.
Without wasting another second, Ava searched the missing CEO's news again.
The article loaded.
There, beside his photograph—
The same ring.
Her eyes widened.
"It can't be..."