They stayed inside the study for a few more moments after piecing together what Mr. Hayes had tried to tell them without actually saying it. The air in the room still felt heavy, like it was holding onto secrets that refused to be spoken aloud. Finally, Ryan pushed himself away from the wall and walked toward the door, his expression thoughtful but alert.
As they stepped out into the hallway again, the presence of the guards became even more obvious. They weren't just stationed at the entrance anymore—there were too many of them, positioned too precisely. Some stood near corners, some near stairways, and a few were subtly watching from a distance. None of them spoke, but all of them were aware.
Ryan slowed his pace slightly, his eyes scanning them one by one without making it obvious. "This isn't normal security," he said under his breath, just loud enough for Kai and Alina to hear.
Alina glanced around as well, her brows knitting together. "Yeah… I noticed that too. There are too many of them."
Ryan nodded faintly. "And look at the way they're standing. Real security protects the house and the people inside. These guys…" his gaze shifted briefly to one of the guards who quickly looked away, "…they're observing."
Kai walked beside them quietly, his expression unreadable, but his eyes were sharp.
"They're not guards," Ryan continued, his voice low and controlled. "They're eyes. Someone placed them here to monitor everything that happens in this house."
Alina felt a slight chill hearing that. "You mean… someone is watching uncle too?"
Ryan didn't answer immediately, but the silence itself was enough.
Kai finally spoke, his tone calm but firm. "That's why he couldn't say anything about Maya."
Alina exhaled in frustration. "And we came all the way here thinking he would tell us something directly." She shook her head slightly. "But all he talked about was chess… king, queen… enemy territory…"
Kai glanced at her briefly. "He told us everything, just not in words."
Alina frowned, still slightly annoyed. "Well, I still think we could have handled this faster."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Alina stopped walking and turned toward them with sudden confidence. "It's actually very simple."
Both Kai and Ryan looked at her.
"We just go to one of those guards," she said, pointing subtly toward the hallway, "slap him once, and ask who he works for. I'm sure he'll tell us everything."
For a second, there was complete silence. Ryan blinked. Kai slowly turned his head toward Alina, staring at her like she had just said the most unbelievable thing in existence.
Alina looked back at them, completely serious. "What? It works in movies."
Kai let out a slow breath, his expression turning into pure sarcasms "of course," he said dryly. "Why didn't we think of that earlier?"
Alina crossed her arms. "Exactly."
Kai continued, his tone calm but laced with mock seriousness. "Let's just walk up to highly trained, possibly armed men, slap one of them, and politely ask who their boss is."
Ryan pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. Kai tilted his head slightly, looking at Alina. "And after that, should we also announce our plan out loud so whoever is controlling them can prepare a welcome party for us?"
Alina's confidence faltered just a little. "I was just suggesting—"
"No, no," Kai interrupted smoothly. "It's a brilliant strategy. Truly. Very… creative." Ryan finally let out a quiet chuckle. Kai wasn't done. "Next time, remind me to hire you as my security advisor," he added. "We'll replace background checks with slaps. Much more efficient."
Alina narrowed her eyes at him. "You're making fun of me."
Kai gave her a calm look. "Not at all. I'm deeply impressed."
Ryan shook his head slightly, stepping in before Alina could argue further. "As entertaining as that plan sounds, we need to be smarter than that."
Alina sighed but didn't argue this time. She glanced once more at the guards, her expression turning serious again. "So what do we do then?" she asked.
"The ground isn't safe," he murmured, recalling Mr. Hayes' words. They had almost reached the main door when Kai suddenly stopped walking.
Ryan turned back immediately. "What?"
Kai's eyes drifted toward the direction of the study door again. "That floor," he said quietly.
Alina looked confused. "The marble floor?"
Kai nodded slowly. "There was a tile near the corner of the room," he explained. "It looked slightly uneven… like someone had lifted it before."
Ryan frowned at once. "Uneven?"
"It didn't match the rest of the floor," Kai continued. "Everything else was perfectly polished. That one tile wasn't."
Ryan glanced subtly down the hallway where two security guards were standing near the entrance. They were pretending to look elsewhere, but their attention was clearly fixed on the three of them.
Ryan lowered his voice. "Great," he murmured. "So we're just going to ignore the suspicious tile now?"
Alina folded her arms thoughtfully. "Maya's father told us to be careful where we walk."
Ryan snapped his fingers as realization struck him. "Exactly."
Kai's eyes narrowed slightly. "And he looked directly at the floor when he said it." For several seconds none of them spoke. The meaning behind that warning slowly settled in.
Then Ryan sighed dramatically."Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "this is either a brilliant clue… or we're about to embarrass ourselves by investigating someone's bad flooring."
Alina raised an eyebrow at him. "You're the one who said you wanted twists."
Ryan shrugged. "Fair point."
Alina suddenly turned and started walking back toward the study door. Kai and Ryan exchanged a quick glance before following her. One of the guards straightened immediately when he saw them approaching again.
"You've already met Mr. Hayes," the guard said firmly.
Alina smiled politely, maintaining complete confidence in her expression. "I left my phone inside," she said
The guard hesitated for a second. Then he opened the study door and stepped inside. Alina blinked in surprise. She had expected him to let her enter, not go in himself. A few seconds later the guard came back out.
"There is no phone inside," he said.
Before the awkward silence could grow any longer, Kai calmly pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it toward Alina.
"You forgot you already picked it up from the table earlier," he said smoothly.
Alina stared at him for half a second before quickly taking the phone. "Oh… right," she said, catching on instantly.
Kai gave the guard a brief nod of thanks and then gently took Alina by the arm, guiding her away from the door. As they walked down the hallway, he leaned closer and spoke quietly enough that only she could hear.
"Just because one of your plans worked doesn't mean all of them will." Alina sighed under her breath.
Kai continued in a calmer tone. "But the appointment idea was good."
Alina glanced at him sideways. "Was that a compliment?"
Kai shrugged lightly. "Don't get used to it."
Ryan, who had been walking slightly ahead, glanced back at them with a faint smile.