A few minutes later the three of them stepped out of the mansion and onto the quiet street outside. The cold New York air felt strangely refreshing after the suffocating tension inside the house. None of them spoke as they walked across the road and entered a small café near the mansion.
They took a corner table by the window where they could still see outside. Three cups of coffee arrived shortly after.
Ryan leaned back in his chair, staring at the mansion across the street. "So," he said slowly, "we now officially have no plan."
Alina wrapped her hands around her coffee cup and looked in the same direction. "That tile," she murmured. "Whatever is under it… Maya's father wanted us to find it."
Kai nodded once. "We need to get back inside."
Ryan sighed. "At any cost."
For the next several minutes they started throwing out ideas one after another. "Night infiltration," Ryan suggested. "We wait until midnight and sneak in."
Kai shook his head immediately. "Too many guards. The moment we cross the fence, alarms will go off."
Alina leaned forward. "What if we climb the balcony?"
Ryan looked unimpressed. "You want to climb three floors while security cameras watch every angle of the building?"
"Fine," Alina muttered. "What about using ropes from the roof?"
Kai shook his head again. "Even worse."
Ryan drummed his fingers on the table. "We could cut the power to the building."
"And alert the entire security team?" Kai replied calmly. "Brilliant."
Ryan sighed heavily. "Okay then, genius. Your turn."
Kai thought for a moment. "What if we enter through the underground parking?"
Alina immediately shook her head. "There were cameras there too. I saw them when we arrived."
Ryan leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Every plan we come up with fails within ten seconds."
Alina sighed. "This is frustrating."
Ryan suddenly straightened slightly as a new idea crossed his mind. "What if we go inside as security?"
Both Kai and Alina looked at him. Ryan leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Think about it. That house is full of guards right now. If we blend in as new security staff… no one would question us walking through the building. Alina frowned thoughtfully. Kai didn't speak immediately.
Ryan continued explaining. "I've worked with private security teams before," he said. "Most of these guys rotate shifts. If we look the part and act confident enough, half of them won't even recognize who's new."
Alina tilted her head slightly. "You're suggesting we walk straight into a guarded mansion pretending to be bodyguards?"
Ryan shrugged casually. "Yes."
Kai finally spoke. "That might actually work."
Alina stared at both of them. "You two are insane."
Ryan grinned slightly. "Maybe."
Kai's eyes shifted toward the mansion across the street again. "But it might be the only way to reach that tile."
Outside the café window, the mansion stood silent and watchful.Somewhere inside that building, a hidden clue waited beneath a single uneven piece of marble. And all three of them knew the same thing. They were going back inside.
****
The studio lights were bright and warm, reflecting off the large mirrors that covered the walls of the dressing room. Racks of dark uniforms lined one side of the room while makeup artists moved around preparing the final touches for disguises.
All three of them were getting ready. Ryan was almost finished. He stood in front of the mirror adjusting the collar of the black security uniform they had rented for the operation. But the real transformation was his hair. The makeup artist had fitted him with long, silky black hair that fell past his shoulders, paired with a well-shaped moustache and light beard to change the structure of his face.
The result was surprisingly convincing. When Alina turned and saw him properly, she stopped walking. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Wait…" she said slowly.
Ryan looked at her through the mirror. "What?"
Alina stepped closer, staring at him like she had just discovered a completely different person."Seriously… a person can change this much just because of hair?"
Ryan smirked slightly. "Apparently."
But Alina wasn't listening anymore. She reached out and gently touched the silky strands of the fake hair.
"Ryan… your hair is so soft," she said in amazement.
Ryan blinked. "It's fake hair."
"I know," she replied absentmindedly while still running her fingers through it. "But it's still silky."
Ryan sighed while she kept examining it like a fascinated child. Across the room, Kai was watching the entire scene. Unlike the other two, he hadn't changed yet. He was still standing near the clothing rack, holding Alina's black uniform in his hands.
He cleared his throat slightly. "Alina."
She didn't look up. "Alina." he called her out again Still nothing.
Finally he said flatly, "Don't you have to change?"
That finally pulled her attention away. "Oh—right," she said quickly. She walked over toward him, still looking impressed. "Isn't Ryan looking good?" she asked Kai.
Kai glanced briefly toward Ryan. Then back at her. "I don't think so."
Alina frowned immediately. "Totally wasted," she muttered. "I shouldn't have asked you."
Kai was still holding her clothes when she suddenly snatched them from his hands."Give me that."
Then she disappeared into the changing room. Kai watched the door close before quietly walking into another dressing room to change himself.
Kai closed the door behind him and walked toward the dressing area, loosening his collar slightly as if trying to shake off the tension that still clung to him. His movements were slow, controlled, but his mind was anything but calm
As he slipped off his jacket and reached to unfasten his belt, something small slid out from the inner pocket and fell onto the floor with a soft sound. It was subtle, barely noticeable, yet in the quiet room it was enough to make him pause. His gaze dropped immediately, instinctively drawn to whatever had fallen.
A phone lay near his feet. For a moment, he didn't think much of it. He bent down, picked it up, and placed it casually on the dressing table, face down, His eyes moved back toward the phone, lingering there a second longer than necessary. It looked exactly like his—same model, same color, nothing that would immediately stand out—yet something about it felt unfamiliar in a way he couldn't ignore.
Kai reached for it again, this time with more intention. As he turned it over in his hand, his gaze fell on the back of the device, and that was when he noticed it. A small engraving. The letter "A."
Recognition settled in instantly. The memory surfaced with quiet clarity—at Maya's house, in the middle of the chaos, he had handed his phone to Alina without thinking. It had been a simple mistake, unnoticed in the rush of everything else
Which meant the phone in his hand now belonged to her. For a brief moment, he stood there, holding it, his thumb resting lightly along its edge. It felt unexpectedly personal, like he was standing at the edge of something he wasn't meant to see. There was no urgency in his movements now, only a quiet awareness as he looked at it.
Before he could decide whether to put it aside, the screen lit up. A notification appeared, cutting through the dim light of the room. It was from a streaming application,
"Pick up from where you left watching your favourite show. Click the link below to continue."
Kai's expression shifted slightly, curiosity flickering beneath his otherwise calm exterior. He pressed the power button, bringing the screen fully to life.