"Father?" Madison gasped, her voice laced with sheer disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
Murphy didn't offer an explanation. His face was a mask of cold authority, but he said calmly. "Let's go. We will talk in the car."
Madison gave a tight nod. Murphy turned on his heel, his dark overcoat billowing slightly as he led the way out, with Madison following closely behind.
Within minutes, they were inside the quiet, insulated cabin of his luxury sedan. The engine purred to life, and the car smoothly pulled away from the abandoned facility, gliding into the dark night. For a long time, neither of them spoke a word, the silence thick and heavy.
"Father," Madison finally broke the ice, turning her head to look at him.
Murphy kept his eyes locked on the road ahead.
"What were you really doing back there?" she asked directly.
"I should be the one asking you that, Madison," Murphy replied, his voice calm but stern. Before she could offer a defense, he continued, "I went there to retrieve confidential documents."
Madison nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "Then what was Jake doing there?"
"I instructed him to wait for me at that location."
"What exactly are those documents about, Father?" Madison pressed, leaning in slightly.
Murphy exhaled softly. "Your late mother... before she passed, she established an overseas firm dedicated to supporting orphans. Those files were directly related to that estate."
Madison frowned, her suspicion lingering. "Did something happen to that place? Why keep it a secret?"
"That land was legally registered under your mother's name," Murphy explained, his tone dropping to a calm, but protective register. "But she made absolutely certain that after her passing, that land—and all records of it—remained completely hidden from you. She did it to protect you, Madison. If anyone found out you were tied to it, you would instantly become a high-value target."
Madison went quiet, nodding as the weight of her mother's hidden past settled over her. But one question still burned in her mind.
"Who is Jake, really?"
Murphy cut a sharp, glare toward his daughter, for a less than split second. "Madison, I have said this once before, and I will say again: do not associate yourself with him. Leave him be."
"But why did he force Ethan to do a mission for him?" Madison countered. "What is he playing at?"
"You already know the answer to that," Murphy said simply.
No, I don't, Madison thought, her frustration rising. But then, Jake's chillingly calm words from earlier echoed in her mind:
'Ethan wanted information. I simply needed to test him to see if he was worthy of receiving it.'
Madison sat back against the leather seat, staring out into the passing streetlights.
"Madison, you are still young," Murphy said, his voice softening slightly with genuine parental concern. "Hopefully, You have a great, bright life ahead of you. Don't get yourself tangled up in trouble."
"I understand," Madison murmured automatically.
No way in hell am I staying out of this, she secretly resolved, her eyes narrowing as she looked ahead. I need real answers, and I'm going to get them.
Murphy leaned back into his seat, taking a deep, heavy breath as the car sped through the night.
Inside the Abandoned Facility
Back inside the dusty safehouse, Jake was still sitting casually in his wooden chair, entirely unfazed by the night's events. The faint, rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor. Jake looked up, rising to his feet as the masked boy stepped back into the room.
"Murphy showed up," the masked boy reported, pulling off his tracking tablet. "He completely scared that girl off before I could finish her."
Jake gave a slow, knowing nod. "I expected as much."
"She's a student from our class... that white-haired girl," the masked boy muttered, tapping his chin in frustration. "What was her name again? …mari? It completely slipped my mind."
"Himari," Jake stated deadpan.
The masked boy raised an eyebrow beneath his fabric mask. "Himari. Yes. But... that's a traditional Japanese name, isn't it?"
Jake nodded. "She's an international transfer student from Japan. But her student profile is just a cover."
"What do you mean? What else is she hiding?"
Jake locked eyes with his companion, his gray eyes calm. "She is the direct descendant of a legendary clan that specializes in high-level infiltration and stealth. In other words... she comes from a lineage of true ninjas."
"A ninja family? Damn. That explains why she was throwing shuriken and kunai with that kind of precision," the masked boy muttered, running a hand over his mask.
"You said she arrived here a few years ago," the masked boy calculated, trying to piece the timeline together. "How many exactly? From what I remember, she's been enrolled with us since our very first year."
"Correct," Jake murmured.
"So she arrived right around the exact same time as that incident," the masked boy realized, a cold sweat breaking out on his neck as the pieces clicked.
"Jake... are you saying this girl is directly tied to what happened back then?"
Jake offered a faint, unreadable smirk, turning his back to look out the window. "Who knows."