Chapter 731: The Plan to Replace the Pillar

Chapter 731: The Plan to Replace the Pillar

"Is there something I shouldn't know?" I wondered, but I knew I needed to give Royce some space and trust.

Joanna headed to the kitchen to help Lyanna with dinner, leaving me alone on the couch. I started feeling a bit bored and let my mind wander.

Could Royce be getting tired of me? Maybe this is just the beginning.

As soon as that thought popped into my head, I shook it off. No way, absolutely not. Royce isn't like that. I need to have more faith in him.

Looks like I need to see my therapist again. Ever since that incident in the wine cellar, I've been feeling off.

Just then, Royce finished his call and sat down next to me.

"Simon just called," he said. "He saw Ondine at the seafood market again."

"But Ondine wasn't there to buy seafood. She went in and never came out. The next day, she showed up outside the market again."

I was stunned and momentarily forgot my own worries. This was really strange.

"Could there be a hidden passage in the market? Are you sure no one saw her leave?" I felt like we were missing something.

Royce nodded. "That's what our people watching the place said."

"But the market is on the second floor. How could there be a hidden passage?" I couldn't wrap my head around it.

Royce shook his head, just as puzzled.

Then a thought struck me.

"What if there isn't a hidden passage at all?"

Royce frowned at me. "But if there's no hidden passage, how did Ondine appear outside the market the next day?"

"Maybe she disguised herself when she left the market, and we just didn't notice," I suggested, looking into Royce's eyes.

Royce froze, clearly recalling the strange incident at the intersection.

Our people only watched from outside the market. We had no idea what happened inside, leaving plenty of room for Ondine to change her appearance.

And if they had masterful disguise skills, fooling us would be a piece of cake.

Just like back at Avalonia Bar.

"I still have the surveillance footage from Avalonia Bar. Let's go through it frame by frame to see if we missed anything," Royce said, pulling out his phone to find the video.

I nodded, moving closer to him and leaning against his shoulder as we watched the footage together.

After Ondine and Madeline entered the private room, the door never opened again. No one came out.

"Wait, this situation is different from the bar," I said after watching for a while.

"Look at the bar's layout. It would be odd if there weren't a few secret passages," Royce noted, preparing to turn off the video.

Just then, something caught my eye, and I quickly hit pause.

"Doesn't this person look familiar to you?" I asked, pointing at the screen.

Royce followed my gaze, and his expression hardened.

"That person..."

"That person looks a lot like Mira's husband, Tony. Am I wrong?" I turned to Royce, a bad feeling creeping over me.

Could we have misunderstood Mira? But Robbie was definitely malnourished and had signs of being beaten.

Royce shook his head. "Look closer. There are some differences."

I scrutinized the man on the screen and finally noticed it.

This man didn't have the prominent mole on his nose that Tony had.

There might be people who look alike, but why would this other person show up in such a peculiar bar?

I couldn't believe this had nothing to do with the Red Spider Lily organization.

"But it's been so long. Even if we want to investigate this person, it would be tough now, right?"

Royce nodded in agreement. "It would be difficult, but he appeared not long ago."

"When?" I asked, puzzled.

Royce brushed a strand of hair from my face. "At that intersection. If I'm not mistaken, we saw him there."

If that's true, things get interesting. Does that mean the three people at the intersection were all stand-ins?

The woman looked like Ondine, the man like Mira's husband, but what about the child?

"I have a bolder theory, but I need more evidence to support it," Royce said seriously, placing his hands on his knees.

I rarely saw Royce this serious, so I paid close attention.

"What theory?"

Royce took a deep breath. "The Red Spider Lily organization might be secretly plotting something big."

"They could be secretly replacing influential people they can't recruit with stand-ins they've trained."

My eyes widened. "You mean they're planning to swap people out?"

That's a massive undertaking, and not easy to pull off.

Everyone has different habits and personalities. Completely replacing someone without anyone noticing would be incredibly difficult.

"It's just a bold guess for now. We don't have enough evidence," Royce said, fiddling with a cigarette.

I didn't doubt Royce's theory, but it seemed too challenging to execute.

But recently, there had been many instances of people who seemed like stand-ins.

"We can't take this lightly. If we're making bold guesses, we need to verify them carefully," I said.

Royce nodded, glancing at me warmly before ruffling my hair.

"You messed up my hair," I pouted.

Royce coughed and gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

As we exchanged looks, Joanna popped her head out of the kitchen.

"You two lovebirds, stop flirting and come help with the dishes."

I felt my face heat up and quickly stood up to help.

Why do I always get teased?