That was the girl Seraphina Vaughn had called her "master"!

The girl was playing a piece of music Sophia Shaw had never heard before.

It was melodious and graceful, yet tinged with a faint sadness—a long, lingering emotion that was utterly intoxicating.

Sophia and Old Master Sloan were both captivated, listening in a trance until the music stopped.

When the girl looked up and saw Sophia, she seemed taken aback for a moment.

Since she was Seraphina Vaughn’s master, it wouldn’t be right for Sophia and Old Master Sloan to simply ignore her, so they proactively went to greet her.

"Hello, I’m a good friend of Seraphina’s, and this is her father," Sophia said warmly, making the introductions.

The girl studied Sophia for a moment through her exquisite mask before replying, "Hello."

Then she inclined her head toward Old Master Sloan. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

Meeting an acquaintance in a foreign country was a rare occasion, so it was only natural they would chat for a while.

The girl was on vacation after her performances. When she heard that Sophia and Old Master Sloan were planning to build a science museum there, she offered many suggestions that gave Sophia a great deal of inspiration.

The three of them talked for a long time before parting ways.

As Sophia pushed Old Master Sloan back to the hospital, the girl’s gaze followed her, her eyes misting over with an unreadable emotion.

At dusk, Sophia met with the investigative team from NASA, who were in charge of the explosion incident. Traveling with them was Eleanor Crawford.

"Dad and Grandma were worried about you, so they contacted NASA and had me sent over to check on you under the guise of a joint investigation."

The fact that Old Mrs. Grant and Julian Grant cared so much for her left Sophia with a bitter taste in her mouth.

Eleanor patted her arm. "They asked me to come because they genuinely like you. Don’t feel pressured."

"In their hearts, you’re a daughter and a granddaughter now, nothing else."

"Please... thank them for me."

The less pressure they put on her, the more Sophia felt she was letting them down.

"By the way, another expert came with me this time," Eleanor added. "He’s not from the military, which will make it easier for him to investigate certain aspects of this case."

NASA represents Mador, while Sophia is from Cathan. The intention behind sending both Eleanor and a civilian expert was clear at a glance.

It was a system of checks and balances, meant to prevent them from casually finding a scapegoat to serve their own interests.

Sophia understood the deeper meaning and nodded.

As a party to the incident, Sophia had to cooperate with the investigation, so she returned to the base with Eleanor. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

When they reached the entrance to the base, they saw Vincent Grant standing there. Tall and long-legged, he was speaking with another man of equally impressive height.

Sophia’s brow furrowed the moment she saw Vincent.

’I thought he had already left. He’s still here?’

"Faye." The man opposite Vincent looked up and waved at her.

Sophia was startled. "Brother Jaden?"

Eleanor seemed surprised. "He’s the private detective we hired. You two know each other?"

Eleanor wasn’t aware of Vincent Grant’s connections in Crestfall; Jaden Rhodes had been recommended by Grandma.

Sophia nodded. "I never imagined the person you hired would be Brother Jaden."

Jaden Rhodes glanced at Vincent Grant but didn’t let on about anything, simply offering a smile.

"Faye, are you all right?"

"I’m fine." Sophia deliberately ignored the burning gaze from Vincent and looked at the object in Jaden’s hands. "Have you found something?"

Jaden nodded. "Before I arrived, I had already identified a few potential organizations. Based on the traces left at the scene, I’ve basically confirmed it’s one of them."

"The organization is called The Amethyst Panthers. Their main business is stealing high-end jewelry and priceless antiques, but they also take money to persecute top scientists or political figures."

"They don’t use sniper rifles for their assassinations. Instead, they use methods that leave no obvious flaws, making it look like an accident. As a result, there’s rarely a follow-up investigation, which makes them very popular with certain conspirators."

Jaden’s explanation made Sophia recall that a few days ago, Lance Abbott and his team had discovered several damaged gas canisters. Fearing an accident, they had moved them outside and placed them at the bottom of the building.

Evidently, the culprits had exploited this vulnerability, cleverly igniting those gas canisters.

Under normal circumstances, it would take at least ten minutes for someone to wake up and react to a fire. But that night, because of Vincent, she hadn’t gone to bed at her usual time. She had even gone downstairs to bring him some clothes, which is how she had managed to save Old Master Sloan in the nick of time.

If it weren’t for that coincidence, Old Master Sloan would have been reduced to ash in the flames. The fact that he had been drugged would never have been discovered, and the perpetrators would have gotten away with it completely.

The incident would have been ruled an accident, plain and simple.

Sophia drew in a sharp, cold breath.

She clenched her fists.

She wished she could drag the people who harmed Old Master Sloan out into the open and bring them to justice right then and there.

Jaden Rhodes took out a photograph. "This man is the leader of the organization. The fact that he came out personally for this job shows how high a price the client must have paid."

Sophia took the photo and recognized him almost immediately. "He’s... He’s one of the handymen here."

The man was utterly unremarkable, the kind of person who would disappear the moment you put him in a crowd.

He always seemed honest and unassuming, a man of few words, but he was very diligent in his work. No matter how you looked at him, he seemed like an ordinary person just earning a living through manual labor.

Sophia had an excellent memory and had reviewed the files of all personnel before arriving.

"He’s been with NASA for half a year. He was put on this project’s list because he’s focused, hardworking, and has a simple background."

’An honest, unassuming handyman with no access to core technology... who would have thought he’d be the head of an international criminal organization?’

Jaden Rhodes smiled. "The more formidable someone is, the more ordinary they appear. That’s what makes him so effective."

It was a convoluted statement, but it was the truth, at least in this case.

"Vincent also provided me with a lot of useful information for this case. He had already surveyed the scene over the past few days, which is how I was able to lock onto this organization so quickly."

Vincent Grant grew up in the military, so his skills in this area were naturally far superior to the average person’s.

"It was only what I should have done," Vincent said lightly.

He looked toward Sophia.

He didn’t say anything more, but his meaning was clear to everyone present: Sophia was his wife, and he had an obligation to help.

Eleanor froze for a second before pulling Sophia aside. "Faye, does Vincent... not know you two are divorced?"

"I told him."

Sophia hadn’t given it much thought until now. She suddenly realized that the sound of the explosion must have drowned out her words when she’d told him about the divorce. He hadn’t heard her.

’Looks like I’ll have to find another chance to bring it up with him again.’

Eleanor didn’t say anything more, just patted her on the shoulder.

As the two of them walked back, the NASA representatives had arrived.

Vincent Grant was speaking to them. "You’ll be responsible for Old Master Sloan. Sophia is my wife; I will protect her."

Hearing this, the representative nodded. "We’ll arrange it that way, then."

"There’s no need for President Grant to trouble himself with Faye’s safety."

The discordant voice cut in.

Levin Sawyer must have just gotten out of a car. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and his cool gaze fell upon Vincent Grant.

But he was walking toward Sophia. "Sophia is part of Lead Aerospace. Protecting her is Lead Aerospace’s duty."

"Levin."

A look of delight spread across Sophia’s face at the sight of Levin Sawyer.

Levin placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Sorry I’m late."

Vincent Grant’s dark gaze locked onto the hand on Sophia’s shoulder. As if sensing it, Levin turned to face him. "President Grant, are you... surprised that I made it here so smoothly?"

Vincent was, of course, surprised.

He had made two requests of Old Mrs. Grant: first, that she send people to participate in the explosion investigation, and second, that she stop Levin Sawyer.

Levin seemed intent on making him uncomfortable. "To be honest, my journey here was incredibly smooth. I’m not sure how Old Mrs. Grant knew I was coming to see Faye, but she even dispatched a special escort for me."

Vincent Grant: "..."