Vaelor and Truman went to the Eagle Eye office and submitted the report about Edin's death. According to the medical records, Edin had died because of lung cancer. It was natural, no signs of foul play. At this point, the only remaining clue in the case was Nancy.
We also went to the Nancy's house, but she wasn't there. Only her little sister answered. Truman said I also gave her our contact number and asked her to tell Nancy to call us as soon as she returned. But It didn't seem like they would ever contact us.
Back at the office, Augustin listened to everything carefully. He nodded and said, "You both did well. From now on, I'll personally gather information about Nancy. You can go home."
Vaelor thanked him, but as he stepped out of the Eagle Eye building, a strange feeling settled in his chest. Something didn't add up. One clue still felt unsolved.
Instead of going straight home, Vaelor returned to the Newlife Church. The place was quiet, filled with the soft smell of incense. Sister Allena was there again, arranging books near the altar.
"Excuse me, Sister," Vaelor said. "I'm from special investigation. I came here earlier with my superior. I wanted to ask… do you have any address records of Edin? Anything at all?"
Sister Allena thought for a moment, then nodded. "Wait here."
She went into a small storage room and returned after a few minutes, struggling with a large, heavy notebook. Dust rose as she placed it on the table and slowly opened it, flipping through old pages.
"Yes," she said. "Edin lived at Maridona Street, Building J, third floor."
Vaelor froze for a second. Maridona Street… He lived there too.
Without wasting time, Vaelor headed straight to Maridona Street. Edin's building was just three houses away from Nancy's place. The building looked old, painted in a yellowish-grey color. Every floor was rented out.
Vaelor entered and climbed the stairs to the third floor. Edin's gate was locked—but that wasn't a problem for him.
"Sens estoppel," he whispered.
He passed through the gate easily. Inside, everything was neat and well-maintained. If he died in the hospital from cancer, Vaelor thought, there shouldn't be anything suspicious here.
In front of him was a small hall with a television, a glass table, and bookshelves neatly arranged. Vaelor checked carefully, but nothing seemed out of place. Then he moved into the bedroom.
On the wall above the bed was a poster of a girl. She had a small mole near her lips. Vaelor searched the drawers, under the bed, everywhere—but found nothing.
He sat down on the bed, slightly annoyed. Maybe there really is nothing here.
Then his eyes went back to the poster.
Something was written on it in bold letters.
"I like you, Nancy."
Vaelor's expression changed instantly.
He rushed to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
Inside, floating in a strange liquid, were two human fingers.
Vaelor stepped back, his mind racing. "Now it makes sense…"
Edin also liked Nancy. Just like Carter.
"That means Nancy was Carter's next target," Vaelor muttered. "Edin must've found out. He killed Carter to protect her. They were friends… that's why Carter wrote about Edin in his notebook."
Everything connected now.
"It's too late," Vaelor said quietly. "I need to leave."
He carefully put everything back exactly the way it was, leaving no sign that anyone had been there. Then he took a taxi and went home.
When he reached the house, Perun still hadn't returned.
Vaelor sighed. "Good thing I have a spare key."
He opened the door just as the landline phone started ringing. He picked it up.
It was Serin.
"Perun won't be coming home for a week," she said. "His job needs him to stay away. He asked me to tell you."
Vaelor was stunned. "What? A whole week? How can he do that?"
Serin replied gently, "If you want, you can eat at our place."
Vaelor forced a small smile. "No, it's fine. I don't want to trouble you. I can cook… a little."
After cutting the call, Vaelor felt frustrated and lonely. He went to the kitchen, found some bread, roasted it—almost burning it—and ate it anyway.
"It's bitter," he muttered.
Soon, exhaustion took over, and he fell asleep.
On the other side of the city, Perun had finished dinner with Melody's entire family. He went to the guest room, lay down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling, wondering what Vaelor might be doing at that very moment.
Meanwhile, Vaelor slept deeply.
But the next morning
Chaos broke out in the house.
Melody's mother, Rumi, was searching everywhere for her son Ethan, her face filled with panic. Her hands were shaking as she kept calling his name. Melody followed closely behind her, trying to calm her down.
"Maybe he went to a friend's house," Melody said softly, hoping it was true.
Rumi shook her head immediately. "No… it hasn't even been long since we moved here. He doesn't have any friends in this place." Her voice broke for a moment. "This is because of his father. I told him again and again not to get involved in those matters."
Perun, who had been standing silently, got up. "Okay, I'll help search too," he said firmly. "He's just a kid. Maybe he's in a nearby park."
Melody looked at him and said, "You don't know this place very well. I'll come with you." Then she turned to her mother. "Mom, do you have any picture of Ethan?"
Rumi wiped her tears and shook her head. "No… I didn't bring one with me."
"I'll check the neighborhood," Melody's mother said, forcing herself to stay strong as she walked away. Even her maternal grandparents were worried now, standing helplessly, praying nothing bad had happened.
Perun put on his black suit jacket, and he and Melody walked together toward a public park nearby. The evening air felt heavy as they searched every corner—behind benches, near the swings, around the trees—but Ethan was nowhere to be seen.
They started asking people around. "Did you see a kid?" Melody asked repeatedly. "Seven years old, blue eyes, blonde hair, wearing a blue dress."
But every answer was the same. "No, we didn't see him."
After a while, Melody stopped walking and looked at Perun. "Do you have any idea where he could've gone?"
Perun thought for a moment. "Only the neighborhood or the park. He has no friends here, so it's impossible that he went to someone's house." He paused. "Maybe… your mother was right."
Melody swallowed hard. "So what do we do now?"
"If someone actually took him," Perun said slowly, "they'll call. But we can't just stand here. We've already searched the whole area."
Hours passed. Tired and hopeless, they returned home, praying that Rumi had found Ethan by now. But when they arrived, Rumi was there too—crying, her face pale. She hadn't found him either.
The family gathered outside the house, fear hanging in the air like a storm about to break.
Suddenly, a white van stopped in front of them.
Everyone froze.
The door slowly opened.Ethan was inside.
A masked man's hand gripped him tightly, and another hand pointed a revolver straight at him.