Curtis was caught off guard by James''s sudden request, "James, why the sudden interest in this?"


    Hadn''t he just mentioned earlier that we could let it slide?


    James, holding his phone, remained silent, his eyes slightly narrowed, his expression unreadable.


    Curtis, on the other end, jumped up, moved to his desk, and fired up hisputer, "I''ll get it for you right now."


    James gave a quiet nod of acknowledgment.


    In no time, Curtis had pulled up the entire surveince footage, "I''ve emailed it to you."


    "Great."


    James ended the call and headed upstairs.


    Back in his room, he opened hisptop and started watching the full surveince video.


    Throughout the twenty-something minutes of footage, James didn''t fast-forward, patiently watching from start to finish until he saw the car leaving on a Monday, and the video cut off.


    James lightly tapped the mouse, rewinding to the part where Curtis handed over a check. He focused on the person leaningzily against the car door, their silhouette oddly familiar.


    James squinted, zooming in on the video, but couldn''t make out the face beneath the helmet. Yet, that familiar feeling lingered.


    It almost matched his memory of Jade from two years ago, though something seemed a bit off.


    James reyed the video, sitting quietly for a moment before messaging Curtis, asking him to bring over the race track''s surveince hard drive the next day.


    The next day was the weekend.


    Mirabe woke up, had breakfast, and then went into the small room on the first floor to work on her herbal remedies.


    Three hourster, after finishing her concoctions, she came out, rubbing her tired brow.


    Nick, who hadn''t gone to the institute today, was holding a jacket, ready to visit Zach at the hospital. He saw Mirabeing out of the room and asked, "I''m heading to see Zach at the hospital. Do you want toe?"


    Mirabe dropped her hand from her brow and shook her head, "I''ll pass. I have an errand to runter."


    "Okay." Nick gave Mirabe a brief nce, not pushing further.


    Mirabe handed him a stic bottle, "Give this to Zach, one pill every three days."


    Nick looked at it and said, "Another one of your remedies?"


    Mirabe nodded. She hadn''t slept well the night before and let out a long yawn, her eyes misty, "It''s for boosting strength. Make sure he doesn''t forget to take it."


    "Got it," Nick replied, "I''ll head out then."


    "Alright." Mirabe waved him off, then slowly made her way upstairs.


    After freshening up in the bathroom and feeling a bit more awake, Mirabe put


    on a dark wool coat, tied her hair into a messy bun, and grabbed her phone before heading out again.


    Adler had arranged to meet her for lunch.


    As she reached the ground floor, her phone rang.


    Mirabe checked the caller ID and quickly answered.


    "Are you home?" James''s voice came through.


    "Yeah, just about to head out," Mirabe replied, moving towards the entrance. She paused, "What''s up?"


    James nced at Curtis, who was holding aptop next to him, and said, "I''ve got a video here. Curtis can''t recover it. Could youe over when you''re free to take a look?"


    Mirabe slipped on her ankle boots, checking the time. Figuring it wouldn''t take long to sort out, she didn''t hesitate, "Sure, I''lle over now."


    With that, she ended the call, opened a drawer, and paused at the sight of the sports car keys inside. She hesitated for a moment, then closed the drawer without taking them.