As Kitty''s face hinted at her difort when the topic of audio maniption came up, she cleared her throat and replied, "That''s simple enough. Just hire a tech- savvy guy to handle it."


    Suddenly recalling something, Kitty quickly grabbed her phone and logged into her cloud storage. She was looking for a hidden file that used to have a dozen photos. Now, it waspletely empty.


    Those photos were of her older sister. Kitty had Jules print them out and send them to Mirabe by mail.


    Closing her phone, Kitty''s expression turned grim. Maybe Emmitt was onto something; her niece was indeed a peculiar person.


    Wondering if she still had the digital copies on herputer, Kitty rubbed her temples, feeling a wave of frustration. She turned to Austin, "Emmitt, I''m heading out."


    Austin was equally anxious about the night''s events. Once Kitty left, he quickly made his way back to the Cunningham house.


    *


    Meanwhile, after leaving the banquet hall, Mirabe and James took the elevator down to the second floor, where James had booked a private room.


    Sam had arrived about fifteen minutes earlier. When they walked in, he was tinkering with something at the table.


    "Jake, why do I always mess this up?" Sam barely looked up, noticing James first, then nced back down, making a casual remark.


    James caught sight of what his uncle was working on and cleared his throat, stepping slightly to block Mirabe''s view. "Oh, by the way, we''ve gotpany for dinner," he mentioned.


    Mirabe, curious about the secrecy, raised an eyebrow. Company?


    Hearing his nephew''s voice, Sam nced up again, spotting someone else at the door. He quickly grabbed a canvas bag from the chair, sweeping the scattered parts on the table into it.


    This kid, bringing someone along without a heads-up.


    After tidying up, Sam straightened up, his usual serious demeanor cracked when he recognized the young woman behind his nephew. They had met briefly at the security office before.


    James removed his coat and hung it up, then did the same with Mirabe''s. He pulled out a chair for her and, once she was seated, casually introduced her, "This is my Uncle Mike; feel free to call him Uncle Mike."


    Turning to Sam, he formally introduced Mirabe and then took his seat next to her.


    "Uncle Mike, nice to meet you," Mirabe greeted politely, nodding.


    Faced with a charming and polite young woman, Sam struggled to maintain his stern look. He coughed and offered a small smile, "Nice to meet you too."


    Remembering something, Sam awkwardly fidgeted with his hands on the table and shot James a stern look before sheepishly adding, "Sorry, I didn''t bring a gift for our first meeting. I''ll make it up to you next time."


    Mirabe shook her head with a polite smile, "Thank you, Uncle Mike, but—"


    Before she could finish, James chimed in, "No worries about the gift, Uncle. Just add her on Messenger."


    Mirabe: "??"


    James, lounging back with one arm draped over Mirabe''s chair, casually pulled his phone from his pocket.