The surveince footage kept looping the same scene over and over. Curtis had thought he''d crack the code in two minutes, but he was running behind schedule and hadn''t managed to get the disrupted surveince back on track.


    When Mirabe''s voice cut through his focus, he felt a bit sheepish but immediately stood up, calling out, "Ms. Mirabe," and stepped aside. "There''s this interference signal I can''t seem to crack right now."


    Mirabe had already turned her gaze elsewhere and simply said, "Let me give it a shot."


    Curtis nodded, "Okay."


    Mirabe slid into the chair, her fingers dancing over the keyboard. In just ten seconds, shepleted Curtis''s decryption program and hit ''run.'' As soon as the program kicked into action, the surveince screen flickered and, finally, everything was back to normal.


    Curtis, standing behind her, was visibly thrilled, admiration written all over his face. A master at work is truly something to behold. "Ms. Mirabe, you''re incredible," Curtis said, his praiseing straight from the heart.


    Mirabe stood up, offering Curtis a modest smile before stepping aside. If you knew who was behind this interference, she thought, you might have a different tune.


    Curtis, meanwhile, was too busy to catch Mirabe''s expression. With the


    surveince restored, he was fully engrossed in searching for the intruder on the footage.


    Wyatt, on the other hand, left the surveince room again, ready to team up with Curtis to nab the culprit. Curtis scoured every corner caught on camera but couldn''t spot anyone fitting their description.


    "This is odd. The interference signal was clear as day, but we can''t find a soul," Curtis muttered to his colleague James, a hint of frustration in his voice.


    James kept his eyes steady on the big screen, his look as sharp as ever. "Keep at


    it."


    "I''m guessing they might have blended in with today''s guests. It might not be easy to pinpoint them right away," Curtis spected.


    Mirabe, lounging nearby, caught thatst part and nced over at Curtis. With her arm resting on the chair''s armrest and her fingers. twirling absentmindedly, she inquired with a touch of curiosity, "Looking for someone specific?"


    swnovel


    Curtis nced at James before turning back to Mirabe. "Valuable things have a way of attracting attention, and there are always those bold enough to try the luck at stealing treasures."  swnovel


    Mirabe touched her nose in agreement. Who wouldn''t be drawn to treasures?


    "But maybe," she ventured, thinking aloud, "not everyone''s here to steal. Some might just want a closer look."


    Curtis chuckled and shook his head. "Those whoe for the loot are driven by greed."


    Mirabe just sighed internally.


    "We once lost something... quite unique, and we haven''t gotten it back. The way today''s interference was handled is exactly how they took it," Curtis confided a bit more than usual.


    No one''s ever


    made off with


    something from the Shepherd family and lived to tell the tale. The hit to their pride was far more significant than the item''s worth. Even the


    lost item was exceptionally special.  swnovel


    Mirabe felt a headacheing on. She knew exactly what Curtis was talking about, but exining it wasn''t going to be easy.


    Just then, Curtis''s earpiece buzzed with Wyatt''s voice, pulling his attention away from Mirabe.


    Wyatt, having found no sign of their target at the auction, headed upstairs again. This time, he opened the treasure room''s door and found evidence that someone had already been there.