?Chapter 433:


    The bathroom, as Myles had pointed out, was sealed off on all sides with thick walls, no windows anywhere, and a single door serving as the only entrance or exit. No one had seen Victor leave, yet somehow, he’d vanished into thin air.


    Elliana’s mind worked overtime. “There’s no way Victor just disappeared. There must be a hidden passage, maybe a trapdoor, something that leads out of here.”


    Cole immediately agreed. “Let’s tear this ce apart if we have to. There’s got to be a secret exit somewhere.”


    Myles, Aron, and Hugh wasted no time starting a methodical search around the bathroom.


    Meanwhile, Elliana kept still, her gaze sweeping the room before settling on the sink. She remembered hearing the water running while Victor was inside. Her gut told her the answer was right there.


    With that idea in mind, Elliana moved closer, tapped her fingers on the sink, and crouched down to inspect the cab below. Her mind raced through everything she’d ever learned about hidden mechanisms.


    Donovan hadn’t just trained Elliana how to fight. He’d taught her how to spot mechanical tricks and secret contraptions. She had soaked up plenty of know-how from him.


    Back when Donovan had pushed her to study, Elliana had teased him, asking if he was secretly preparing her for some treasure-hunting adventure in forgotten ruins, as she didn’t see any point in learning all these obscure tricks.


    Donovan had shot back, “Don’t ever treat knowledge like a burden. One day, when you’re in a bind, you’ll be d you listened.”


    At the time, Elliana had shrugged off Donovan’s words, but she still put in the work and learned everything he taught her. Never in a million years did she imagine those lessons would actuallye in handy now.


    Taking a breath, Elliana wrapped her hands around both sides of the sink and gave it a firm twist, hoping she’d found the answer.


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    A soft mechanical click broke the silence, and the sink began to rise, inch by inch.


    Cole’s attention snapped to the movement, and the rest of the team—Myles, Aron, and Hugh—halted their search, all eyes on the unfolding scene.


    Up the sink went, bringing part of the floor with it, until a perfectly square opening was revealed beneath, about a yard across.


    Nobody would have guessed that such an ordinary-looking sink concealed a hidden entrance right under their feet. A narrow staircase descended into the opening, illuminated by light seeping up from below.


    “Victor must have slipped down here,” Elliana concluded. “He probably turned on the faucet to muffle the sounds and buy himself a few extra seconds.”


    Elliana wasted no time and dropped down into the hidden passage. Cole, Myles, Aron, and Hugh were right behind her, diving in after her without a second thought.


    From above, it just looked like a simple hole in the ground, but once they were inside, they saw the space was more than a tunnel. It opened up into a full basement, roomy and well-lit. At the far end, a heavy door beckoned, most likely leading out to the courtyard.


    Elliana moved quickly toward the exit, her footsteps echoing.


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