"I''m afraid they''ll smash up the ce," Barton said worriedly.


    "It doesn''t matter," Andrew replied calmly, cing a white piece among the ck ones. "Do you think Ivan is a crucial piece for that person?"


    "He''s the first one to infiltrate us."


    "I let him. Otherwise, he couldn''t even have set foot in the house."


    "That''s true."


    "Keep him around. He''s still useful. Maybe one day, this ck piece can be turned into an ally."


    "Understood."


    ...


    Downstairs, Gand spoke again. "I swear, I''m telling the truth. If you don''t believe me, check the surveince footage. Every five steps, there''s a camera. You''ll see that it was Ivan''s doing."


    Erica nodded. "He has a point. Debra, why don''t we ask Barton to pull up the footage from this morning? If it shows Ivan wasn''t at home, we would get rid of him."


    Ivan tensed up. "Mrs. Houston, it wasn''t me."


    Debra came downstairs. "Let''s check out the surveince then. It won''t take much time."


    "Okay." Erica nodded, about to head upstairs when Barton came down.


    She said, "You came just in time. Please help us pull up the surveince footage."


    "Surveince?" Barton hummed. "Unfortunately, it broke down today. I was just about to order a recement."


    "Broken?" Erica paused. "All of it?"


    "Yep," Barton replied.


    Erica was shocked. That must be the first time in over a decade.


    "Are you sure?" she asked in disbelief.


    "It''s because of old equipment. Mr. Andrew Rotter mentioned recing itst night, and the system happened to break down today. By the way, where is everyone gathered here?" said Barton.


    Randy chimed in, "Something


    serious happened. We need the


    surveince footage to find out who to


    ." Content belonge et


    is


    "That''s how it is," Barton muttered, ncing at Ivan. "Mr. Andrew Potter praised the oatmeal you made in the morning. He appreciated your effort."


    Everyone was surprised. Gand thought his ears were ying tricks on him.


    "He cooked for Andrew this morning?"


    "Yes."


    "But I saw him..."


    "The bowl''s still in the kitchen. You can go see for yourself."


    Gand rushed straight to the kitchen. There on the table was indeed a bowl with some leftovers.


    "How could this be? Impossible."


    "You must''ve been mistaken. Ivan has been here all day."


    Erica thought for a moment. "Since Andrew says so, it must be the truth. Debra, what do you think?"


    Debra linked her arm with Marion''s. "I trust Marion''s judgment."


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!